Not kidding. I've been building kits nearly 40 years and never once thought of painting the interior color first on the canopy before applying the exterior color. I've always just spat and cursed my way through a tedious hand brushing on the interior of the piece.
Good video. Another tip: Mix up a mixture of some Dish Soap and Water and apply it to the surface. This allows you to move the tape around (slides across the surface). Once in position, blot it dry and the Tape will stick as normal. Its the same idea when using Pre cut masks.
Good stuff. The only tweak I'd make to your approach is to cut the tape on glass or a glossy ceramic tile (that's what I use) rather than a cutting mat. The hard surface gives a cleaner cut.
After all these years of modeling i just learned two masking techniques I'm going to start doing - graphite/cut and the triangle/masking fluid. For years I've been so put off by canopy masking. Now I feel more confident. Thank you for posting. Very beneficial.
This is my lucky day! Canopy masking and painting is always frustating, but i found this tutorial and this is the best! The presentation is easy to understand for non native English speakers like me. Thank you thank you thank you for all of your videos.
I think this is one of if not the best canopy mask videos I've seen. Great advice, clearly presented. Awesome work. I will definitely be trying these techniques on my next build. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the tips/techniques and presenting them in an informative and effective manner. I didn't know about the triangles method so I've learned something new yet again. Your videos are always insightful and you provide heaps of information through your commentary.....great work!
Thank you for your time and effort to share the knowledge with us. Thin strips method is my way to go. After laying down the thin strips I fill the area to be protected with white wood glue. No issues so far (Only once after paint job is finished I had to do some maniplation on the color so I remasked the already painted canopy with just white wood glue. Model was Bf-109 and when I removed masking all paint on the canopy came with it. Lesson's learned.)
Wait u can use the normal wood glues which are white as a liquid mask? Man u saved me, Vallejo liquid masks are too pricy in my country,they're like 10 percent of my salary per a 60 ml bottle.
@@mr.fazeli You can also use it as a paint mask too. I mainly make aircarft models, but I wanted to try tank model. I find it very difficult to mask for painting. So I thin the white wood glue with water and painted the areas that I don't want to be painted with this thinned solution. After painting session., wait 30 minutes and dip the model into warm water and gently brush away the white glue. Result is perfect for me.
A good friend of mine migrated to the U.K. and I encouraged him to start on this hobby. I am an armor modeller who used to do aircraft. He got an airfix starter kit already.
If you mean getting any residue off the clear canopy parts, you can carefully use a tiny bit of isopropyl alcohol along with a cotton bud to work it off :)
I'm running a test right now. I coated some clear styrene with pledge. I'll go check it. Back again. Looks like the isopropyl stripped off the pledge. However, I was very aggressive. I may try it with a small canopy panel and be more gentle. If it removes too much acrylic I can paint it back in with a small brush. Pledge does a really great job of filling in minor scratches and adding some real clarity to a canopy. Go check out some videos about dipping clear parts.
Thank you for the video. Do you treat the canopy with product like pledge? I know it has been discontinued so wondering if anyone uses any alternatives
@@antmaster79no problem! I personally don't, as I find that most modern kits have pretty nice clear parts with good clarity and shine, however some vintage kits could benefit from treatment (however unfortunately I'm not aware of a product similar to pledge)
A methode I sometimes use, is to get a graphic of commecially available canopy masks (some manufactures nowadays distort their graphics on their website catalogue, but mostly do this to newer products.). Once I have the graphic of the mask, I open them in either a graphics programm or sometimes even MS Word is suffice. I take on measurement of the canopy (e.g. lower corner of the front window), size the graphic to the same size, make a test print to look if the size is correct. As soon as I have a printout of the masking graphic in the right size, I tape masking tape over the printout and cut the masks accordingly. With a recently purchased Cricut Joy cutting plotter, I could forego the MS Word und printer step, just loading the graphic in the plotter program, resize, cut and apply.
Painting canopies is the most frustrating part of building a model aircraft for me, will be trying the triangle method though as this looks the best option, thanks for the tips a fantastic help
What if (and this is a weird situation I find myself in,) there are no canopy details to follow with tape because for some reason they've been moulded on the inside of the canopy..?
Can you see the moulded lines through the plastic from the outside? If so, I'd probably just get some really thin masking tape and work your way around the outside of the canopy, using the inside lines as a guide to get it as accurate as possible
Haha, try masking a 1:144 Lancaster cockpit and gun turrets, I ended up in a straight jacket. Another little tip though especially for brush painter but also sprayer, paint or spray clear gloss varnish on the surface after masking to stop colour bleed.
