maxidad66

I am currently making a 1/72 scale Spitfire IX (Italeri). I want to finish it with black and white invasion stripes. This appears to be working OK on the wings simply masking. However, masking around the fuselage is proving exceptionally tricky because of the the irregular cross-section. Does anyone have any useful tips for this, or is it just a case of very time-consuming trimming and cutting of masking tape? Any useful advice would be apprecciated here.

Bunkerbarge

Mask up to the mark with the very thin lining tape then use the thicker masking tape over the top of that.

The thiner lining tape is obviously a lot easier for following the fuselage contours and you will achieve the straight line you are after with much less messing. Then you cover the area up to the lining tape with the wider tape.

wonwinglo

Maxidad66,another good way is to use a liquid called 'Maskol' this is a latex based colour tinted material,you just paint it on up to the line needed,allow it to dry,then paint in the next colour and peel it off when dry.
One of the inherant dangers of tape is that it is just too fierce,to get rid of that excessive tackiness draw it through your fingers first before application,yet another neat trick is to use Dymo ( lettering tape ) tape for etching in a line to paint up to with a craft knife blade,what happens is the slight knife edge cut acts like a reservoir and stops the paint flowing any further.
To experiment with things like this I use a 'Paint hack' this is an old model used for just experimental painting.
Richards thin tape is a good idea also,you could use this idea with a material called 'Chart tape' this is a very narrow masking tape used to generate charts on office walls,you can get this from better stationers
Your dilemma has taxed many a modeller believe me.

__________________
'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !'
www.wonwinglo.scale-models.net/

rjwood_uk

or you could get some water-slide paper and make your own?

just a suggestion....

maxidad66

The decal idea sounds like it might be easier than the tape (Pogo also suggested this).

Even with the thinner tape suggested by Barry and Richard, cutting it to closely fit the irregular x-section of the fuselage must still be fiddly.

Maybe I'll try both.

rjwood_uk

i thought it was a stupid comment at the time i posted it, but as it seems this isnt the case...glad i could help

maxidad66

Well, if you'd spent 2-3 hours mucking around with masking tape and the result still looked crappy, then you'd try anything!

Bunkerbarge

Masking fluid is good stuff but you are really left with the same issue of how you paint the masking fluid in a straight line.

I was going to suggest making your own decals but you will then have to design the decal with the correct curvature of the edge to give you a straight vertical line when fitted. Trial and error might give you a suitable result if you can maybe make tests on plain paper first to see how they look before you commit to decal sheet.

squiffythewombat

Dude, if you want invasion stripes decals, im SURE i can find some in the decals box, just drop me a PM with your addy and ill pop them in the post!

maxidad66

Thanks Bunker! And Squiffy, you are a gent - it's a kind offer. On the other hand it'd be nice to learn the skill so I could apply it in future builds.
I though I might try the following: some unused decal sheets have thin black outlines. These should be easier to apply "round the bends" so to speak. Perhps I could use these as the edging of the stripes and then in-fill with paint. If it all goes wrong, I'll have those decals you've got, Squiff.