I really enjoyed our meeting.  We covered a lot and I'll do my best to provide a recap...

First, John DuGene provided an excellent presentation on his visit to Eduard in the Czech Republic.  It was fascinating to get an inside look at how this company produces all their various products.  Below are some of the key figures at Eduard.  Below is John speaking to the use of CAD drawings in producing all the wonderful products Eduard makes for us.

Next up.  Rodrigo was having trouble working with Lacquer automotive primers decanted and used in his airbrush.  Rodrigo has assembled an assortment of primers that you can see on the chair above next to John.  Rodrigo mentioned that he was having issues with a dusty finish.  Some suggestions were that the coats might be sprayed from too far away or that some some vortices might have been created while spraying.  Both legitimate issues but hard to know without being there.  In any event I thought It was time for a primer challenge and to help get Rodrigo back on track.  Right now I'm kicking myself because I can't put my finger on the samples I made of Stynylrez, Tamiya Fine Spray, and Tamiya Liquid Primer.  When I find it, I'll add it in.  It will show up eventually...  In the mean time here's a quick recap on the three challengers and how they performed...

Test was made on a blank piece of Evergreen styrene.  I added some panel lines and rivets to see how the primers would cover.

Tamiya Liquid Primer

This comes in gray and white in the bottle shown below.  It is mostly alcohol based.  It can be brushed on like a Mr. Surfacer, or it can be thinned 50/50 with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner (the one with the yellow lid) and sprayed.  I chose to spray it.  I found that it sprayed well and dried thin.  Of the three it ranked 3rd in finish.  I was not able to remove any of it with masking tape.  It sanded beautifully.  This is a very acceptable primer.  Available at Sprue Brothers for $4.99

Tamiya Fine Surface Primer

I bought the white because I heard good things about it.  It can be decanted but I chose to spray directly from the can.  It comes in gray, white, and pink.  Instructions are to spray light coats.  This is good advice as a single pass puts down a large amount of paint.  It covers beautifully.  The finish is almost a satin and is incredibly smooth.  I also tried pulling it up by applying tape but none removed.  It also sanded beautifully.  Of the three it was probably the thickest, but did not cover up the panel lines and rivets in the sample.  I would rate this second only because it was slightly thicker finish than the other two.  Also an extractor is a very good idea because of the smell.  The ingredients list includes Alcohol, Acetone, and a lot of things that start with "B" that are very nasty.  Still a very acceptable primer.  Available at Sprue Brothers for $9.99

Stynylrez

I've been using Stynylrez for a while now.  It is water based and sprayed through an airbrush with no less than a no. 2 needle and 30 psi or more.  It's a little thicker in viscosity.  No matter what you see on the internet DO NOT THIN OR INTRODUCE ALCOHOL to this paint.  Thin only with water. Clean up the bottle only with water.  This primer sprays thick and covers extremely well.  When it dries, it sucks down to the surface with no loss of details.  I also tried pulling it off with tape and no primer was removed.  It sands beautifully as well.  It also comes in many colors.  I would recommend cleaning your airbrush with Windex as this paint sticks to surfaces extremely well, and that includes your airbrush.  

This primer does not like the cold.  Order it only in warmer months.  I would highly recommend ordering it directly from Badger.  They are familiar with the cold issues and they will make sure you get good product.  Also they will stand behind it and replace if something goes wrong.  This would be my favorite of the three and I think it performs that way as well.  Available from Badger through Amazon in 4oz bottle for $14.71.  They are also available in 2 oz bottles.

I'm anxious to hear how Rodrigo gets on with any of these three primers.  They are all excellent and all have their advantages and disadvantages.  

Next up we had a discussion on masking.  The group was challenged to share ideas on how they mask their models.  Specifically masking decks and dealing with all the fixtures that are typically molded into them.  

Roger brought an example of how he masked around round items using small squares.  Also using strips of thin tape by Micron.  

