Hardware & Software

Hello folk. I've just pulled the trigger on a Creality Laser Falcon laser engraver. This was a bit of a spur of the moment "looks like a bargain" knee jerk buy. 🫣 I have used 1ManArmy laser cut masks and enjoyed their fidelity. I am hoping that I will be able to create my own masks using this tool. I have zero experience with this sort of thing so I have to expect failures. There is also no guarantee that this device, which is aimed at the crafting hobbyist, will give me anything close to the fidelity I hope for. Experimentation will be the name of the game. It comes well packaged in a stout cardboard box. Rudimentary instructions and assembly guide on the to…

Hello folk. May I ask a couple of quick questions please? (That wasn't one of them 😉) What software are people using to draw, design or create their masks please? I use an old PC which runs on Windows 7 I think. Is there anything suitable still available that will run on that archaic device? I expect I will be pestering the living daylights out of everyone before long as I am a complete novice in all things mask related but I have experienced the advantages of using masks and will likely be dipping my toe in the water soon. Thanks for any help you can offer. Cheers, Guy

Hello good people of SMPM, I have plagued @Mozart incessantly over recent years and he has been extremely patient. Thanks so much Max. However, although I know Max is happy to help, I feel it's about time I tried to do at least something myself. I chatted with Sven at Telford in the hopes that he might be open to making some custom stencil masks. I've use his 1ManArmy stencils on a couple of projects and am mightily impressed. Unfortunately he is a victim of his own success and is way too busy to look at custom stuff (unless you're a YouTube influencer 😄) I think I know the answer to my following question but I'm seeking con…

Should I get a Cameo 5 or a cheaper Cameo 4 plus? I’d prefer the smaller footprint of the 5. I’d like to use it for masks for 1/32 RAF and Luftwaffe insignia, serial numbers, mascots and stencils such as the no step lines and some of the Luftwaffe fluids stencils. I'm not sure what the improved accuracy of the 5 means practically. What level of software purchase is optimal?

So I ruined a decal on a build today: I've tried to touch it up with paint, but the results are pretty underwhelming, so I figured it was time to mask and paint. Yesterday I upgraded my Mac to the latest version of macOS (Sonoma 14.1.2), and upon opening Silhouette Studio today to begin creating a mask, I found it to be slow and buggy - graphics would import with red horizontal lines corrupting them, the "set trace area" tool was really sluggish, and the trace function itself didn't work at all. So I thought I'd better see if there was a software update for Silhouette Studio, and there was! Sadly, it made no difference whatsoever, and even the dra…

The upgrade to the Designer Edition is currently on sale for $25. Good deal! https://www.silhouetteamerica.com/software/ss#upgrade Gene K

Hi, folks! I´m sure that those cricut-machines etc. are the most comfortable way to do some masking. But in my case, i had already purchased a laser-module for my 3D-Printer because of other applications. So i wanted to figure out, if it is also useful for making some 1/48 masks. So if someone else here is interested in laser cutting: i can recommend the following settings for a 5W-Diode-Laser in combination with Lightburn and Tamiya masking paper: 150mm/min and 5% Power. If some of you guys already did some laser cutting, i would be happy to hear about your experience with different materials/parameters. …

The new batch of Silhouette hardware (Cameo, Curio, Portrait) is scheduled for "Fall 2023". Read about it here. After trials and tribulations with my Cameo 4, I purchased a Portrait 3 ... which suits me perfectly for masks. However, the added capabilities of the Cameo 5 will cost me a reasonable $350. Gene K

Interesting discussion going on over at LSP https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/97944-oramask-810-gone-bad-update/#comment-1425663

There are some good recommendations in this thread for the Silhouette Portrait, so ... if considering buying the excellent little Portrait 3, this $149 price (including shipping) from Walmart is a nice bargain. May be available in the store at your location. No indication how long this price is in effect. For the adventurous, there are currently some less expensive, supposedly new in-box Portrait 3s available on ebay, for example this one for $129 including shipping, but ... it's ebay. Gene K

Hello gents, I'm struggling with a basic function i can't get to work. Often i want to print my design files from the silhouette studio software before cutting. But when I print I always get a blank page no matter what's on the studio file. I must be missing something stupid? Thanks

I have installed Silhouette Studio while waiting for my Cameo 4 to arrive. Is it worthwhile upgrading to the Business version?

