Cheap but Good Masking Tape, Canopy Frame Cheating, Nail Salon Strikes Again

[TheChronicOne]

Yesterday out on the ol' Facebook I saw someone post a tip about cheap masking tape. The stuff used on finger nails for finger nail art! Seems like these finger nails stuffs and modeling are cousins!  First time around we talked about water slide transfers. This time I have this tip on the tape. While I was also poking around on that, I came across some other useful stuff!

A few of us had been talking about "cheats" for doing canopy masking/painting and among some of the ideas where to use .5 mm tape, painted. To cut strips of tansfer material and paint that, and even using Shurtape (metal foil tape) for same. 

First, let's have a glance at this masking tape.  Ol' boy on Facebook said it worked really well and the main selling point is that it is a fair deal cheaper than Tamiya and the rest.



It seems to come in a number of differeing sizes, 2mm seems to be the most "popular" one.  I found some on Ebay, but I'd recommend doing your own shopping to search out the best deals. I know ebay has it, but there could very well be a better place to buy it.

While I was looking at that stuff, I came across THIS stuff which has me stoked to buy some to try. I found this on ebay and according to the listing, there are 30 rolls of this stuff in various color...all for a mere $4.25 with FREE shipping. Not only that, but the stuff ships from New Jersey, USA, so that's good for us in the US and probably better for everyone else as far as wait time on shipping. 

Let's have a look at it:


All them for $4?!  Sign me up.  Also, it's easy to tell about how big the stuff is because look at the convenient finger nail there with some on it. I bet that stuff is perfect size for a good number of canopies!!  The silver and black will be handy but I imagine the other colors will work in many instances, as well!    If anyone wants to snag these:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/30X-Mixed-Colors-Rolls-Striping-Tape-Line-Nail-Art-Tips-Decoration-Sticker-DIY/272091214565?_trksid=p2050601.c100085.m2372&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140211132617%26meid%3D67ce1bdb8bb24ee8aab840e919df9364%26pid%3D100085%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D4%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D272091214565%26clkid%3D2238888367500741532&_qi=RTM2247625    (Good Lord why is the URL so big?! LOL  )

Lastly, I keep seeing these kits of tools for working on finger nails and stuff and I'm seeing a lot of them damn cheap and containing a good number of tools! I lot of them look like they would come in handy for working on models. Some of the brushes and stuff look good for pastels and weathering... etc.  HEre's an example:



This one in particular ships from China but is just $9. I didn't even try, but I imagine there are others that are probably cheaper or might ship from a better location.


Anyway... I want to try some of this stuff soon and I think there's even more potential to beauty products than I first realized! I love thinking outside of the box and getting things on the cheap.

[PR19_Kit]

This could run and run.......... 

I could tell about weathering using the dregs of your SO's eyeshadow too.

I posted an article about doing just that in a model railroading magazine maybe 15 yrs. ago and you'd have thought I was suggesting revolution against the Government, but it really works, and it doesn't cost ANYthing!

[TheChronicOne]

I tell ya, Kit... I've been meaning to for awhile, now even more so, but when my first good paycheck gets here I'm going down to the beauty store to browse around and spend some time to see what I can dig up! 

That eyeshadow tip... now that sounds like a winner! Could buy a whole "case" of the little things in various shades and comes with a the little brushes and all that.

Folks around town are going to start to think I'm a drag queen with my trips to the beauty store but I'm alright with that!!     

[PR19_Kit]

The good thing about eye shadows compared to modelling weathering powders is they have some sort of 'stickyness' stuff added to them so it doesn't come off the girl's eyes easily, and that helps it stay on the model when you spray it with some matt varnish. But if the weathering comes out wrong before you varnish it it's relatively easy to brush it off and have another go.

It also comes in a VAST range of colours, for model railroad use, which is what I use it for mostly, the browns, reds and greys are most useful, but there are millions more to chose from.

[kerick]

I might just have to look into that tape! I imagine SF builders could find even more uses for it.

[TheChronicOne]

That's some choice info right there!  One can never have too many resources to draw from and the more varied the better, I say. If I've learned anything from all you whiffers is that there are tons of things to use that "most" would never dream of when they think of building scale models.

Heck, the very thing that led me to WIM, Greg Ewald's whif B-17, had had Minwax wood stain applied as a weathering technique and it turned out awesome. It was at that moment that I fell in love with "whif" and also realized that there's a whole world of neat stuff out there that can be used that ISN'T found on the model kit aisle.

[zenrat]

I have used soy sauce to stain balsa planks on a 1/25 Chevy Pickup and painted cars with nail polish.

[Dizzyfugu]

That masking tape got me tempted. Have to check out if I can find similar stuff in the local drugstore - worth a try. Thanks a lot for the advice! 

[TheChronicOne]

I have used soy sauce to stain balsa planks on a 1/25 Chevy Pickup and painted cars with nail polish.

Soy sauce! Brilliant!  I also like the nail polish...I wouldn't mind havig a bunch of bottles of it for my little tiny stuff like cockpits and nav lights and the such. I like the little bottles becase I can keep some around on my tray like the testors and other .5 oz bottles.

[TheChronicOne]

That masking tape got me tempted. Have to check out if I can find similar stuff in the local drugstore - worth a try. Thanks a lot for the advice! 

You bet, if you find any and try it soon let us know how it turned out. It may be awhile before I can do any of my own experiments.

[zenrat]

I have used soy sauce to stain balsa planks on a 1/25 Chevy Pickup and painted cars with nail polish.

Soy sauce! Brilliant!  I also like the nail polish...I wouldn't mind havig a bunch of bottles of it for my little tiny stuff like cockpits and nav lights and the such. I like the little bottles becase I can keep some around on my tray like the testors and other .5 oz bottles.

Keep an eye out for cheap nail polish at service stations when filling the car.
Oh, and I should point out it needs to be airbrushed.

[PR19_Kit]

Keep an eye out for cheap nail polish at service stations when filling the car.
Oh, and I should point out it needs to be airbrushed.

You mean you actually BUY it? 

Surely your SO has HUNDREDS of bottles of the stuff stashed away in some cupboard somewhere, and most have them have only been used once as '....that colour's out of fashion now....' 

[Rheged]

Madame Rheged had some  ALMOST MATT clear nail varnish that was used for "other purposes".  Dunno where it came from, but it's all gone now; my sons annexed it for modelling use.

[zenrat]

Keep an eye out for cheap nail polish at service stations when filling the car.
Oh, and I should point out it needs to be airbrushed.

You mean you actually BUY it? 

Surely your SO has HUNDREDS of bottles of the stuff stashed away in some cupboard somewhere, and most have them have only been used once as '....that colour's out of fashion now....' 

Oddly enough, no.  She has a metallic brown and a red for when she wants to be outrageous.  And clear.