Bench Racer
by Drew Hierwarter

Scale Auto Enthusiast, December 2001

Vinyl Masking Kit
Microsport Engineering #MS-7001
Material: Die-cut Vinyl
Scale: 1/24-1/25

Retail Price: $5

Here’s a product from the “Why didn’t I think of that?” department. If you’ve ever painted a road racing car, especially a vintage road racer, you’ve had to come up with some way to make those white “meatballs” (they’re actually called roundels) that surround the racing numbers. Oh sure, decals work okay over a light color, but if you use decals on a red Ferrari, you’ll get a pink meatball. It you need to apply a meatball decal over two colors or stripes, forget it. You’ll need to layer several decals to hide that color separation line. This sheet of die-cut thin vinyl circles in 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 mm diameters from Microsport Engineering is the perfect answer. Four circles of each size are included on each sheet.

Here’s how they work. Paint the model the color of the meatballs (usually white). Peel off the appropriate size circle and stick it on the model. Then, go ahead and paint the model the final color. Now, when you peel off the stickers, ta da! Perfectly round, perfectly white meatballs. The vinyl is so thin that these masks leave virtually no paint ridge. Just add your favorite number decals to the roundel, and the job is done. In addition to 20 round masks in the sizes mentioned above, you also get (two) additional 2x6 inch sheets of uncut vinyl that can be used to cut your own masks for stripes, panels, or whatever. Why didn’t I think of that?