True Details Fast Frames question

EZ masks are better by far. I have tried them and they are terrible.  

I tried those Fast Frames a few years back and really didn't care much for them.  They went on easily enough but once you have them placed exactly where you want them, you have to be verrrrrrry careful not to bump/nudge/touch them all all while the adhesive sets.  They slide around very easily which is great when you're trying to position them but lousy once you DO have it positioned exactly where you want it.

I think my biggest pet peeve was the fact that they didn't look all that good once all was said and done.  It kind of looks like someone painted carefully cut strips of Scotch tape and applied them to the canopy.  They covered any framing detail that was imparted on the clear plastic canopy.  They were flat and featureless.  Having never used them before, I thought maybe they would settle down and conform but such was not the case.  I wouldn't use them again.

Excellent in concept.  Lousy in actual application.  Go with the EZ Masks if you can.  Or better yet, save your money and use something like rubber cement or white glue to mask your canopy.

Eric

They are better for aircraft that have crude and distinctive frame work.

Paint them, let the paint cure then apply a sealer of some type before applying them to the canopy.

FF are an alternative to masking the canopy and paint the canopy itself. Again you have to look at your subject and see which offers the best appearance option after applied and finished.

Thanks for the thoughts guys.

Eric, I kind of agree that would look a little like painted masking tape. I might reconsider this. 

You can get very good framing yourself with aluminum foil and Micro-Metal Foil Adhesive. Paint one side of a piece of foil with the interior frame color, the other with the exterior. The trick here is to prime the foil with self-etching primer, available at any auto parts store and many box home-improvement places. Then use a straightedge and a NEW blade to lightly score through the foil to cut out the width of framing you need, then coat the interior side with the adhesive, and apply it to the canopy. You can Future the canopy beforehand, and this will allow you to remove a piece if you don't like the position or appearance. Burnish the frame in place by rolling a Q-tip over it, you don't want to scrub the paint off the foil. With practice and patience, you can cut the strips to include the gussets and angles in the frames, or apply them separately as they were often riveted over top of the straight frames. You will have to use a brush to fix little glitches and to paint the edges of the canopy and windshields. The foil will conform to some pretty acute compound curves without wrinkles, you might have to cut some of the strips with a curve on some applications, I needed to cut circular frames when I did a 1/72 Betty. I pretty much do all my birdcage canopies this way now.

Ashley

You can get very good framing yourself with aluminum foil and Micro-Metal Foil Adhesive. Paint one side of a piece of foil with the interior frame color, the other with the exterior. The trick here is to prime the foil with self-etching primer, available at any auto parts store and many box home-improvement places. Then use a straightedge and a NEW blade to lightly score through the foil to cut out the width of framing you need, then coat the interior side with the adhesive, and apply it to the canopy. You can Future the canopy beforehand, and this will allow you to remove a piece if you don't like the position or appearance. Burnish the frame in place by rolling a Q-tip over it, you don't want to scrub the paint off the foil. With practice and patience, you can cut the strips to include the gussets and angles in the frames, or apply them separately as they were often riveted over top of the straight frames. You will have to use a brush to fix little glitches and to paint the edges of the canopy and windshields. The foil will conform to some pretty acute compound curves without wrinkles, you might have to cut some of the strips with a curve on some applications, I needed to cut circular frames when I did a 1/72 Betty. I pretty much do all my birdcage canopies this way now.

Boy Ashley, that seems advanced for a newb like me.

Was wondering about the FF: can you just cut the windows out and use them like the Eduard masks? They seem precut enough. In other words, throw out the frames?

Still nothing like masking thewindows.

Eric I used the fast frames on my Zero in the Japanese G/B just because they came with the kit I won on ebay and wo'nt be using them again! Yes you could use the cut outs as a mask but I'll stick with masking my own from now on. The foil technique is nice but requires a fair amount of skill to pull off effectively ,Eduard masks are by far the best route and I always spray the interior color first then some silver so I can chip the top coat a bit,hope that helps,Trey

TREYZX10R

Eric I used the fast frames on my Zero in the Japanese G/B just because they came with the kit I won on ebay and wo'nt be using them again! Yes you could use the cut outs as a mask but I'll stick with masking my own from now on. The foil technique is nice but requires a fair amount of skill to pull off effectively ,Eduard masks are by far the best route and I always spray the interior color first then some silver so I can chip the top coat a bit,hope that helps,Trey

Thanks Trey. How do you do your masking?