I've previously known New Ware from the Czech Republic for their aftermarket sets for space subjects, so thank you to Victory Models for alerting me to their fast expanding range of painting masks and sending a selection of samples for review.

The masks are produced primarily from Kabuki tape (one of the samples also includes a supplementary sheet of vinyl masks) and are neatly designed and packaged. Accompanying each set is a neatly illustrated set of instructions, complete with English captions, making things pretty straightforward. A nice touch is that the sheets include a few spare items to allow for slip ups. Most of the extras are rings and circles, so they'll always make handy additions to the spares box for generic uses.

The range includes a nice selection of subjects, mostly covering canopies and wheels as you might expect, but also with sets devoted to painting accurate stripes around ordnance of various types. The latter are designed for specific kits, but may well also be applicable to others as Kabuki tape offers a very useful degree of flexibility.

The sample set includes the following items:

NWAM0018 - Stripes for 1:48 Hobby Boss Mk. 82 Bombs (A-6 and A-7 kits) - $6.99
This provides 16 complete sets of stripes (plus one spare) to mask 5 concentric rings. It should be a big time-saver, as well as ensuring consistency across the underwing stores.

NWAM0027 - 1:32 Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIc (Trop) for Fly kits - $8.45
This ties in very nicely with Fly Model's exciting 1:32 Hawker Hurricane, so I'll put it to good use as soon as I get a chance. It provides masks for the canopy, wheels and lamp covers.

NWAM0028 - Egplane F-16 Fighting Falcon - $6.45
I don't think I've ever seen a set of masks for one of Hasegawa's Egg Plane kits. This covers the canopy, wheels and exterior stripes.

NWAM0033 - 1:48 Mig 31 BM/BSM for AMK's kit - $9.45
A little more expensive than the other sets, but you get two sheets of masks - one Kabuki tape, the other vinyl. The set covers the usual canopy and wheels, plus external details.

NWAM0036 - 1:48 BAC Lighting T.4 and T.5 - advanced set for Sword kits - $7.45
This set covers the canopy and wheels and allows you to mask the canopy seals as well as the clear panels themselves. A basic set is also available which doesn't allow for the seals.

Victory Models' full range of New Ware masks can be found HERE

Conclusion

New Ware's painting masks are very nicely produced and are priced competitively, so they should do well. The masks for ordnance are a very neat idea and it would handy if they expanded the selection to include purely generic stripes and rings in various sizes - I'd definitely always keep some in stock ready to use as needed.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.