Techniques Questions

For the first - well, you'll be clearcoating for the decals, then flat coating anyway, right? RIGHT? :) That'll even it out (and get rid of the "shininess" of most decals.)

As for the second - depends what I'm modeling. Baremetal Foil for canopies, drafting tape for most everything else.

For masking I've gotten hooked on Tamiya's masking tape. I tried some after hearing raves about it here and have to agree with the positive reviews.

Bill Banaszak, MFE

Thanks for the suggestion. EGMcCann mentions Drafting Tape - is that similar stuff?

Hi Roger,

I'm also in the UK and IMHO opinion Tamiya tape is the best available, as it is relatively expensive compared to masking tape if I'm masking a large area I use Tamiya tape around the edges and cheaper masking tape for the larger part.

Happy modelling

Ant Phillips

Hi Roger,

I'm also in the UK and IMHO opinion Tamiya tape is the best available, as it is relatively expensive compared to masking tape if I'm masking a large area I use Tamiya tape around the edges and cheaper masking tape for the larger part.

Happy modelling

Ant Phillips

Typically, it's caused by using too much thinner. I get good results with a 2:1 paint:thinner ratio for matt Humbrol. But if the mixing really was the same, I wouldn't know. Differences in heat or humidity, maybe?

That makes a lot of sense, which brings me to another question. What is the difference between the matt, satin and gloss varnishes and mattcote, satincote and glosscote?

I started down that path and it didn't go too well because this is an old Airfix kit done by the dreaded riveter.

Thanks

I've noticed this too; I think it has to do with the volume of paint delivered. The hand-painting delivers more liquid, so it is more likely to have a uniform surface, and thus reflect light a bit more. That's my guess. I've minimized this problem with hand touch-ups by using a dry-brush approach, which can take a while, and it's still not perfect, but given the need for gloss coating for decals and then dull coating afterwards, the actual reflectiveness of the underlying paint ends up pretty uniform.

Mark Schynert