Hi there,
I have recently bought and destroyed a set of Eduard canopy masks for my 1/48th scale Tamiya kit. Any idea on how you are supposed to use them, they come with no instructions, any help greatly recieved before I buy another set.
Best regards, Ashley.

What went wrong with them?
With instructions, do you mean the placement instruction sheet or pointers on how to actually apply them? The first can be found on Eduard's website as a PDF, just search with the product number.
For applying the masks, I usually start by using the tip of a hobby knife to lift a corner or other suitable part of the mask, then carefully removing it from the sheet with tweezers, then putting it in place on the canopy. Carefully burnishing down the edges of the masks with a cocktail stick helps in getting the masks to lay down snuggly and prevents paint bleeding under them while painting. Whenever you brush by hand or airbrush, it's best to keep the initial coats light and not flood the area so you minimize the risk of paint creeping under the masks.
After painting, I feel it's best to start peeling off the masks by starting from a corner (hobby knife is again a good choice, just be careful not to scratch the clear plastic), then carefully peeling off the masks. Tweezers are again a great help here.

Although I've read recommendations to score along the edges of the masks with a knife (just cutting through the layer of paint, no more, to prevent the masks lifting paint along the edges) prior to removing them after painting, I've personally had better results without any cutting, especially with canopies dipped in Future before painting. The usefulness of the scoring is without a doubt affected by numerous variables, like the type of paint used (acrylic, enamel, etc), whether it's airbrushed or brushed on, the thickness of the paint, etc etc. "your mileage may vary"

Hope this helps.

Thanks Emeritus,
the problem I had was not knowing exactly how to get the mask off the backing. Your detailed application instructions should help a great deal when I get the new ones.
Best regards, Ashley.