Please help a novice with masking/painting canopies.

[pds1974]

Hey guys, this is my first post here so please be gentle.

I am slowly but surely getting back into the swing of things, having purchased a H&S Evolution airbrush and a few essentials to help me along the way. But I am really struggling to comprehend the best way to mask/paint canopies on 1:72/1:48 and larger models. To put it bluntly, my efforts are terrible! I have tried masking tape, to no avail. I then tried some liquid mask, which was a disaster. I got my hands on some frisket today, and tried that to no avail. I'm not even sure I'm using that stuff correctly, but that's for another day. I think part of my problem is that these models are tiny and my hands are huge!

I ended up painting a 1:72 canopy freehand in the end, with the smallest brush I had, (000) and although it sufficed, it's a very amateur attempt. I have done some research and I see there are different ways people approach this but I was wondering what your methods were and if could show me that would be even better!

Thanks!

 

[yak face]

hi and welcome to the forum, theres a few different ways of masking canopies, the one i use is to put tamiya tape over the bit i want to mask, rub it down round the edges with a cocktail stick,then using a sharp(preferably a new blade) scalpel , cut round the edge and peel off the outer leaving the window masked. this needs a steady hand and well defined frame lines on the canopy, also i usually do it before fixing to the plane-all the handling ,pressing etc can cause it to come unstuck if its already been fixed. Another way is to cut very thin strips of masking tape (1.5mm) and use this to go round the perimeter of the area youre masking, then fill in the middle with either masking fluid or more tape .Some people also hand paint them as you have done and when just about dry go round with a cocktail stick dampened with a bit of thinners and neaten up any bits where the paint has gone on the clear areas .Finally thers sometimes the option of using pre cut self adhesive masks from companies like eduard and montex. These can add a few quid to the price of the model but if its something with loads of windows to mask ,its worth it to save your sanity! Hope this helps,and if youre not sure about anything ,just ask away-theres always plenty of folks on here who'll gladly help , cheers tony

 

[Gladiator111]

Hi PDS, and welcome,

I'd second Tony's advice there. Tamiya tape is the way to go. It sticks well and when burnished, won't allow any paint to bleed below it. I've bought Scotch and Ansmann tapes before and they're not a patch (no punn intended...groan) on the Tamiya stuff. I'd go with a nice wide tape like a 40mm for canopies though I do have a roll of 6mm for fiddley areas, just in case. Good luck!

Chris

 

[stona]

Hi and welcome. I'm a Tamiya tape and a SHARP scalpel man myself,same method as Tony above. Unfortunately there is no easy way of doing it. It is a fiddle and sometimes you'll mess the odd segment up and have to redo it.I've just done the clear parts on a 1/32 Ju88 (which is like a couple of greenhouses and then some) and it took me a full morning.Just keep telling yourself you're having fun!

As a "by the way" if you dip your clear parts in Klear to give them a nice sparkle liquid masks are not an option as most contain ammonia which reacts with the Klear and makes a proper mess!

Steve

I've done this quickly 'cos Swmbo calls....supermarket etc. Not perfect but you'll get the idea.

Pic 1 I've stuck some Blu-Tac inside this front screen. Clear parts tend to be brittle and I don't want to break it,even though it's from the spares box.

Pic 2 Stick a bit of tape roughly over side window and burnish down with cocktail stick

Pic 3 Cut carefully with sharp scalpel and remove excess to reveal....

Pic 4 Masked window.

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[pds1974]

Hey guys, thanks very much for the replies, appreciate it. I will have to invest in some larger Tamiya tape. I have the 6mm stuff here, which I tried to use, unsuccesfully. I think part of the problem as well was maybe the canopy lines weren't that well defined on this airfix starter kit I made, and the fact I couldn't match the lines up. It was only a cheapy first attempt however so I'm not overly worried. I have bought a 1:32 Mk1 Hurricane and I've just started to build a 1:48 Mk1 Spit, which I am more concerned about. Plus i have never used an airbrush before, and I had fun with that last night, spraying random patterns on paper.. It's a thoroughly enjoyable learning curve, I keep telling myself..

 

[ademaker]

Barracuda freehand canopy painting

Hi,

Good advice has already been given on masking so I'll contribute with my most recent methods of freehand painting the greenhouse like canopy of the 1-72 scale Fairey Barracuda. As I vac-formed the canopy over a heavily sanded down and polished polystyrene original in two sections, there were no raised frame lines left. After several attempts at masking the glass panels I gave up on that - its almost impossible and risks scoring of the canopy. Instead, I cut strips of tape to represent the window frames -longitudinal first then the lateral frames. I then ran thinned matt black enamel right up along the edges of the tape removing the excess, like a wash so that when the tape was peeled off later, the dried matt black would act as a thin paint line guide line to freehand painting. For the painting, I used a reasonably thin Heller brush with enamels but it was not the thinnest brush. Shaky edges can be straightened by drawing a clean damp - with white spirit - brush down the edge being careful not to blob it with the spirit from the brush head. (Anyone who rinses their brushes in a jar of white spirit and then immediately paints with it will know what I mean). Best wishes - I think canopies are the hardest part of plastic aircraft modelling!

Cheers,

Adrian.

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[stona]

There is an alternative method. You can use strips of decal in the correct colour and just stick them along the frames. The Haswgawa "Stuka" comes with them on the sheet,otherwise you're making your own. I have to say this wasn't for me. When I did my Stuka the decal colours didn't match my paints so I just masked and sprayed as usual. It might be worth a go in a smaller scale.