Fantastic tutorial. I have had problems with paint lifting from the canopy rails due i believe as you say from leaving the masking tape on for far too long. Do you think lacquer paints would be better in this respect and cut down on lifting. Thanks.
I think lacquer paints will do a lot better than acrylics, purely as acrylics form a proper sheath of plastic when they dry. Can't 100% confirm though, as I only use tamiya hybrids!
For more years than I can rember I have used a pencil to push down masking tape instead of cocktail sticks as it helps with defining where I'm going to be cutting. But funny enough I never thought about peeling it off and cutting along the lines. Triangle trick looks worth a go
@@OdysseyAviation for this aircraft I used an airbrushed lacquer paint, however if you don't have an airbrush I'd recommend using a tamiya x-11 silver rattle can :)
@@anthonydebski5814 The thinnest masking tape available is still not thin enough for anything curved (flats are obviously fine), so cutting them down even more can be helpful :) any flat blade works, whatever you prefer - I use 10A but anything is fine
Anyone any idea?...I have the Beaufighter revel 1/32...I dipped the canopys in Klear and a few weeks later the canopys went cloudy/foggy...It hadn't happened before to any of my other kits...but I cant seem to get rid of it which spoils the model actually...Ive tried dipping the canopys in windolene as someone suggested to get rid of the Klear...Not sure what to do..any help would be appreciated...Thanks
Well, the Eduard kit I believe has a full set of rivets, though I'm not sure so I'd check an unboxing review. If it doesn't have all the rivets, then I'd go for the tamiya kit. The detail is still very good, and the fit is excellent
@@claudio743 same exact principles, just repeated for as many panels as you need - those examples are actually a lot easier to mask because there's very few curves involved
You can use it to fill in areas inside masking tape, though its very common for masking fluid to rip paint off when used to mask the edge of a canopy strut. A good example of this is Plasmo's TU-154, he used masking fluid for the windows and it was a disaster lol
In addition to washing the plastic parts, you should also wash your hands first so that the oils in your skin or other assorted dirt and grime don't get on the clear parts.
The one I use all the time is just the simple cut on surface - for me, it's the fastest and achieves the most accurate results :) you'll definitely want a brand new blade though to make sure those cuts are nice
@@ekspatriat unless they aren't available for that particular kit, or if you want to save a bit of cash :) unless it's a really complicated canopy, sometimes it's worth doing yourself!
Waste of time! Just paint the thing with a brush in several thin layers, any overpaint can be removed by gently rubbing with a soft pointed wooden toothpick. Honestly these are really old ways of doing things, just because this is how the real thing is done doesn't mean you should do it on a wee small tiny model, move on people! lol
If this works for you, go for it! However the toothpick scratching method only really works with enamels and some acrylics due to composition, whereas it's hopeless when using lacquers, alcohol based acrylics, and other modern paints. I also find that even when it can be pulled off properly, it doesn't give as sharp a result as a good masking job. So, each to their own, but many people do appreciate the advantages of a good roll of tape!
I hope you found the video helpful guys!
Thanks for the tips
@@freda8586 No problem!
I did, thanks. :)
Absolutely!
78 years old-gonna try my hand at this hobby. Thanks for your great instructions. Simple and to the point.
I'm 74 and great hobby for concentration and steadiness. Keeps mind active too. Look for a local modeling club....
@@namvet6971I’m 77 and thought I cracked it until I tried 1/35 figures
Not kidding. I've been building kits nearly 40 years and never once thought of painting the interior color first on the canopy before applying the exterior color. I've always just spat and cursed my way through a tedious hand brushing on the interior of the piece.
I have to admit, it took me a while to figure it out as well 😂
I like the triangle method, I have 3 canopies to do, haven't done a canopy in about 40 years, all 3 look like good ideas, thanks for the video.
@@georgetaylor5482 no problem! Good luck!
The triangle! Simple yet effective. Almost too easy!
Very true haha!
Good video. Another tip: Mix up a mixture of some Dish Soap and Water and apply it to the surface. This allows you to move the tape around (slides across the surface). Once in position, blot it dry and the Tape will stick as normal. Its the same idea when using Pre cut masks.
That is a brilliant tip! Thanks for adding!
Triangle method is now one of mine.
Merci de France.
