discussion Marking camouflage before starting it

[Neil]

I have tended to stick to single colour or large blocks of colour for the simple reason I usually draw the camo pattern on primer using a light pencil and then paint.

This works OK, but the pattern is just my eye-balling the colour scheme and drawing it on by hand, and I’m sure this is not the best way.

So my simple question, how do you guys transfer and outline the camo from the colour scheme onto the primed model? If you want it to be really accurate, drawing it on, based on the instruction sheet is not the way to carry on doing this. You sort of need to have a tracing and then scale it out/in as needed.

 

[Steven000]

I like to mask the camo with long thin strands of blu-tack, placed on the model and adjusted with the panel lines as a reference point.

Some scan and scale the instructions to the model size, then cut the print and use it as a stencil for paint or pencil.

Also keep in mind that most paint-schemes in kits are not 100% exact if you compare it to real photos of the subject. Cheers

 

[yak face]

Stevens nailed it , the thing is dont sweat it if your camo pattern is not exactly the same as the instruction sheet . As above ,the instructions are often only a vague representation , as long as its somewhere near then youre ok and looking at period photos of the real thing will show many variations even on the same aircraft .
I use the blu tack method if its a soft edged scheme or masking tape if its a hard edged one.

 

[Flip]

Ditto to Yak; I do exactly the same.

 

[Flip]

Post note:
With the BluTack method - use the white version
Also, the degree of feathering of the paint edge depends on the diameter of the WhiteTack worm: the smaller the diameter worm, the less feathering and vice versa.

 

[flyjoe180]

I do the same technique, except I use thin strips of masking tape. Another method is to resize a diagram to scale and then cut the shapes from larger sizes of tape.

 

[Neil]

I sketch in pencil but then the masking tape gets messed up - I need some more blu-tack anyway so I’ll get some white as well - the irony is the Spitfire will be sea-blue on top and grey underside anyway

 

[minitnkr]

Freehand, at my scale, 1/87, it makes little difference.