denders

I've been using Artool Ultra Mask. I think it works well and I've been buying it in a 9.5" wide roll. That should work in the Cameo if you're wanting to use it by the roll. I've been preferring to cut pieces and using the sticky mat, that way it's less likely to move around. I have some Oracal 810, purchased from Oramask® 810 Stencil Vinyl – CraftCutterSupply.com I bought the Ultramask from Artool Ultra Mask Professional Masking Film (midwestairbrush.com) Dave

I've been using Frisket for a transfer media.

I have both Affinity Designer and CS6 (old version) of Adobe Illustrator. AD will export svg files and the version of Ai that I have will export dxf files. I assume newer versions of Ai will export dxf files. You will need to upgrade to the Designer version of the Silhouette software to import svg files. You have to go all the way to Business version to import Ai files. The standard version will import dxf file. If you haven't seen this comparison of versions. Software Comparison Chart (silhouetteamerica.com) I haven't tried the font files that you're listing. Affinity has a free trial version, if you want to check it out first. I haven't looked on Adobe but I imagine they have a free trial too. Affinity is a more economical competitor to some of the Adobe products. They had been running a half off sale, but I'm not sure it's still active. Dave

Welcome!

Ah, ok. Something to keep in mind. I have the Designer version.

See what comes up in from this link. cameo-4-en.pdf (silhcdn.com) You may have to right click and open it in a different tab.

Open the Layers Panel. The layer that contains the image should have two 'squares' on the left. Obviously the Eye changes display of the layer. The 'square' with nothing in it is the Lock. Try that.

Hi Gassman I have a Cameo 4 but in retrospect, I think a Portrait 3 would have been a better choice because it does everything I've needed to do at a more economical price. The Cameo 4 is larger (there are 3 different sizes too, big, bigger, biggest) and I've not used the full width yet. There's a second 'device' slot for another cutter or a pen, which I haven't used. If all you think you'll ever do with it is cut masks for models I think the Portrait is a good choice. One of the reasons I didn't go with a Cricut is the fact that all your files are stored in the 'cloud'. I guess that makes me a dinosaur, I prefer to have control over my 'stuff'. Dave

The tape, usually white, placed on early F4U Corsairs to stop fuel leaks.

I thought I'd drop this in here. It's how I separated the markings masks for my Hellcat project. All the markings on the Hellcat are painted. F6F-3 Hellcat [Trumpeter] - Works in Progress - Large Scale Planes The 00 masks were made using the typeface USN Stencil, AmarilloUSAF, or USAF Code. The reference photos seemed to be closer to AmarilloUSAF and sized appropriately. The stripe on the tail was Tamiya tape. And of course, the national markings were masks created in Silhouette Studio. I also created canopy masks. There aren't any decals on the hellcat model. I used AutoCAD to create these masks, exported a dxf file which was imported with Silhouette Studio. I'm familiar with AutoCAD and have an older copy that is installed on my notebook computer from before I retired. I've been slowly trying to work out how to create these types of things in Studio. I figure that at some point the notebook computer will die or at some point AutoCAD will stop working. Or I'll have to find other software to create the masks. So anyway, the first picture is what I cut for the national markings. I then sprayed white and black paint for the markings. There is a set of 00 under the horizontal tail surfaces that is black. I then installed the mask pieces for the base colors using frisket paper to hold the pieces together while I placed them. Then of course, came the blue paint. I placed the mask to protect the blue and sprayed white paint over the blue in the areas where the red paint would be. And painted the red. Then the overall mask piece to protect the markings. And of course, after all the painting was done and masks removed. I preferred to start with the white to limit the paint thickness. Dave

Thanks, Woody. Actually, none of the above. My brain was spinning and that idea came out, not really sure why. 🤪

Yup, I came to the same conclusion. For whatever reason I had the thought that it might help the edges not tearing. 🙄 The markings were first and it occurred to me that I would have to clear the markings after removing the masks if I cleared first. I had to do some touch-up on the underside color, so perhaps the masks will come off tomorrow. Thanks!

I'm debating whether I want to put a clearcoat on before removing masks. Any comments?

The aircraft serial number was done with a mask from my cameo 4. They're a little smaller than 3/16". The aircraft numbers (6Q-R) were also done with a mask. It's one of my first attempts so it's a little heavy on the paint. I should have painted white, then yellow, and then the green but I had originally intended on using all decals. The A-20 was started at least 10 years ago and became an experiment. I imagine that some experimentation with speed and force settings on the Cameo might result in a little better cuts.

Last Christmas I was given a PixScan mat. I kinda thought to myself, "what does this do for me, I can scan and import already." But, after reading up on how it works, I've used it once, so far, while scanning something and the scan came into Studio correctly scaled. Not like a regular jpg file that needs scaling after import. Dave