1/32 Hasegawa Fw190D-9 Black One

[BlackSheep214]

Have you tried using the Xacto Swivel knife? I have one but they're a PITA to use.

Yeah, I bought one especially for cutting spiral masks but it wasn't the perfect answer I was hoping for. It cuts curves a little better than a standard x-acto knife but I've found it hard to control the arc.

I had that problem too. Never could get right no matter how hard I tried.

[speedgraflex]

Hi John! Your prep-work is immaculate, absolutely stunning to see your ideas form, take shape and come to fruition. Wonderful. Truly.

[jkim]

Thanks guys! Had a busy weekend and am having a busy work week on top of that so I haven't been able to spend much time on the work bench. I've noticed that the proper mindset is important for me in order for good work to happen on the work bench. I haven't had that so the little time that I've spent working on the Dora has not been that fruitful.

I left the last update with a spiral mask cut from a photocopy of the Eagle Editions decal sheet. I tried using the mask but the frisket paper adhesive stuck to the photocopy rendering the mask unusable. Fail.


I took the decal sheet into work and made a couple of new copies using a different type of paper. I had trouble getting a smooth edge on my cuts and the frisket paper didn't stick very well to the prop so I gave up after 2-3 attempts. Fail.

Let's try a different method. I decided to use yellow kabuki tape as it is more adhesive than the frisket paper. I lay down a piece of tape on the cutting mat and then scotch-taped a photocopy of the spiral onto the yellow tape. Using a swivel knife, I hoped to cut through both the photocopy and the yellow tape at the same time.


After a few attempts, I was able to obtain a workable spiral mask. I don't need a complete spiral mask, just the beginning part of the spiral since it is relatively easy to finish off using narrow strips of tape.



Black was slowly misted onto the prop, building the color up slowly. I want a relatively "dry" spray here and avoid any pooling of the paint to minimize leakage under the mask. You can also spray the masked spinner with a clear coat prior to the black as additional insurance but I didn't do that here.

From some angles, the spiral came out very well.


From other angles, you can see some areas that didn't come out so well. The transition between the yellow tape mask and the white tape strips shown here should be fairly simple to touch up so that's no worry.


There is some softer overspray occurring near the spinner tip caused by lifting of the spiral mask. Due to the small size and location of the curvature (inside of a curve is always harder to touch up than the outside of a curve), this is much trickier to repair. See how crisp the rivets are on the white portion of the spinner? That is the sole reason that I'm doing this with paint instead of decal.


The spinner is far from finished but I think I have a good handle on what to do next. I will try to touch up the spiral first. But I think the ultimate solution will be to wipe the paint and start from the beginning. I have identified a valid method to cut out a good mask but I need a peaceful chunk of time this weekend to approach this with the right mindset.

[speedgraflex]

First, thanks for posting these progress pictures, John. I have used friskets before; actually, their use is part of both the Enterprise and X-Wing projects for me. Very interesting to see the cutting of the curves, my friend, wow, that is a bear, very difficult to cut the curve without inclining the angle of the blade itself. I have used swivels before but there is a tough learning curve. I was going to try Graph-Aids in West Los Angles to see if there are any plastic templates. My dad had a "kitchen planner" with arcs, symbols and common outlines on it.



I think I will have good luck using one of those for the curves... the Galland Circus "animals" have their yellow clown noses painted over factory spirals....

[jkim]

Thanks for replying Bruce! That inside curve at the tip of the spiral is the tough one and like you said, it is very difficult to cut it without getting the blade a little sideways and roughing up the cut. It's interesting that you mention a template. I was thinking along similar lines. A simple french curve template might be used to draw the spiral directly on the yellow tape.



That would eliminate having to cut through two layers, which presents problems after the first cut. I'll keep that in mind as a backup but I'm pretty sure I can get a good spiral mask using my previous methods if I take my time and do things carefully.

Are you going to replicate the yellow over an existing spiral on your Dora build? And just a clarifying note (not to nitpick or anything )... spirals were painted on Doras after the aircraft were delivered to service units. The spinners from the factory were painted RLM 70 Black Green. This is based on Crandall's Dora book. The JV44 aircraft were aircraft that were requisitioned from operating units and had overpainted spirals as well as tactical and national markings.

[speedgraflex]

Thanks for correcting my error, John! I saw this mentioned out of context on another website, and thought, "Hm, that's strange that a factory finish on a nose would have a spiral..." so thank you for letting me know that it was a unit level addition. Was that the same for the Ta 152H? I have a FW painting diagram from the factory. I will see if I can find it post 'Bucket-alypse.' I am still trying to work through how to make the spiral in 1/48. I was planning to practice similar techniques to your own in this regard. I really appreciate this whole thread so much. Bravo!

[jkim]

I JUST realized that I have a spiral mask from the Montex mask set in my possession. I've already used a portion of it to mask the windscreen so I don't have the excuse of not opening the package. It was right there and I didn't even realize it.



This may have simplified things considerably but I'll have to check the shape of the mask to see if it will suit my purposes.

[speedgraflex]

COOL!!!

Should be really informative to see what happens next....

[BlackSheep214]

I JUST realized that I have a spiral mask from the Montex mask set in my possession. I've already used a portion of it to mask the windscreen so I don't have the excuse of not opening the package. It was right there and I didn't even realize it.



This may have simplified things considerably but I'll have to check the shape of the mask to see if it will suit my purposes.

So they did have spiral masks... Gotta remember this tip if I ever decide to do a Dora with spiral spinner hub.

[LyleW]

This just keeps getting better. Great advice and "how to". Thanks.