Grumman TBM-3 Avenger, 1/48, Acc. Min.

[jkim]

If you've got a Silhouette, why not use it to cut paint masks instead of decals?

[LyleW]

Good question. I guess I am chicken. I am not sure how to keep it from stretching wh I try to peel it from the plastic sheet I use as a carrier sheet.

[jkim]

Don't be afraid... the Silhouette is your friend! Get some Oramask 810 and give it a try!

[LyleW]

Don't be afraid... the Silhouette is your friend! Get some Oramask 810 and give it a try!

Okay! Looking around for it. I also need a new cutting cartridge.

[LyleW]

Well, with John Kim's encouragement, I tried making a mask and painting the tail number 89. A giant baby-step, I know. The more I thought about his encouragement, it made sense. If I could cut the decal from a sheet..I could just as easily cut the paint mask. Duh. Looking through the Silhouette supply drawer, I found almost a whole sheet of Kabuki tape paper..from Maketar. Oh, I have a roll of the Oramask 810 coming.

Anyway, the first attempt did not go as well as I had hoped...placement, pulled the shamrock decal off and some bleed. I did use a brush to paint this one, though.





Stepped back, re-scanned and added some of the other decals. This one I am pleased with. I used the a/b and added some Mr. Leveling Thinner to the paint. It was XF-2 Flat White.







Next up is the pesky shamrock...That will be a goodern.

[LyleW]

Well, not as happy with this one, but I'll take it. Some paint lift on the tail, but no biggie..nothing a little sanding and touch up can't fix, huh? The shamrock apparently did not get burnished enough, but I was afraid of tearing it apart.



I sure you noticed the damaged "star n bar". Me, too. I could fix that with some decal paper, but hey....scale modeling is fun, right? I am now officially in the territory of "You Should Have Left Well Enough Alone". Pulled if off with tape. By the way all of the kit decals have crappy adhesion.

More blue paint came off with the Frog Yellow tape. I guess I get to try reverse masking to repaint the blue. I'll let things dry overnight before trying to fix the blue.

[Floki]

Man Lyle you can't catch a break on this build. But on the bright side the masks you cut look beautiful.

[Stikpusher]

Really great work on the masks and repainted markings Lyle. Bummer about the tape pulling up the base paint. Which paint brand and type did you use for the Sea Blue? But if you can ace those tail markings, the rest is an easy fix for you.

[LyleW]

Man Lyle you can't catch a break on this build. But on the bright side the masks you cut look beautiful.

Thank you, Clint. They turned out pretty good for a first try!

Really great work on the masks and repainted markings Lyle. Bummer about the tape pulling up the base paint. Which paint brand and type did you use for the Sea Blue? But if you can ace those tail markings, the rest is an easy fix for you.

Thanks, Carlos! This was Tamiya acrylic over Duplicolor primer. I hope it won’t be too much work to fix.

[Stikpusher]

Very unusual that the Tamiya paint pulled up. I know that this build had dried and cured, so this is quite unusual.