I know this has probley covered a hundred times before so please humor me. I work in 1-72 scale and I can never paint a canopy right. I have have tryed several of the mask that you paint on with no luck I want to try BMF but I would like to hear from someone else maybe that can tell me what I’m doing wrong. thanks J.
There are several ways to mask canopies. Trying different one and using the one you are most comfortable with will give you the best results. Sometime the canopy you are using will dictate the best method too. If you are doing a greenhouse canopy, the tape method described below may prove to be very tedious.
My personal favorite method is to us Bare Metal foil. It is extremely thin foil with an adhesive back. When applied it shows the frame though the foil clearly. Then cut along the frames with a new, sharp #11 blade. Here is the canopy on an Me 263 I am currently working on.
After peeling off the mask, it may leave some adhesive residue. This is easily removed by sticking some masking tape to the residue and peeling it away. This may have to be done a few times.
Another method I will often use is to cut very thin strips of tape, about 1/16 ", and apply to the inside edge if the canopy frame. Once all the glass panels are completely outlined, fill the areas to be masked with the liquid mask making sure you get it up to the edge of the tape. I like Tamiya tape for this because it is very thin. Or, after outlining the area it can be filled in with more strips of tape
Urich,
If your second address represents what I think it does, THANKS!
I share your frustrationwith 1/72 framing. I have tried the masking tape route a couple of times, but always found the tape does not adhere adequately in such small widths to accomodate cutting to fit or getting the fingers to work at that scale. I had never thought of applying the foil to the entire canopy and being able to see the frame lines through the foil. I will be trying that approach once I get some BMF. In the meantime, if you have access to a drafting pen, I have found that it provides an acceptable alternative. If the canopy has reasonable framing, either etched or raised, set the pen width to ride the lines; if not, a steady hand will yield reasonable results. When using acrylic, be sure you have thinned and retarded the paint so it will flow easily. Hope this helps a bit.
I had residue problems with BMF masks, but Goo Gone took care of it.
Hi There,
I used to model in 1:72 till the eyes went and I could`nt see to go after them.
I found two methods that worked for me as below.
1
Spray clear decal film with first the inner or primer colour and then with the outer colour. If your scheme has more than one colour or mottle etc add this to the decal along with weathering etc as required, finally finishing the decal to match the model gloss, matt etc
Dip and allow to dry the canopy/ies in future or equivalent as this helps the decal to bond and lay on the decal in strips to match the framing and colour scheme. I normally put on a few strips using microscale or similar setting solution and then use the deeper setting solution when nearly dry so as to stop the decals moving.
2
Mask the canopy in bands, doing all the horizontal lines first painting the inner colour then the outer and final finish, and then repeating with the verticals. the problem with this method is that it only works with premixed paint to ensure cosistancy of colour and the long time factor in drying time if brushes are used.
Of the two, the first was always easier to manage for me
Something that worked for me when using enamels was to paint by hand without doing any masking and not worry to much about getting a bit over the glazed areas. Then, once the paint had dried, use a wooden cocktail stick to carefully scrape the overspill away. As the wood is softer than the canopy material, it doesn’t mark it.
Acrylics might be a bit to brittle for this to work though?
I went to my local hobby store and purchased some Cyanoacrylate De-Bonder for removing some glue but found out it removes paint as well…Hmm So i tried it on a canopy. I used a pointed make-up applicator (looks like a cotton swap but not as cottony) It got into the the small areas and removed the paint where it leaked under the masks. doesnt fog up the canopy either, and after the Future soaking looked better than I could have imagined
I used these products on oil based paints.
For canopies that are silver (migs, Sabres or other bare metal planes) I use just a silver Ink Gel pen and just go right over the frame with it. excellent!
Brian
How I mask a canopy for painting depends an awful lot on its shape. I like the bare metal foil or liquid mask methods for surfaces with compound curves, like one would see on a He-111 or the rear-canopy section of an Fw 190. For flat canopy panels (like a 109F) or surfaces with a single curve, the scotch frosted tape method works best for me. I just burnish the tape tight against the framework with a soft lead pencil, which also aids in visualizing where the edge actually is.
I too like Scotch Magic Tape. This is the 3M brand frosted tape in the green plaid dispenser. I prefer this specific brand because it is somewhat pliable and does not leave adhesive residue when removed. I cut a small length of tape into thinner strips then apply it, usually with the tape straight edge along a straight canopy frame. Then I burnish the remaining tape down with a toothpick and cut the rest away with a No. 11 Xacto blade. One technique I recent heard about was marking the cutting edge of the Xacto blade with a black magic marker so you can see where you are cutting. This does seem to help.
Martin
Hi urich, I am used to doing 1/72 aircraft and the best way I have found to paint canopies is to use a lead pencil and freehand the edges. If you get paint on the clear part the eraser works well if the paint is still wet.
This only works with enamels so, I hope this helps