HiQ Digital Camouflage Mask Set Review
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | April 2018 | Manufacturer | HiQ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Digital Camouflage Mask Set | Part Number | See text |
| Pros | Yellow kabuki tape masks | Cons | Nothing noted |
| MSRP (USD) | $9.95 w/free shipping |
Review
It is interesting to see the variety of masking solutions there are currently on the market today, many based upon either die-cut vinyl or kabuki (yellow) tape sheets. Some will provide national markings and/or distinctive markings for specific subjects while others will help replicate a camouflage pattern. For those of us that want to have a little fun, there are masks from a company called HiQ in Japan that replicate digital camouflage. The digital patterns are provided on die-cut kabuki tape sheets and they produce these masks in three different sizes:
- Small - patterns are 1.5mm wide and four sheets of digital masks are provided per set
- Medium - patterns are 2mm wide and seven sheets of digital masks are provided per set
- Large - patterns are 3mm wide and seven sheets of digital masks are provided per set
I decided to try a set of the medium digital masks on a Maschinen Krieger project just to see what would happen. The model was given a base coat of black, then the first masks were applied in random places.
The next coat was light gray, and as you can see in the image on the right, I've interlocked the new masks with the previously placed masks.
This process continued through panzer green, panzer red, and finally panzer yellow as the final coat.
This was my first attempt at using these masks and I was quite pleased with the results. You can see the full project here, but the only time I had a problem with the masks was on the head (not shown here) where the paint pulled off the model because I forgot to wash that assembly before painting. It was a simple matter of reapplying the masks after clean-up and bringing the head up through the layers of color that was applied to the torso shown above.
I used simple tweezers to apply these masks as well as to remove them. The few areas where the masks didn't touch one another were touched up with a paint brush. Now that I have this experience under my belt, I look forward to other applications.
These masks are available at HobbyZone USA.
My thanks to HobbyZone USA for this review sample.