Masking Sets Worth It??

I very much recomend Eduard masking sets, but $15 seems extreme. Don't think i have paid more than £10 for the most complex mask set, who's make is the one your looking at and what TIE kit is it for.

I guess it depends on how much you value your time.

I use them sometimes on planes with complex frames I.E. most Japanese aircraft, and maybe even the TIE fighter but find them a waste of money on bubble canopies such as modern jets and the P-51, P-47, FW 190 ETC.

You might try it, BUT, read as many reviews as you can. Some of these sets are worthless, others good.

I did the Bandai TIE Striker recently and it was easy enough to mask with Tamiya tape. I don't think i would have spent that much on a mask set.

The Tie fighter should be easy enough to mask. It has very distinct and well defined framing. You don't have to cut the exact shape, just cut little strips and do each straight line, then fill in the middle with more tape or liquid masking fluid. It's time consuming, yes, but it's exactly the same methodology used for "greenhouse" canopies (think WW2 German bombers)

SWD: masking works best using little pieces to do one side at a time.

Let's say you want to mask an area 1" x 1". It would be too hard to cut a piece that fit right all the way around. Mostly because the area on the model isn't a true square or rectangle.

Start on one edge. Cut a piece of 6mm Tamiya tape to have a nice square end,and about 5/8" long. Stick the square end into one corner and burnish the piece down. Do the same thing at the other end of the same edge. The two pieces will overlap in the middle. Burnish it down. Do the same thing on the opposite edge. Then do the last two edges with pieces that are a little short at each end but overlap the other tape.

You are left with an opening about 1/2" square in the middle. smack a square piece of tape a little bigger all around down over it.

See that wasn't too hard. If you can get the corners right, the rest is easy. 

starwarsdude

Did you cut one shape for the canopy center or use several pieces?

 

I just laid one piece of tape over it and pressed it down. The frame is raise enough that its easy to follow.

Airbrush.

starwarsdude

I don't get it. The center is a hexagon so how did you mask with a rectangle?

 

Doesn't make any difference what shape the center opening is, just cut tape to fill it in, either one piece or several.

Are masking sets worth it? Depends. For what you're trying to do, since the kit has easily discernable framing, no. (You could always use the glassless option, that's what the studio did.) As others have said, cut some Tamiya Tape (or whatever brand of tape it is that you use, Tamiya just happens to be the best IMHO) close to size, and then burnish the dickens out of it. I use whatever is handy and will get the job done, fingernail, paintbrush handle, piece of pointed sprue (make sure that you don't put too fine a point on it), etc. Make sure you use a new blade to cut the tape and let the weight of the knife do the work. Don't press too hard or you'll break the tip of the blade off or possibly have the blade walk and scratch the plastic (or worse yet, break the part itself). After you've cut a section, gently pull off the excess and reburnish if necessary. Also, post pics in the Sci-Fi section and join us over in Bish's Star Wars GB, we'd love to see it come together.

Here's a pic from my current build, the ancient, I mean classic, MPC TIE Interceptor. What I am doing is creating a template so that I can create new solar panels for the wings. The concept is the same for masking your canopy. First lay down the tape.

Now to create the template (mask in your case), I'm going to take a new #11 Xacto blade and cut along the inside of the framing (hold the knife gently, let the weight of the knife do the cutting). Once the excess is removed, this is what it will look like.

For you, your job is done. You've created a custom mask for your particular kit. From here, I would transfer the tape to a piece of sheet stock to create the needed solar panel and cut it out.

After I cut out the piece, I attached it to the model. Since I was using pre-scribed sheet stock, I left the tape on to prevent any chance of glue fingerprint making it's way on to the model.

After I was done gluing everything, I removed the tape and had a wing with new solar panels.

Were I planning on taking this kit to contest, I would have cut the panels slightly oversize and sanded them until I got a perfect fit.

Since I'm using this as a first attempt at scratch building a conversion, I'm happy with my work. I hope this answers your question (and gives you more ideas). If not, let me know and I'll break out my TIE Stryker canopy and do a better pictorial.

EDIT: Make sure you burnish everything back down before you paint. If you find that your mask didn't go all the way up to the framing, take a pointed toothpick or a piece of sprue and gently scrape away the paint. The wood or plastic shouldn't mar the clear.

Starwarsdude,

Here is a pic of my masked canopy in place. I've already given it a coat of Tamiya Primer Gray out of the rattle can (like Tamiya's tape, their primer is the best out there. Once again, my humble opinion.). I forgot I had this pic or I would have included it in my previous post.

If you look closely, one of the corners has curled up a bit on one of the panes. I'll reburnish that before I apply the final color coat. If it won't go back down, I'll replace it. Hope this helps.

Yes, the cockpit was painted, inserted into the body, and then glued together. I just need to fill and sand the seams, then she'll be ready for paint. Unlike the Bandai kits, this kit is just a friction fit and I've probably assembled and disassembled it half a dozen times over the years (which may have improved the fit).  While I did some detail painting in the cockpit, it probably won't be seen once the model is finished. You can check out the build thread over in the Sci-Fi group (it's titled TIE Interceptor Warhead) or check out Bish's Star Wars Group Build.

I use them if they come with the kit and they are great but if they don't I mask the canopy myself. I figure the money I spend on the kit is enough and masking though tediously a pain in the butt is a skill I wish to maintain.

No masking sets for me....blue 3 M masking tape works great!  

For me masking sets are well worth the expense. Some of the kits I build are so old that there are no masking sets for them. In that case, I'll buy something similar and do my best to make the mask fit. Right now I'm putting a paint mask on a Hasegawa T-37 trainer. The paint mask is for the Academy A-37. Size and shape are a little different but I'm making it work. A whole lot easier than trying to make up a paint mask from scratch.

I tried putting tape on the part and cutting with my xacto knife. I can see how it works but the weight of the knife alone doesn't cleanly cut the tape. Pressure is required and it's a slim margin between a nice cut and scratched canopy. Guess it takes practice but on a 1/72 some of the mask pieces can be very small.

Kits should include masks just like they include decals!

Monotex masks. EZ mask out of Canada.all are good.EZ mask has the largest selection of Japanese aircraft.Google them.They are wet slide on masks.Soapy water use.