MSRP: Masks - $9.99 USD
Decals - $18.99 USD The Masks Here is one good idea from a company called Cutting Edge, a part of Meteor Productions. These are pre-cut painting masks for painting
the orbital stage of the NASA space shuttle. Cutting Edge has released two sets, in 1/144 and 1/72 scales, both good for the
models made by Academy/Minicraft and Monogram. These “Black Magic” masks consisted of slightly kiss cut black vinyl. They are
very flexible and self adhesive. The mask patterns conform to the models color breaks, panel lines and over contours. Thus it
saves the time and trouble of making your own masks and friskets. I wanted to try these out right away so I will use the Academy/Minicraft 1/144
Space Shuttle stack. Most all of the assembly of the model is per instructions. With the
exception of using Meteor Productions resin replacements for the orbiter main engines and the camera mount now fitted to
the existing fleet of orbiters. All this is done to the point of painting. The masks are easy to remove form the vinyl sheet
and ready to use. Most important though, you MUST reduce the tackiness of the masks. Sweaty palms are required, so
handle the adhesive side between your hands and fingers. The tacky side of the masks will leave a sticky residue at times if
you don’t do this. The mask instructions even say to do this. I learned this mistake after washing and drying my
hands thus removing sweat and body oils. Painting
with mineral spirits based enamels and masking too early left some residue as well. Just a few things to watch out for, so here we
go... Step 1: The first item to mask is the windows in front and top of the orbiters crew compartment. With these covered you
can go ahead an paint the entire model flat white. Let it cure for a while (overnight), longer if using mineral spirit based paints
at least 48 hours to give it time for solvents to evaporate off and cure. |