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Tricky Stencil Prospect


Firepower

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So now that I'm busting out the airbrush again, I'd like to be able to stencil on the Black Templar cross here and there.  I've never done any stencil work before, so I have a few questions.  Mainly, what would be the best material to make the stencil out of?  

 

On the one hand, something like thin plasticard would be sturdy enough for the edges not to raise up when the air pressure hits, but it would be too inflexible to sit flush over anything that isn't a flat surface.  Meanwhile something like paper could bend around angles for some more interesting designs, but is flimsy enough that I don't think it would hold up against the force of the brush's pressure.  

 

Then there is the third option of masking tape, but I'd have to cut a fresh stencil for every surface that way.  However, it has both adherence and flexibility.

 

Is there any good way I could get the adherence and flexibility out of a permanent stencil, rather than cutting one from masking tape each time?  It can be very hard to get the cross perfectly symmetrical, so making fresh ones each time would be infuriatingly tedious. 

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Cast one with green stuff that is thick then shave down the mold till you expose the cross from the other side... Boom. If it works you owe me a dollar...

 

Also, cast a shoulder pad while you are at it and again shave down the other side. Instant shoulder pad stencil .. This one is worth 2 dollars if it works...

 

Other then that idk. I make stencils sometimes at work usually one time use.

 

When I worked at a guitar factory we had a template made of machines aluminum we traced onto masking tape each time. That might work, tho not aluminum obviously... Unless you have the world tiniest CNC machine

Making molds is a bit out of my skill set. Just about anything involving GS is outside my skill set, actually. :lol:

 

Even so, wouldn't it crack being bent across angled surfaces? It can be flexible, but not that flexible.

My guess would be to press the image and remove it before it sets... If not gs, I'm sure there is something else that can be used. Perhaps something more like silicone?

Firepower, modifying Canadian_F_H's idea with the aluminum master, could you make a master stencil out of plasticard, and then trace that onto masking tape each time? Obviously, depending on the size of the stencil, you'll need varying widths of masking tape, and it is an extra step, but it would hopefully meet all your requirements while being pretty easily repeatable.

That...shoulda been simple enough for me to think of on my own.  My brain really disappoints me sometimes.

 

It'll have to be very thin plasticard, but I think I have some that may work.  Some surfaces are still gonna be an outright ass-pain to do it on, though.  An Ironclad's shinguard, for example.  Still, the best option so far.

 

On the masking tape, currently all I have is 8mm width, and it's driving me nuts.  Do you have any idea how long it takes to tape around a single Vindicator panel with 8mm wide tape, much less 4?  I actually spent a couple of hours the other day driving around looking for some Tamiya tape...because I'm too dumb to call stores and check before driving out there like a shmuck.   Anyway, yeah, working on that :lol:

I remember playing with Frisket film back when I was airbrushing drawings in high school. Good stuff, but I'd have to cut out a cross each time no different than masking tape.

Mylar or acetate could be good. I'd like to get my hands on some and see how it feels, moves, bends and reacts to air pressure, before buying any. I'll have to call around town and see who might be selling some. But if the material doesn't have any adhesive on one side, then it will be very difficult at times to keep the paint from blowing up under the corners and edges of the stencil.

A flexible premade stencil would be nice, but googling "cross" stencils seems to bring up nothing but that one page and a list of iron crosses, not Maltese crosses like the Templars'. Having just one size wouldn't be all that fun.

How big are you wanting these stencils to be? Would custom decals be easier?

Tiny, big, as the mood strikes me from model to model. A cross covering half of a Vindicator siege shield, a cross on a single segment of an Ironclad shin, whatever. Decals and I dated in high school. The relationship didn't end well. laugh.png

Ohh, now that's something.  If only I knew how to do vector artwork and such, I won't have to pay out the bunghole for a sheet.

 

I use a free program called inkscape to do vector graphics. Worth looking into, if you're interested.

 

Matter of fact, that's a fairly simple design. Give me an idea of design and sizes and I'll whip them up for ya.

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