Tamiya tape

[Dave W]

What you can do is cut a piece of tape bigger than one individual pane on the canopy.Apply the tape to the chosen pane and rub the tape down onto the canopy with a cocktail stick.Then take a craft knife with a new blade and cut carefully along each edge of the pane next to the window frame.Do this for each individual pane untill youve done all of the canopy.This is how i do it.Time consuming but the results are worth it .Finally take the cocktail stick and rub along the edges of the tape on each pain.This will stop paint from creeping under when you paint it.Hope that all makes sense.Its easier to do than explain.

[mossiepilot]

Thanks Laurie and Dave.

Think this is gonna be a trial and error sort of thing.

I'll try different ways and see what works best for me.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice.

Tony.

[stona]

Tony,I use a combination of both methods. I mainly use the system described rather well by Dave W above but for serious curves,where I can't make the tape conform properly,I use the 'thin strip and fill' system like you.

Basically whatever I can get to work! I'm too cheap to buy the pre-cut canopy masks that Laurie mentioned though there have been occasions (Ju88) when I wish I had.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Ah Steve your mean........ like me.

Got to say I have looked at these templates. But decided that I would be more happy & satisfied doing it all myself. Just hate to get plumbers & electricians in if I can do it myself. Self inflicted torture !

Not produced any canopies yet I am satisfied with. But improving. Problem I find with model making is you improve & than I set the goal posts back in proportion to the gain in improvement.

Now working on not dropping my Mosquito on the floor again. Taken 2 hours to repair the wretched thing. A bomb fell off but unlike my temper it did not explode.

Laurie

[simontie]

ok heres my tupence worth - i have all 3 tapes in despencers & they are dam handy - but not being your average bear i have a glass sheet on my bench normaly i put drawings under it to protect them paint glue spillage etc - i also use it to mask up - generally i pull out some tape stick it to the glass cut it to the length i want or shape - another advantage is it takes away some of stickyness so if you put masking over a fresh paint job there is less chance of tearing it -

simon

[mossiepilot]

Thanks Simon, is the glass you use some sort of toughened glass.

thought about your good idea of using glass to cut on til I thought about what would happen if it broke.

Tony.

[Dave W]

I cut my tape on the shiny side of a piece of hardboard.I find the scalpel blades last longer than cutting on glass

[simontie]

tony it is toughened glass - but you still need to be carefull every now and then i take it off and clean under and around it, down side of safety glass is contact with a solid corner and it will shatter - up side flat even surface everytime you work on it and as long as your bench is flat no problems - i have had this glass around 2 years but like most glass it become harder with age that why glass companys cutting glass make it look easy - the glass there using is softer once its exposed to the sun etc it gets brittle - another up side is if you ask any one of these companys for an off cut they will probable just give it to you - or if you remember the old hi-fi cabinets with the smoked glass doors - one of those would be good too - as dave rightly said the scaple blades do blunt on it - at the end of the day it come down to choice everybody has there own way of doing it this is my way

simon

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