Thanks.  In the most recent issue of FSM one modeler painted on his 42-43 US roundel using 3M blue tape and it came out great.  I guess he cut out his own star but I don't know if he had a template or just a steady hand.  My own experience showed that I tried to spray the mask in one pass and that contributed to the paint running beneath the tape.  

Well done.  I recently started painting my hinos in too by the same method.  

Good advice from the guys, I've had a few decals that didn't want to work with Micro Set/Sol but not many. However I did learn the hard way don't use a strong solution like Sol on Hasegawa decals- they crinkle up and won't uncrinkle.

I know I'm a bit late on this but next time you have to mask something like the yellow spray around the tape with the green to seal the tape edge so the yellow doesn't get under.

Hope you can you this some time.

I have had few decals that didn't work with ModelMaster decal set.  I've used Solvaset for particularly stubborn decals.

Gary

Just to add my 2 cents worth Groot.

I bought a set of Starfighter decals by Mark's Models from Freetime Hobbies and they where just fantastic.  They came off the backing easily , set so well that I used very little micro set to get them to draw into the panel lines.  Mine where "Pearl Harbor defenders "  And can be used for 5 different aircraft (2 of which I am building now ) so at a price of $8.95 they are well worth the extra expenditure.

There was a handy chart in that FSM issue (I'll try to dig it out this weekend) that provided recommended solvents for different brands of decals.  Micro Set can be used universally in that it is used to get the decal to stick to the surface. Micro Sol actually makes the decal conform to bumps and ridges by softening the decal.  This works pretty well for most decals (and you can apply another coating of Micro Sol at a later time.  SolvaSet is really strong stuff and is designed to help thicker decals conform.  Then there are solutions in the middle.

Aftermarket decals are usually good with Micro set/sol, some thicker manufacturer decals need something stronger.  Some just refuse to cooperate.

Groot

I shot the green first then the yellow.  Explains a lot.  Regarding the decal problem there is a variation in the quality of decals due to age manufacture, etc.  The process of getting the decal to lay down and conform to the surface is the issue.  I'm seeing what to me are master builders and they say very little about the decals as if decals are a foregone conclusion.  That's why I used this zero for an attempt at masking to get a feel for the problems.   Some decals lay down with the application of a solution, (vinegar based?).   I've got about a 50% rate of completion.  The fails are primarily due to faulty decals or my lack of experience in recognizing when things are going wrong in other areas.  If I paint wrong I can remove the paint.  The decal has to be replaced.

If I were to make a top ten list of the things that I need to address to become a better modeler the #1 spot would be headed by the problem of the last model.  

There was an earlier issue somewhere of FSM that really covered decals pretty well, but I've found that digging around in the decals section of the forum can be really helpful too.  What decal questions do you have and we can try to answer them?

By the way, Gamera's suggestion of light tan is probably better than the silver I tossed out (flat versus gloss and more tooth for the yellow paint to adhere to).

Groot

Jack I know how you feel.  After decades of absence I've got a lot to catch up on.  What's driving me nuts right now is the lack of info on decals.  I'll watch a sequence of photos in detail about most everything but decals.  In the current issue of FSM there is a 1/32 Me109.  The sequence of photos carries an explanation but suddenly there are beautiful decals and no explanation.  

The more you show the more input you get.  Warts and all with pictures is the way to go.

I agree with Groot, though I use a light tan as an undercoat for the yellow.

Groot, I used the 3M blue painters tape for the mask.  It doesn't stretch so it gives you a couple of attempts to get it centered.  Japanese planes are know for the paint chipping.  I think I'll start the 1/32 Hasegawa.  The 1/32 has the yellow wing leading edge as a decal but it's an old model and old decals are what I'm trying to get around.  So it 's a good place to start trying out the some of the techniques you guys have suggested here.  On this Monogram Zero I did some light sand papering to expose the rivets and rough up the meatballs a bit.  But with the 1/32 I'm going to have to move forward a bit on technique.

Thanks.

If you still want to try to get the yellow leading edges you might try a light color that covers well like silver, then go over that with yellow?  I would definitely test it on some scrap first, but it might work.

What you have looks fantastic, particularly the meatballs. You centered the red over the white perfectly.

Groot

Thank you for all the pictures of the work process!) being a newbie in this hobby, it is essentional for me to see everything in details!))

 Thanks Gamera, Devil Dawg. I brushed the yellow on only to discover that you can't cover yellow well at all with a brush.  Your are right about doing the leading edges first and I should have done that.  One of the problems I'm dealing with now is figuring what gets painted first and when.  This Zero was a good model for that.  It's cheaply obtained and no matter how hard you try to get it down you can still convince yourself it was an experiment from the start.  

