New Models Purchased
Hello all,
I was thinking that it would be a great idea to share with you the kits i recently purchased from the hobby store. I was lucky and got the Prince of Wales at a bargain $64 for its massive size. Both kits are Tamiya and their quality is outstanding. the battleship is inn 1/350 and the plane in 1/48. I do believe I am going to paint the Prince in plain grey even though it is more know in its camo because to the best of my knowledge it serve in that color during the battle of Denmark Strait where it fought the Bismark alongside Hood. All and all I am very pleased with the purchases and the size of the kits (that is a reference quarter, not a dime). Thank you all!
P.S. Does anyone know a decent way to paint the ship hull without the masking tape peeling off chunks of paint? Even with a flat coat this still is the case a decent amount of the time/
Nice buys!
I always use a primer on my models to prevent peeling paint and let me weather as I like. Planes, tanks and ships alike. Continue on your Tamiya journey and use Tamiya´s fine Grey or White primers all over, that should do the trick.
To follow-up on Stellan's recommendations, using low tack masking tape (read: not too adhesive) helps immensely too. Tamiya's own masking tape works pretty well, but there are cheaper equivalents too.
Great finds!
To follow-up on Andrew´s recommendations, use a thinner Tamiya tape to outline the areas to be masked, then use cheaper low tack masking tape to fill up the area, like the tape you use if you plan to paint your walls or window frames at home. Tamiya´s tapes are very good and never leave any marks on the underlying surface.
I greatly appreciate these recommendations. There is nothing worse than getting a perfect line and then peeling to find half of it moved off. I will probably be giving updates on the progress and tell you all if it worked.
Jonathan, on my 1/700 ships, I usually start by painting the hull black, then laying a piece of tamiya tape as wide as the boot topping where I want it to be. Then lay another piece on top of it to mask hold masking (paper/plastic) for the lowered or upper hull. Then you remove that masking without taking off the boot topping strip and repeat for the opposite side of the hull (upper or lower). Then once the top and bottom are painted you can remove the boot topping mask, and viola! Of course if you have bleed over, you can mask and respray the black.
This will save you a dime over time, especially on a 1/350 BB. As another option (for a hull waterline) use the tamiya tape for the demarcation edge, as well as to hold onto paper or plastic covering... or just something to simply cover the part of the hull you are masking. You can save even more tape that way.
I usually try to double use the not so overpainted tape. It helps to save and has not given me to much trouble
For masking problems, the main cure is: DO NOT USE MASKING TAPE. Masking tape is far too sticky and adhesive. Instead, get drafting tape (available at office supply and artist's supply stores). It is low-tack, and will never pull up paint that has thoroughly cured. Also, Kabuki Tape (aka "Tamiya Tape") is a good option. But throw away the masking tape!
Interesting proposal. I love it when tools outside of the hobby shop give a better response than the actually overpriced hobby items.
Sorry, Tom, I don´t know what kind of masking tape you have got available in the US but over in Europe there are plenty of masking tape that fills the purpose perfectly, without trouble. So, I do not agree with a total ban on masking tape. My reason for using low tack masking material from the paint shop is that it is usually much cheaper than high end Tamiya style tape, thus saving the more precise stuff for getting sharp lines etc.
I gave up regular masking tape years ago, but if you can find "Frog" tape it is essentially Kabuki style tape in larger rolls for painting. It comes in two adhesive levels, yellow very low tac and green about the same as Tamiya tape. I usually use Tamiya for the fine line then use the yellow or green depending on how fragile I feel the paint surface is. The yellow will often need to be pressed down again if it sits too long as it's wonderful low tac property can also be a weakness.
Great kits, Jonathan!
The P-47 rocks!
Being less than a rookie at ships, I cannot comment, but I just love what I see: the Prince of Wales looks gorgeous at the sprues!
Thank you very much! I can't wait to start building it.