Masking bombs...

[Guest]

Does anyone have any tips for masking bombs? Since they are curve at each of the ends, I'm having a hard time getting a straight line.....

Thanks.

[Guest]

the only tip i could give is that i have a bottle of maskol liquid and just dunked the end i wanted masking off in the jar and drew it out straight and then left it dangling in a clothes peg till dry,off course this does not help if you have no maskol.in masking tape i would imagine that the easiest way would be to cut very narrow strips which would comform to the curve easier and work you way down in strips till you have the width you require. maybe some one else has a better idea.

[Gern]

Maybe you could fit them gently in the chuck of a drill/lathe - if you can get the speed slow enough! Once they're spinning, you only need to touch your paint brush to the bomb at the point you want. The circular motion of the drill will create a straight edge. All depends on getting the speed right. If it's too fast, you'll just throw the paint everywhere.

Failing that, there was a thread on here recently about cutting curved pieces of masking tape. I know how to calculate it but my method might be a bit complicated. I could PM you if you want to try it. I'm sure someone said they were going to develop a simple formula but I don't remember seeing one.

Gern

[Guest]

actually Gern could you post the formula (with workings) on here as myself and probably quite a few people would apreciate it. that way we can copy past it to a document for reference as and when needed. or even try and convert it into an excell (or other spreadsheet) formula.

cheers.

lewis

[Gern]

Hi Lewis. I've posted a guide in the Quick Tips section. I've not included any formulas as the best way of working out the length of tape needed is to actually put the tape on the model and cut where needed! (Which I realised as I was working out how to describe the method).

You can PM me if you want the formula, but for all practical purposes, you're better off just cutting your tape to length once you have it in place. Your placement of the tape and how well you line it up will determine your accuracy far better than any calculations. After all, it's unlikely that you will be dealing with a perfect cone, which is what my rather simple method depends on. Any calculation therefore is more likely to lead you astray than give you the absolutely correct answer.

My method might not work if you were doing the nose cone of an F 111 for example. That's got a flat section on the top which throws out the angle which the tape would make with the surface. If your tape isn't lying flat, you're going to end up with creases and gaps. It also changes the distance of your tape from the point of the nose. Masking that would be a trial and error task and maybe, just maybe, you'd be able to make my curved piece fit, but I wouldn't bet money on it!

As long as your object is symmetrical, you should find my method works well enough. Any decent masking tape will allow a little stretching if needed, so that will help make up for surfaces not being perfect flat cones.

Gern

[Guest]

Thiiiiin tape

Using phalinmegob suggestion, I took the thinnest Tamiya tape and cut that in half. That gave be the bend around the curve that I need. I overlaid wider tape to seal it. I haven't painted it yet, but it's gotten me farther than where I was before. :emo1:

Thanks.

[stona]

Thin tape is good for all but the tightest curves. I used some rubber grommets slipped over the nose of some 1/72 bombs a while ago.

Steve

[Ian M]

For the quick and easy fix for masking things like bombs, nose cones, spinners and the such: Poke a hole in a latex glove , just take a finger or the back of the hand. Pull the object through the hole to the desired point and you are ready the paint.

Ian M..

[Guest]

very clever ian,i like that idea

[Guest]

For the quick and easy fix for masking things like bombs, nose cones, spinners and the such: Poke a hole in a latex glove , just take a finger or the back of the hand. Pull the object through the hole to the desired point and you are ready the paint.Ian M..

That is a gem of an idea Ian. Simple effective & cheap a bargain as you have 5 goes on each glove.

Laurie

[Ian M]

OK I confess, it was not my idea. I read it on here some place, I just could not remember where, I think it might of been Steve (stona) but not sure.

Sure has saved me a lot of greif with the masking tape or liquid. The best bit if you are a real tight wad it that you can use each one more that just once.

Ian M