M4A1 Sherman
1:35th Super Masks #K 35015
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 are a selection of allied stars with and without circles plus vehicles numbers and names where applicable as well as masks for painting the wheels.

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.

When applying markings that have several sections and with the characters that have a central section this 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.

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 seven vehicles which help with the basic paint scheme and also for the location of the markings. There is a nice selection of camouflage schemes included although no actual information is given on the colours or patterns of the rest of the vehicle other than the single side view.

Markings included are:

1. M4A1 named "HANG IT N" of the 5th Army, 751st Tank Battalion, Porretta, Italy, December 1944.
   
2. M4A1 of the 754th Tank Battalion, Manila, January, 1945
   
3. M4A1 named "Major Jim", 2nd Battalion, 13th Armoured Regiment, 1 Armoured Division, Tunisia, February, 1943
   
4. M4A1 named "SLOPPY JOE" from 603rd Armoured Company (41st Infantry Division). Carolina Islands, Summer, 1944
   
5. M4A1 named "LUCKY TIGER", 767th Tank Battalion, Ebeye Island, February, 1944
   
6. M4A1 named "DUNDRUM" of the HQ Pluton, 'D'Co., 13th Tank Battalion, US 1st Armoured Division, Italy, 1944
   
7. M4A1 named "KANIOWCZYK", Carpathian Lancers, Italy, Lorento, August 1945 (turret probably High Bustle)
   

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. The colourful markings included offer nice variations to the standard olive drab of these early Shermans.

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