Paint Design Effect Finish (Stars)

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By Matt Gillard

Here is a simple way of adding an effect onto a rocket that is easy to do, but looks quite good.

I’ve just finished building a Khufu’s Pyramid, and after its maiden flight it got a bit dirty, high winds dragged the pyramid when it landed over earth for a bit.

The paint finish was plain - all yellow, so I thought I’d spray paint it a new design.

Most rockets rely on decal to give colour, and these can chip or flake with time. Painting in a design is time consuming, and you are usually limited to straight lines etc from the masking tape.

Here’s what I did.

1. Take the bare model and spray it what ever colour you want.
2. Add some children’s stickers to the model – in this case stars.
3. Mask off any area you don’t want spraying.
4. Spray over the sticker.
5. When dry remove the stickers with a blade.
6. The stickers can then be reapplied to another surface if needed for contrast.

GUEST's OPINION:
"" (X.X.)

1. Finish
   Want to create a mask for a specific design, but don't want to draw it out by hand, etc.? Here's a trick I came up with to get a maple leaf on my Maxi- Force. All you need is a computer, a printer capable of graphics (color isn't a concern), Frisket (Masking) Film or clear MacTac, and a hobby knife.
   1. Find a picture or shape you want to use, either from a clip- art gallery or from the Internet, and download it to your computer.
   2. Get a roll or sheet of Friskette Film (from a hobby shop or art supply store). If you can't find Friskette Film, clear MacTac (available at Wal-Mart) works good too. The sheets of Friskette Film are available in standard letter size (8.5 by 11). If you get a larger size, or are working with a roll of film or MacTac, you need to cut the material to this size.
   3. Feed the film into your printer, so that the ink prints on the removable paper side (inkjet ink doesn't dry on the film side).
   4. Print the pattern out onto the film/ MacTac, then cut the pattern out using the hobby knife.
   5. Apply the newly- created mask to your rocket, making sure it is applied smoothly and securely, so no paint will get under the edges.
   6. Spray paint over area to be painted. Give paint time to set, then remove mask. Allow to dry.
2. Finish
   Painting Tip: It's worth mentioning a new finishing technique I tried with this rocket. To create gold details, I first painted gold over the desired regions of the rocket. Then I taped scotch tape on wax paper, slightly overlapping strips to get the desired size of tape region. The wax paper was actually two portions, with a seam through the middle of the region where I wanted my design. The wax paper edges along this seam were folded back so I could easily pull away the wax paper from the tape later. Next, I traced the desired mask pattern on the shiny side of the tape and cut it out. Then I removed the wax paper backing. The scotch tape mask was then placed on the rocket. Since some of the wax stuck to the tape, making it less sticky, I could adjust the placement of the mask as needed. Next, I painted another layer of *gold* over the mask, to seal the edges. Then I painted black over the mask and rocket to get the desired effect. Finally, peeling away the mask pr ovided a very nice, clean detail. This method worked better than other approaches I have tried on past rockets. - G.G.