Well, Well, Well.

[Sabre]

OK, second ain't bad. Finally found a way to mask most wheel wells. Using masking liquid, gently pour into wheel well and allow to dry several days. The liquid will sit level in gear well and after airbrushing, leaves a straight line. Simply prick with Xacto blade tip and pull the "plug" out. Viola! Happy Modeling! monketdance4.gif

[Nick P.]

Good idea, if all the liquid comes out on some of the more complex wheel wells, it would sure beat tissue paper.

[asvennevik]

I always paint wheel wells last. Cover with Scotch tape and cut out along the outline. Paper or likewise to protect the rest of the model from overspray. Only takes a few minutes.

Anders

[BlueNosers352nd]

Ditto asvennevik

Instead of Scotch tape..........I use my favorite tape..........TAMIYA TAPE

[Nick P.]

Let's hear it for Tamiya Tape!!!!!!!! Who does not love that stuff?

[MoFo]

Let's hear it for Tamiya Tape!!!!!!!! Who does not love that stuff?

Me? :D Though I too do my wheel wells after painting the rest of the aircraft. I can't really think of a reason to do it any other way, either - why fiddle around with tissues or dump a bottle of maskol in there (I'd like to see you try that with the Revellogram Bone ;)) when you can just wait and spray it later?

[Dmanton300]

I always paint wheel wells last. Cover with Scotch tape and cut out along the outline. Paper or likewise to protect the rest of the model from overspray. Only takes a few minutes.

Anders

Word.

[Guest phill]

i do my wheel wells last some times but the last couple of times i do my wheel wells first i spray the colour then fill it up with bluetack. it fills up quickly and then u can use a tooth pick or knife to get straight lines or conform it to curves. then pull it out when u have finished the rest of the paint sceme and are ready for your next step B)

[The Migrant]

i do my wheel wells last some times but the last couple of times i do my wheel wells first i spray the colour then fill it up with bluetack. it fills up quickly and then u can use a tooth pick or knife to get straight lines or conform it to curves. then pull it out when u have finished the rest of the paint sceme and are ready for your next step

I tried that method recently and the blu-tack left deposits in the deeper recesses and also ripped out some sprue 'plumbing' I'd put in there B) Painting them last works well, and I've also had some success using small pieces of foam rubber. If they're cut roughly to shape but slightly larger than the wheel-well apertures they'll expand to fill the holes.

[Paul T]

I thought I saw this post before. I just primed my F-86 D "doggie " .As this is only the second jet I`ve built,I paint the wells first.Last plane (F101 voodoo) I masked,took awhile but worked.This time I used Blue Tack,worked great took no time at all,even did the cockpit. B)

Paul T

[BrockyTaz]

I usually use the gear doors themselves. I glue them in with liquid mask or Elmer's white glue. After putting them in place, I wipe down the excess mask/glue with a damp rag and paint away. Then I use an Xacto blade to pull them off and wet Q-Tip to clean out the wells with. This is very quick. It also allows me to paint the outside of the doors at the same time as I do the rest of the underside so I can keep the tint/tone uniform if I am using a custom mixed color. This also works with engine/gun bay panels and canopies too. Of course you would have masked the canopy before installing it.

Mark B.

[silver1]

I lay a 2' wide piece of masking tape over the well openings then cut an opening with an x-acto and spray the wells. When dry, I carefully remove the tape and place it on a styrofoam egg carton. This gives me a pattern to cut out which I then place in the wells as a mask. This works well on 1/48 scale fighters, may not be as practical on larger/deeper openings.

[madmike]

I either use the doors themselves as other have mentioned or I use tissues moistened with water. Make the mosit tissues into balls and stuff them into the well. They will dry over time and expand to fill the well completely. Use a toothpick to coax the tissues in nice and tight. You should be able to get the well completely masked this way. I often cover the tissues with maskol as a final mask layer.

When it comes time to remove, re-moisten and remove with tweezers.

If you used acrylic paints to paint the well, make sure the paint is completely cured before masking!

HTH

MikeJ

[Guest jwridge]

I fill the gear wells with silly putty or paint last ---whichever seems reasonable for a particular A/C. I have not had any problems with the silly putty leaving a residue.

Jim

[f14peter]

I kind of do both . . . paint before AND after. I'll typically paint the well before exterior painting, masking with Play-Do (Which only works for a while, it'll eventually shrink up!) or the doors themselves. Then I'll go in and do any touch-up work required, which usually isn't much.

[Hooker169]

I've also used the gear doors as a mask the last few times but for some applications I've used panty hose cut into varies sizes and shoved into the wells (saw on ARC, can't remember where) The hose seems to be thin enough to fit into all the subtle details but thick enough to catch the paint.