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Building Tips and technical articles. => Building techniques => Topic started by: Rob Killick on May 25, 2008, 02:12:18 PM

Title: Lessons on applying checker board ?
Post by: Rob Killick on May 25, 2008, 02:12:18 PM
Hi ,

Short and simple (maybe?) .

How do the majority of you apply checkerboard patterns to your stunt ships ?

Thanks ,

Rob K.
Title: Re: Lessons on applying checker board ?
Post by: Clint Ormosen on May 26, 2008, 02:56:50 AM
I did these checkerboards with a vinyl mask provided to me by Jim Snelson at Control Line Central. Worked perfectly!

                 http://www.clcentral.com/
Title: Re: Lessons on applying checker board ?
Post by: Rob Killick on May 26, 2008, 03:32:25 PM
Hi ,

Thanks Ty and thanks Clint .
I really appreciate the help  y1

Rob K.
Title: Re: Lessons on applying checker board ?
Post by: Don Hutchinson AMA5402 on May 26, 2008, 05:47:41 PM
I have done checkers many times in the past. Use masking tape to mask out 1/2 of the checkers, (every other row and column) and shoot the color. Remove the tape, then mask for the remaining unpainted 1/2 of the checkers and shoot again. This allows one to do curved surfaces like cowlings etc. and is quite simple, only requires two masking tapings.
Don
Title: Re: Lessons on applying checker board ?
Post by: Randy Powell on May 27, 2008, 08:27:02 AM
I'm afraid that I never seem to do square checkboard. I tend to stretch it around, bend it and try to get an illusion of movement (like a waving checkered flag). So I sketch mine out and use thin, fine line tape to tape it out, then mask and shoot. It works for me, but it's a lot of work to do the taping (or can be depending on how carried away I got with the design).
Title: Re: Lessons on applying checker board ?
Post by: Greg L Bahrman on May 27, 2008, 09:17:54 AM
Silver first, then taped off the red.
Title: Re: Lessons on applying checker board ?
Post by: Randy Powell on May 27, 2008, 01:10:20 PM
Greg,

See, Greg understands. Just about like that. Very nice.
Title: Re: Lessons on applying checker board ?
Post by: Greg L Bahrman on June 07, 2008, 10:00:41 PM
Randy,
I probably don't understand.....I'm old, but I'm still learning.....I have a friend who is kind of like you and Sparky. He just looks at a plane and can give you 2 or 3 really cool ideas for a paint scheme. Me, I'm really a clunk, it takes me forever to decide what to do and I don't have a clue if it will look good or not. I just don't have the artistic flair. I try. The problem is you guys keep raising the bar higher each time I see one of your new planes. I would love to just come over and dig thru your scrap barrel, I'm sure I could find some junk there that would meet my standards. LL~ LL~ LL~
Title: Re: Lessons on applying checker board ?
Post by: Randy Powell on June 07, 2008, 11:31:48 PM
Greg,

Last I checked, it wasn't a race.   ;D

Sometimes I look at a plane and the paint scheme just comes to me all in a rush. I just follow the vision, as it were. Other times, I don't have a clue. I shoot a blocking coat and just try to let the shapes of the plane suggest something to me. And sometimes I struggle just as much as anyone. I look at this thing and nothing comes to me. I almost just left a plane in base white once because of that. Designer's block or something.

I spend a lot of time looking at a plane while building it, of course, but sometimes it's hard to tell anything until it's covered. Especially one of my "spidery" (as they've been called) structures. I do the best when I just let the shapes of the structure suggest a trim design to me. The new plane is really already mapped out. Should be very different compared to stuff I've done in the past.
Title: Re: Lessons on applying checker board ?
Post by: Randy Powell on June 08, 2008, 03:47:31 PM
Ty, you'd know better than me.   S?P
Title: Re: Lessons on applying checker board ?
Post by: Greg L Bahrman on June 08, 2008, 05:11:02 PM
<Greg, Last I checked, it wasn't a race.>
Randy,
Yeah I know, Just trying to give you a light hearted pat on the back. Cheers
Title: Re: Lessons on applying checker board ?
Post by: Will Hinton on June 08, 2008, 06:26:32 PM
I tried something I had not done before on this last ship.  You guys have probably been doing this forever, but I'm a little slow.  When I wanted to plan the design I cut out some poster board in the trim shapes and sprayed them with my color choices and then laid them in place on the ship.  Then I taped them down on the curved surfaces and that worked really well because I sure hated my first idea when I saw it in true color that way!
Will