Introductions

Bonjour à tous Je me présente , Pascal 65 ans, français habitant prés de Grenoble maquettiste depuis................. Je construit essentiellement des avions au 1/72, avec un centre d'intérêt particulier : les pilotes FAFL ( Free French) pendant la seconde guerre mondiale. Je remplace petit à petit les décals des kits par des pochoirs réalisés avec la silhouette. Je débute dans les pochoirs et je viens donc vous rejoindre pour progresser. Merci pour votre accueil.

Hey all, I found this forum over on BM, I just peruse there for the information I need rather than post, I'm more of a discord person. Mostly I do 1/35 armour. and I would say I'm alright with an ab, so I don't use masks much, however my heart truly lies with helicopters, I just started the new Italeri 1/72 Merlin HM.1. I just find there isn't a lot of verity with current offerings. That said, I'm venturing into making my own masks with a Portrait3. I have had some success with the whole trace option within the silhouette software, but I'm lost when it comes to making anything remotely complex or making anything at all XD. So I'd be grateful for any tips and advice that …

I'm a Brit, currently sweating it out in Raleigh, NC, but planning to retire back to the beautiful Pacific Northwest, where I spent 21 lovely years. I’m almost exclusively a 1/32 WWII builder. Until recently, I had never considered creating my own paint masks. Then Mozart over at LSP kindly made some custom ones for me, and after a few conversations, I realized it could be fun—and a great way to dodge the bane of decaling and get better results. A Silhouette Portrait 4 is on the way, along with some vinyl, and I’m looking forward to learning a few new tricks.

I'm a life long modeler, primarily 1/48 aircraft. I am hoping to us a cutting machine to start painting insignia and marking on scale aircraft. Quality of decals can be hit and miss on new kits, and marginal at best to old vintage kits. Thanks for the add.

Hello everyone, I saw this site in a Britmodeller thread and thought I'd take a look. I'm a 1/32 WW2 aircraft modeller, with very occasional trips to break scale into 1/24 (I'm looking at you, Airfix Typhoon...). In the big scales, I much prefer to paint insignia and codes, so this looks like an excellent place. I have just spent a couple of days in Inkscape creating masks for some of the stencils on the Airscale B-P Defiant, and am eagerly awaiting delivery of a Silhouette Portrait 4 to see if they are actually cuttable... :-)

Hi Everyone, Mark here, have just joined the. community. Have been modelling for most of. my life, and using commercial masks for the last several years and hoping to extend into a more extensive use of them. As I have a Brother cutter and use a Mac rather than PC (although I have Parallels, so can run Windows software as well) I'm in a minority here. Still learning how to use the cutter at the moment. Have a great day everyone.

HI all, I stumbled across this on a thread in Britmodeller, and I've done a few masks in the past and will be happy to share them. I've always generated .svg files in Inkscape, and converted to .eps for a Creation P-Cut I've had for ages, which has actually been pretty good. I've just taken delivery of a Cameo 5 which so far hasn't been as good as I'd hoped, but I guess I just haven't found the best settings yet.

Excited to have found this site - will help me to get going using my new Silhouette cutter. Will be doing my FIRST cut soon, I hope - maybe with one of the files from here! I do military airplane models, and are particularly interested in Royal Danish Air Force subjects but also many others. Currently working on an SR-71, a Hawker Hunter, and a Gloster Meteor, all in 1/48 scale. The last two will be RDAF.

While I'm not new on here, I have only just found this area. I'm a Brit and I've been modelling since 1955 and the blue Airfix Spitfire, so you can guess that I'm no spring chicken. I model in 1/48 and 1/32 with the occasional deviation into 1/24. Subjects are mostly RAF, from WWII onwards. I'm currently using a Silhouette Portrait 3 cutter and I've managed to muddle my way through a few bespoke designs as I try to give my models some individuality.

Hi there, and good morning from Sacramento Ca. I am by no stretch of the imagination a new modeler; not at almost 80 years old. However what I am is a newbie as far as cutting my own masks goes. I was very fortunate to acquire a brand new Cricket cutter about a year ago, it is still sitting on the top of one of the bookcases in my office having yet to be even turned on. What I am looking for is some kind of easy to follow tutorial that is specifically meant for us modelers. I may have found it too this morning from Hawaiian Air Depot. It remains to be seen. Certainly glad to be here as I have already found some things to try out on the list. Russ

I am not a new modeller. I mostly work with paints (quite active on Britmodeller). But I am also not a newbie with my silhouette cutter. I hope I could be also useful for anyone who needs particular colors crafted for various unusual needs, like real RAF MAP colors for spraying masked airplanes (or PRU pink if someone wants that shade of spitfire...)

What in the world are these files? I can't download them. Why not a well known App?

Thanks for the approval! I'm excited to start out cutting my own masks. I've got a Silhouette Portrait 4 on order. I've been playing around in Studio a little bit and am getting the hang of it. I build primarily 1/72 aircraft so I will be curious to see how small I can go with painting my own markings with masks. I'm looking forward to learn all I can from everyone!

