Masking advice

[Guest]

Before airbrushing my model I need to fill some cavities with foam or sponge. Any reccomendations for the best filler to buy?


Also I've read a lot about canopy masking and it seems tape/liquid mask is the way forward but any tips?

Cheers Phil

[Guest]

Eduard mask sets are the best way around with zero risk of damaging your canopy.

[Gern]

Just about any sort of soft sponge or foam can be used to fill cavities such as cockpits or intakes. It's also possible to use normal tissue paper scrunched up with some water dropped on to keep it in place.

As for canopies, like John says, ready-made mask sets from companies like Eduard are probably the easiest. There are a couple of other ways:

Use wide strips of masking tape to cover the entire area you want to mask and then cut around the frames to remove the bits you want to paint. You must take great care marking where you need to cut (use a cocktail stick or biro to burnish the tape and mark the outlines), and use a fresh blade in your knife to ensure a clean cut. I've seen videos of people using a biro to mark the edges, remove the tape and cut it to shape with scissors, then replace it as you would with ready-made masks.

Use thin strips of masking tape around the edges of the frame and fill in the rest of the area either with masking tape or liquid mask. This method works better on larger areas, but it does reduce the risk of scratching the canopy that you get using the method above.

If your hand is steady enough, you can paint the frames freehand. Any paint that goes over the frame can be gently scraped away using a cocktail stick cut to a chisel shape (I guess you could paint liquid mask over the areas you want to cover, but achieving a neat, straight edge would be really difficult given the rubbery nature of the paint).

There are lots of videos showing all these methods in practice, but like lots of things in modelling, you might want to try the various options and pick the one that works best for you personally.

[PhilJ]

For canopies I have tried a few various mediums but by far the best I have found and is all I use now is bare metal adhesive foil. Simply put it on your canopy, burnish the edges and cut around the frame with a "new" blade. Swan morten 10 with a curved end is best and I gently push the blade into the joints for a cleaner cut rather than pull, must be a new blade mind you.

[Guest]

Thanks all, all good things to consider. I'm returning to modelling after a 35 year break and had long forgotten how satisfying the whole process was! Needless to say I'm taking slightly more care than when I was 10 however...

[Guest]

Great thread, thanks for asking. I really like the idea of using sponge to block off intakes and the like, I hadn't thought of that one!