Good stuff. The only tweak I'd make to your approach is to cut the tape on glass or a glossy ceramic tile (that's what I use) rather than a cutting mat. The hard surface gives a cleaner cut.
Thank you...great masking tip....pls give some tips on how to mask a cone shape object like a rocket tip or an airliner nose... Cheers
Great tips. I always pack modeling clay inside the canopy to lessen the chance of breaking it. Stick a round toothpick in the clay for a handle.
@@CortxVortx good tips there!
Great idea. Never thought of it.
As someone who is new to the hobby this video is amazing! I had big trouble using the first method so I will def try the other ones. Thanks! 😃
I've always struggled with canopy painting these straight forward techniques are amazing. Thanks again ✌🇨🇦✌
It's for sure a painful process! glad I could help man!
Thanks for posting!
After all these years of modeling i just learned two masking techniques I'm going to start doing - graphite/cut and the triangle/masking fluid. For years I've been so put off by canopy masking. Now I feel more confident. Thank you for posting. Very beneficial.
@@briansmith8079 so glad you found it handy! Good luck and thank you for watching ☺️
original and helpful, thanks for posting
Bro THANK YOU! I used to just paint them on with nothing but because of this video my canopies look excellent! You have a new subscriber!
So glad I could help! Thank you 😄
This is my lucky day! Canopy masking and painting is always frustating, but i found this tutorial and this is the best! The presentation is easy to understand for non native English speakers like me. Thank you thank you thank you for all of your videos.
I'm so glad you could find it helpful :)) it's the best feeling ever being able to help someone out and I'm so glad I could ☺️ take care man
Hello - what a very helpful video, love the triangle method, thanks for sharing, cheers Liam
EXCELLENT! Love the triangles!
It is a great method isn't it! Originally learnt it from a shop owner at a hobby shop. Always comes in handy!
Great tips, nice explanation
Superb techniques. Thanks very much.
No problem :)
thank you very much. after scratching my apache canopy trying to cut the tape on it, I'll try the graphite method.
I think this is one of if not the best canopy mask videos I've seen. Great advice, clearly presented. Awesome work. I will definitely be trying these techniques on my next build. Thanks for sharing.
No problem at all! It's my pleasure. So glad you found it helpful!
Brilliant!
Thank you
Bob
England
Very helpful. I'm terrible with doing canopies and windows.
I always learn something from you. Thank you.
Larry Landis
No worries :)
Thank you! A few recent issues due to trial & error, your guide has put me back on the right direction.
Great techniques, the graphite technique is very good for me. Thanks.
Great ideas!🤘
Jman
Very useful one, new mask technique acquired. Cheers mate!
Great ideas. I love the triangle method. Well presented. Liked and subscribed. Looking forward to more videos from you sir
Thanks for the tips/techniques and presenting them in an informative and effective manner. I didn't know about the triangles method so I've learned something new yet again. Your videos are always insightful and you provide heaps of information through your commentary.....great work!
Thank you so much man, and in glad you could take something away from the video! 😊
The triangles method seems like the go! I'm more likely to choose one of the methods where I'm not cutting the tape on the canopy itself.
Very helpful, good stuff.
Faaaantastic !!! Thank's for shering.
I found this video very helpful!
I'm glad!
Thank you for your time and effort to share the knowledge with us. Thin strips method is my way to go. After laying down the thin strips I fill the area to be protected with white wood glue. No issues so far (Only once after paint job is finished I had to do some maniplation on the color so I remasked the already painted canopy with just white wood glue. Model was Bf-109 and when I removed masking all paint on the canopy came with it. Lesson's learned.)
No problem! You're right, everything in modelling is a learning curve!
Wait u can use the normal wood glues which are white as a liquid mask? Man u saved me, Vallejo liquid masks are too pricy in my country,they're like 10 percent of my salary per a 60 ml bottle.
@@mr.fazeli You can also use it as a paint mask too. I mainly make aircarft models, but I wanted to try tank model. I find it very difficult to mask for painting. So I thin the white wood glue with water and painted the areas that I don't want to be painted with this thinned solution. After painting session., wait 30 minutes and dip the model into warm water and gently brush away the white glue. Result is perfect for me.
A good friend of mine migrated to the U.K. and I encouraged him to start on this hobby. I am an armor modeller who used to do aircraft. He got an airfix starter kit already.
That's very good to hear!
@@ModellingWeekly I told him: welcome to the hobby. He got the Spitfire Mk1a.
