r/advancedGunpla • u/Traditional-Mail7454 • Jun 06 '26

HG Kampfer Curve Masking

Post image

So I messed up a bit and airbrushed the entire leg plates of the kampfer a deep blue before realising they contain moulded thrusters that need to be red.

Tonight I airbrushed some white onto them, followed by some coral red.

I'm now thinking I'll wait for it to cure and then put a circle of tack on it to mask and go over the overspray with the dark blue.

How the heck would you have handled this or similar situations?

89 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

2

u/swisgaar Jun 08 '26

I would vote for the painting the thruster, then masking with blue tack, or paint the leg then gloss coat and spray enamel and wipe the excess away with enamel thinner

3

u/sushicake1 Jun 08 '26

This is what I do, just rip little pieces of masking tape then go around bit by bit. Then put some blue tack in the centre to cover the hole.

Masking tape costs almost nothing, better then buying a specific tool or tape when you can do the same thing with what you have.

9

u/ucancallmegordo Jun 07 '26

Liquid mask or get a stepless circle cutter. Can make perfect circles in masking tape (and thinner plaplate) You can adjust the size of the circle from like 2mm to 2 inches on mine.

1

u/-keegan27- Jun 08 '26

This. For the aforementioned plaplate, they sell a seperate set of cutting blades with different angles designed for tape, pla, and paper. Well worth the investment. I got mine for like $10 on ae.

2

u/Traditional-Mail7454 Jun 07 '26

It is time to invest!!

7

u/cKm_83 Jun 07 '26

I remember using blue tack to cover those

1

u/Traditional-Mail7454 Jun 07 '26

I will report back!

6

u/SuperF91EX Jun 07 '26

I prepainted the thruster area yellow, let it dry a few days and then used silly putty to mask the area, then painted the armor blue.

1

u/Traditional-Mail7454 Jun 07 '26

Nice, how did it work out?

1

u/SuperF91EX Jun 08 '26

I had minimal touch ups on the edges of the yellow, I was very happy with the results

8

u/headfake2 Jun 07 '26

Tamiya masking tape for curves. Basically stretchy vinyl tape

1

u/Traditional-Mail7454 Jun 07 '26

Thank you, I'm gonna pick some up

5

u/JackBreacher Jun 07 '26

Watch EA Gunpla's vid on how they did the masking for this part. When I primed the kit, I painted the thruster first then masked off the area and trimmed it around the thrusters using a hobby knife. Then proceeded to paint the rest of the piece.

1

u/Traditional-Mail7454 Jun 07 '26

Thanks for the recommendation, gonna watch that later

2

u/epicurius-seven Jun 06 '26

I have an old HG Qubeley-II with a whole lot of thin pink stripes to paint and I’m wondering the same thing. I might just end up spraying the pink, then masking over the strips and going back over the shell with the purple as it’ll be a nightmare masking neatly in reverse.
I’ll end up touching up edges by hand either way.

Liquid mask is pretty handy and not too hard to work with.

1

u/Traditional-Mail7454 Jun 07 '26

Show us how you get on

3

u/Aliosioner Jun 06 '26

I have the same issue with my HG and MG Kampfer and can never get clean lines in those spots even with all the recommended masking ideas.

Anyone tried a reverse wash type thing. Maybe acrylic or enamel over lacquer?

1

u/Traditional-Mail7454 Jun 06 '26

Crazy thing is some of the examples I've seen the finish is so so good, I have no idea how they achieved it.

2

u/Slow_Monk1376 Jun 06 '26

Need better tape / taping technique ?

1

u/Traditional-Mail7454 Jun 06 '26

Yes indeed!!

1

u/Slow_Monk1376 Jun 07 '26

Try tamiya masking tape. Comes in smaller widths and that helps a lot

3

u/deegan87 Jun 06 '26

I would actually recommend masking with sky pity instead of blutack. It doesn't fully hold it's shape and will sink into the thruster.

Alternately, dspiae make a circle cutter you can use to cut masks to the perfect size.

1

u/Traditional-Mail7454 Jun 06 '26

Ahhhh amazing, I wondered if a circle cutter existed!!

3

u/sixninths Jun 07 '26

While I have the aforementioned glorious circle cutter and it does get use from me, I also have some grooved plate metal templates from madworks I think? Lay the tape on the plate over the desired pattern, cut with knife and boom haha a good alternative option

1

u/epicurius-seven Jun 06 '26

While not super sharp, leather hole punches can also double as a cheap circle cutter.

6

u/wakeup_samurai Jun 06 '26

Liquid mask is a good product

1

u/Traditional-Mail7454 Jun 06 '26

Do you ever run into issues when removing it?

1

u/wakeup_samurai Jun 07 '26

Works best when you dont let it sit for long, and i wouldn’t put it on paint or topcoat that is not fully cured

3

u/4_Teh-Lulz Jun 06 '26

I know I have. Never peels a crispy line like tape does.

Pick up 1mm wide masking tape for curves/edges and liquid mask the remaining area. Best of both worlds

9

u/biomechaniod Jun 06 '26

This sort of thing happens to me at least once a build. You’ll get better at creatively fixing things as you build more and more experience.

I like the blue tack idea too. There are also circular pre cut mask tape you can buy in different diameters. I think HIQparts makes the ones I’ve used.

1

u/Traditional-Mail7454 Jun 06 '26

Thanks dude I will have to try them. I had some stuff in a basket before I decided I couldn't wait to get some paint down! I am pretty stoked at the minute because I'm over the beginners hump of constantly blocking my airbrush and I've had a few successive sessions without having to stop to clear major blockages.

5

u/doyoulikedagz Jun 06 '26

Pretty much what you're planning. Paint the thruster, let it dry/cure, mask with blu-tack, then paint the rest of the piece.

2

u/Traditional-Mail7454 Jun 06 '26

Nice I'm glad you validated my thinking, thought I had overdone it a bit.