I found that masking roundels yourself (probably the same is true with the aftermarket stuff)  attention to the airbrush is important.  

Thanks much for your input.  You helped me to get out of it more than I put in.  's

That Zero looks great, VN750! I'm very impressed with your masking and painting of the hinomarus (meat balls). I never would've gotten the red and white to line up that well.

As far as keeping the paint from running under the masks, once you've burninshed down the edges of the masks, spray the edges with clear coat first to seal the edges, then paint. Keeps the paint where it's supposed to be.

The insignia look pretty good to me in your photos, I always use decals since I'm sure I'd find some way to mess them up like this.

And I always do the yellow leading edges first since I can't ever get yellow to cover anything.

This is the final though it's not.  Some glitches with decals led me to experiment with painting on my own decals.  I bought an aluminum template from Hobby Lobby with the circles that closely approximated the  1/48 scale, used a #16 Exacto blade and cut them out on 3m blue painters tape.  This final attempt was my second attempt and I had to clean it off to repaint.  I'll put this one away for awhile.  I've spent too much time on on it and need a change.  I checked out a couple of vintage Monogram kits I have and have put them aside in anticipation of certain old mold problems.

Making my own mask for decals exposed some painting mistakes on my part.  The #1 error was too heavy a spray pass which gives the paint a chance to wander under the mask.  Bad on the first try because I got lazy and brush painted.  Not bad on the second but flawed enough because of my airbrush technique. I plan to use the glass surface on my table for practicing masks and other spraying techniques. Also, I misaligned the mask on the wings. Better to do it on this Zero that I have $10.00.

Note:  The green is Tamiya XF70.  Flat if it's sprayed by tends to glossy when brushed on.  That makes the paint job hard to retouch even the small stuff and you are forced to load up your airbrush.

I'm beginning to crave more detail.

I used Tamiya XF70 Dark Green 2 here but brushed onto the canopy.  Tamiya XFs are flat I thought but the canopy lines came out glossy.  When sprayed on the plane it came out flat.  Used XF76 on the underside.

May I recommend beer and late hours.  

Here is the canopy results. Still some finishing results needed. After this photo I went to painting the leading edge of the wing yellow and it didn't go well. even with particular attention paid to the tape adhering there was bleeding under it and onto the green section of the wing. The problem at this stage is the more you handle the plane the more inclined you are to break off the fine parts like the pitot and guns.

Thanks.  Boxing is from 1990.  The top seam in the fuselage aft of the canopy is a trough and not a peak.  Hard to maintain detail after sanding down the putty.  But as lacking as this particular kit is it does have some attributes that can be useful for experimentation.   For light weathering a very fine sandpaper drag windward produces passable results exposing the rivets and some leading edge wear.

What ?

    You too ! I do believe that the hardest thing to do is WW - 2 canopies .English and American as well as German planes give me fits .I won't even say what Japanese aircraft canopies do to my sanity .Brain , here brain .     T.B.

Looking great.  I hate masking zero canopies.......ugh.  Thanks for sharing

Joe.  

Nice work so far, on a venerable kit!  It has some faults, but they're more a product of its age.  Your boxing may be from 1990, but the kit itself was first issued in the early 60's, if I am not mistaken.

I built one a couple of years ago for the first Monogram Mafia build.  It's a fun kit to try out new techniques, or for a quick build as an antidote to advanced modeler syndrome.  Or you could give in to AMS completely and try to super-detail it.

I look forward to seeing your progress!

By Jove, I think you've got it! 

Gary

Oh Boy, I'm going to town now!   Stop me if you start seeing my baby pictures.

I use a piecemeal approach to masking canopies by doing it in sections.  The canopy on this model had some weak lines.  Looking at photos of the actual aircraft I notice the canopy lines are thinner than the lines on the model but at this point I'm not using primer.  That makes the line edges a little fragile.  I've finished the canopy but it will require some touch ups.

You can see the top of the fuselage and the detail lost.  Time for paint

Thanks Gary.  I will give it the college try.

VN750

I've been posting photos on the net since 1999 and FSM is such a PITA it's not worth it.  Goodbye.

Please don't get too discouraged.  It is really simple (hey, even I can do this!).  Try this:

 First, start an account at a photo-hosting site; I use Photobucket. Then, upload your pics that you've saved to your computer. After they are uploaded, you'll see the thumbnail pics.

Move your cursor over the pic and you'll see a little gear symbol in the upper-right corner. A drop down menu appears and you choose "get links". Another window will open with several choices for you. You want to click on the one that says "IMG codes". Once you do, it will show "copied". Now, go to the post that you've started here and simply "paste" the code.

I hope that helps!
Gary