Mal,
With the nose glued in place, and the greenhouse glass coming shortly, you're making great progress.
Joel

It feels like progress, but the greenhouse that is the cockpit glazing will take some time to mask and glue in position, there are about a million pieces! The Bf109 and the He162 have moved on a little though and, when I can actually find some time, I'll post some pictures

Mal,
Is the clear "glass" separate from the frame? If so, how's the overall fit?
Joel

Hi Joel,
No, the glazing isn't separate from the frames but it is an open canopy, so all of the different elements are separate; so to close it up they all have to be perfectly aligned which, from test fitting, shouldn't prove to be mega difficult (famous last words!). What I am bemoaning is the amount of masking that is required; not that it is a real problem, as I have a method. It is just the fact that cleaning the glazing and getting a good Klear coat on them is causing a lot of grief! This has the knock on effect that I haven't been able to get on with it as I wished

Mal,
I know exactly where you're coming from. The 1/48 scale P-61A-5 took forever to mask by hand. even with the supplied masked where most didn't fit correctly. It took me a full week. Of course taking off the masks took like 15 min. max

Joel

I am finally about to start moving forward with this!

everything that I had on the go stalled because I was developing a set of generic canopy masks and needed to photograph as many canopies as I could showing how they are used. Now these masks do actually work but I was masking the canopy on the Raiden and I thought, "If I was using my normal method (Parafilm M)I would have had this all done ages ago!". So I stopped using the set and masked it in 1/2 an hour using Parafilm. So, although the set works, I can't imagine any modeller wanting to spend the time to use it as very many seem to buy canopy masking sets to do it as quickly as possible. So at the moment I am just trying to finish up getting a good Klear coat on the remaining canopy parts and I will be then masking them all using Parafilm M. In the meantime I have started 3 more kits: the Tamiya 1/72 Mosquito, the Revell 1/32 Spitfire MkII and the Hasegawa 1/32 Fw190A-5

Looking forward to seeing your progress on this one again!

Doug

Yes, me too Doug

I have managed to mask one of the canopy parts since posting! I will try and do some more today

I finally got all the clear parts masked. It didn't take that long as I used Parafilm M. The seperate parts fitted very well, up until the last 2, which meant the the last one, the roof glzing over them, didn't fit well. I had to gradually sand the angled mating edges between the last 2 until they fitted. The roof glazing had to be adjusted then to fit in the smaller gap. I took my time over several sessions, using masking tape on the inside to help stop filing dust getting attracted there. The parts now fit well and just need gluing in place, which I aim to do tomorrow as I have other things on. Then I can crack on with getting the masks for the nose sorted

Good to see you back in action, Mal! Am I missing another thread somewhere? I'm really keen to see those nose masks- cheers, my friend!

Hello Mal,

I've been watching the build from the sidelines. Looks good.

When I used masking tape on the canopy on the Bf-110E-2 Tropical build, I had the adhesive of the tape stay on the surface. This happened also when clear tape was used also. I tried to get it off without success, formed a "cloud" on the canopy has if the oxygen failed in the cockpit.
Did that kit come with the one piece canopy?

See ya in the funnies...............

Hi Mal,
please let me ask you how do you manage the Parafilm to stick right where it is? Do you use any special knife, how much do you stretch it?
Whenever I try (hobby knife, scalpel, razor blade)it's impossible to remove the frame without the problem of removing parts of the masks or the film is crunshing while cutting.
Maybe a tip for this?
Thanks, Thomas

Hi Chuck,
No this is the only thread on this Bf110, there are some pictures earlier of the "Waspe" blanks applied to test the theory that they will work. I needed to get the canopies on so that I could clean up the seam lines without getting any residue in the cockpit, and to protect it from handling. Now that I have finaly managed to get the canopies sorted I can get on with that, so I'm hoping that I will be able to show the complete Waspe mask soon, fingers crossed




Hi Brian,
That's why I never use clear tape, Kabuki type tape is fine but it is not as easy to use as Parafilm M! No It isn't a one piece canopy, I wish that it was!




Hi Thomas,
Yes it is true that you need a good sharp knife, I have a scalpel that I use only for this purpose; it isn't special or anything it is just kept for this purpose. I would have to virtually use a new blade every time I where to mask a canopy but I sharpen the blade before each canopy, in this case there are nine seperate pieces and I sharpened the blade before starting to cut ech one. I have a piece of ceramic tile on which I sharpen the blade. Not the bathroom tile kind but the kind that is laser cut to produce sim cards. I'll try and remember to take a photo for the next ipdate.
The other thing with Parafilm M is to A) Stretch the piece that you are going to use by around 3 times its length. You can actually see when it is stretched the correct amount. B)Let it relax, and then C) double it over itself. You then simply press it onto the clear parts and it magically adheres. You don't need very much pressure to cut it and if you dip your canopies in Klear (Future) then that protects them from the blade. Not that it is a problem as you are only cutting along the frame lines

Mal,

Inspiring work! Can't wait to see more masks forthcoming.

