Joe's 1/48 Monogram OS2U Kingfisher-Better Canopy Masks-01/05

[mustang1989]

LOL!! Sorry to throw the temptation out there Lyle.lol

I was hoping to find masks for this kit fairly easy but surprised when I found out that this is the only set available at this point. Decals are next. Still trying to figure out which way I want to go with that.

[LyleW]

would you PM me the listing on the cat? Found a cradle, but not the catapult.

[mustang1989]

Sure thing Lyle. Be warned......it's pricey. I got it during CyberMonday at 20% off and it was still expensive at that.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/S4LER ... arketplace

[Gary Brantley]

I'm pretty familiar with EZ Masks. I've used them on several models and have bought sets for many other kits. Usually, I've had no real issues with them. I will say that they are much easier to use if the masks are dipped into soapy water before applying them to the canopies. They can then be slipped around and accurately placed. I've also found them to be slightly undersized a bit, but the vinyl material may be stretched some too along the edges. One real caveat must be made however. The last time I used a set of EZ Masks on a canopy, as usual, the canopy had been dipped in Future in preparation for masking. After painting was done and masks removed, there was a residue on the canopy that I could barely get off. It seemed like some sort of "etching" had occurred on the plastic.

I called Chris Loney and asked him if he had changed any component of his process. As I recall, he got a bit defensive about my problem and blamed the Future dip. Well, perhaps Future was to blame, but that had never happened before when I used his mask sets. I also had a mask piece or two that was incompletely formed; he didn't really want to believe that was possible for some reason until I sent a pic of them. As I said, it's one small caveat, but since then, I've felt uneasy about my other EZ Masks. And in the final analysis, one more good reason to build armor! No canopies to mask at all!

EZ masks in use:

[LyleW]

woiuld you PM me the listing on the cat? Found a cradle, but not the catapult.

Sure thing Lyle. Be warned......it's pricey. I got it during CyberMonday at 20% off and it was still expensive at that.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/S4LER ... arketplace

I was afraid of that. That is the one I saw. No thanks.

[mustang1989]

Yeah....it was a pretty hardcore move for me but this one's on my list of "holy grail" kits to build so I pulled the trigger.

[LyleW]

I do understand. It will be the crowning touch on this build and Monogram should have included it in the kit - at least a styrene version.

[mustang1989]

I hear you on that Lyle and completely agree. One of these days I'd like to tackle an Arado 196 with a catapult.

[jkim]

I stopped using vinyl masks for my clear parts. My issue is that the stiffness of the vinyl will cause the mask to lift off of curved surfaces. I've experienced this with Montex masks and also the vinyl material that Zoukei-Mura uses. Instead, I will use the vinyl mask as a template to cut new masks that I can cut from Tamiya Yellow Tape material, which I have in sheets.

So... if you send me a scan (JPG format, straight from the scanner) of the EZ Mask and EXACT dimensions of the sheet, I can cut you a new set of masks using the Tamiya Yellow Tape sheets, provided that I can make out the outlines of the masks on the scan.

[BlackSheep214]

Yup... those PE riggings are sh!tty. Ask me how I know. That’s why I used the stub pieces that go on the main float on the sprue tree (you won’t see the part number on the instruction guide but they’re there). I used stretched sprues for rigging wires. EZ line couldn’t work unless you install them first before closing the fuselage together.

The PE instrument panel is garbage too. Make another by tracing it on sheet styrene and glue the PE panel on. You’ll have a solid hold inside the cockpit.

The propeller pin thingys are ok but they make snap off. I used the styrene parts on the tree instead. (See my comment regarding the float stub above - they’re there as well).

I didn’t bother using most of the PE that came with the kit.

I am looking forward for more progress pics.