Checker board pattern

[djganesh]

Hey everyone,

This is my first post here and I'm 3 HG models deep at this point in time.  I've got a MG RX-78GP03S Gundam "Dendrobium Stamen" on it way to me.  I want to do custom paint job on it, using spray cans and brushes.

 I'm also wanting to do a checker board pattern between colors like this but it seems like t daunting task. 

Anyone got any tips or videos you can share? 

Thanks!!

[Alan Britten]

This isn't very hard to do once you figure out masking. Buy some thin Tamiya masking tape and the colors you require then paint the first layer with your lightest color. Apply you mask how every you wish then apply a clear coat on top of the mask and surface your painting. keep repeating this step until you reached your darkest color. Always apply your masking tape once the paint is fully dry and keep the coats of paint as thin as possible...

[George Caswell]

And with regard to cutting the masks for a project like this:

Obviously it is easier if you start with masking tape that's the same width as your squares (i.e. 3mm width tape for 3mm width squares) as you only need to cut in one direction...  But you could also start with a big piece of tape and just cross-cut a section of it into a lot of little squares...

And this is the bit that a lot of people seem to overlook: square up the cuts properly.  Use a straight edge and some kind of guide for aligning it properly.  Take the time to get the size of each square, and the angle of each cut, as uniform as you can.