🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1k1hbqINNqp5@slab.mtholyoke.edu> pscotto@MtHolyoke.edu (Peter J. Scotto) writes:
>OK, I realize that airbrushes produce a really great finish,
>but I've got a problem with some of the stuff I've seen.

>When I see models with say, RAF bi-color patterns or modern
>American tri-color patterns, I see alot of this feather edge
>freehand stuff, where one color kind of feathers off into another.

>However, on the actual  aircraft and vehicles I have seen, the
>lines of demarcation between colors seem pretty distinct and should be
>more so on the smaller scale model.  So what's going on here?
>Is this a case of the tool driving the modeller?

You're exactly right!  And there are 2 related problems.

1. If you look real close at the actual aircraft and vehicles, there
   is often a soft demarcation, but not nearly as soft as that often
   painted on models.  The problem is airbrush technique.  In 1/72
   scale, it's almost impossible to paint freehand and get a tight enough
   demarcation line to look accurate.  Even in 1/48 or 1/32, you need
   an a-brush with a nice fine nozzle and considerable skill to get the
   lines tight enough.

   The solution is "soft masking"--laying down tape but lifting the edge
   a millimetre or two, producing a soft line but much tighter than is
   obtainable freehand.  This can take a hell of a long time, especially
   on, say, sand-and-spinach schemes where there are so many little patches
   of color to mask, and you have to make sure all the tape edges stick up
   just the same amount or there will be variation in the line softness.
   Freehand is a lot more fun!

2. Modellers sometimes assume soft demarcation lines where there are none.
   For example on Brit a/c circa WW2, usually the lines between the upper
   camouflage colors are soft, but that between the upper and lower colors
   are hard.  On the other hand, when a/c were built by the US for the 
   British and painted at US factories in Brit camouflage, often the line
   between upper and lower surfaces was painted soft as well. 

August Horvath <augustho@usc.edu>