OK it's the start of a new year and I have hit a milestone. I have sold my house and moved to sunny Cornwall so I now don't have paid work to get in the way of producing masks, yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I still have quite a bit of work to do; on my new web site and I will have to build my office (man cave, 'cos I'll be doing my modelling there as well ) but I will be declaring Miracle Paint Masks as a business this month.

There will have to be a few changes in the way that I do business but these are mainly to ensure that I can keep track of what business I do. My prices won't change and neither will the friendly service I just need to be on a more professional footing. To this end look out for masks produced by me from the likes of Uschi van der Rosten and AK Interactive at the moment I'm producing the "Disc camo" masks but there are plenty more ideas in the pipeline for aircraft modellers, so watch this space

If you have any ideas about masks that you would like to see then please let me know

It has surprised me how few modellers, at the moment, use paint masks. I understand why and my mission is to change that outlook. Be warned though, once you start using paint masks for the markings on your models you won't want to go back to decals as nothing compares to the look of markings that are actually painted on

When my man cave is up and running I intend to submit features that show how easy masks are to use. In the meantime look out for when Chuk starts painting his Ju 388 and I will post some links to Ralph Riese's builds on, regretably, Hypertension.

I supply masks to Ralph, for just the postage, as he is an excellent modeller, he is quite prolific and he loves using masks and therefore he is very good advertising for me. The unfortunate thing is that he post on Hypertension but I guess that's because he is Australian. What I would also like is for a member of the Aeroscale community to have a similar deal; only pay for the postage, be a reasonably good modeller (basically that means, in this case, to be proficient with an airbrush; because that is a prerequisite to be able to use paint masks correctly), build several models a year and, most importantly, post the (successful ) results on Aeroscale, which will be turned into a feature (if that's OK Rowan? sorry I got this far and I have just realised that I should have checked with you first, but I only just thought of it ) So post here if you would like to fulfil this role and I'll, try, and make a decision.

A happy and prosperous new year to you all

Mal, do you have any products planned at the moment? I build 1/35 armor, 1/48 aircraft and some sci-fi in varying scales. I would love to use masks instead of decals as well. Will you be mass producing or taking requests?

I will follow your progress with interest.

Yay so glad you've finally been able to sell the house and get moved to Cornwall can't wait to see your further progress and I'll email you about the masks I wanted (the ones I wafted under your nose at Telford) when I eventually make a start on the kits

Hi Emri,
Yes there are plenty of masks in the pipeline, for armour and aircraft, check out the links to Uschi and AK for what is currently available on the armour front. I'm working on another armour related subject, this time modern and quite spectacular I'm happy to do Sci-Fi related stuff, I'm about to start work on something soon (that's yours Ric ) I will be "mass" producing and taking requests.

No problem Sam, just give me plenty of time. I am actually going to start a facebook page that will show the progress of my office/man cave and then the model builds and use of masks. I hope that this approach will inspire more modellers to use masks, when they see how easy it is.

If you want any info about masks go to [email protected]

Good luck with the 'full time' venture. I'll have a couple of request coming your way once you've settled in you new office/mancave and I happily submit any builds that I do using your masks as features for Aeroscale

that goes double for me after seeing a couple of lampies builds using your mask I have some projects coming up I intend on sending you.

Good on you, Mal! I'm getting some big-time help on a scheme for that dastardly 388- it's gonna be a goodie. Can't wait to get to the painting stage- which should be soon!

Hi Allen, thanks the amount of weight that has been removed, since jacking in the paid work, is astounding, but scary times ahead, but I'm looking forward to the future Hopefully I'll be able to clear the backlog of requests for masks for when the man cave is completed, then I can work on one request at a time

Hi Justin, yep Nige has become a dab hand at using the masks, be warned though it's addictive

Hi Chuck
Great, I can't wait to see what scheme you have decided on. My new plotter is top of the range so precision is assured How could I not have turned this into a business with such a great logo Millie says hi

It certainly is!
Mal, I'm halfway through painting the upper camouflage on HV-S, and then I'll be doing the top insignia and fusalage invasion bands. ( I have the masks for the insignia, and the underside is painted)

After that I'll be ready for the HV-S masks and serial numbers.

No rush, it's taken me ages to get this far, and I'm at least a couple of weeks away from having the invasion bands painted on etc. Got another kit on the go as well so it'll give me chance to get on with that one




I know the feeling well Mal.
What a time to be starting up a new business eh?
If we can make it work in this climate of doom and gloom we can make it work anytime

Hope life at that end of the A38 is treating you well

Nige

Hi Nige,
No sweat, just give me a shout when you are close to being ready for the codes and serials :-)

If you haven't already done the invasion stripes then I have an interesting idea to get the sizes bang on because, as we all know, the 18" stripes work out to 14.29mm in 1/32 scale and 9.53 in 1/48. I imagine that most modellers simply get as close to those measurements as they can; not to bad in 1/48 scale (9.5) but 14 is a bit short in 1/32, at nearly 1mm overall and, especially for rivet counters (no names no pack drill [GM?])that would never do. The other thing that the "helpers" will do is to help line the stripes up.

Yep starting a business now seems like a mad idea but it is probably the best time because, as you say, if it works now then it shouldn't be a problem when the recession has ended :-) At the moment I'm losing track of the days as the weekends are all now part of the week :-)

Hi Mal.
Underwing invasion stripes are on, measurement taken from the kit decals.

Topside grey is painted, hopefully get the green part of the camo done tonight.
As for the under fusalage invasion stripes,,heres how I do it,( long winded but.......)

First I paint the fusalage insignia, and then mask it over. Tamiya tape for the straight line and the old mask for the bottom part of the cirle.

Then, from edge to edge of the star and bar ( on a P-47) is the width of 4 invasion stripes.
I mask this area and spray it white, then mask off for the two black invasion stripes.
The centre of the star is a good reference point for this.

I now have black/white/black/white bands on the fusalage underside.
Its then an easy job to take the width of one of these bands and mask off/paint the remaining white band,( front one).

Harder to explain than actually paint
When I do the fusalage invasion stripes on the Hasegawa build I'll take photos.

Starting a new business,,yeah,,aren't we mad! hahaha.
Having said that, I'm doing ok selling aviation/railway prints (mounted and also framed), the bespoke framing is starting to take off as word spreads, and I'm working on a range of glass display cases as well.
There's also my more usual line of employment on top of that.

Apart from all of this,,it's all quiet

Nige