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While reading the editor's page in the new FSM it got me to thinking about models I have stopped mid build because of "issues". One kit I was building, the 1/350 ICM Kronprinz, came to an end when I got stuck trying to put the white round circles on the tops of 2 main turrets. The decals are horrible, they fell apart almost straight out of the water. The main problem is getting a perfect circle on an uneven surface since the turrets have raised detail. So, the editor's page got me to thinking maybe someone in the community has a way to do this and keep me from shelving the kit for the rest of its existence. Thanks in advance.
I didn't know they made circle decals for that kit. I used wide blue painter tape cut using a compass type cutter (Hobbico Circle Cutter). Painted the top of the turrets white then install the tape and then painted the rest of the turrets grey. Removed the tape after 30 minutes drying time and it looked great.
The Hobbico circle cutter works best for me by just laying the tape on the cutting mat. This allowed the anchor needle to sink into the mat and maintain its position when turning the cutter blade.
How did you get the tape to form over the raised detail and still keep the circle perfect? was thinking maybe I need to cut the details off and glue them back after I do the circles.
I didn't put on the details until after I finished the circles. I did have to do some hand painting after installing the details because as you know the white circle only covered parts of them. I used some very thin strips of masking tape to mark off the details and the turret roof before painting. It was a pain but it did look nice when finished.
If you use an airbrush make sure you spray straight down when doing the roof. Otherwise there is a good chance the paint would get underneat the edge of the tape, mainly around the detail or molded areas. The blue painter tape sticks good it doesn't seem to sit down on the plastic as good as Tamiya tape.
I first tried to make the circles from the wide Tamiya tape but found it teared very easy due to its thinness. The blue tape worked the best for me.
Good luck, oh by the way how easy was it to put the main deck on to the hull? I had to use a lot of putty to close the gaps. This kit was a real pain to put together. Every assembly required you to put a bunch of small pieces together. I have not brought another ICM kit since.
To help eliminate paint bleeding under the edge of the tape, shoot a light coat of clear before the color. The clear will seal off the edge of the tape.
goldhammer To help eliminate paint bleeding under the edge of the tape, shoot a light coat of clear before the color. The clear will seal off the edge of the tape.
Hi,
Thanks fir sharing this tip. I was just painting my Q-ship model the other day and having trouble with paint bleeding. This tip really seems to have done the trick for taking care of that.
Pat
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