I might be wrong but it seems to me that a lot of people are wary of using paint masks instead of
decals. I would maintain that masks, with the right preparation and a planned approach, are a lot easier than
decals.
I hope that the photos below inspire others to give them a try. The don’t totally replace
decals, they only replace the major markings, some
decals are still needed such as the aircraft serial number for which I painted an OD box on the fin. You can see below how she looks with the masking removed. There will be a little touching up to do after spraying the markings, but not much
below I have applied the masks for the bars and stars with the elements removed where we need white paint. You can see some pen marks on the masks, this was to help me position the mask accurately. How you mark the masks will depend on the insignia being applied. In this case I wanted to line up the tip of the star appropriately and the bars along rivet lines and define the ends of the bars. This was necessary because I used tape over the insignia to help lift the mask as a whole which obscured the borders. Once the mask was in position I removed the white elements, putting them aside for later making sure I noted where each fitted. Better not to mix and match even if, technically, they should all be the same.
Below I sprayed, first the usual light white primer coat the help coverage. It is always surprising how little base colour is then needed, in this case Insignia White.
while lacquers dry in minutes to be safe I left the model for half hour before replacing the elements over the white. In this case, after spraying the white, I found it easier to position the white elements over the white segments after removing the blue elements. Something it is best done before removing the next elements. I am left with this, ready to spray insignia blue
Again it is best to play safe and leave half hour before removing masking. If you use water based acrylics or enamels you would need to leave longer
then we get this with masks removed
Next I will touch up, for this some localised masking is needed.
Then I will hand paint some details with water based acrylics before applying
decals.