Hello from new member and quick question on waterlines!

Hi Ausmosis,

Try using black decal stripes.

Cheers,

John Snyder, White Ensign Models, http://WhiteEnsignModels.com

Welcome to scale modeling.  Congratulations on your first build.  Great tip from John. 

Another way to do it is to mark it off and mask.  To do this you need a smooth flat surface and a tool for marking your model.  You can make the tool yourself or you can buy one of several that are on the market.  Here's an example...

http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/amati_7378.html

Once you mark your lines mask them off and paint.  I recommend Tamiya tape which comes in several different widths.  I can't speak for this particular marker but maybe somebody else on the board has some experience with it.

Enjoy the hobby!

Dave

Welcome to modeling! It is not only a great hobby; it is also a terrific way to study history!  I second both waterline comments. Black decals are an easy way to go but learning the technique for marking and painting waterlines might be more satisfying.

Excellent first build!

Bill Morrison

Masking is the best way, as mentioned before. I second the tamiya tape; while a big fan of the 3m Scotch tape for many applications the Tamiya tape is thinner and has a little more stretch and give to it, making it easier to wrap around corners or follow contours.

Around some curves even Tamiya tape will bubble and wrinkle due to the shape of the surface, in that case I will cut a strip into narrower strips and use a thin one to mark the line and then layer others over it. I have a glass cutting block for kitches I bought that works well for cutting tape as well as photo-etch and as a true flat surface for sanding down resin parts, so it might be a good investment for you.

I got mine from a local glass shop... $about $20 for a 12"x18" tempered glass board.

Thank you all for the great feed back. I'll give the masking a shot first and see how I go. I'm off to the local hobby shop and hope they have some tamiya tape otherwise I'll be heading to the hardware store for masking tape.

I have read quite a few reviews and tips on this web site and have been really blown away by the amount of detail and craftmanship that gets put into plastic modelling. And here I thought you just pulled the plastic bits off, glue them together then paint them and voila you have a model. Now I can really see and understand the fascination  that goes into building things. There are some magnificent works of art out there!

Thanks again everyone for the great comments!

Rgds

Ausmosis

bondoman wrote:

If you buy masking tape, buy the blue kind with the orange core. Anything else is harder to work with. And you probably know this, but cut it down the middle with a straightedge and use those edges. The factory edges already have dust all over them.

No I didn't know that so thats a great tip!... Much appreciated bondman :-)

PS: like I said I am very new to modelling so still a lot to learn.

 Rgds

Ausmosis

Another place to put on your shopping round list is the local auto paint and body supply store.   3M makes some vinyl pinstriping tape.  The stuff I have is 1/8 inch wide.   This isnt the fancy stuff which is the final striping.   Rather this is the stuff used by custom car painters to set the masking edges for fancy flame & scallop paint jobs.  The tape is flexible and bends to cover compound curves.   Works good under the stern counter on ships.

I will free-hand paint a black belt around the waterline first thing.  Then mask off the boot topping with this tape.   Then paint the under hull, then the upper hull.  Leave the boot masking on until your done with all the painting.

Well thanks to the wonderful tips I had a go at masking and it turned out reasonably well I think? I have attached a couple of pics for you to see. Once again thanks everyone!

Pic 1:

Pic 2:

Rgds

Ausmosis

Much better!

Bill Morrison

Im late to the party, but first of all, welcome to the forums!

I have been re-learning basic techniques since my return to the hobby. By trial and error, found out that the best "bang for the buck" when it comes to masking tape is to use the "good stuff" (Tamiya) to demacate the lines (and burnish down with flat side of your forceps or whatever works), and painter's blue tape to cover the rest of the model. I have left tape on models for weeks (months?); no residue whenI peel them off.

On my current ship build, I tried something new. I masked both sides of the waterline with Tamiya tape, THEN covered the upper side AND the waterline with blue tape. I then airbrushed the bottom part of the ship (antifouling red). After drying, I masked the red paint, then peeled off the tape covering the waterline... painted THAT flat balck..covered.. then  peeled off and did the haze grey thing... hard to expain in words, but play around with the masking, you may save some time (and tape) by masking in layers.

And keep posting pics! cheers

JMart wrote:

Im late to the party, but first of all, welcome to the forums! I have been re-learning basic techniques since my return to the hobby. By trial and error, found out that the best "bang for the buck" when it comes to masking tape is to use the "good stuff" (Tamiya) to demacate the lines (and burnish down with flat side of your forceps or whatever works), and painter's blue tape to cover the rest of the model. I have left tape on models for weeks (months?); no residue whenI peel them off. On my current ship build, I tried something new. I masked both sides of the waterline with Tamiya tape, THEN covered the upper side AND the waterline with blue tape. I then airbrushed the bottom part of the ship (antifouling red). After drying, I masked the red paint, then peeled off the tape covering the waterline... painted THAT flat balck..covered.. then  peeled off and did the haze grey thing... hard to expain in words, but play around with the masking, you may save some time (and tape) by masking in layers. And keep posting pics! cheers

Hi JMart!.... Thanks for the tip. Masking definitely seems to be the way to go and doesn't seem as dificult as I first anticipated. I am about to start a new build 1:350 scale of the Tamiya Prince of Wales battleship. Having already learnt a few things from working on the above model as well as reading a lot of material on FSM, I intend to take my time with the new build by sanding and filling sections as required. I just bought myself an airbrush and will also attempt to paint the model in this fashion (after a few practice rounds first of course). All I need now is to obtain some photo-etch parts (railings etc) for the model as I really want to make this one looked finished and complete. I hope I'm not attempting something a little out of my league and level experience!?

Rgds

Ausmosis

Ausmosis - I cut my PE "teeth" by getting couple cheap Dragon 1:700 Premium kits of modern DDGs, such as the Samuel Adams. Small PE fret, some railings, enough to get you started in the PE world. You can then get generic doors & rails and go down a path your will NEVER ever be able to leave  : )

I recommend Gator's glue for PE work, works much better for me than slow setting CA.