I’ve amassed quite a collection of scribing templates for access panels over the years, but this set from Vallejo has one major difference over all the other types I have – it’s made of flexible translucent plastic. 

The choice of materials obviously has its pros and cons. On the plus side, being translucent, the stencils will be easier to position, and the material is very unlikely to scratch the surface of a model. It will also be possible to cut out the stencils and use them individually – a major bonus. 

One the other hand, the templates won’t be anything like as robust as photo-etched ones, and also won’t remain conformed to a surface because the material springs back flat. 

Obviously, you could also use the templates as painting masks, in which case durability isn’t a concern.

The sheet contains the following templates: 

7 x rounded-corner rectangles – 2mm x 5mmto 13mm x 3.4mm

10 x squares – 1mm to 15mm

10 x circles – 1mm to 15mm 

That’s a useful range of sizes, so the set should have plenty of applications. 

Conclusion

I bought my set in my LHS for £4.50 for my sheet and I expect it to be a useful addition to my range of tools. It’ll be interesting to see how well the stencils survive the rigours of scribing – I’ll certainly be exercising extra care compared with my existing photo-etched sets. 

AIR003 is available from Vallejo now. 

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