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Most of your masking chores will involve thin strips of masking tape negotiating wide radius curves and straight lines. Some of those masking jobs, like the deck non-skid areas on these Type-212 models, are simple straight lines that terminate at one end in a semi-circle. Of course, you can't cut the masking tape thin enough to negotiate such a tight radius without having it bunch up on itself, so you have to go to a dedicated mask for the semi-circle.
The tool I use for cutting out discs and semi-circles is a jack-screw compass (the jack-screw insures that the distance between points will not vary as pressure is applied during the cutting operation) that has been modified by grinding one of its points to a knife-edge, turning the compass into a circle cutting tool. Cut out a disc shaped cutting board from plastic sheet, punch a hole in its center to tightly fit the pivot point of the compass, then place a piece of masking tape in the center of the disc, insert the tool, and hold the compass steady in one hand as you rotate the disc under the cutting blade. Wa-La! You've just cut out a circle.
If, in the case presented here, you need a semi-circle mask: you remove the central disc of masking tape, cut the remaining circle mask in half, lift a semi-circle mask off the cutting board, and place the mask onto the model.
Note how I've used the circles to guide me as I laid down the longitudinal strips of masking tape that form the boards of the anti-skid areas of the deck. The temporarily placed discs guide me and insure that the width between the longitudinal pieces of masking tape are constant, even though those pieces of tape are running along compound curves.
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Mazda cronos
The tool I use for cutting out discs and semi-circles is a jack-screw compass (the jack-screw insures that the distance between points will not vary as pressure is applied during the cutting operation) that has been modified by grinding one of its points to a knife-edge, turning the compass into a circle cutting tool. Cut out a disc shaped cutting board from plastic sheet, punch a hole in its center to tightly fit the pivot point of the compass, then place a piece of masking tape in the center of the disc, insert the tool, and hold the compass steady in one hand as you rotate the disc under the cutting blade. Wa-La! You've just cut out a circle.
If, in the case presented here, you need a semi-circle mask: you remove the central disc of masking tape, cut the remaining circle mask in half, lift a semi-circle mask off the cutting board, and place the mask onto the model.
Note how I've used the circles to guide me as I laid down the longitudinal strips of masking tape that form the boards of the anti-skid areas of the deck. The temporarily placed discs guide me and insure that the width between the longitudinal pieces of masking tape are constant, even though those pieces of tape are running along compound curves.
________
Mazda cronos
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