(Hey, this is my 5,000th post on KMN!)

Mal: Thank's a lot for your detailed answer, very good advise! Ecpecially to double it, so there should be more "grip". I'll give it a try

Hi Frederick,
Thanks, the final canopy part will be on today, photos later, then I will start on checking out the fit of the full Wespe mask, which needs to be done before committing to paint

Congratulations on your 5,000th post




The doubling over doesn't give it more grip, it makes it easier to remove Another reason for doing it is to make sure that it opaque to paint. If you should stretch it to far you will make it porous. That's also why you only stretch it about 3 times its length. When I first used Parafilm I followed advice from the internet and stretched it 5 times its length! Not knowing how then to use it and not understanding its properties I held the stretch while applying it over a canopy, big mistake! Although the panel lines were clear to see, very clear, and it cut easilly I had made it porous by stretching to far and by keeping the stretch while applying, and not allowing it to relax, I had made it worse. So when I applied the paint I affectively painted the parafilm to the canopy! It tends to be a long time before I remove the canopy masking and a single thickness is harder to remove than a double one

Thank you again, I much appreciate!
Now I understand better, and obviously I made exactly the same mistakes as you described...

By the way: Your Bf110 turns out very well so far! I already learned much from your articles and I often follow up your builds and forum posts. Thanks for sharing your skills to the community!
Thomas

Yes Thomas, using Parfilm M requires that learning curve to be flattened It is also very much cheaper than buying canopy masks. I could produce masks for canopies but as I don't need them I don't go through the pain, although I have produce them for the Airfix 1/24 scale Typhoon and I will be producing them for the HKM 1/32 scale Mosquito

Thank you for you comments about my Bf110, they are much appreciated As the KitMaker Network is the best modelling community out there then giving back is a no brainer, check out KitMakers very own IPMS club IPMS KitmakerUK

OK as promised a couple of photos of the sharpening tile that I use:




The rest of the canopies are on, the first picture shows that I needed to use a brace to keep the top edge aligned.


This next one shows the top hatch fitted but I needed to hold it in place will the glue dried.

This shows the armoured screen which will need to be painted off the model and is masked on both sides, it was just easiest to display in its final position.


I have just, this second, removed the masking tape that was holding down the rear top hatch and all looks good so I photo later. I can now clean up the fuselage seam and crack on with test fitting the Wespe nose art, which I aim to do today However I might, in fact I will be going for a walk along the cliffs as its looking as if it will be another beautiful day. In any event this build can now move forward

I failed to take the shot showing the tape removed, I will do it at a later date, but I have this:


The previous test of the Wespe, was a blank. The difficulty was always going to be transferring the cut mask successfully. This is the first attempt which went OK, in as much as the positioning is almost there, but I used a piece of transfer tape which covered the whole design. This caused problems because it effectively doubled the thickness of the design which, in turn wouldn't allow it to conform properly. I went back to the drawing board and re-designed the transfer tape, using 3 elements, so that it held the design together but allowed it to conform. Well I have to test that idea yet, so that should be the next update. Then, assuming that works (it will, trust me) it is then a trial and error process to ensure that when the mask is fitted the cut outs allow the correct conformity with the nose and that the cut edges join back together accurately

I'm loving how this is looking Mal. This is an ambitious scheme.

Hi Matt,
Thanks, it has stalled again as I need to crack on with the masks set for the HKM 1/32 Mosquito but it hasn't dropped off the radar

Mal you tease us so

You come along with some nice updates and even some 'How to's' then tell us it's going on hold again.

Mal,
Even though you've had to shelve the masks for now, that Bumble Bee looks fantastic.
Joel

Sorry Lucky, I was determined to get this done but then I received the HKM Mossie!




The "wasp" should look great once its painted on Joel, but getting to the stage where it can be is going to be quite long, probably! I'm at the very small tweaks stage, which is frustrating to say the least. If I don't apply each test in exactly the same place then it highlights another tweak, which would be wrong. Each small tweak that is required can take several attempts to get right! Its the same when doing camo masks, but this is something else! That's why I'm really looking forward to painting it

The photo that I forgot to add of the completed canopy masking.