Masking a camo paint job

Put several pieces together side by side with a little overlap.  That makes a big, wide section of tape, that can then be cut out.  Some people then cut out the pattern with a sharp knife on a piece of glass so they can get the masking tape off easily.

I bought a scalpel just for trimming masking tape- it is great for that

Don Stauffer

Put several pieces together side by side with a little overlap.  That makes a big, wide section of tape, that can then be cut out.  Some people then cut out the pattern with a sharp knife on a piece of glass so they can get the masking tape off easily.

I bought a scalpel just for trimming masking tape- it is great for that

 

Or you could use putty. persoanlly, i use white tac, a lot of guys in the US use silly putty. Not only can get you the curves of the pattern, but it also helps in getting a soft edge.

Or, do the outline with thin flexible tape, say 2 mm. Come in behind that with a row of little overlapping 1/4" tape squares. Then infill with larger pieces.

Bish

Or you could use putty. persoanlly, i use white tac, a lot of guys in the US use silly putty. Not only can get you the curves of the pattern, but it also helps in getting a soft edge.

 

I use the 3M sticky tack from office depot, works the same, and for the most part doesn't leave any unwanted residue.  Getting up the little spots of excess can be tedious sometimes, though.

If you are using the instructions sheets paint scheme, you can scan in the pages to your computer, resize to print same size as your model, print off different parts of the instructions, ie each wing, fuselage etc.

Cut out the camo patterns and using blue tack or masking tape folded on itself, stick down the patterns on each part of the model.  It is ok if the patterns do not lay flat on the surface.  When you spray, the slight rise in the pattern will create what looks to be a free hand camo spray job.

If you are worried the paper will become soaked with paint, before cutting the pattern out, tape the underside of the paper with masking tape then cut out the pattern.

If you have never done this before, practice on a junk model or plastic bottle.  When done, it will look like you free hand sprayed the camo.

By far, Silly Putty is the easiest way to get the curves and the soft edge effect. A while back I bought several plastic eggs of Silly Putty at Walmart and use them for all sorts of painting patterns. What is also great about SP is once the paint dries, you peel it, ball it up and reuse it.