Decals, Paint Masks, And Other Markings

Control Line Scale: Decals, Paint Masks, And Other Markings

As seen in the May 2022 issue of Model Aviation.

This photo, taken at the Nats, shows nicely applied invasion stripes. Photo by Steve Cuthbert.

AFTER YOUR MODEL HAS been built and painted, you need to get the scale markings on to really make it stand out. We have lots of choices about how to do this, including commercially available decals, custom-made vinyl decals, waterslide decals, and painting the markings on, just to name a few.

First, let’s talk about the documentation that you have available. If you are taking pictures of the subject full-scale aircraft, take a close-up of any lettering or markings without using the flash. Do not take the picture at an angle. You want to be looking straight at the markings.

Take another picture that shows the relative size and location of the markings with other features on the aircraft. If you have prints, you will need to scan those as JPG files at a high-enough resolution to create your markings. You can also use these JPG images to create your documentation package in a digital format.

The problem with commercially available decals is that the size, font, or colors might not correctly fit your model. The Stars and Bars might be too large or too small. Because you are following the documentation, you want the same relative size, text, font, and color that is on the full-scale aircraft. If, by some luck, the commercially available decals are correct, you are good to go, but more than likely, they won’t be correct.

If you make a waterslide decal, you will use your JPG image for it, with perhaps some alterations in Photoshop for the final product. Keep in mind that printers do not print white. You might have to use white-backed decal paper or put a clear decal on white decal sheet material.

It’s not uncommon to have special shapes painted on the full-scale aircraft.

Your documentation should include a wide-field photo that shows the color, size, and relative location of graphics on the full-scale airplane.

On the P-51 Mustang Gunfighter, there is a red horse painted on the rudder. While taking some documentation pictures of this aircraft, I made sure that I took one of it by zooming in on the shape. This can be used later to create either a waterslide decal, vinyl decal, or paint mask.

If you contract out to a commercial vinyl decal source, you will need to provide the photograph and the final size that you need the decal to be.

Cricut Maker

One of the recent items that I purchased was a Cricut Maker 3 so that I could cut out my own vinyl decals or paint masks. There is a learning curve for this, and you will need to load some software on your computer. The Cricut Maker 3 plugs into your computer similar to an inkjet printer. The software on your computer will drive the Cricut Maker to cut out your decal or paint mask.

A vector image is required to cut out the decal, but the source data is typically a digital image that has thousands of points. This bitmap can’t be used to drive the Cricut Maker for the decal, so you need to take the digital picture and convert it into a vector file so that the Cricut Maker knows what path to follow.

Inkscape software allows you to take a digital image and convert it into an SVG file format, which is a vector file. If you have prints, you will need to scan the prints as JPGs, and then process those pictures through Inkscape to create the SVG file.

Be prepared to have a variety of types of markings on your model. Some might be a vinyl decal, and others you might have to paint on using a paint mask. Some will be waterslide decals because of the complexity of the graphic design. In every case, however, the digital picture of your subject aircraft will be the source for the markings.

See the video on my YouTube channel, listed in "Sources," for how take a picture of a full-scale airplane then convert it into an SVG file. The SVG file is used by the Cricut Maker software to allow the machine to cut a vinyl decal. The Cricut Maker software allows you to scale that vector file to the size that you want.

If you keep the inside portion of the vinyl decal, you have a permanent decal. If you discard the inside portion and keep everything outside of the shape, it becomes a paint mask. The paint mask is used to paint the item on the model then the mask is removed. You need to decide which one you want to do because the material for a permanent decal is very different for the paint mask.

The vinyl decal is on the left and the paint mask is on the right. Both were cut using a Cricut Maker.

2022 AMA Nats

The Control Line (CL) Scale AMA Nats will be held on July 15-17, 2022, at the International Aeromodeling Center (IAC) in Muncie, Indiana. The Static judging will take place on Friday, July 15, at the Mike Barbee-NASA Site 4, which is the RC Scale area at the south end of the IAC. On Saturday and Sunday, July 16-17, flying will be at Site 6, which is northwest of the L-pad on the north side of the IAC property.

Let’s hope that the weather is better than 2021. We only had one good day of weather during which to complete the Static judging and fly two rounds last year.

The flying will start early on Saturday morning with rounds 1 and 2. Rounds 3 and 4 will take place on Sunday. Because there are four rounds instead of two, the scoring is different from local contests. You need two good flights at the Nats. The two best flight scores are used to determine your final score.

There will also be a Friday night question-and-answer meeting about RC and CL Scale FAI competition in the AMA Headquarters building at 7 p.m. on the second floor. Check to see whether the location or time has changed when you show up on Friday morning for the Static judging.

Register for the AMA Nats as soon as you can. The number of entries that are officially registered before the deadline determines how many awards are available.

The plan is to have team trials for F4B CL Scale in 2023 so that the team can be assembled to compete in the 2024 F4B World Championship. It has not yet been confirmed as to whether F4B will return to the World Championship. We will learn more in July.

If you are interested in F4B, make sure that you have the documentation and a model that is up to FAI standards. The aircraft must be built at an Authentic Scalestandard level, or perhaps even better than Authentic Scale standards. F4B has a lot more rules about some items that are not covered in the AMA Scale events.

2022 CL Scale Contests

Starting with the Northwest Regionals, scheduled for May 27-29 in Roseburg, Oregon, CL Scale will be flown from the West Coast to the East Coast. There are three contests that will be held during back-toback weekends, starting in Chicago. The second contest is in Muncie, and the last one is in Valley Park, Missouri.

The Lafayette Esquadrille CL Club will host the 35th annual Broken Arrow CL Stunt & Scale Contest at Buder Park in Valley Park, Missouri, on September 17-18. The CL Scale portion of the National Association of Scale Aeromodelers (NASA) Scale Classic will be September 10 in Muncie.

Check the AMA Event Calendar online or the Sanctioned Event Calendar in Model Aviation to confirm the dates and locations for the contests listed. It’s important that we keep as many CL Scale contests on the calendar as possible. Try to support the clubs in your area or volunteer to help run a contest.

2022 Contest Calendar

Northwest Regionals: May 27-29; Roseburg, Oregon
Buder Park CL Fun Fly: June 4-5; Buder Park, Valley Park, Missouri
John Brodak Memorial Fly-In: June 13-18; Carmichaels, Pennsylvania
CL Scale Nats; July 15-17; Muncie, Indiana
All Buder Park CL Fun Fly: August 27; Buder Park, Valley Park, Missouri
Midwest Regional CL Championships: September 3-4, Aurora, Illinois
NASA Scale Classic (CL Scale only): September 10; Muncie, Indiana
Broken Arrow CL Stunt & Scale Contest: September 17-18; Buder Park, Valley Park, Missouri

Land softly!