HI All, I'm not new to model kits, however, just wanting to get into making my own masks for airbrushing. I've recently purchased a very little used Cricut Maker 3, and using its program Design Space. So, I know that I probably am in for another learning curve, but I want to give it a go. I will trawl through the forum to try and find what I'm looking for, but any pointers would be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Michael.

Hi all, I have been making models for just over a year now and I am really enjoying it, although being an ex-mechanic and having fingers more suited to undoing bolts and handling spanners, I find them a bit fiddly sometimes. I have made mostly 1/72 so far but my last model was a 1/48 scale Tiger Moth and hoping to do something bigger in the near future. Recently discovered the beauty of after-sales extras (think that is the term), so having seen the advantages of not struggling to mask canopies, etc I decided to 'buy my wife' a Cricut Maker 4, for her crafting hobbies 😉. Looking forward to sharing ideas and tips in this brilliant hobby on here and I hope everyone is well…

I'm a retired comics, concept and storyboard artist living with my lovely wife and irascible dog on beautiful Whidbey Island, Washington. I build mostly 1/48 aircraft and vehicles, but also have a few subs, ships and military vehicles in my stash. I have a Silhouette Cameo 4 that I have yet to fire up. I wanted to learn how to use and make files for cutting both masks and plastic parts. You may know me for my build threads and sassy mascots- cheers!

Hi all! Recently I got myself a Silhouette Portait 3, and I'm still learning to get along with it. I stumbled upon this forum, and from the first reads I thought registrating myself could be very useful! Recognised @Kevin Futter from his work on Instagram, maybe more of you guys are active there? I mainly build 72nd and 48th scale WWII aircraft, but I make some sidesteps now and then. I am using masks a lot in my builds to paint markings and insignia, but never was able to make them myself. Hopefully I'll find some help and interesting reads here, and maybe also inspiration, who knows! Greets Davy

Thank you for accepting me here 🙂 My name is Benjamin and been modeling for a few years...now trying to mask and paint in stead of decals... Seen some helpfull downloads here and hope to attribute myself as well 🙂 Still learning to work with silhouette studio so tips and tricks are welcome!

G'day from Australia. Newby here, model builder for some 55yrs. Ex draftsman, but mainly old school, pen and ink cartographic (lots of freehand!) Some CAD work in later times. Grandfather and bike rider, though age does catch up nowadays. I build mainly Luftwaffe WW1 and 2. in 72th. Quite a few civil jobs too. just bought a Cricut Joy...on a whim this weekend and because they were on 'special' so my learning curve will be steep and irregular. cheers John H, Brisbane Aus. 27/05/25

Hi everyone, I'm Massimiliano from Sardinia (Italy), and I recently purchased the Portrait 4 plotter to help me with masking my scale model aircraft, mostly in 1/48 scale.

Hello ! I have a portrait 3 and start using it . more than a beginner in fact ...😇 i'm building only 1:72 nd scale models ( WW II), and I Wonder to see what use ( more than general markings ) could be done with this printer A good challenge for me ! I'm from France, roots in south west the rugby country for France. Glad to join this forum ! Cheers ! François

Hi all, New here and new to the world of making masks. My main topic is US Navy aircraft, focusing on F-14s and F/A-18s. Recently got a Silhuette portrait 4 and starting to make my own masks. Looking forward to browsing the forum. Cheers, John https://www.instagram.com/irishscalemodeller/ https://www.facebook.com/people/Irish-Scale-Modeller/100093835922658/

Hi, My name is Ron. I've been building 1/48 scale model planes off and on for fifty years. Lately I've been painting some marking so my wife got me a Cameo 5 cutter for Christmas. I have no idea what I'm doing and was sent here by a friend. My first project is to create masks for the codes and roundels for a British Pacific Fleet Corsair II. Thanks for your time. Be well

Hi All, Thanks for letting me join. Little about me. I'm 62 live in Surrey UK and been a modeller on and of since my teens but am now trying to take it more seriously. I seem to be in the minority in having a Cricut machine. Why? Well through my employer I get a discount on things we sell and they don't stock Silhouette machines which seem to be difficult to get hold of here in the UK. Apart from some trial cuts and making a few birthdate cards on it, it has been gathering dust. Found this site and hope to use some of the excellent files produced by people with more skill than me. I see there are some tutorials that I hope will teach me …

Hello and thanks for approving my request. This is a great forum and I'm really interested to see the work in progresses and tips. I'm from Weston-Super-Mare, in the south west of the UK. I have been toying with the idea of a Silhouette cutter for a long time, but I am finally making the purchase, and I've started playinig in Silhouette Studio with some decal scans. First project will likelky be the USAF code letters for a 1/48 F-16 (Ramstein 512th FS) but I have plenty of ideas - most of them for Spitfires so I hope that roundels and RAF code letters/serials are a nice place to start!