Bill Cross Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I'm trying to get yellow HE rings on the front of my M117 bombs, and find it's devilish hard. Tape won't work, and I've got over a dozen bombs, so making masks would be a major PITA. Is there a shortcut or product with different diameters that y'all use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelmkr Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I usually airbrush the front of the bomb yellow, then mask the stripe area with thin line masking and airbrush the remainder O.D. If the compound curve is too sharp that can be problematic, so another technique is to find a way to chuck the bomb body in a dremel or x-acto hande then using a line brush, free hand the stripe as you rotate the bomb body. This takes a steady practiced hand, but the results are good. these stripes were typically hand painted up to a certain period anyway, so stripe thickness from bomb to bomb would not necessarily be exactly the same. Another way (more tedious) is to use bare metal foil or liquid mask after painting the yellow and using a sharp xacto, lightly cut the excess away by roling the blade pependicular to the body. Also takes a bit of a practiced hand. Then there is always the decal route... I've seen them available from a few sources. Marc B. Bravo52 and Hardcore 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Thick card! I paint the bomb whatever base colour the band (or bands) need to be. I then set the bomb body vertically on appropriate blocks and set up a pencil (horizontally) at the forward position of the line and mark the line around the bomb. I then cut an appropriate diameter hole in a piece of cardboard (although plastic card would probably work as well) to match both the line position on the bomb (just aft of the pencil line) and of the correct thickness for the required band. I chamfer the inner diameter of the cardboard to ensure a snug fit on the bomb surface. I then hand paint or spray the external bomb colour with the card masks in place and remove them when the paint is sufficiently dry, leaving the coloured bands on the bomb body (I have found that this method also works for propeller spinners). HTH Derek shbemo13, A340 Pilot, coogrfan and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt Shultz II Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Got an email from Dave at Flying Leatherneck Models and he is planning to produce a 1/32 scale version of his Ordnance Marking decals later this year. Don't have a time frame for release but I am looking forward to these for sure. Bill Cross, Bill_S and Vandy 1 VX 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee_K Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 An Olfa P circle cutter really is useful in this situation. You can cut a strip out of masking tape by making two concentric cuts, one for the rear edge and one for the front edge. Then apply the tape circle to the bomb nose that you have previously painted yellow and spray Olive Drab or Ghost Gray (US bombs, of course) after burnishing down the tape. Bill Cross and shbemo13 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 (edited) I've found a nice trick to paint the yellow tip of my phantoms Mk.82 (i had 18+12 bombs to paint !). Use some heat shrinkable tubes. It's cheap, somewhat flexible and there are several diameters. You just paint your tips yellow, then put the shrinkable tube on the tip to mask it, and then paint the rest. In addition, you can hold the bombs with the excess of tube and it's pretty useful. I know this would not help you for rings, but this can help anyway, at least for another jobs. Edited February 18, 2015 by Zero77 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I have used "o" rings ( the rubber type) Some reasonable success.........Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Sincerely, Mark Bill Cross 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Cross Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 "Heat shrinkable tubes"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggernut Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I usually airbrush the front of the bomb yellow, then mask the stripe area with thin line masking and airbrush the remainder O.D. That's what I do too. Tamiya tape really works great in situations like this. As long as it's thin (width) enough, it should conform to the curvatures of the bomb without any trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottsGT Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 What if you were to paint the yellow, use a straw or tube of some sort to apply a ring of liquid mask and then paint the green. Peel off the mask, and you have your yellow line. Just a thought, not tried yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Heat shrink tubes are a heat shrinkable 'neoprene-rubber type of' tube used to waterproof spliced electrical lines. They are in lieu of electrical tape. You insert one line into a length of tube, splice the two electrical lines together then slip the tube over the splice. You then wave a heat source (matches are good) under, over, and around the tube which reduces the tubes' diameter securing it against the splice and insulation creating a waterproof barrier. They come in a variety of diameters and lengths. You can buy them individually on ebay for cheap or you can buy a variety box at Harbor Freight, but those will probably be too big. HTH. Sincerely, Mark Bill Cross 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_S Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I have used "o" rings ( the rubber type) Some reasonable success.........Harv Befriend an orthodontist, Bill. They have tons of small rubber bands... You can also buy them (cheap) online. http://www.amazon.com/Clear-16-4-5-Oz-Orthodontic/dp/B00A2YCR5K http://www.amazon.com/Clear-X-Heavy-Orthodontic-Elastic-Braces/dp/B00A9N7DF8/ref=pd_bxgy_hpc_text_z Bill Cross 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CATCplSlade Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Some of the smaller rubber bands used in braiding hair might work for some sizes of ordnance; most anyplace with a haircare products aisle will have bags of them for a couple of $. I have two daughters to source them from. The only caveat is some brands are the stretchy vinyl-type bands, not actual 'rubber' bands, and they tend to slide on curves so they are better suited for painting rings along the middle section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onosendai Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I'm lazy, with this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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