@@freda8586 👌🏻 a good choice!
Excellent video. Now if I can just figure out how to get slight residue from Tamiya tape off clear coated finish.
If you mean getting any residue off the clear canopy parts, you can carefully use a tiny bit of isopropyl alcohol along with a cotton bud to work it off :)
I had already dipped the canopy in pledge floor polish, which I believe is an acrylic. Do you think that would be safe from the isopropyl?
@@mrratskins I'm not sure about that, I've never used pledge before myself. I'd give it a test beforehand on a testbed :)
I'm running a test right now. I coated some clear styrene with pledge. I'll go check it. Back again. Looks like the isopropyl stripped off the pledge. However, I was very aggressive. I may try it with a small canopy panel and be more gentle. If it removes too much acrylic I can paint it back in with a small brush. Pledge does a really great job of filling in minor scratches and adding some real clarity to a canopy. Go check out some videos about dipping clear parts.
Very cool! I’ve got some flexible masking tape which is quite handy for gentle curves 😊
I've heard that stuff can be pretty good!
@@ModellingWeekly yeah, it might not stick as well as normal tape but can be quite useful. It won’t do super tight curves but handy for some areas
Outstanding video and presentation
Thanks so much ☺️
Thank you for the video. Do you treat the canopy with product like pledge? I know it has been discontinued so wondering if anyone uses any alternatives
@@antmaster79no problem! I personally don't, as I find that most modern kits have pretty nice clear parts with good clarity and shine, however some vintage kits could benefit from treatment (however unfortunately I'm not aware of a product similar to pledge)
Well done...great modeling tips!
😄
A methode I sometimes use, is to get a graphic of commecially available canopy masks (some manufactures nowadays distort their graphics on their website catalogue, but mostly do this to newer products.). Once I have the graphic of the mask, I open them in either a graphics programm or sometimes even MS Word is suffice. I take on measurement of the canopy (e.g. lower corner of the front window), size the graphic to the same size, make a test print to look if the size is correct. As soon as I have a printout of the masking graphic in the right size, I tape masking tape over the printout and cut the masks accordingly.
With a recently purchased Cricut Joy cutting plotter, I could forego the MS Word und printer step, just loading the graphic in the plotter program, resize, cut and apply.
This sounds fantastic, I'll have to look into this!
Really really really very HELPFULL!!!!!!!👌👌👌
Painting canopies is the most frustrating part of building a model aircraft for me, will be trying the triangle method though as this looks the best option, thanks for the tips a fantastic help
Very glad I could help!
That was extremely helpful, I learned two new techniques I’d never heard of.
Glad you found it helpful :)
@@ModellingWeekly very, masking canopies and clear parts are a nightmare. That’s why I build tanks, there are no windows in a tank.
Great video! I'm stressing over masking small canopies (ala Spitfire and Bf109E) in 1/72.
Thanks! Yeah, it can be a bit nerve wracking but with a bit of practice you'll be able to knock em out like nothing
Great video thanks
What if (and this is a weird situation I find myself in,) there are no canopy details to follow with tape because for some reason they've been moulded on the inside of the canopy..?
Can you see the moulded lines through the plastic from the outside? If so, I'd probably just get some really thin masking tape and work your way around the outside of the canopy, using the inside lines as a guide to get it as accurate as possible
@@ModellingWeekly Yeah, I believed I would have to try something like this. Wish me luck!
Very helpful.
Haha, try masking a 1:144 Lancaster cockpit and gun turrets, I ended up in a straight jacket.
Another little tip though especially for brush painter but also sprayer, paint or spray clear gloss varnish on the surface after masking to stop colour bleed.
Haha!! Can imagine how much of a nightmare that would be! Thanks for the tip!
Can you show us heavily framed canopy, like a huricane or JU-88
It's the same concept, just more cuts :)
I'll have to give one of these a shot later. Depends on if I remember
😂😂 Fingers crossed!
Very helpful!
☺️
Thanks just bought a new model
Fantastic tutorial. I have had problems with paint lifting from the canopy rails due i believe as you say from leaving the masking tape on for far too long. Do you think lacquer paints would be better in this respect and cut down on lifting.
Thanks.
I think lacquer paints will do a lot better than acrylics, purely as acrylics form a proper sheath of plastic when they dry. Can't 100% confirm though, as I only use tamiya hybrids!
After painting the interior color, do you make a new mask for the exterior color?
Nah, it works great just spraying the main colour over the top of the interior colour with the same masks!
