Looking for Tip on applying Paint to Pylon's trailling edge on PL 1/350 Refit

[coreysan]

IS there any trick or tip to this?

1. Should I airbrush the entire pylon first, then mask for the recessed area and paint?
2. Airbrush the recessed area, then mask it before painting the pylon?

Any secrets or tricks, or just a lot of meticulous masking?

[CrowTRobot]

I went with option #1. I think it's easier to apply darker colors over lighter colors.

[coreysan]

Roger that - thanks!
If you have a WIP for the Refit, let me know. I remember talking about a few tips with you last year,
and you really helped!

Corey

[CrowTRobot]

I didn't post much WIP, and what little I did didn't include painting the pylon vents. If you're worried about how to mask the rounded ends of the vents then I recommend using a punch and die set (I use this one) to punch small holes of the proper diameter in the masking tape. You can then cut the holes in half and use the semi-circle pieces to mask the ends of the vents.

[Tshark]

I didn't post much WIP, and what little I did didn't include painting the pylon vents. If you're worried about how to mask the rounded ends of the vents then I recommend using a punch and die set (I use this one) to punch small holes of the proper diameter in the masking tape. You can then cut the holes in half and use the semi-circle pieces to mask the ends of the vents.

I recommend the punch set as well.  They are great for making porthole paint masks.  I like clean uniform starship windows when lighting, so I drill them out, fill them clear, then mask and paint.

[CrowTRobot]

They're also very useful for masking the rounded corners of model aircraft windscreens and canopies. Once you have a punch
& die set you discover many good uses for it.

[coreysan]

Nice idea - I will look into that..
The recessed area sits down in cavity about
1 mm or so. How do you mask the sides? The hard way?

[CrowTRobot]

Nice idea - I will look into that..
The recessed area sits down in cavity about
1 mm or so. How do you mask the sides? The hard way?

It's not too hard: just mask the sides with straight strips of masking tape. No irregular shapes or compound curves to fuss with.

[coreysan]

Thanks for the advice.
Here we go!