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AFV Painting & Weathering
Answers to questions about the right paint scheme or tips for the right effect.
Need tips for painting perfect circles!
melbar16
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Dublin, Ireland
Joined: November 02, 2014
KitMaker: 43 posts
Armorama: 31 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 09, 2016 - 04:20 PM UTC
Hello all
I'm building the Tamiya 1:35 Semovente. There is a white identification circle that needs to be painted on the rooftop hatches. Can anyone suggest the best ways to paint this circle? I'm painting the white first but cannot for the life of me figure out a way to mask this into the perfect circle to spray the sand yellow colour around it.
Any tips would be most welcome!
Thank you all again!
DG
varanusk
Staff MemberManaging Editor
ARMORAMA
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Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain / Espaņa
Joined: July 04, 2013
KitMaker: 1,288 posts
Armorama: 942 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 09, 2016 - 06:04 PM UTC
Hello Douglas,
I do not know the place where it goes but can not you put something round (a coin?) over it and airbrush exactly from top?

Or you could go the other way and use a plastic drawing template for circles and airbrush the white paint. They cost about 1 euro and have templates for circles with 1mm of difference
mat
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Limburg, Netherlands
Joined: November 18, 2003
KitMaker: 894 posts
Armorama: 643 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 09, 2016 - 06:33 PM UTC
If you have a pair of compasses you can replace the pencil part by a sharp pin and scribe out 2 circles out of a piece of the thinnest styrene you can find. It als works on masking tape if you are careful, I managed to do this for swastika circles on 1:350 ship kits. Pin needs to be really sharp.
melbar16
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Dublin, Ireland
Joined: November 02, 2014
KitMaker: 43 posts
Armorama: 31 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 09, 2016 - 06:50 PM UTC
Thanks guys. I'll try these suggestions for sure!
jps
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Wisconsin, United States
Joined: February 06, 2006
KitMaker: 147 posts
Armorama: 140 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 09, 2016 - 07:02 PM UTC
Cut a circle and either prepaint white and use the circle or use the "hole" to mask and paint the circle last.

Amazon has several circle cutters available here's one:
http://www.amazon.com/Darice-97585-Circle-Cutter/dp/B004GXBXXU/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_img_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1TDTK4GZCVX6ZNZRQQHQ

I just ordered the Exacto circle cutter.

My personal favorite tape is Frog Tape Delicate from the hardware store:

http://frogtape.com/products/frogtape-delicate-surface

Frog tape looks like Tamiya tape but it isn't exactly the same stuff. I think Tamiya is a little better but much more pricey and Frog tape comes in up to 2" widths. Not sure where you could get it in Ireland though (it is available on Amazon US).

melbar16
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Dublin, Ireland
Joined: November 02, 2014
KitMaker: 43 posts
Armorama: 31 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 09, 2016 - 07:17 PM UTC
Brilliant! Thanks mate!
namengr
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Illinois, United States
Joined: September 01, 2014
KitMaker: 332 posts
Armorama: 328 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 09, 2016 - 07:45 PM UTC
Not sure if you have them there, but I've used those round pricing stickers that people use for yard sales. They are cheap and you get a bunch on a sheet of them. Wayne
melbar16
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Dublin, Ireland
Joined: November 02, 2014
KitMaker: 43 posts
Armorama: 31 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 09, 2016 - 08:07 PM UTC
Great idea! Thanks Wayne!
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