The German Ambush scheme made up of stencilled (?) circles - would anyone know or have an estimation of the diameter of these circles? I may be wrong, but I estimate them to be + or - 10" (24 cm) in scale size, or roughly 1/4" (5mm) in real measurements. (Measurements needed for 1/35 scale).

IF, by "ambush scheme" you are referring to the disc camo pattern as seen, for example, on some Grille 38(t) M SPG (like as on the Dragon kit-art of that vehicle), I think you are pretty close to size - discs ca 1/4 inch diam probably would look pretty good (and be a scale 9 - 10 inch diam).

The hard-core way to paint that would be to create a stencil using a 1/4 inch paper-punch and head for the spray-booth. I think that there is an AM-Works steel or plastic stencil mask for building this scheme - and based on something about that size.

One way to effectively scale those circles may be to look at an acceptable photo or art-work showing that scheme in place on a vehicle, and use comparison of circles with available details and items (gas-cans, etc. would provide reasonably good estimation "rulers") in the picture. One might also compare what you see in pics to the sizes of details and features on available kits or similar (or the same) subjects.

Bob

I've thought about different ways to mask the camo job, and as usual, the simplest way is the best. I used 1/4" self-adhesive dots - the kind that come on a sheet. I tried using a paper punch to punch out dots from sticky labels, but it's too difficult peeling the dot off the backing. It's a bit time consuming applying dots, spraying color, and applying more dots and spraying color, but after peeling off all those dots you have one great camo job. And you can vary the pattern from vehicle to vehicle, unlike using decals. I'm going to see if combining 1/2" dots with the 1/4" will give a good "Mickey Mouse" pattern used by the British.

I was curious about your post and looked on the web just to see if I could find an example and I found this product from Alliance Model Works. They make a stencil that sounds like just what you need. Hope this helps. A bit pricey perhaps $22 I think it was.

http://www.am-works.com/store/lw35080-stencil-wwii-german-camouflage-solid-disc-pattern-p-184.html



Best of luck

There are a couple different disk camouflage stencils, even one that's supposed to represent Kampfgrupp Pieper during the Battle of The Bulge because they were supposed to have a unique, division specific pattern.

Hi mate

I used these on a Panther G and they worked quite well

http://www.uschivdr.com/products-in-detail/masks-disc-camo-35th-and-48th/

I guess it depends exactly what sort of scheme you're after though

Hope that helps

Yeah, I know there are several products available for either stencilling or decaling, but I wanted to make my own. And from my tests, look better than some of the products.

Using dots applied as MASKS (shadow devices to prevent paint being applied somewhere) does work - but if 2 colors of dots are being intermingled, seems like you could end up with 3 layers of paint going on... whereas using a STENCIL (outline masking to keep paint within a designated area)(even as I was thinking of but did NOT clearly state in my original response above ) means one base-coat followed by the sprayed-on round dots - just as real job was done, I think.

I'm a guy who seeks minimal paint thickness and fewest layers and steps, being older then many and probably slower than most! I LOVE stencils.

What I should have said above more clearly the first go was "create a stencil by punching 1/4 inch holes in a piece of paper or painter's tape or sheet styrene or piece of soda-can or... and use that as your spraying stencil" - Which actually is pretty much what the AM Works stencil is. Just saying "make it at home". It's a little tedious holding your little stencil-sheet in position, spraying it, moving it a little, spraying another bit, etc., but it actually works quite well and goes pretty fast with practice. One subtle advantage to using the stencil as versus something applied ( stick-on dot) is that there is less risk of bashing tiny details and such - a specific case in point is if you have, for example, added tiny tie-down "loops" onto a hull-panel, and you want to spray a dot over same...

The biggest trick for stencils, at least for me, is to orient oneself around placing your kit in some position and moving one's spray-gun and stencil around that kit, as versus handling the kit and moving it around with one hand while you spray with the other.

And no bigger build-up of paint-layers, and no lifting of pasted - on dots, and it can all be done - even multiple colors (and dot sizes, if you created such new stencil)- in one pass at the paint-box instead of spraying a layer, letting that fully-dry, adding dots, spraying another, etc, followed by removing dots.

Just one approach to doing this, folks!

Bob

Bob - sounds like you use the same level of contortions for stencils as you did for applying Hotchkis camo

I'm just an all-round twisted and contorted guy! But given as I'm all older and stuff (no... no implied claims as to wisdom, etc. ), my contortions are gentle and gradual and take their good time twisting about in a "deliberate and studied manner" . No hasty tying into knots, jumping too fast into tight situations and getting all rapidly snarled up for me, no Sir!

Of course, thinking about the almost-frantic contortions I went through just last night to mask and spray that swirly camo pattern seen on the Finnish BT-42...

Bob

A piece of plastic or manila folder and a hole punch will make these patterns with no problems. I can't see paying even 20 cents for something like this. It is just so easy to make it by hand.

I would imagine the circle masks are difficult to use in small areas or on curved surfaces and around angles and corners. I've already tried out my method on sheet styrene and with properly thinned out Tamiya paint with their lacquer gives a nice smooth flat surface with no discernable thickness or ridges around the dots when they are removed.