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View File F4U4 1/48 OLATHE Masks for F4U4 1/48 Submitter airte974 Submitted 11/25/2023 Category Specific Aircraft  

View File Airfix Anson Gun Plate This gun plate was designed to cover the forward-facing .303 machine gun housing on the Airfix 1/48 scale Anson. I don't think the Anson trainers in Canada were armed, so here is my quick fix. (Of course, after I drafted, printed, and attached my plate, I found a photo that shows a better representation than I originally built. (as seen in my primed fuselage half.) The fix is easy though. Before printing, reduce the "X" and "Y" scale by 30%. Also - the thickness is very thin and fragile after curing, so do not reduce the "Z" scale at this time, rather, after it is printed, sand it as thin as you need. Submitter DBB Submitted 11/06/2023 Category Specific Aircraft  

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

View File CAUDRON C630 1/48 F-ANRY Hi, Masks for main markings for a C630 F-ANRY from DORA WINGS 1/48 kit. Also some masks for clear parts. Submitter airte974 Submitted 11/25/2023 Category Aircraft - Civil  

Hello, i am Phil from France. I don't have yet a machine to make the masks on 1/32 airplane models. However, the purchase is planned for some time. Seeing your achievements gives me ideas for the futur. Friendships to all.

View File Codes-RAF I saw a thread on LSP recently, in which the OP described the difficulties with installing certain fonts, which are recognised by MS Word and other software, but not picked up by the Silhouette Studio software. The process the poster described was basically the one I used: Type up the lettering you want in MS Word, scan it in, and manipulate it until you have your codes in your studio 3 file. What a bother! But there is no way round it. However, the thread reminded me that I had created this file, but not uploaded it here. So better late than never, here it is. It contains all the letters and numerals in two of the most common font styles used by RAF aircraft. You can use them for squadron codes, serial numbers, or whatever you choose. Just copy and paste the characters you require into your own Studio 3 file, size them and arrange them to suit your subject, and off you go. Applicable to all scales - although the smallest I've managed to cut are the 4" characters that the RN use for serials in 1/32 scale. Hope this is useful. Submitter MikeC Submitted 11/24/2023 Category Aircraft - Military

For basic mask cutting, I'm still happy enough my 2 - and I really don't cut enough of them to justify an upgrade, unless there were some significant advantages to doing so. But having a machine capable of dealing with a wider range of materials and applications really piqued my interest. It's just a bit expensive for casual use, and I probably wouldn't get great value out of it. Kev

Thank you for the tips. I'm not a prolific mask maker by any stretch and I've had my Silhouette machine for 2 or three years. I'll play with it next time I get a chance and see if I can't get a better result. If playing with it doesn't help, I'll attach my spare blade. I'm thinking, the best way to do these fine masks would be a laser cutter. But I know next to nothing about them and have seen a wide variety in pricing. One thing I learned in watching videos yesterday, is that you can't use many materials because the heat causes toxic off-gassing in some... so no oramask.

Hi again. This test was done with ALTENEW brand masking paper. Got it from a place in Tasmania... That's where my wife comes from too, incidentally. Anyway... The first cut was far from promising. I made 8 examples and decided to push through and see if I could make a decent representation of the text I needed. After weeding, my mask looked like this: was I didn't do a perfect job of weeding, and I think my my blade setting of (1) might have been better at (1.5)... if you can set it there. Now... I have never messed with the cutting settings of my silhouette portrait. Everything is still the way it came out of the box. Here is it painted on a very new paint mule. My poor weeding shows, but you can see that my hasty job isn't too different from the decal below. The main difference between the paper stencil used here and the Oramask 810 I use for everything else, is the superior tackiness of the paper mask. When I cut the 8 examples in Oramask, every triangle from the number Four ended up in the little cylinder holding the knife blade. And they weren't tacky enough to hold on in the face of airbrushing. Whereas the center of the numbers and letters of the paper masks were tacky enough to be attached to the model after the main body of the mask, and stand up to airbrushing. I've included the ruler for scale... But I think I can count this as a minor victory. If anyone can give me some ideas about messing with the cutting settings... I'm all ears.

