Making your own masks: Silhouette cutters

[galgos]

If you’ve ever been tempted to have a go at making your own masks, or perhaps need some hints and tips about using the Silhouette* Portrait or Cameo cutters, the Scale Model Paint Masks site https://www.scalemodelpaintmasks.com/index.php could give you some answers! 
It’s a fairly new venture so new members and/or those with experience and tips to pass on are welcome.

Max 

 

* Cricut machines can also be used to cut masks of course, but to date all input has been Silhouette related. 

[Ade H]

Is it just about Silhouettes? If so, I can't contribute. I could provide information about using Cricuts if people want it, except for designing in the Cricut software (as I import my designs). But I'd prefer to help members of BM here rather than take it off to another forum.

[galgos]

19 minutes ago, Ade H said:

Is it just about Silhouettes? If so, I can't contribute. I could provide information about using Cricuts if people want it, except for designing in the Cricut software (as I import my designs). But I'd prefer to help members of BM here rather than take it off to another forum.

No Ade, it most definitely isn't just about Silhouettes, it just happens at present that members who have contributed to the forum have all been Silhouette users.  So in fact, input from a Circuit user would be very welcome should you feel inclined.  I searched for an area to post my link to Scale Model Masks here on BM but couldn't find any type of dedicated area but I've no doubt that advice exists randomly, unless you know further?

Max

[Ade H]

Wow, bit snappish.

[galgos]

1 hour ago, Ade H said:

Wow, bit snappish.

Really, in what way?  Genuinely mystified! 😃  Please explain so that I don't make the same mistake again.

[Ade H]

Sarcasm now? Well, what did you mean by "unless you know further" and "it most definitely isn't..."? You came across as a bit rude, as if you had taken a real dislike to my point that I'd rather help people here than join another forum.

Edited September 4, 2021 by Ade H

[galgos]

Well I'm very sorry that you've read my post like that, there was no sarcasm nor snappishness intended I can assure you, nor is there any in this post.  Best we leave it there I think.

[bootneck]

Calm down, calm down!

 

It's not just the well known Silhouette and Cricut machines that can do masks, virtually any cutter with a very fine and sharp blade can do these.  I own a Silver Bullet cutter and have used it for such work.

 

One element that gets virtually no mention with cutting machines is stencils.  Whereas a mask is intended to cover the area to be protected, such as glazings etc., i.e. to paint or spray around the mask,  a stencil is designed to paint or spray inside the area being covered.   I have used the cutter for making stencils which provide perfect circles, such has helo spots and numbers on ship models plus white line demarcations and so forth.

 

Here is a view of my model's flight deck after the stencils had been applied, paint sprayed and then stencils removed.  No need for fancy decals, if such were even available at the time.

 

In this view of the USS Antietam, the two decks on the left have the deck markings engaved onto the deck, the two on the right have masks cut ready for spraying the deck; and the centre one has stencils applied ready for the numbers to be sprayed.  All of these were produced from one single drawing and sent to the cutter.

 

This just to show that most cutters can do this sort of output, not just the two well known ones that have been mentioned.

 

Mike

[galgos]

Thank you Mike, I’m always calm by the way. Never heard of a Silver Bullet cutter so I’m pleased to have learned something. 
Max 

[bootneck]

The Silver Bullet is just like most other cutters but is sized at A3+.  I am currently building a model of USS Saratoga CV-60 (a looooonnnnggg time project) and most parts will be cut from styrene sheet using the cutter.

here is the flight deck, which is over 6 feet long.   When I get to the deck marking stages, I shall be making masks and stencils for that as well.

 

I use and would recommend Inkscape for drawing up masks and stencils.  The software is free and fairly easy to learn and use.

 

cheers,
Mike

[Wicksy]

On 04/09/2021 at 13:32, Ade H said:

Is it just about Silhouettes? If so, I can't contribute. I could provide information about using Cricuts if people want it, except for designing in the Cricut software (as I import my designs). But I'd prefer to help members of BM here rather than take it off to another forum.

I would very much welcome any hints or tips you have with using a Cricut machine. My mother in law got one for Xmas there and was thinking of using it to create some stencils for the Lancaster I’m currently working on to mark it for her dads plane he flew in back in the day. 

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

I have a Cricut Maker. I like the machine, but as it can cut hard materials it's not so good for the really fine stuff but 1/48 serial numbers are ok. In 1/72 it's a bit wobbly.

 

 

My biggest recommendation would be to avoid Cricut Design Space as much as possible and draw your designs somewhere else such as Adobe Illustrator and import them to Design Space as an .svg file.

[Wicksy]

22 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

I have a Cricut Maker. I like the machine, but as it can cut hard materials it's not so good for the really fine stuff but 1/48 serial numbers are ok. In 1/72 it's a bit wobbly.

 

 

My biggest recommendation would be to avoid Cricut Design Space as much as possible and draw your designs somewhere else such as Adobe Illustrator and import them to Design Space as an .svg file.

What material are you using? I was going to put Tamiya masking tape on top of some PVC clear binding cover (not sure of real name), then run it through machine. 

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

1 minute ago, Wicksy said:

What material are you using? I was going to put Tamiya masking tape on top of some PVC clear binding cover (not sure of real name), then run it through machine. 

