Introductions

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…

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!

Hello Folks, my name is Duncan Black and I have recently bought a Cricut Explore 3 as a retirement gift to myself. I am a keen aircraft modeller and airbrush painter with plenty of experience of using commercially purchased paint masks but have always wanted to be able to create my own. Unfortunately I am a luddite when it comes to drawing software so I guess I have quite a learning curve ahead of me. To start I will be happy to reproduce basic markings like RAF roundels, US 'Stars and Bars' and WW2 Luftwaffe markings and the various code numbers and letters. I use a lot of canopy masks so that's another application I will be having a go at in the …

Hi all, Heard about this site on the latest episode of On The Bench, as l own a Silhouette I figured I would join the fun. Cheers, Carl

Hi all, My name is Jean Gratton. Just learned about this site from the On the Bench podcast today. Boy this is phenomenal ! I've had the Silhouette for about a year or so and it's a great tool for this hobby but so far I've only used it to cut circular mask for car models. Recently I started a Bf109 E-7 and I wanted to use the masks for the markings but the scan of the decal sheet I made created rough copies at best. I'm so glad I found these great files but I have a question. The templates I downloaded give me the dimensions of the outer portion of the mask but how can size the actual cross to the dimensions …

Hi all, I just turned 40 and did myself a gift, say a Silhouette Portrait 3. Here to learn how to do, take profit of your great contributions, and improving my skills in order to contribute myself. Have a nice day all!

Well, I'm Furie, or Denis for those who know me a little, and I live between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse, in the Ain region. I discovered this forum from my readings of the LSP forum where several of its members come here to post messages. I was given a Cameo for Christmas and I'm trying to tame it at the moment. I can see that the potential of this machine is enormous and that the main limiting factor is the person writing this text on the keyboard… See you soon, folks!

Hello there! I'm a French expat in beautiful Estonia and a 1/72 aircraft modeller. My Silouhette Portrait is on the way and I'm pretty excited about the opportunities for custom markings, canopy masks and other modelling purposes. I hope to be able to contribute to the library very soon 🙂 Thanks for having me!

Hello every body. Just bought my first silhouette machine. A cameo. Quite some work on the bench I reckon. Thanks for accepting me here.

Good day everyone! I am a modeler from the city of Grand Rapids, USA. (We happen to be getting a blizzard right now.) I mostly build aircraft in 1/72 and 1/48 scale, and I have been considering getting into creating my own masks for a year or so. My initial interest here is painting aircraft graphics and lettering/numbering instead of using decals that are hard to find, expensive, or damaged. Yesterday, I came across a previously owned, well-maintained Silhouette Cameo 3 with some extras for $60. Seemed like a good entry point, so I jumped on it. I use Hyperscale Forums regularly, and saw this website posted by a member several m…

Hi, Thought I would introduce myself, Im a 1/72 scale modeler from central Scotland, mainly aircraft and armour , but I've dabbled in some fantasy and naval stuff. I really really like building dioramas, maybe its I like to tell a story lol I have about 5 ideas in my head for dioramas and one on the bench lol. I enjoy building entropy stuff, you know wrecked ruined and abandoned stuff as you can see below. I picked up a Cricut Air 2 just before xmas second hand for £90, I guess am wanting to experiment a little and see what I can do with it, I like the idea of being able to create my own masks for things like aircraft code letters, I know the tin…

Hi all, considering buying a cutting plotter, which I then did, I'm waiting for it to arrive, I discovered this forum. some of my models with insignia painted via hand cut masks are already on LSP, but I think I've reached my limit with that technique: it's time to learn something new. see you soon, I hope, Paolo