I Need help Painting checkerboard pattern

[CJP]

Hello - I want to paint red & white checkerboard on the rudder of my 1/32 A4G Skyhawk but am finding it extremely difficult to mask as the checks have to go up & over the raised ribbing on the external surface of the rudder - I've had one attempt and removed it as it was not good enough - the border of each check is the middle of each raised ribbing so rubbing down the masking tape along the ribs distorts  the line of the checks.

Any suggestions on how I could get around my problem?  - I'm thinking of doing a later scheme with red & white checks on the fin and white rudder if I can't resolve it.

CJP

 

Edited January 16, 2019 by CJP
text

[jimbo]

CJP:

 

Are you cutting tape yourself? It sounds like you need two sets of masks, an extra to apply to compensate for the vertical distortion. Or calculate the amount of distance the height of the ribs add, then cut taller checks that, when placed on the rudder and smoothed up the sides of the ribs, achieve the masking at the middle of the ribs as you seek. Can’t think of much else but maybe this will help?

 

jimbo

[CJP]

On ‎1‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 2:17 PM, jimbo said:

CJP:

 

Are you cutting tape yourself? It sounds like you need two sets of masks, an extra to apply to compensate for the vertical distortion. Or calculate the amount of distance the height of the ribs add, then cut taller checks that, when placed on the rudder and smoothed up the sides of the ribs, achieve the masking at the middle of the ribs as you seek. Can’t think of much else but maybe this will help?

 

jimbo

Hey thanks for your thoughts on the masking jimbo - however I think I will select another scheme as I could not get clean crisp edges to the checks - my results were  just glaringly substandard.

Appreciate your input

CJP

[jimbo]

7 hours ago, CJP said:

Hey thanks for your thoughts on the masking jimbo - however I think I will select another scheme as I could not get clean crisp edges to the checks - my results were  just glaringly substandard.

Appreciate your input

CJP

 

Dont beat yourself up brother, I think doing masked checks on a flat smooth surface is difficult, no less one with added detail. Even stripes, the last time I tried was hard, to get nice crisp clean edges. Model on!

 

jimbo

[dashotgun]

i did this by photocoping the decal and used it as a cutting guide.  that shold give the accurtate shape you just need some  stape  which is flexible enough

 

Edited January 24, 2019 by dashotgun

[CJP]

7 hours ago, dashotgun said:

i did this by photocoping the decal and used it as a cutting guide.  that shold give the accurtate shape you just need some  stape  which is flexible enough

 

Hello dashotgun I just  had a look at your RFI & WIP on your FW and your checkerboards are just perfect - clean and crisp - just what I wanted to achieve on my A4G rudder but getting the masking to go up and over the tapered ribs with the dividing line between checks in the centre of the rib was challenging particularly as the tape tends to pull out of alignment on the ribs.

Thanks for posting - I'll have a think about your technique

CJP