Hobby 2000 80016 - Flexible masking tape for curves 3.5 mm x 18 m

Hobby 2000 80016 flexible masking tape 3.5 mm x 18 m – masking curves and rounded shapes

Hobby 2000 80016 is a flexible masking tape 3.5 mm wide, supplied on an 18 m roll. It was made for the parts of a model where paper tape stops working – arcs, bulges and transitions between planes. The flexible carrier stretches and follows a curve without forming folds on the inner edge, which when airbrushing are the most common cause of an uneven colour separation.

The tape is compatible with all types of modelling paints – acrylics, enamels and lacquers – and can be trimmed precisely with a hobby knife or scissors, so its shape can be matched to the area being masked. Once painting is finished it lifts off without damaging properly applied and cured paint.

Specifications:

• Manufacturer: Hobby 2000
• Catalogue number: 80016
• Type: flexible masking tape for curved surfaces
• Width: 3.5 mm
• Roll length: 18 m
• Material: flexible film
• Application: masking during airbrush and brush painting

Characteristics and use

The main advantage of a flexible tape is a continuous, smooth edge along a curve. Paper tape laid on an arc creases on the inner side of the radius, and those folds form tiny channels through which paint creeps under the mask. Flexible film stretches along the arc instead of folding, so the edge stays sealed. The 3.5 mm width matters here in practice – the narrower the tape, the tighter the radius it can follow.

Medium widths serve well as the main working tape — for longer paint demarcations, masking recognition stripes and covering larger surface areas together with masking paper or film.

We recommend applying the tape over fully cured paint, onto a clean, dry and degreased surface, and burnishing the masking edge down carefully once it is in place. Spraying the next colour in several thin passes helps, as a heavy coat tends to build a ridge along the mask. The mask is best removed once the paint is dry to the touch, pulling the tape back at a shallow angle to the surface.

What it is for

The tape suits camouflage demarcations on aircraft fuselages, tank turrets and vehicle bodies, masking oval and rounded canopy frames, painting recognition bands running around a fuselage, separating tyres from wheel hubs and any work where the colour border follows a curve. It is equally useful outside scale modelling, in art and painting work that calls for precise masking.

About the manufacturer – Hobby 2000:

Hobby 2000 is a Polish company based in Katowice, best known for limited-run kit releases built around plastic parts from established manufacturers and completed with its own decals and masks. Alongside those, the brand develops a range of workshop accessories and 3D-printed detail parts. The masking tape line covers two families – precision paper tapes for straight lines and flexible tapes for curved surfaces – in widths from 0.5 to 5.5 mm, each on an 18 m roll.