 

I'm having good success using Oramask 810. I tell the Cricut machine this is "premium vinyl" and it cuts it nicely with the fine blade. I would recommend that you either check the blade is genuinely fresh or supply your own for cutting your masks. If someone has cut a single cardboard or paper thing with it the blade will be blunt. A blunt blade should do OK-ish on big masks like roundels but for the lettering you can forget it - it'll just tug the masking material around under the blade tip and if it does cut, it won't be the shapes you drew. I haven't tried masking tape but can certainly give it a go.

 

When you get a design into Cricut Design Space, it will assume you want to make layered birthday cards and will helpfully dismantle all the separate shapes you drew and lay them out differently. The first thing to do is set every single shape to "Simple Cut" as opposed to Draw then Cut, and then set every single shape to the same colour (or it will think you want to feed in separate bits of coloured cardboard for the different shapes). Make use of the Group function to group the related shapes together (e.g. the triangle inside a letter A, or the smaller circle(s) inside a roundel so Design Space doesn't dismantle them for you.

[dnl42]

On 9/4/2021 at 12:36 PM, bootneck said:

I use and would recommend Inkscape for drawing up masks and stencils.  The software is free and fairly easy to learn and use.

I heartily second this recommendation!   Inkscape is also highly recommended for designing decals.

 

Also an Inkscape extension is available at https://github.com/fablabnbg/inkscape-silhouette that enables masks to be directly sent from Inkscape to a Silhouette Portrait. Instructions for installing the extension on Linux, MacOS, and Windows are provided.

 

At this point, every model I build has some masks cut on my Silhouette Portrait. I have the original unit, which can only score 10 mil plastic. I understand the Portrait 3 can fully cut such plastic. Here's are some 1/48 Mark 21 mounts I drew in Inkscape, scored onto plastic with the extension, and then finished cutting with a knife.

 

Some hints that may be useful:

• Use the light hold cutting mat. This enables the material to be easily peeled.
• For smaller masks, I'll just lay a strip of Tamiya tape on the cutting mask. Tamiya tape is also available in sheet for (item 87130)
• Frisket Film can also be used.
• Use Inkscape's layers for different elements. You can select one or multiple layers to cut/print specific elements instead of everything in the drawing.
• You can import raster images into Inkscape as the basis for your vector drawing. Put this in its own layer so you can hide it when no longer needed. I usually trace the outline by hand (like the Mark 21 mounts above). There is a tool to trace bitmaps outlines for you, see https://inkscape.org/doc/tutorials/tracing/tutorial-tracing.html
• You can cut masks and print decals from the same drawing.
• I cut test masks onto paper. But do heed @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies's comment on blade sharpness.

HTH

-- 

dnl

[Hoops]

A thought that I had when working with laser printing decals:

Has anybody used their die cutter to cut basic shapes out of a sheets of white decal paper?

 

My idea being that for basic shapes (squares, circles, roundels, etc.) I could buy a sheet of white decal paper, cut it with my silhouette portrait and apply to the kit. Then put a second laser printed decal layer on top of it. It would be cheaper/easier than ALPS printing, and I could save the ALPS for the more intricate and complicated elements.

 

Has anyone done such a thing?

 

Hoops

[Curt B]

Hi All,

 

I've had a Silhouette Cameo 4 cutter for well over 2 years...and I've yet to use it!  It is a VERY intimidating machine, at least to me.  Everything about it, creating the masks, transferring them, and then painting after the masks have been placed.  I guess the only way to break my mental logjam is to 'just do it'!  SO, that being said, I have a fundamental 'paint order' question.

 

I'm working on a 1/48 Eduard Tempest.  Fortunately, most of the markings are British Roundels, which I imagine are one of the simpler designs to  create using the cutter.  But here is a really basic question.  Let's use the fuselage side roundel.  This one has 4 colors, a red inner circle, surrounded by a white ring, then a blue ring, and finally an outside yellow ring.  The mask would consist of 5 parts, the inner circle and then 4 rings, the largest being the outside ring around the yellow.  How would you paint the roundel, that is, what order would you do things?  Here's my thought:

 

                  1.  Circular center mask and all 4 surrounding rings in place on the model

                  2.  Remove the center round mask, and spray with red paint

                  3.  Let paint dry sufficiently, re-place the center circle mask over the new red paint

                  4.  Remove the first mask ring (surrounding the red center circle) and spray with white paint.

                  5.   Let paint dry sufficiently, re-place the ring mask over the new white paint

                  6.  Remove the next mask ring, and spray with blue paint

                  7.  Let paint dry sufficiently, re-place the ring mask over the new blue paint

                  8.  Remove the next mask ring, spray with yellow paint

                  9.  Then, remove all the masking tape

 

The problem I see with doing it the above way is that you would have to perfectly align the masks when putting the circle/ring masks back down, otherwise you'll get some paint where you don't want it.  Is there another way, another order, to do the painting, that doesn't depend on perfectly re-placing parts of the mask as part of the process? 

[galgos]

The thinnest circle, ie yellow, is the one that is likely to be the most difficult to get back in place so my technique is planned around this fact. So I would start with an “empty” mask ie just the circle with no other rings inside it. Spray a layer of white inside the circle, then a yellow layer targeted around the circumference. 
When dry do the critical part….using some transfer film put the whole central mask in place, your step 1.  Take out the red centre and spray. When dry put a piece of masking tape over this area…..it does not need to fit, just cover. Then lift the blue area and spray. And that’s it! When dry, lift the outer yellow mask, the white mask and the red centre section. Job done with the bare minimum of having to fit and refit masks. You might find this site of some use.

Edited December 26, 2023 by galgos