Steve

 

[Rogdoc]

That's brilliant!

can I send you my Lancaster 1:72 clear bits for masking?

iI am in the same position as original questioner...pds 1974.

PS. Am I able to buy cheap canopies for practice?

 

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

OK, I'm different I used to use Tamiya tape and sometimes still do for some edge work, but after trying out some advice from one of the SIG tables at Telford I swapped. I use Bare Metal foil, I know its more expensive than the tape but its also much thinner so it dosen't leave as much of a paint ledge, use a cotton bud to smooth it down and you will see the amount of detail it shows up.

Remember to paint the first base coat the interior colour then once its dry you can apply your top colour. When your done painting and its been dry a day or so, dip it in Klear, again on asking at the table in November , they dip 3 times over the coming days and then use a matt varnish if required on a very fine brush to dull your paint work down.

I'm sure there are a few more ways people do canopies but this way works well for me.

Adrian

 

[tecdes]

What is this Bare metal Foil Adrian? Is it sticky on one side ? Where do you get it? Does it peel off well ? Does it stop paint creeping under the edges ?

Apologies for all the questions. Yes I hate the build up of paint looks horrible.

Matter of interest with the tape & burnish method I apply a thin coat of matt varnish to complelty seal the edges before applying paint. If you are a Klear person you could use this in place of the varnish. Stops, mostly, paint creeping under the odd area of tape. Also after completing the painting cycle & after it has cured I lightly score the line of tape & paint. Found that this allows a good release of the tape without dragging a horrible ragged line where the paint is dislodged.

Laurie

 

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

Hi Laurie,

strange when I posted my reply the Bare Metal Foil was highlighted as a link to Johns shop, oh well, Johns shop sells it. It can be used for all sorts of things, hydrolics on landing gear instead of painting chrome, chrome on cars such as bumpers.

It comes in several colours, chrome, brass, gold, black I think are some. Yes it is sticky on one side you just peel it back carefully , its only once left any residue on a canopy for me and that was because I used Klear first rather than after, it was soon cleaned up with a little alcohol rub though. There should be no seepage if you burnish it done well enough with a cotton bud, I think its much easier to cut than the tape as well with a sharper edge.

Adrian

 

[Roobarb]

I am a Tamiya tape man,cutting it into thin strips and shapes, then applying it to the glazing filling in the gaps with more tape I avoid cutting the tape on the glazing as a slip may require the mask to be removed and the glazing sanded and polished. I also always attach all glazing to the model before painting so it can be fared into the model which possible makes cutting the tape on the model more difficult.

If available I'll also use Eduard masks when masking a complex subject such as canopy’s that have sealing strips or ones that have complicated glazing. A point about buying pre-cut masks make sure they are made out of the same material that Tamiya tape is made out of, some companies sell masks that are made out of vinyl like materials that tends to peel and lift, allowing paint to creep under the tape. Eduards's masks at least for the last few years have been made out of the same material as Tamiya tape.

I agree with Steve Maskol contains ammonia and will lift acrylic paints it can also stain paint if left on too long,from experience I simply don't use it.

One point about using decals to represent canopy frames unless sealed over time the decals can lift,if I remember correctly there was a company that produced decal strip in various aircraft interior colours,overlaid with the appropriate exterior colour.

Laurie,

Bare-metal foil was originally produced to replicate aluminium on model aircraft,you would cut an appropriate shaped panel then burnish it down onto the model,it had a grain so by altering the angle of the grain from panel to panel you could build up the patchwork effect as seen on full size aircraft.When done successfully stunning results can be obtained. I've used it on occasion,but it's very time consuming Alclad is a lot easier.I can best describe Bare-metal foil as being like the old (thin) KitKat wrappers with a contact adhesive on the back. It's produced by Bare-metal, Hannants used to stock it,though there other supplies in the UK.

I avoid the build up of paint on masks,by spraying vertically to the mask and using very thinned paint and also by applying the bare minimum of paint,that is the beauty of using an airbrush it's controllability

Malcolm

 

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

Hi Malcolm,

Using Bare Metal Foil is not as time consuming as cutting strips of tape, I cut one piece large enough to cover the entire canopy , burnish it down then cut where I need to cut, I can do any canopy in less than 5 mins easily.

Adrian

 

[tecdes]

Adrian after covering the whole thing how do you know where to cut. Ie is the foil so thin you can see the frame lines coming thro.

Laurie

 

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

Adrian after covering the whole thing how do you know where to cut. Ie is the foil so thin you can see the frame lines coming thro.Laurie

Oh yes its very thin, you have to take care when peeling it off as it can tear very easily

Adrian

 

[Roobarb]

Hi Malcolm, Using Bare Metal Foil is not as time consuming as cutting strips of tape, I cut one piece large enough to cover the entire canopy , burnish it down then cut where I need to cut, I can do any canopy in less than 5 mins easily.

Adrian

Adrian,

I was referring to covering an airframe not a canopy, Bare-metal foil was originally produced as a way to reproduce an aluminium finish on models,(other finishes such as chrome were also available). To use Bare-metal foil,the foil was cut into panels representing the actual panels on the aircraft the pieces were then burnished down onto the airframe,the major difficult was making tidy joints between the panels, rivets would then be embossed using the teeth of a razor saw. To cover even a small model took many hours of work.as you were covering it panel by panel.

Malcolm

 

[Vaughan]

PDS I use this method. Using thin strips of tamiya tape and then fill in the gaps with larger pieces. This avoids cutting the tape in situ and damaging the canopy. Hope this helps

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