Soviet Heavy Tanks Pt.II
KV-1, KV-1E
1:35th Super Masks #K 35009
Review by Terry Ashley

The mask material is quite thin which will help when airbrushing the markings and the adhesive is not overly strong allowing the mask to stay in place but is fairly easy to remove after spraying.

Included on the sheets is a selection of vehicle numbers and turret slogans for the applicable vehicles.

To apply the mask is quite easy after you have applied the vehicle paint scheme and allowed the paint to dry thoroughly by firstly carefully peeling the mask from the backing sheet and position on the model. The thin mask is semi-transparent which overcomes one problem with masks when trying to get them in the right place as the opaque types tend to hide the rest of the model, but these allow you to easily see the details and get the mask positioned correctly.

In applying some markings the characters have a central section that is left behind when you peel the mask from the backing sheet and you will have to carefully position these separately to complete the mask. But by building up the mask piece by piece you have the completed mask ready for painting without any real problems.

Positioned the mask piece by piece to build up the mask.

Some schemes such as No.5 and No.10 will require you to apply one mask and paint the marking and then apply the second marking over the top after the first has dried.

Obviously you use tape or other material to mask off the surrounding model to prevent overspray before getting out the airbrush.

When applying the paint you should hold the airbrush perpendicular to model at all times as the low tack of the adhesive will allow paint to seep under the edges if you spray at an angle and also spray in several light coats instead on one thinker one for best results to further prevent seepage.

The instruction sheets have colour side profiles of the ten vehicles which help with the basic paint scheme and also for the location of the markings. There is no actual information given on the colours or patterns of the rest of the vehicle other than the single side view and again additional such as the Tankograd KV books will come in handy.

Markings included are:

1. KV-1 of the 2nd Battalion, of the 6th Guards Armoured Brigade, South-western Front, May 1942
   
2. KV-1 of the 58th Armoured Division, Western Front, December 1941
   
3. KV-1 of the 124th Armoured Brigade, Leningrad area, December 1941
   
4. KV-1 of unidentified unit, Eastern Front, September 1941
   
5. KV-1 of the 116th Armoured Brigade, Eastern Front, 1942
   
6. A captured KV-1 of the 1st Panzer Division, Eastern Front, 1941
   
7. KV-1 of unidentified unit, Eastern Front, September 1941
   
8. KV-1 of unidentified unit of the Leningrad Front, August 1941
   
9. KV-1 of unidentified unit of the Leningrad Front, September 1941
   
10. A captured KV-1 of the Heavy Tank Company of the 2nd Armoured Battalion, Eastern Front, 1942
    (Actually a Funnish Army KV-1)
    

Conclusion:
These marks have cleanly cut characters and I found the thin translucent mask material made positioning the mask very easy as you can see the model underneath. Apart from having to position the inside sections of the characters separately the setup was quick and easy giving excellent spray on markings which always look better than decals.

Highly recommended

Montex Plastic Model Club masks are available from AirConnection Canada.
Thanks to Michael from AirConnection for the review sample.

See the Montex Plastic Model Club site for other sets available as well as a guide on using the masks.

Page created 18 March 2006