Hmmm, I honestly don't know what I'd do model-wise if I couldn't use my Silhouette for the many tasks that I need.

It's the macOS upgrade, as I was having issues before and after I installed the Silhouette upgrade. Lots of users are reporting this problem from what I can see, so there's no need for me to pursue it individually. But it's really up to the Silhouette company to ensure that their software stays compatible with the latest versions of the operating systems they support. But to be honest, Silhouette Studio has never felt like a fully polished product on the Mac - from the crude and unattractive user interface, to the less than stellar performance, and even the lack of proper OS integration (Command+Q doesn't work to quit?). We'll have to see how this pans out, but I hope they can address it quickly! Some of the reports of issues I'm seeing go back to September, however... Kev

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!

And here's another one from LSP - hi and

Thank you for your welcome. I confirm what you say Mozart, that's why I'm going to look for a machine

Bonjour Philippe et bienvenu! The cutter machines open up a whole new world of possibilities to our fine hobby, so it’s well worth getting one. Max

Kevin, If you are looking to move up from the Portrait 2-- Great deals abound on the Portrait 3 since the 4 is out. I sold my 3 and applied the funds to the 4 ... which I really like. Gene K

Thanks, Gene. It's not something I'm seriously considering, but I'm certainly intrigued by its potential. Kev

I had the original Curio and really liked it, but it was overkill for my needs (as was my Cameo). Also, it was kind of clunky with the stacked bed arrangement. The new model, however, is MUCH improved in all aspects, and I would have gotten one but for the large footprint the machine with/without the ES mat requires. There is no comparison of the the Portrait 2 to the original Curio - never was ... and is not now as regards the Curio 2 to the Portrait 4 (which I bought). Totally different classes as concerns diverse capability (as you said). If you have the room and want stupendous capability, the Curio 2 is a great buy! Gene K

I'm not familiar with the masking material you used, but the Portrait should certainly have done a sharper cut. In that regard, you can't set 1.5 depth on an autoblade (assuming you are using one), but in any event, you can/should play with the force/depth combination to dial in your particular material. For fine tuning, you can also "fiddle" with Line Segment Overcut, Track Enhancing, and Intelligent Path Technology (if you have a Portrait 4). As for Oramask, it will lose some stick (and shrink somewhat) as it ages, especially if not stored properly, but it sounds like your Portrait is new, so I assume your Oramask is also new. As for alternatives to Oramask, I've tried other masking materials, and have found Tamiya the best (but I "stick" with Oramask). Lastly, I assume your blade is new ... and that you've checked that there are no cutting fragments in the blade holder. Gene K

View File Airfix Avro Anson 1/48 scale copilot seat frame (folded) STL file This is my first attempt at constructing a 3D model in a CAD program (don't ask how long this took, lol) It's not perfect by any means and I had to "scale" it one millimetre or two narrower before I printed it out. (It is not permanently attached in this sample image - just placed) Also, I cut the copilot seat apart (seat and backrest) and will glue this to the inside of the frame after it's painted black. Lastly, I cut the copilot rudder bars, and re-attached them in the "stowed" position. The "spare" control column will be hung on the rigging. Submitter DBB Submitted 10/31/2023 Category Non-Mask Cutting Files Scale 1/48 Intended Kit Airfix  

I can’t see myself buying anything new with added “tricks and gizmos” unless my trusty Cameo 2, now nearing its tenth year of service, goes irreparably wrong….perish the thought!

Kotare Spitfire Mk. Ia Masks View File Kotare Spitfire Mk. Ia Insignia Masks ... these have been drawn based on the kit's decal sheet (ie nothing has been traced). Obviously these haven't been tested (yet) but should hopefully give you guys a basis to move forward with and save you a bit of time Working on the canopy masks, but that could take a bit more time Submitter CB_357 Submitted 03/18/2023 Category Specific Aircraft  

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 drawing tools don't work now. This is what I get if I attempt to draw a simple circle: Looks like I won't be using Silhouette Studio - or my Portrait - for a while! Kev