Kevin Futter
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Welcome aboard, Mal! Kev
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From memory, the Trace function should be available in the Basic edition, but given that it's not a very expensive upgrade, I'd definitely consider it if you want to take your mask-making further. I ended up going all-in with the Business edition, as I found it pretty affordable - and it's only a one-off cost. Kev
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Hi Kevin, Sorry to have not chimed in here before now, and sorry to see that you've had no other responses. The answers to your questions aren't completely straightforward, however, especially since very few of us have had much experience with more than one machine. For what it's worth, I believe a laser cutter would give you the best results, and you can buy Tamiya masking sheets to use instead of the regular vinyl material. This is what Sven at 1ManArmy uses, though I do know that he had to tweak his machine to get the amazing results that he does. Of course, that all comes with a significant cost, as you've noted, so leaving that aside, we're left with a relatively limited range of mechanical cutters and plotters. I personally have only had experience with the Silhouette Portrait 2, which I only use sporadically. I don't generally build in 1/72, so I can't really comment on its efficacy at that scale, but the smallest items I've successfully cut would be serial numbers in the 2-3mm range. I can't really comment on the other machines, but you're correct in assuming that Silhouette is the most common brand used in the hobby, with Cricut a distant second. I've read good things about the Siser unit, but really know nothing about it. On the software front, the basic version of Silhouette Studio is bundled with their machines, and is pretty capable. Whatever the use case, however, I thoroughly recommend upgrading to one of the non-free additions, as they're very reasonably priced, and include some key additional features - such as import/export capabilities for sharing with third party applications. Whatever software you use to design your masks, you'll still need to use Silhouette Studio to send them to the machine for cutting. Sorry that I couldn't be more directly helpful, but we do have some Cameo users here, so hopefully they can offer their perspectives too. Kev
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Do you have a link, Harry? Nevermind, found them! Thanks for uploading those, Harry. Kev
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The files are in ".studio3" format, and are designed to be opened in Silhouette Studio, and sent to a Silhouette cutting machine (Portrait, Cameo, etc). The software is free to download and use, but if you don't have a Silhouette cutting machine to output to, then it won't get you far. (In case it's not already obvious, the point of this site is to provide a repository of cut files for modellers to share and use on their own cutting machines.) Kevin
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Welcome aboard, Manfred! To access the mask files that Martin uploaded, simply click on the "View File" link underneath the photo in his post. Kevin
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Hi Rudy, You'll find that most people use one of the Oramask vinyls, usually 810 if my memory serves me correctly. https://www.orafol.com/en/australia/products/oramask-810s-stencil-film The main issue with this material is that it's not always easy to get hold of in sensible quantities, or even at all sometimes. Another commonly-used option are the masking sheets from Tamiya, which are made from the same material as their tape. Each material has its own set of pros and cons, so its worth having and experimenting with both if you can. The vinyl cuts more cleanly, is translucent, and comes in larger sizes. The Tamiya material conforms better to compound curves and surface details, and is (in my experience) more readily available. The machines are designed to handle a wide range of material types, so dialling them in for a specific medium can be tricky. Kev
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Looks good to me! Kev
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Welcome aboard, John! Kev
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Welcome aboard, sir! Kev
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Welcome aboard, Francis! Kev
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Welcome aboard, Andy! Kev
