Thin lines?

[Enki]

How to paint very thin lines, like the white trim near the waterline on Kirov hulls? I'm working in 1/700 scale, and although I'm not sure about the exact size of the line, I'm guesstimating the white trim to be about 0.3 mm wide.

It'll be challenge to mask a line this narrow, and get it even. Any ideas?

[Devin]

A lot of people use decal strip to do such lines, but I'd think it would be almost as difficult to get a decal to lay straight as well.

-Devin

[Anonymous]

Buy two strips of decals, one white and one the other colour( i'm guessing dark grey to simulat black in 1/700). Make sure that the white strip is thick. Apply this first, using a guide, such as a prescribed water line or the base of the hull if it is a waterlined kit. Then apply the narrower dark grey strip on top of the white one but along the bottom of the white strip. Thus you have a thin white strip and a 'black' boot-topping.
Good Luck

Max

[patiens]

Use black electrical tape -- or, if you can get it, 3M black artist's/hobby tape. It sticks better than masking tape and doesn't strip everything else off when you take it off.

[JIM BAUMANN]

Hi!

I have been a satisfied user and exponent of the RC Cammet Vynil tape--comes a a sheet precut in various lines.

Use as directed by Max Cosby above!--

That is how I do all mt boot-top striping. check out results on my Pelayo/Koreeitz etc

Using decal stripe works well too--but it can be hard to get it to set withou dislodging the first layer--perhaps use a combination of both media...?

whatever you do flat coat it all afterwards to prevent future movement

Try the RC cammmet website for the tape

http://www.cammett.co.uk/

Best of luck

JIM B

[David Griffith]

Two ideas.

Firstly take 2 scalpel blades and tape them together side by side to give a sort of parallel cutter. You can then use this to cut a very narrow strip of masking tape as wide as a scalpel blade is thick, probably about 0.3mm. Paint along the waterline in white first of all, or just use white primer if that is your choice. Apply the strip of masking tape at the correct line, then paint the topsides colour and the underbody up to each side of the masking tape, or with some fairly simple masking to protect whichever goes on first. This should work quite easily in 1/350, but would be too wide for 1/700.

On my 1/700 Potemkin (see gallery) I painted the topsides and then the underbody. Then as it was a waterline kit I was able to hold the ship down onto a flat surface and use a pin, with the head cut off and the resulting blunt end pushed into a small block of wood, to scribe through the paint at exactly the right height to reveal the colour of the underlying resin as a very thin line. The resin is light grey, but I defy anyone to tell the difference in this scale. If you think of a woodworker's marking gauge, you'll get the idea. Just bend the pin so that the point, which can be slightly snipped to make it cut better, is 1 or 2mm above the flat surface that the ship is held down on. This method will only work for waterline models, of course.

Regards,

David Griffith