Painting the frame of canopy's...any advice?

[wonwinglo]

***It is just latex,I use Copydex it does exactly the same job,do not apply it with your best brushes ! use a rubber 'artists colour shaper' tool obtainable from your local art shop,it has a shaped rubber tip,you can easily roll off the latex when finished,this stuff will wreck brushes in seconds.

Thanks for all the tips...just need to decide what to do now lol hmmIs Humbrol Maskol worth buying?

[Guest]

If your using copy dex on canopys use a tooth pick to apply it is tailor made for the job

[Guest]

In the end i persevered with masking tape, cutting tiny strips with a razor blade/scalpel and carefully placing them into position, i got all the glass panels covered pretty well (i hope!) and i've painted it now, so i'll keep my fingers crossed and post a picture when i remove the tape

*praying it looks atleast half decent* lol

[Guest]

I'm looking forward to seeing this. I can't remember the last time I did an aircraft canopy but I would guess it would be in the region of 30 years.

Nowadays I glue a few pieces of wood to a plywood bulkhead and "Voila!" bridge windows.

I am looking forward to having a play with new techniques such as Decal solutions, Johnsons Kleer, and airbrushing with my Tamiya Spit.

[Guest]

Well it's done, and i'd be lying if i said i wasn't a bit disapointed, it's far from perfect and could be better, im just trying to look at it like "it could be worse!"

I obviously never masked it too well, and for some reason some small bits of masking tape seemed to turn all gooey and proved a bit difficult to remove again.

I'll post some pictures up later (need to go out right now) but they're kind of embarassing up close lol

Oh well, guess i'll put it down to experience and hope the next time turns out better.

[wonwinglo]

Getting better results & learning from our mistakes.

***Just remember this is all part and parcel of your learning curve,if we did not make mistakes or find out that things do not quite work as intended then this is better experience than any book can tell us,now is the time to sit back and think about how you can improve on these methods,perhaps opt for an entirely different approach.

My thoughts are that dont forget basically commercial masking tape is just that,coarse creped adhesive paper more suitable for masking a real car rather than a model,why not go for some of the fine Tamiya masking tape ? this is specially marketed for masking models with very little risk of the paint going underneath,personally I would forget masking a cockpit,go for painted strips of tape carefully applied,if you want a quick idea to get you going then visit a quality stationers and buy a roll of very narrow 'Chart tape' this is great for framing canopies and similar to the system we described here,if the colour is not what you want then just stroke the tape with a suitable colour once on the model,not too much though,experiment on any old model first,they are called 'Paint Hacks' you can play around to your hearts content.

Remember the old saying 'If at first you do not succeed,then try and try again' believe me we have all been through these stages where things do not quite turn out for the better.

Well it's done, and i'd be lying if i said i wasn't a bit disapointed, it's far from perfect and could be better, im just trying to look at it like "it could be worse!"I obviously never masked it too well, and for some reason some small bits of masking tape seemed to turn all gooey and proved a bit difficult to remove again.

I'll post some pictures up later (need to go out right now) but they're kind of embarassing up close lol

Oh well, guess i'll put it down to experience and hope the next time turns out better.

[Guest]

I think I can look at every single one of my models in the cabinet, workshop, shelf etc and see how I could have done something better. It is what makes modelling challenging and what makes us want to make more.

Don't ever get disheartened though, just learn from it and carry on!! I'll bet though there are many people out there who couldn't do what you have done already and there will be even more who will be impressed with what you have done.

Don't ever forget there are probably more people lower down the learning curve than you than there are higher up it!!

[wonwinglo]

***Here,Here,well said Bunkers,we all strive for perfection,after all if it were easy then there would be no challenge,I think that if you can honestly say I did my best then that proves you are prepared to strive for that excellence,when I used to assist the children doing their models then I had to look at their little creations through their eyes and offer appraisal accordingly,I would sooner see one hundred modellers working away hard knowing that they were perfecting and honing their skills,I dont see a blemish in anyones model,just the enthusiasm to carry on and succeed,carry on regardless,we are all on a big learning curve.

I think I can look at every single one of my models in the cabinet, workshop, shelf etc and see how I could have done something better. It is what makes modelling challenging and what makes us want to make more.Don't ever get disheartened though, just learn from it and carry on!! I'll bet though there are many people out there who couldn't do what you have done already and there will be even more who will be impressed with what you have done.

Don't ever forget there are probably more people lower down the learning curve than you than there are higher up it!!

[Guest]

There is a fool proof method of painting canopys but it does take some time !! but i guarantee everyone will get superb results if your patient

[Guest]

...what is it???

[Guest]

Thanks for the encouragement i definately wont give up, i did tell myself before starting this model that i'd no doubt make mistakes etc and just use it to learn the basics.

The canopy, after a little work carefully scraping off paint where it shouldnt be (only fine lines really and little bits here and there) doesn't look too bad unless it's inspected upclose, it definately could of been worse! The funny thing is, the front parts of the canopy which had the smallest bits to mask off, seemed to of turned out the best lol

Anyway, will get some pics up as promised tomorrow sometime.

[Guest]

Well, after a bit of careful scraping off excess paint and getting it to a finish i was fairly happy with, i gave the canopy a coat of Klear and it doesn't look all that bad, unless you really look at it closely.

Here's a picture before painting...



and then after the scraping away excess paint and coat of Klear



Far from perfect, but it's turned out better than i first imagined.

[Guest]

Not bad mate !!! well done

[Guest]

Cheers, just noticed looking at the picture, the line going up the right side looks as if theres a white scratch/barely any paint on it, thats just light reflecting on it, it is actually painted equal to the other side.

Fairly happy with it now, next time i'll try and improve it though.

[Guest]

Looks better than some of my earliest attempts all those years ago.

I did however do all mine the hard way in those days and painted them by hand. Dam good practise for brush control though!!