I recently picked up an F6F in 1/72 and when I went to mask the canopy, I realized that the frames didn’t stand out enough for me to use as an edge in trimming the masking tape. So I’m curious what techniques others use to do this job when working in this scale.
Thanks
I use smal bit of tape and run it along any straight edges. I have had the smae issue you have and find holding up to the light helps me see the edge throug the tape, i’ll then mark it with a pencil.
I’ve found using the bare metal Foil to cover the canopy allows for every detail to show better than tape.
On complex canopies like Hellcat, early Corsair, SBD and such, I do it in several sessions. I mask all horizontal frame lines, paint them, then remove tape. Now I do all vertical frames, masking and painting. Some canopies have a couple of diagonal frames, which I do in a third session. The advantage of this method is that you do not need to cut any corners in the tape. On 1:72 scale you will likely need to cut narrower strips of tape, as no decent tapes come in a size narrow enough. Takes a bit longer with this method, but it is not difficult, and results in very nice crisp lines.
Hi;
When I work on aircraft I keep some paint pens handy .Why ? Well I still don’t mask most of the time . I mainly drybrush the existing frames maybe three or four times .
I started doing this many , many years ago . T.B.
Good 'ol Scotch Matt Magic Mending Tape & wood toothpicks to seat it on most of the time, Tamiya tape for tough jobs, touch-up with tiny brushes. Glue on clear parts most of time before painting vacuformed especially, they near always are bears to work with.
I use clear packaging tape, the kind you tape boxes with. It’s viynal (sp) so it stretches a bit and I have had no trouble with the glue staying on the canopy after removal of the tape.
Thanks for the help everyone. I sat down last night and tried again, using Tamiya tape. The lines on this canopy are just too faint to see through the tape, even when holding it up to a light. Or maybe it’s just my eyes are too weak to pick them out. At any rate, that won’t work for me. I think I’ll try the packaging tape suggestion. Wish me luck.
Maybe I wasn’t clear enough on my post about one direction at a time. I do not need to see through the tape. Each side of a frame is masked by putting tape next to the edge- you put a tape on each side. If your tape is narrower than the panes, it goes quickly. On most 1:72 canopies, however, the panes are smaller than the narrowest Tamiya tape. You have two choices at that point- mask one frame line at a time- that takes lots of patience. Or, cut strips of the tape about 1/16 wide, or whatever is needed so that the tape does not obscure the adjacent frames. Now, you can mask all horizontal frames in one masking and painting, all vertical frames in the next session, and if any diagonal frames (there frequently are, at least on the windscreen, a third session. Doing it this way, you never obscure the frames with tape when you are masking.
I bow to way more experience and common sense. Don, a very simple and easy solution for any scale.
Never have been worth anything for masking frames, and your solution is going to the daily use catagory.
If it’s within your means and they have one available, Eduard’s canopy masks are awesome and easy to use. I used a Montex mask that was designed for my 1/72 Airfix Typhoon (Montex gives you two, and is cheaper) on my 1/72 Heller Tempest for the RAF build and it fit like a glove. If you can afford them, this is the easiest way to go. Another suggestion, unless it’s already been mentioned, is to get a sheet of Bare Metal Foil and use that as a masking agent. It’s thin enough that it should pick up the faintest of framing lines. When you go to cut it, some color the cutting edge of their knife with a black sharpie so they can see where the blade is cutting.
The problem I have with masks is that I like to build very obscure aircraft for which there are no mask sets available, so if I do build a popular subject I do buy masks, but there are sure many kits for which no masks are available.
I have used bare metal foil on canopies for which there is a well defined edge to the frame lines. But like the original poster, I find the molding of some canopies is so soft that the panes themselves- the vally floor- just gradually melds into the foothill and then the mountain. So if you put an opaque material over the canopy you must use judgement to guess where exactly to cut. You cannot see through the material to determine exactly where that edge should be. I find no advantage to using bare metal foil over good thin Tamiya tape in those cases.
Don, you’re original post was clear enough. If I had processed it correctly after reading it the first time, I would have had an easier time as it sounds like the way to go.
I tried the packaging tape but that proved a little too tacky to work with. I finally just used small pieces of Tamiya tape. That worked, but was time consuming. This was the end result:
Lewbud, I’ve used the Eduard masks in the past and loved them. In this case though, I would have ended up paying more for the masks than I did for the kit.
It looks good! Those canopies with low relief are tough. Even holding them up to the light does not work for me, the frame lines are distorted unless looking at them perfectly perpendicular.
In such cases, I’ve cut a frame-sized piece of painters blue tape (just for a contrasting color) and place it OVER the frame. Apply the tamiya tape alongside both sides of the blue tape “frame”. Then pull up the blue tape and stick it down on the next frame.
I typically use Eduard masks if they exist for the kit; I’d rather pay a bit for a good mask that screw up the kit due to my lack of skill (yes, I know, I could practice). 
I’ll have to try the BMF techique though, that idea has always intrigued me. I’ve also had pretty good luck with liquid mask (Micro Mask) but it tends to get everywhere… 
Try the line of aftermarket canopy masks that exist out there.Any way .Canopy masks are a tool.