Boot Stripe

The way tape likes to bend, working your way DOWN isn't advisable unless you cut it into thin strips and build up your coverage. I generally start with the hull antifouling, then mask the bottom edge of the boot stripe, paint that, mask the top edge, and then do the hull color(s). I wrote a little bit about some of my techniques here, although I don't specifically mention boot stripe.

A further comment on the boot stripe - the upper and lower edges may not be parallel to each other when viewed from the beam.  USCG paint regulations use a formula for the width of the boot stripe at amidships - the width varies depending on the overall length of the boat or cutter.  At the bow, the width is 1.33 times the amidships width.  At the stern, the boot stripe is 0.66 times the amidships width.  The boot stripe would taper from 16" at the bow to 12" at amidships to 8" at the stern.  

Jtilley said:

"One word of caution about a detail that lots of modelers (including some well-known ones) seem to miss.  The width of the boot topping stripe is, in most ships, not the same width throughout its length. The width as viewed from the side of the ship is constant (i.e., the top of the stripe is just as far above the waterline at the bow, amidships, and at the stern), but the linear width of the part that's painted black varies.

The amount of variation depends on the shape of the hull.  The hull of an Essex-class carrier, for instance, overhangs the water at the stern.  The boot topping stripe is almost twice as wide there as it is at the bow.  (This is a little hard to describe verbally, but if you take a look at a set of hull lines for one of those ships you'll see what I mean.)  In a Fletcher-class destroyer, on the other hand, the cross-sections are such that the sides of the hull form just about a 90-degree angle with the waterline throughout the ship's length.  You probably could get away with making the stripe on a Fletcher the same width from bow to stern, but if you tried that on an Essex the line would be almost invisible toward the stern when you looked at the model from the side.

The only way to be sure of getting it right is to mark the waterline with some sort of gauge (there are several on the market) that holds a pencil or scriber at exactly the same height while you run it around the ship.  (You can also use one of those new-fangled laser line projectors, but the lines they project are pretty wide for the scales on which most warship models are built.)"

Interesting point.

I came across this effect on the draft marks for my Borodino, where at the stern the overhang is very pronounced and the sign painter not only spaced the (roman) numbers accordingly, but vertically stretched the numbers themselves. Far beyond my capabilities, so I moved the stack of numbers decal back towards the stern post where the hull was more vertical and left it at that.

I have only painted a couple of boot stripes as I have built few ships as an adult. My method is this:1) airbrush on the boot stripe color along the length of the hull; 2) mask along the upper edge of the boot stripe and paint the upper hull side color; 3) remove the previous mask and mask along the lower edge of the boot stripe, then paint the lower hull color.

works like a charm

One word of caution about a detail that lots of modelers (including some well-known ones) seem to miss.  The width of the boot topping stripe is, in most ships, not the same width throughout its length. The width as viewed from the side of the ship is constant (i.e., the top of the stripe is just as far above the waterline at the bow, amidships, and at the stern), but the linear width of the part that's painted black varies.

The amount of variation depends on the shape of the hull.  The hull of an Essex-class carrier, for instance, overhangs the water at the stern.  The boot topping stripe is almost twice as wide there as it is at the bow.  (This is a little hard to describe verbally, but if you take a look at a set of hull lines for one of those ships you'll see what I mean.)  In a Fletcher-class destroyer, on the other hand, the cross-sections are such that the sides of the hull form just about a 90-degree angle with the waterline throughout the ship's length.  You probably could get away with making the stripe on a Fletcher the same width from bow to stern, but if you tried that on an Essex the line would be almost invisible toward the stern when you looked at the model from the side.

The only way to be sure of getting it right is to mark the waterline with some sort of gauge (there are several on the market) that holds a pencil or scriber at exactly the same height while you run it around the ship.  (You can also use one of those new-fangled laser line projectors, but the lines they project are pretty wide for the scales on which most warship models are built.)

I remember seeing, in FSM some years back, a model of a Liberty ship on which the builder hadn't paid attention to this problem.  He'd apparently laid down a strip of masking tape (of constant width) lined up with the waterline (which, I think, was marked on the hull by the manufacturer).  The final result was that the top of the stripe had a pronounced hump in the middle.

I'm a big fan of using decals as boot straps.  Here's an example of the 1:700 Dragon kit using narrow black decals.  I would not be able to obtain a sharp enough line by masking.  You can make your own by using black decal material as Don mentioned.  I haven't don't this myself but I would think you could get one of those x-acto double bladed knives and cut uniform strips with a straight edge.

If you want to go the painted route what I would probably do is paint in your black boot strap first.  Then cover the black with masking tape the width of your boot strap.  Then paint your upper and lower surfaces.  Remove the masking tape and you have a uniform boot strap.  

I hope this helps.

Dave

Maybe it was just me, but I tried the decal idea some time back and wasn't happy with it.  I found that applying a slender decal two or three inches long at a time was very difficult to make it look like a solid line.  Rather, it looked like a series of decals because it is so difficult to align properly.  

Maybe it was just me.  FWIW  

Letely my waterline stripes have been ultra thin so it's a case of masking the edges and painting it.

Usually, if tape is available that is the correct width, I would spray that color first and then lay down the stripe as a piece (s) of tape. Then paint the above and below colors and last of all remove the tape.

I've had a bit of a struggle on the Ting Yuen because the stripe ran over the bottom brackets of the net cranes, but it's looking good.

Another option for boot topping is a black decal.  Black decals are quite easy to make. I make about twice as many pieces as I think I'll need, just for extras.  In grapics programs simple uniform width stripes are quite easy to "draw."  This to me is easier than masking a uniform width line on a compound curve hull.

Another option if you do not have an inkjet or laser printer is to cut the stripes from a piece of black decal paper. I still find that easier than masking uniform width stripes on the hull.