Jerry brought his circle cutters and some tape samples.  He also brought Infini cutting mats which are durable plastic with deep laser engraved lines which you drag your knife blade through to cut different shapes and sizes of tape.  You can cut circles but I found that larger circles work better.  The come in 4 different styles (A,B,C, and D).  Infini cutting mats run around $15 each and available from a variety of providers.

I attempted to use large punches but found that on the larger punches the tape didn't cut cleanly.  I have been successful using my smaller punch sets with Tamiya style tapes.  

Roger Schafer game an excellent presentation on how he approaches masking a deck.  

Blake's contribution brought a lot of attention.  Blake uses a homemade formula for liquid mask.  Here is the original article he shared with me.  

Here are Blake's comments on mixing and using the mask based on conversations with Martin and me.

This is the orig recipe from the book I found it in years ago, as you can see it's not real specific.

That said, what's worked for me is basically a ModelMaster paint sized bottle filled about 2/3 - 3/4 full with Elmer's white glue. To that add about 4-5 drops of really any liquid dish soap & a few drops of food color in whatever color you prefer. You can add more color if you want it darker, or more glue to lighten it up. I've found it can get too dark, which makes it hard to see detail under such as canopy frames etc.

Brush on & let dry until it turns from opaque to transparent, you'll be able to see the difference as it dries. I've found it's best to coat & cut in the same sitting if possible, as the material is still just a touch pliable. If it sits for 2 or 3 days it dries harder & doesn't cut as well. If you find it difficult to remove, add a few more drops of soap.

You could play with adding more soap & see if it works toward making it easier to release, I've never worked it one direction or the other as far as how much soap to add, or not add. It is a tight mask however & usually I can work the tip of a blade under it sideways somewhere to get the initial lift.

I forgot to mention earlier that I've found it's best to cut the mask preferably within a few hours of application. The material seems to harden a little after sitting 2 or more days. If the mask has been cut, leaving it a few days until you paint isn't a problem, but I've found when cutting it after a few days, it's not as pliable & is more rigid. Not to the point of cracking or shattering the edge, but definitely not as pliable as when freshly applied. Again, though if an area is damaged it can be softened, conformed &/or resealed with a damp brush to the mask material, but the straight edge will usually need re-cut because it never lays back down in the perfectly straight original cut line. The result of an over dried mask material is usually when you press a blade down on a curved surface(again as in the top of a canopy over a pilot's head) the material will pop up/lift off in a semi-circular shape perpendicular to you blade. It always seems to pop in a half circle shape. See attached crude drawing.

Bottom line I find it best to apply & cut in the same sitting if possible.

On ship decks however, I think I can count on one hand the times I've had to trim the making material with a knife. Decks & deck fittings can usually be accurately masked by brushing. Once I get all the details masked with a fine brush, I use a flat broader brush to go back & mass apply material to large areas.

Small areas I paint with a "0" or "00" brush & depending what I'm working on that's usually good enough (ie around exhaust stacks on say a Spitfire or Mustang) On high vis things such as the Mustang canopy I brought & the Sopwith, I use a sharp #11 X-acto.

For crisp corners I try to cut by rolling the blade from its base to its tip when I can, so the corner is cut by the very tip in that rolling motion & there's no cutting by dragging the blade. Dragging works fine for most cuts, but corners I've found are best not pulled. If a corner does pull up or away, a damp fine tip brush will usually work to get it back where it needs to be & sealed. On flat canopies such as a P-47 Razorback the "rolling" doesn't work so it's just a matter of cutting via dragging the blade. I always, always though use the roll method over the top curve of a canopy (above the pilot's head) it give the quickest, cleanest, straightest cut.

One last thing, if your blade strays, or you get something crooked, or a corner pulls up while you're cutting, again, just take a fine tipped brush with a dab of water(more damp than wet) & simply brush over the area & you can fill in or "heal" the cut. After it dries a few minutes, you can simply re-cut that section without having to do it all again. Of course if it's just bad all around, you can rinse it off, re-coat & start over no harm, no foul.

