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George Damian
16 articles

1/48 Tamiya P-51 Mustang – insignia masks test, how to get rid of silvering decals and bump into other issues

September 22, 2021 · in Aviation · · 12 · 2.4K

Being quite lazy I tend to favor kits, to eliminate any headaches from the start. Now this one here was an experiment in using Montex masks for the serial numbers and national insignia - something in line with the bad reputation of Tamiya decals.

All in all I would rate this experiment as a success for my skill level. I am pleased that this way the panel lines remain visible, also there is no chance of silvering decals with painting masks, but there are a lot of other things that can go wrong - which is visible on my model. Again, I am happy with how it turned out. Hope you will enjoy it.

Reader reactions:
12  Awesome

10 additional images. Click to enlarge.


12 responses

  1. Looks like the masks might be worth the extra effort, your Mustang looks great !

    • There is some fussing around with the alignment of the masks and I did not get it right in all cases, but even so, I like to think it adds character to the model, or at least this is what I like to see.

  2. A beautiful Mustang from the 352nd Fighter Group, George @georgedamian
    Those blue nosed Mustangs look great, just like your build.

  3. Looks good, but in all honesty I have never had a problem with Tamiya decals. Yes, they may be thick, but they always respond to Solvaset and look fine in the finished work.

  4. See no serious clinkers with your well-done model. And adding a bit of character to our models...all good.

  5. 🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
    Great and decent looking Mustang model George.
    Nice, clean and sharp work, thanks for sharing these photos.

  6. Came out beautifully, George!
    I love the Tamiya Mustangs, you made the most out of it.

  7. @John, @Bob, @DE4EVER, @Spiros - thank you all for your nice words.

  8. Nicely done George - the mask work looks pretty good to me !

  9. Looks good - your mask work came out great!

  10. @David, @Greg glad you enjoyed it!

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