For more years than I can rember I have used a pencil to push down masking tape instead of cocktail sticks as it helps with defining where I'm going to be cutting. But funny enough I never thought about peeling it off and cutting along the lines. Triangle trick looks worth a go
Glad you could take something from the vid! 😄
Can you paint the canopy without having it on the aircraft ?
If that makes it easier in that situation, yeah
And also how you then paint exterior with silver?
@@OdysseyAviation for this aircraft I used an airbrushed lacquer paint, however if you don't have an airbrush I'd recommend using a tamiya x-11 silver rattle can :)
Buy & use THIN masking tape to do the EDGES, then Block-In the rest..NO need to CUT anything!...try it! (if cutting, use the No.11 blades!)
@@anthonydebski5814 The thinnest masking tape available is still not thin enough for anything curved (flats are obviously fine), so cutting them down even more can be helpful :) any flat blade works, whatever you prefer - I use 10A but anything is fine
Anyone any idea?...I have the Beaufighter revel 1/32...I dipped the canopys in Klear and a few weeks later the canopys went cloudy/foggy...It hadn't happened before to any of my other kits...but I cant seem to get rid of it which spoils the model actually...Ive tried dipping the canopys in windolene as someone suggested to get rid of the Klear...Not sure what to do..any help would be appreciated...Thanks
Which is more detailed eduard or tamiya? In terms of spitfire mk1/mk1a.
Well, the Eduard kit I believe has a full set of rivets, though I'm not sure so I'd check an unboxing review. If it doesn't have all the rivets, then I'd go for the tamiya kit. The detail is still very good, and the fit is excellent
Should I get 1/72 or 1/48 tamiya spitfire mk1a?
Mask a Mustang Canopy is very easy,How about a Zero,Texan,Me 109 etc,etc???
@@claudio743 same exact principles, just repeated for as many panels as you need - those examples are actually a lot easier to mask because there's very few curves involved
Triangle a bit more work, but best technique, after all, it's what modeling is all about :-)
What about using masking fluid?
You can use it to fill in areas inside masking tape, though its very common for masking fluid to rip paint off when used to mask the edge of a canopy strut. A good example of this is Plasmo's TU-154, he used masking fluid for the windows and it was a disaster lol
i have a canopy with like 20 windows it's a tamiya a6m2 what can i do about it
A zero canopy would probably pair best with the triangle technique, just cut a bunch of tiny triangles
How did it work out for you? I’m doing that kit now
In addition to washing the plastic parts, you should also wash your hands first so that the oils in your skin or other assorted dirt and grime don't get on the clear parts.
TANKS
Sir hi, you did not show how front canopy is masked, WHY.
It's the same process as with the curves, just easier - so I figured it would be fairly pointless
👍
Why is it that all canopy masking or painting tutorials are with bubble tops? Do a BF109 or a B17 canopy on one of these tutorials.
It's the only one I had available to use lol. Got a lot of tank kits in the stash 😂
Ah thank you for this video, im getting an airbrush and my biggest fear is masking the canopies.
No problem! Glad you will find it helpful 😊
What is your preferred method out of these techniques?
The one I use all the time is just the simple cut on surface - for me, it's the fastest and achieves the most accurate results :) you'll definitely want a brand new blade though to make sure those cuts are nice
I feel like I’m the only one who enjoys masking canopies
It can be pretty relaxing I have to say 😅
its the sole reason I dont build aircraft unless its an open canopy type.
@@sayeager5559 Each to their own! I understand the frustration totally
Best way is to buy masks.....sorted.
@@ekspatriat unless they aren't available for that particular kit, or if you want to save a bit of cash :) unless it's a really complicated canopy, sometimes it's worth doing yourself!
so...use masking tape.
@@cmm30 *how to use masking tape most effectively in this particular scenario :)
Waste of time! Just paint the thing with a brush in several thin layers, any overpaint can be removed by gently rubbing with a soft pointed wooden toothpick. Honestly these are really old ways of doing things, just because this is how the real thing is done doesn't mean you should do it on a wee small tiny model, move on people! lol
If this works for you, go for it! However the toothpick scratching method only really works with enamels and some acrylics due to composition, whereas it's hopeless when using lacquers, alcohol based acrylics, and other modern paints. I also find that even when it can be pulled off properly, it doesn't give as sharp a result as a good masking job. So, each to their own, but many people do appreciate the advantages of a good roll of tape!