1:24 Bf-109 G-5 / G-6 - National Insignia for Airfix

Insignia sprayed, not stuck on

Against a sprayed finish a decal has one weakness that no chemistry will remove: it carries a film of its own. In 1:24, where the Balkenkreuz on the fuselage is the size of a thumb, the edge of that film shows even after softener, and the gloss of the varnished base differs from its surroundings. A masking set gets around the problem by having the insignia come out of the paint itself. The coat then lies in the same plane as the rest of the camouflage, and the model will take wear and pigment accents without any risk of a decal edge starting to lift.

Multi-part masks and the logic behind them

The German fuselage cross has a white border around a black core, so it is masked in two steps: first the whole area of the cross is uncovered and sprayed white, then a smaller mask is laid on and the black is added. The set is cut so that the individual steps follow one another and the border has the same width all the way round. Cutting the same shape by hand with a knife along a ruler always comes out worse in this scale, because the eye picks up an uneven border at once.

Recommended working practice

The base has to be fully cured, or the mask will tear the paint off underneath it when removed. Press the edges down with a toothpick and spray at a right angle, so that the paint does not creep under the edge. Use the set before the clear coats and the marks of wear go on.

Do not throw the leftover scraps of film away straight away; they come in useful for covering the surrounding areas while small color details are added. The cut follows the dimensions of the kit from Airfix and covers both of the airframe versions given. The model, the paints and the varnish are not in the package.