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Eduard Blotch Masks


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Hi All,

 

I just purchased Eduard Bf 109E Small (and Large) Blotch mask-etch 1/48 sets, thinking that there would be instructions included, as most Eduard stuff has.  Unfortunately, these do not have any instructions.  It seems obvious that these fit on the wings and fuselage, as masks to paint the mottlings, but I just wondered if anyone has actually used these before, and if so, how, specifically, do you use them?  

 

Below are links to these items on the Eduard store website:

https://www.eduard.com/Eduard/Bf-109E-Large-Blotch-mask-etch-1-48.html?cur=2&listtype=search&searchparam=xf561

https://www.eduard.com/eduard/bf-109e-small-blotch-mask-etch-1-48.html?cur=2&listtype=search&searchparam=xf563

 

Thanks for any help anyone can pass along!

 

P.S.  What's also interesting is that it looks like Eduard makes these masks specifically for some 109 variants, as I think there are masks for 109Fs as well, and perhaps more.

Edited by Curt B
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I tried some blotch masks several years ago (10-15?) and went back to free handing a mottle camouflage. You need to have a jig to hold the model at the proper angle, one hand for the airbrush and another to position and hold the mask (or be quite dexterous and hold both the mask and model with one hand). The results looked nice as I best recall, but with one of the high end airbrushes you have, you ought to be able to free-hand the mottle - really thin paint and very low air pressure.

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On 6/17/2020 at 8:41 PM, Chuck1945 said:

I tried some blotch masks several years ago (10-15?) and went back to free handing a mottle camouflage. You need to have a jig to hold the model at the proper angle, one hand for the airbrush and another to position and hold the mask (or be quite dexterous and hold both the mask and model with one hand). The results looked nice as I best recall, but with one of the high end airbrushes you have, you ought to be able to free-hand the mottle - really thin paint and very low air pressure.

I just photocopied the instructions and then cut them out and used them as a mask...was easy ti tape down and work with...

 

047.jpg

 

001.jpg

 

Sean

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martin_sam_2000:  Thank you, sir, for illustrating another option for doing the mottling.  Please, DO NOT Take this the wrong way, but I now see that perhaps freehand is the alternate way to approaching mottling, despite the potential downsides.  From the photos, and, frankly, the illustrations, I have seen of the Bf-109 planes that have nothing present, it seems like the real aircraft mottling did not have the mottled outlines so sharply delineated as on martin's plane.  Of course, who knows that there weren't many planes that did have such sharply outlined "mottles".  In fact, on my recently completed 1/48 desert Hurricane Mk 1, which had similar mottling on the front edges of the wings and under and around the nose, in green and red over aluminum those mottles were done freehand, albeit with a brush, not an airbrush, and in that particular application, the hard edged mottling looked fine to me.  Is that an accurate representation of what the real aircraft looked like?  I have no idea.  But on the '109s, it definitely seems like the feathered edged mottling is present most of the time, again, on the photos I've seen.  But, frankly, even though I have some very nice high end airbrushes, some of them with very fine needles designed specifically for fine detail, I can't get over the fear of the likelihood od 'spatters' at the beginning of each individual mottle shape, when I first pull back on the needle to begin the mottle.  Perhaps experimenting with distance from the surface, the air pressure, and the dilution of the paint, will eventually make me less fearful of this phenomena.  

 

Of course, one last thought, doing it martin's way, or even with the metal masks from Eduard, a less sharply delineated  edge can be achieved by mounting the masks slightly above the plastic surface to allow some of the paint to create a feathered edge.  

Edited by Curt B
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1 minute ago, Curt B said:

martin_sam_2000:  Thank you, sir, for illustrating another option for doing the mottling.  Please, DO NOT Take this the wrong way, but I now see that perhaps freehand is the alternate way to approaching mottling, despite the potential downsides.  From the photos, and, frankly, the illustrations, I have seen of the Bf-109 planes that have nothing present, it seems like the real aircraft mottling did not have the mottled outlines so sharply delineated as on martin's plane.  Of course, who knows that there weren't many planes that did have such sharply outlined "mottles".  In fact, on my recently completed 1/48 desert Hurricane Mk 1, which had similar mottling on the front edges of the wings and under and around the nose, in green and red over aluminum those mottles were done freehand, albeit with a brush, not an airbrush, and in that particular application, the hard edged mottling looked fine to me.  Is that an accurate representation of what the real aircraft looked like?  I have no idea.  But on the '109s, it definitely seems like the feathered edged mottling is present most of the time, again, on the photos I've seen.  But, frankly, even though I have some very nice high end airbrushes, some of them with very fine needles designed specifically for fine detail, I can't get over the fear of the likelihood od 'spatters' at the beginning of each individual mottle shape, when I first pull back on the needle to begin the mottle.  Perhaps experimenting with distance from the surface, the air pressure, and the dilution of the paint, will eventually make me less fearful of this phenomena.  

I have tried the freehand option, and while it turned out ok..It is not something I would want to do on a regular basis. I found that from 3-4 feet away, it is pretty hard to tell the diffenrece between hard and soft edges on a 1/48th kit.

Here is my freehand HE-219..I could have easily done it with a mask and you would have a hard time telling what was mask and what was freehand:

001.jpg

 

Sean

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Hi Sean!  Well, I am truly impressed with your freehand mottling efforts, really!   VERY nicely rendered, sir!  I would say you are probably correct that from a normal viewing distance, you might very well not be able to tell the difference.  And, it's not only mottling that is a concern of mine.  I will soon need to be doing more camo painting on other planes, where the transition between the different colors on the wings and fuselages.  I've tried both the sharply rendered transition by a taped edge, and a diffuse transition using a slightly raised edge.  The raised edge method certainly works, though, for me, is hard to consistently 'install' on curved surfaces, like a fuselage.

Edited by Curt B
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1 minute ago, Curt B said:

Hi Sean!  Well, I am truly impressed with your freehand mottling efforts, really!   VERY nicely rendered, sir!  I would say you are probably correct that from a normal viewing distance, you might very well not be able to tell the difference.  And, it's not only mottling that is a concern of mine.  I will soon need to be doing more camo painting on other planes, where the transition between the different colors on the wings and fuselages.  I've tried both the sharply rendered transition by a taped edge, and a diffuse transition using a slightly raised edge.  The raised edge method certainly works, though, for me, is hard to consistently install on curved surfaces, like a fuselage.

for a softer edge, I use the "putty worm" method. Gives a slightly feathered edge and is easy to work around complex curves. It isn't as easy to get a perfect match on the patterns, but with a bit pf patience you can get close..

 

 my recently completed 1/48 Typhoon during painting:

055.jpg

 

 and finished:

009.jpg

 

Sean

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