Does anyone here know how to FORCE Silhouette studio to recognise fonts that ALL other software on my PC recognises as installed? I cannot tell what makes one font compatible with Windows while not being compatible with Silhouette studio and another one to be. As usual, the ones who makes the software, both the people behind Windows as well as Silhouette Studio are no help at all, refering to a folder in Windows that simply is not there at all on my system. How I wish there was a way for me to point out the font-file for Silhouette Studio instead of relying on Windows to work as advertised. Maybe I should try my luck with Mac instead...

Good Evening All Wow what an amazing forum! I feel like I’m late to the party and only just now realising the versatility of making your own masks. I’m completely new to this whole area of modelling but want to get involved and participate. I have no idea what machine or software to use. I see that there are a few posts similar but were from last year and new products maybe be available….. I mostly build 1/48 aircraft but occasionally go to 1/72 stuff. I’d be interested to use masks for camo, lettering, placards or to replace as many decals as I can etc (basically so I do t have to use decals). . I know these machines are not…

Hey Everyone, I have a Cricut and was wondering how to convert the .Studio or .Studio3 files to something the Cricut software could recognize. I found a link to a site that supposedly converts them to .SVG. I just wanted to share the file converter on http://www.ideas-r-us-software.uk in case anyone else was needing their files to be Cricut compatible. If there's another way to convert the files, please let us know. Thanks, MicroMiGMan

Hello gentlemen, I'm popping over from the LSP forum where I received info of that fine forum after I tried to find out about the whatishwats regarding paintmasks. The idea of a dedicated forum on a topic that still seems relatively young in the modelling world at such an early stage is actually a pretty good one and I am hoping to gather some help and insight over time even though I still won't be able to contribute much myself at the moment being an absolute beginner. As indicated I am still absolutely new to the topic and tried to gather some first insights into the whole matter. So now I am standing before the decision most of you sttod be…

I tend to use AutoCAD (2005, not LT), quite frequently, and was wondering if my drawing files could be easily interpreted/converted by the various cutter software programs. Thanks a bunch,

I'm considering a purchase, and what I'm not really finding in the various descriptions of machines on the retailers' or manufacturers' sites is a positive statement about connectivity. Perhaps I'm missing it, or perhaps it's so basic one shouldn't have to ask, but nevertheless I will. Quite simply, can anyone who owns one or is otherwise in the know please tell me how the cutters on my shortlist, the Silhouette Cameo 4 and the Portrait 3 (is that the current model?), connect to a Windows PC: - USB? - Bluetooth? - WiFi? Or any/all of these? [Edit] I ask because space considerations would make it more convenient to site the cutt…

Just picked up this news from Facebook, which pointed to a news article on The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/15/22332212/cricut-crafting-machine-design-space-upload-limit I'm not a Cricut user, so I don't fully appreciate the context of this news, but would love to hear from any of our members who are, and can discuss it in more detail. Sounds like bad news, though. Kev

Hi I have a Cricut Air 2 and am slowly getting used to using it. I find that it struggles with smaller font sizes but am perservering. The size that I struggling with is the USS Midway on the side of a VF-161 Phantom. What is the smallest that can be achieved on a Shilouette cutter? Will

it is for a cricut but fits cameo and it supposed to be better at small intricate cuts

Finally got a new toy! I'd been using my previous workplace's Cameo 3, so I'm excited to learn what more capabilities the 4 has! First job: markings for a 1/48 Percival Provost! Denzil

I have found that this is the best material to use for paint masks on models, Artool Ultra Mask: https://airbrushes.com/product_info.php?products_id=24150&osCsid=0gmh5t1bb5fif2uqpcc901jtao

It's been too long and busy a day to open the box but tomorrow morning I'm gonna start playing with it. I bought some mask sheets at the store to learn on but also ordered a bunch of Oramask 810 sheets that should be here next week. I'm sure I'll have questions but I hope I'll be able to contribute to the site soon too. Al

I've been playing with creating files in Design CAD which I am familiar with and saving them as JPG files. They seem to open up and work just fine in the Silouette software. It's pretty easy to scan and trace in Design CAD so it should be pretty easy to convert a decal sheet. Is it OK to use files converted from decal sheets here? I don't want to have any copyright problem's. I wanted to try to do some off a P-40 decal sheet with a good old shark mouth.