Montex Super Mask
1/48 SBD-3 Dauntless

One of the mixed blessings of scale modeling is decal technology. Through the art of waterslide or dry transfer media, you can re-create the colors and markings of any aircraft that interests the decal makers. Hopefully they'll make something of interest to you too.

At scales of 1/48 or greater however, larger decals can be quite a pain, especially over complex surfaces. After drowning the decal in setting solution and hoping for the best, you still may end up with silvering under the clear transparencies of the decal, ruining all of your hard work. At least silvering is one phenomenon not present with dry transfers, the limitation here is limited subject and scale availability.

So what's the solution? Do it the way the aircraft mechanics do it in 1:1 scale! Masks.

Montex Plastic Model Club produces a growing line of paint masks to tackle subjects that have been largely ignored by the decal world. In this release, they've produced a set of masks for the Accurate Miniatures 1/48 SBD-3 Dauntless.

Markings are provided for two particular aircraft:

• SBD-3, VSB-6, USS Enterprise, Feb 1942
• SBD-3, VS-21, USS Ranger, Operation Torch, Nov 1942

This mask set provides the two- or three-part masks fuselage side roundels, top and bottom wing roundels. These roundels are two-part (blue/white) for the mid-war roundels, and three-part (red/white/blue) for the early war versions.

One other nice touch in this set is not one, but TWO sets of canopy masks. Why? This set allows you to paint that huge canopy and windscreen like the real aircraft - outside colors on the outside, inside colors on the inside! This set takes the detailing of your model to the next step. The whole part is masked and finished inside and out. I recently overheard one master modeler comment that you don't want to paint the canopies from the inside as the color mis-match would be visible from different viewing angles. This is true if you paint the interior of the canopy frames flat black and the exterior the NS Blue Gray. The trick here is to paint the inside AND outside of the canopies flat black, then apply NS Blue Gray to the outside of the canopies. Then you'll see the right colors from any perspective.

Whether you choose to replicate these particular SBD-3 Dauntless aircraft or not, these masks will give you the freedom from decal woes and the flexibility to create your own subjects.

Highly recommended! You can purchase this set online from Design & Marketing International.

My sincere thanks to Design & Marketing International for this review sample!