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TSIA. What is the best way to mask off the bodies so that you can airbrush the carapaces?

Silly putty would be my first choice, most likely. It's reusable, removes cleanly, and can be pushed around with sculpting tools to conform to nearly any contour - handy for all those ribbed bits on 'nid gribblies, I would imagine. Just need a sausage around the edges, after which you can use tape or paper to loosely "tent" over the larger expanses in between.

That is what I thought the recommendation would be ... ok, off to find some silly putty.

masking fluid. clues in the name. works perfectly.

Depending on the surface you could use cigarette paper. It sticks to the model if wet enough and you can. Just pull it off. For largish areas it's a cheap solution.

Masking Fluid, definitely.

Easy to apply, dries quickly, easy to remove. Won't screw up the masked surface.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
A masking fluid tale (true story).

I was a model painter on the movie Starship Troopers.

If you saw the movie, there's that scene where the characters are taking off from the surface of the planet and their little retrieval boat gets blasted by a tanker bug. Well, before they shot the model for that scene somebody came to the shop and asked me to do the damage on the model. I asked if it was going to need to appear undamaged again later on. I was assured that it would not be.

My boss, being a smart man, told me not to believe it. He said that I should expect to have to remove whatever it was I did to the model and put it back the way it was. With that in mind I covered the entire corner of the model with liquid latex (masking fluid) then proceeded to add all of the damage (warped bits, scorching, blue goo (which was all Citadel Blue Ink BTW), etc.

A day or two later the guy who had asked for the damage came back in to the shop and sheepishly asked if I could put it back the way it was. I acted shocked and told him that it was probably going to take a while. I went to the set, told the DP that he would probably want to send the guys to lunch and once everybody was gone I proceeded to tear off all of the damage in pretty much one go. There was a bit of touch-up to do but I think I had the thing pristine in about 20 minutes.

I've been a huge fan of masking fluid ever since.

I may pick some up just to experiment around with it.

It seems to be just plain latex, of which I still have 4,6 liters.

Anyone tried with plain latex yet ? I hardly see how it could hurt once the ammonia is evaporated.

morgoth wrote:
It seems to be just plain latex, of which I still have 4,6 liters.

Anyone tried with plain latex yet ? I hardly see how it could hurt once the ammonia is evaporated.

Masking fluid is liquid latex. Works fine.

How do you remove it exactly? Is there a liquid solvent you can apply that removes latex without harming paint?

I've heard people say it comes off with an eraser, which is all well and good, but tyranid MCs have a lot of undercuts (particularly in the 'ribbed' detail on thier torsos) which you wouldn't be able to get to.

You don't want to be masking just the ribbed detail. Otherwise latex makes a thin skin you can remove.

Here's a vid showing how Maskol (Humbrol) is used, applied, and removed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqRwTz52DAE

 Ifurita wrote:
Here's a vid showing how Maskol (Humbrol) is used, applied, and removed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqRwTz52DAE

That one looks a lot like latex when removed too.

Which makes me think you'd want a few layers when doing big things like that tiger camo, as latex will break a lot easier when it's just one thin layer, making it a lot harder to remove all at once.

Anyone tried multiple layers of latex mask ?

Haven't posted on DD for awhile now but I've used rubber cement with some really good success on some my other models. Fairly cheap too.

Only caution I would give on the masking fluid is going along the painted edge with a sharp knife can avoid any possible lifting of the paint when scraping off the mask.
Usually if airbrushing that tends to not be a problem if the layer is thin enough.

Your best bet is to use a combination of liquid mask, silly putty, and good masking tape; all three of those things should have a place on your paint shelf as they are all worth their price.

There is also Incredible Masking Putty; I've never used it but I have seen it being used by other painters on their blogs/websites and it looks like good stuff... it might be worth a try.

I already have the silly putty on order and am looking for a source of the Maskol.

 Ifurita wrote:
I already have the silly putty on order and am looking for a source of the Maskol.

Vallejo makes one and it's called, unsurprisingly, Vallejo Liquid Mask. I use it as my go-to liquid mask (it replaced MicroMask, which I didn't find to work too well) as it is much easier to source in the States.

If you are looking for Humbrol Maksol, the Michigan Toy Soldier webstore sells it for a decent price, but it is currently out of stock. The M&T Supply Company eBay store has it for a good price too. You can also find it on Amazon, but it's a fair bit more expensive there.

 Dullspork wrote:
Masking Fluid, definitely.

Easy to apply, dries quickly, easy to remove. Won't screw up the masked surface.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
A masking fluid tale (true story).

I was a model painter on the movie Starship Troopers.

If you saw the movie, there's that scene where the characters are taking off from the surface of the planet and their little retrieval boat gets blasted by a tanker bug. Well, before they shot the model for that scene somebody came to the shop and asked me to do the damage on the model. I asked if it was going to need to appear undamaged again later on. I was assured that it would not be.

My boss, being a smart man, told me not to believe it. He said that I should expect to have to remove whatever it was I did to the model and put it back the way it was. With that in mind I covered the entire corner of the model with liquid latex (masking fluid) then proceeded to add all of the damage (warped bits, scorching, blue goo (which was all Citadel Blue Ink BTW), etc.

A day or two later the guy who had asked for the damage came back in to the shop and sheepishly asked if I could put it back the way it was. I acted shocked and told him that it was probably going to take a while. I went to the set, told the DP that he would probably want to send the guys to lunch and once everybody was gone I proceeded to tear off all of the damage in pretty much one go. There was a bit of touch-up to do but I think I had the thing pristine in about 20 minutes.

I've been a huge fan of masking fluid ever since.

I always love stories like this. what was that guys reaction when he came back?

 Desubot wrote:

 Dullspork wrote:
Masking Fluid, definitely.

Easy to apply, dries quickly, easy to remove. Won't screw up the masked surface.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
A masking fluid tale (true story).

I was a model painter on the movie Starship Troopers.

If you saw the movie, there's that scene where the characters are taking off from the surface of the planet and their little retrieval boat gets blasted by a tanker bug. Well, before they shot the model for that scene somebody came to the shop and asked me to do the damage on the model. I asked if it was going to need to appear undamaged again later on. I was assured that it would not be.

My boss, being a smart man, told me not to believe it. He said that I should expect to have to remove whatever it was I did to the model and put it back the way it was. With that in mind I covered the entire corner of the model with liquid latex (masking fluid) then proceeded to add all of the damage (warped bits, scorching, blue goo (which was all Citadel Blue Ink BTW), etc.

A day or two later the guy who had asked for the damage came back in to the shop and sheepishly asked if I could put it back the way it was. I acted shocked and told him that it was probably going to take a while. I went to the set, told the DP that he would probably want to send the guys to lunch and once everybody was gone I proceeded to tear off all of the damage in pretty much one go. There was a bit of touch-up to do but I think I had the thing pristine in about 20 minutes.

I've been a huge fan of masking fluid ever since.

I always love stories like this. what was that guys reaction when he came back?

Actually, I had already left before they came back. There was one guy on set still when I did it though and he just sort of laughed when we say how quickly it all came off. The thing is, at the time I wasn't 100% sure that is was going to go as easily as it did which is why I asked them to break for lunch (just in case). Also, by having it all done when they came back I got to seem like I was made of magic.

FYI - This is what I had to remove - https://www.flickr.com/photos/dullspork/1411991995/in/set-72157602084881930

Starship Troopers is one of my favourite films - just a complete aside there

Great work on the props throughout

I just use blu tac