Hawaiian Air Depot Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 (edited) We've got two new sets of downloadable files just listed for sale at Hawaiian Air Depot: Masks to paint the camouflage scheme on the 1/32 Tamiya VIII/IX Spitfires, and a comprehensive set to paint Johnson's legendary (mythical?) Beer Run Spitfire. The Beer Run designs includes 5 pages of 7 x 9.5 inch (177.8 x 241.3mm) designs, covering everything from the canopy (inside and out), wheels, prop tips, radiator screens, radiator overspray masks, roundels, fin flashes, fuselage theater band, wing ID bands, wing walk stripes, Johnson's squadron codes, serial numbers, and invasion stripes. The Beer Run release also includes a spare set of fuselage roundels and theater stripe, in case you want to model another Spitfire using serials and squadron codes from another source. Sign up for our mailing list and be the first to hear about our new releases, including more designs for 1/32 Spitfires, Mustangs, and the 1/24 Hellcat. Meanwhile, we're about to release some stuff for the 1/48 Magic Factory F4U-1A/2 Corsair, which we mention here because we'll soon scale it up for the 1/32 Tamiya kits. Stay tuned! Edited October 30, 2023 by Hawaiian Air Depot typos Bill Cross, Uncarina, Bill M. and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Cross Posted November 3, 2023 Share Posted November 3, 2023 These look great, but I'm a bit unclear how to migrate them from files to masks. I'm used to Eduard Kabuki tape pre-cut masks or Maketar. Unsure I have the skills to do this with plain paper. Can you walk me through the process? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted November 3, 2023 Share Posted November 3, 2023 These are designed to be used with craft cutters such as Cameo and Sillhouette. You download the files to your computer which then guide the connected craft cutter to cut your masks using either Kabuki paper or Oramask paper. Cheers, Tom Hawaiian Air Depot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiian Air Depot Posted November 9, 2023 Author Share Posted November 9, 2023 (edited) On 11/3/2023 at 4:54 AM, Bill Cross said: These look great, but I'm a bit unclear how to migrate them from files to masks. I'm used to Eduard Kabuki tape pre-cut masks or Maketar. Unsure I have the skills to do this with plain paper. Can you walk me through the process? Thanks Bill. Our idea is that many modelers are starting to look at the Silhouette and Cricut home cutters to up their painting and scratchbuilding games. The main barrier to entry is that many of us lack the digital design skills to create their own masks and parts. That's where we come in. In order to get you started, we're offering inexpensive, professional designs that you can download and cut without needing to learn digital drawing skills first. Even better, as you learn them, you can modify our designs to customize your projects. Every Hawaiian Air Depot purchase includes an unlimited personal use license, meaning as long as you aren't posting online, reselling, or sharing them with your friends, you can use and modify them for however many projects you like. We're betting home cutters are soon going to be as common and useful to scale modelers as our airbrushes, compressors, and motor tools are today. We encourage you to get on board! We're planning to soon offer blog posts and videos to help you learn all aspects of Cutting Your Own. Meanwhile, check out our blogs on the Silhouette and Cricut cutters, to help out if you want to join the revolution. And everyone stay tuned: we just got the Curio 2, Silhouette's new top-of-the-line machine. It features a moving cutting head, rather than mat (this promises finer cuts), an electrostatic bed (no more adhesive mats), and it cuts materials up to 20mm. . From what we've read, it might be the first machine that is ideal for scale modeling applications. We'll blog about it when we put it through some paces. Edited November 9, 2023 by Hawaiian Air Depot changed cm to mm. Cause I'm an idiot. LSP_Kevin, Uncarina, John1 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 Thanks for all you do, I believe it’s a great niche, and look forward to learning more about that Curio 2. Cheers, Tom Hawaiian Air Depot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 40 minutes ago, Hawaiian Air Depot said: [...] and it cuts materials up to 20 cm. 20cm? Thick? Even 20mm would be hard to believe. Maybe 2mm? Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiian Air Depot Posted November 9, 2023 Author Share Posted November 9, 2023 (edited) 22 minutes ago, LSP_Kevin said: 20cm? Thick? Even 20mm would be hard to believe. Maybe 2mm? Kev Oops! 20mm. Edited above to avoid confusion. The available cutters all cut up to 2mm now, but it seems that's mostly for softer materials: felt, etc. Probably the same for 20mm, but we're hoping it means cuts to .040-.080 styrene might now be in play. If so? Cockpit boxes, wing spars, etc. Could be huge. Check it out. Edited November 9, 2023 by Hawaiian Air Depot added info Uncarina and LSP_Kevin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 3 minutes ago, Hawaiian Air Depot said: Oops! 20mm. That's nearly an inch, though, and longer than the blade in my hobby knife. Must be a serious cutting edge! Kev Uncarina 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ray Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 I just read the promo. It's 20mm clearance for material on the bed. It doesn't say what the maximum thickness it will cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 31 minutes ago, LSP_Ray said: I just read the promo. It's 20mm clearance for material on the bed. It doesn't say what the maximum thickness it will cut. This video, though, does directly say it: Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 I'm watching another video now, and it's clear that the 20mm really is only a clearance measurement, as the machine uses the same autoblade as all the other's in the Silhouette range. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiian Air Depot Posted November 9, 2023 Author Share Posted November 9, 2023 (edited) All true, but .080 sheet is just a soft breeze over the 2mm craft blade depth. Our Cameo 4 tends to drag anything over .030 styrene during the cut, making it inaccurate and unreliable for thicker plastic. We're hoping the greater power, clearance, and the fact that the plastic won't already be moving during the cut on the Curio 2 will mitigate that. We'll let everyone know what we learn. Some sources indicate 20mm cuts are possible, but I wonder if that means multiple passes with the standard blades on softer materials like craft foam? Edited November 9, 2023 by Hawaiian Air Depot added info Uncarina and LSP_Kevin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Cross Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 These are a GREAT idea. However, the Curio 2 is $500. It's highly unlikely that I am going to invest in a cutter that would be useful to me for, max, two builds (Spitfire XIVe and the Viggen). @Hawaiian Air Depot is there a market for you to make masks with your cutter and software? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiian Air Depot Posted November 9, 2023 Author Share Posted November 9, 2023 1 hour ago, Bill Cross said: These are a GREAT idea. However, the Curio 2 is $500. It's highly unlikely that I am going to invest in a cutter that would be useful to me for, max, two builds (Spitfire XIVe and the Viggen). @Hawaiian Air Depot is there a market for you to make masks with your cutter and software? The Curio 2 is the shiny new toy on the market, adopting features of industrial machines, hence the price tag. If it works the way we hope and becomes popular, we might see market competition bring the price down. That said, we consider the Silhouette Portrait 3 still the best tool out there when factoring for ability and cost. It is now a last-generation design, but its still more than adequate for cutting paint masks and parts from styrene sheet up to .030. We'll continue to design our products with the Portrait 3 in mind. You can nowadays find them for around $150 new. With so many aftermarket companies manufacturing products, we're not now inclined to join the furball. We think our business model has two distinct advantages for consumers. One is that selling digital downloads allows us to create much smarter, more innovative, and more comprehensive design. For instance, a typical canopy mask set might be 3x4" and run $12-$14. Our largest designs include 6 7x9.5" pages for $6.99. 12x as many masks for half the price. To manufacture, package, and ship such a product would push the retail price near $40. The other advantage for users is the plasticity of the product. Not only can an unlimited number of copies be cut for personal use, but they can be cut from whichever materials models prefer for a given task. And as modelers gain even modest design skills they can modify their HAD products to begin creating their own. Given those advantages, we expect modelers will realize more and more projects can benefit from cutting masks and parts at home, making the initial investment a good one. LSP_Kevin and Bill Cross 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Cross Posted November 10, 2023 Share Posted November 10, 2023 So let me be sure: If I purchase the Portrait 3 for $150 and your digital files, I can make paint masks? Where do I purchase the mask sheets? Amortized over 2 major builds and with the potential to do other masks, it makes more sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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