Who's got the best technique?

Well, I don't know exactly what you mean by the easiest method. I only know of two ways to draw a symetrical 5-pt star. One way, if you have a protracter, is to start drawing intersecting line from a dot, at 72 degrees each. Put your compass into the dot with one point, and draw a circle in the Diameter that you want your Insignia to be, your time frame makes it easy,,,,no border to worry about, the star's tips touch the outer edge of your circle. Then connect every other point inside of your circle. The pentagon inside of that star is the diameter of your Red Dot. (the other way I haven't done since math class,,,,,it just involves swinging a compass to cut the circle into five equal-sized arcs)

Easiest way,,,,,,,,no matter how much you dislike someone's decals,,,,,if the points of the star are equidistant, that is a pattern for your mask. (they mess up the colors or the bar proportions, the star is still a star, the circle is still a circle, etc)   Make one "star mask" for each Insignia. Make one "circle mask" for each as well. and make one "open dot mask" lay down a Circle Mask, paint with White inside the circle. Lay down your star mask, and spray the Blue. Peel off the masks whenever you usually do during your "spray, dry, and unmask" routine.  Lay the Dot Mask over your White Star, applying more tape around it to eliminate overspray on your star and circle. Spray Red dot.

you should have a Red dot Insignia, made with masks, just like all the real aircraft,,,,,that is, just like all the real aircraft that didn't have Insignia Decals in real life.

Rex

Your three masks should look like a large mask with a hole in the middle,,,,,,,a solid star mask,,,,,, and a small mask with a hole in the middle

That's pretty much what I have, except my star mask is cut as open, to actually paint the star on a blue back ground. I suppose I can cut another and and keep the solid star. Doesn't sound too bad. Thanks

your way might work too,,,,,,,,,I just thought it better to steer you towards covering the White with Blue instead of trying to cover Blue with White.

With so many third party vendors offering national insignia decals, for all time periods, I have never felt it was worth the time and effort painting them.  I don't mind masking other stuff- ID stripes and such, but not the nat insignia.  BTW, there is a thread in the aircraft forum on masking the japanese meatball which goes into cutting circles in tape that kind of parallels this thread.

I am on the other side of that fence.  Since the internet, people are always talking about "your growth as a modeler". Learn this, try that, master that other thing.

I have always just striven to build correctly. Instead of "learn this" and then go for another technique, I have "learned this" and then used it hundreds of times to finish models. This will be a huge shock to some,,,,,,,but, there is NO "Mazlow's table of Modeling Self-actualization", there is just "learn, do, repeat" coupled with "change or adapt when you Have to"

One of the things we needed to learn back in the day was how to paint certain things. Painting just One aircraft's Insignias let's a person learn how much he appreciates the use of decals for many items.

There also was a set procedure for drawing the US Insignia on the side of an aircraft and then painting it on,,,,,,duplicating that is hardly wasting time. (it was spelled out in the "evil manuals" that so many modelers resist knowing about at all costs)

We need some kind of forum rule against all these posts that basically say "Don't try" things. In the modelling world that believes so much in "stretch your skills",,,,,,,it doesn't seem right to read "Don't bother learning this"

Rex

here you go, the official USAF method,,,,,,scroll to page 42 after the PDF loads

www.daveplattmodels.com/.../USAF%20Markings%20TO_1-1-4.pdf

how to use locator pins to keep your masks lined up

bestpilots.typepad.com/.../scal.html

you may find this surprising,,,,,,,but, a few modern aftermarket decal producers didn't know there was an actual specified method and dimensions for the US Insignia. This came out during a discussion concerning "correct" insignia on another popular modeling site.

Knowing this info will help some people determine if they want to use any given company's decals or not.

Rex

Big help TarnShip. Thanks

To me, trying different technologies is as much a "growth of my modeling skills" as doing a difficult job in a technology I already do.  To me homemade decals are just a better way to do national emblems.  I save difficult masking for those cases where it is really necessary- say on a sharply compound curved surface (got a Gee Bee masking job coming up).

I agree. It would be hard (and a huge ambitious undertaking) to do your own national insignia without decals - especially in 1/48 scale or 1/72 scale.

hmm, I still say go ahead and give it a try. I don't know any other way to learn to do "difficult masking" than to undertake some "difficult masking" that you already know exactly what the final appearance should look like.

After all,,,,,,,when you get that insignia painted,,,,,,if you did it right (and learned how) it should look just like any "correct" decal in your collection

That is how we learn everything else that we do, from baking a cake to setting the points in a distributor.

Rex

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

I agree. It would be hard (and a huge ambitious undertaking) to do your own national insignia without decals - especially in 1/48 scale or 1/72 scale.

Too many excellent decal manufacturers out there to pass up.