As far as the X-acto. I didn't have the fancy knives that Jerry turned us all onto when I did what you saw, but even so, I still think a #11 is probably the best bet for this. The long blade gives greater roll/cut distance & the thin tip is great for corners. Also I have probably 10+ X-acto handles of different types & I always use the lightest, most comfortable for the cutting. Some handles are like Cadillacs, some are like sports cars... I prefer the sports car for this process.

One thing I always wanted to try, but never have is a curved X-acto blade. I'm not sure the blade number, but I always reasoned they would allow you to roll cut on a flat surface. I have kind of an unlimited supply of #11 blades, so have never gone out & bought the curved. 

When working with a brush you'll find you need to clean the brush regularly while working because the material starts to dry & the brush gets gloppier... Is that even a word? 


I mixed up a batch and tested it myself.  What I found is that you overlap the mask line and use a sharp hobby knife to trim the mask along a panel line, canopy frame, etc.   Remove the excess mask material.  I found that it I left it overnight it was more difficult to remove.  So trim and remove as soon as it's dry.  Remember as Blake said if you can't get it up use water to lift it away.  Thanks Blake for sharing this tip with us!

On to show and tell!  
John brought in a finished 1/700 Midship Models Gridley class destroyer.  This was a new one on me.    I looked around but was unable to find this kit in the usual places including eBay.  John reports that it was a nice little kit but the deck guns were out of proportion.

John shared a 1/2000 scale dry dock scene available on eBay.  It's made from wood and resin.  This will set you back about $16.99 and includes free shipping.  A great little scene for your 1/2000 Arizona!  

John also introduced us to a line of 1/700 kits from Artist Hobbies and I think John has all  8 of them.  They are very interesting models of Roman, Chinese, and Korean ships.  They run about $25 each and are of resin and photo etch.  They look like they could be fun little kits!

Victor brought in some 1/350 Oerlikons from Black Cat Models in France.  These are 3D printed resin and look very good for this scale.  Victor even commented how you could look through the sites.  This will be a nice upgrade for the kit he's working on.  Twelve of these will run you about $10.00.  

Bill Smallshaw brought in a model he was missing from his collection.  It was the 1/700 Grayback complete with Regulus missile.  It filled out a missing part of his collection and it was already finished and ready to display!  

John also shared with us a some masking paper that he got from Tru-Color Paint out of Phoenix.  John had used it to mask a model of the V-2 by Pegasus models.  The resulting finish looked superb.  Three sheets of this run about $5.00.  

Roger shared with us his Iwata cleaning kit that he scored with a 40% discount coupon from Hobby Lobby.  The set included a wonderful little wrench for removing the paint nozzle that may be worth the full value of the set to Roger.  The retail price is $34.99 but can be bought with the discount coupon for $21.01.  

Bringing up the tail I brought in the new drydock kit from Snowman in China of Drydock No. 1 in Charleston.  This is an historic fixture of that naval ship yard.  Snowman did a wonderful job with this kit.  You may remember that John Widmar brought in the Snowman 1/700 Gearing class destroyer which was waterline.  Snowman created this dry dock set for this model and included the hull bottom.  Interestingly enough the running gear was included in the original waterline kit which leads one to believe that Snowman planned to release this in two parts from he beginning.  Sneaky!  Most any 1/700 full hull destroyer will fit.  It would be cool if there was a 1/700 USS Constitution out there since she spent several visits to this dry dock.  It's very detailed and a nice way to display your model.      It also comes with a nice little booklet with the history of this famous dry dock.  This kit is available from Free Time Hobbies for $22.95.  

I also came across this new model from Black Cat Hobbies located in France.  Same place as where Victor got his Oerlikons.  This is a model of a 1/144 83' US Coast Guard Patrol Cutter.  I've never heard of these boats before but learned that they served during D-Day.  This resin model is beautifully cast and has remarkable detail.  It can be built in several different configurations.  It's also available in 1/350 scale.  This was clearly created with CAD drawings.  It's available for $57.72, and the 1/350 kit is available for $19.21.