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[Nick-R]

I am well through my build of the Billings Nordkap.  I am sticking with the Billings paint scheme which has a blue hull and red lead below the waterline.  The boat has a pronounced counter overhanging the rudder/ prop recess and my traditional waterlining technique of fitting a pencil through a hole drilled at the correct height through a block of wood is only working from the bow to just forward of the counter as the tip of the pencil does not get to the closer to horizontal than vertical underside of the counter.  I have experimented with using my laser level to project onto the hull but placing the masking tape is still tricky


Also getting masking tape to fix cleanly around the compound curves of the counter/stern seems tricky.  I plan to use 6mm Tamiya tape initially and use other tape fixed to that to attach newspaper.


Anyone got better technique for such a hull shape?

[dougal99]

I've always found it to be a real b****r but have had some success using thinner tape say 3mm. You have to go round the line at leat twice to give a base for you masking medium (I use tinfoil maleable and no printer ink). My other trick is not to let others look too closely 

[Vintage]

Maskol can be helpful on areas that are difficult with tape.

https://uk.humbrol.com/products/maskol-28ml-bottle-ac5217

Always do a test piece first 

[Nick-R]

Maskol can be helpful on areas that are difficult with tape.

https://uk.humbrol.com/products/maskol-28ml-bottle-ac5217

Always do a test piece first 

Looks an interesting product but presumably it still has to be applied to give a clean straight line?  Or am I missing something?

[Vintage]

Looks an interesting product but presumably it still has to be applied to give a clean straight line?  Or am I missing something?

Yes you're correct, it does need to be applied to give a clean straight line however, it's a latex based product and if you're not happy with the way it goes on initially, you can simply let it dry, peel it off and start again.

I'm not sure exactly how accessible the area that you're trying to mask is, and it's difficult to tell without actually seeing it, but Maskol doesn't have the problem associated with trying to get masking tape to cope with compound curves nor the chance that paint could creep under the mask ...

[nemesis]

I used to get staining when using Maskol due to the ammonia in the latex also it is a bit of a B to cut the line with a scalpel, nemesis

[Nick-R]

Potential solution!  Inverted hull with normal pencil block lines drawn and laser equipped spirit level chocked up to meet end of pencil lines.  Just to try getting narrowest Tamiya tape to follow the line.

[Stan]

Check this link also see pictures included https://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,70023.0.html

[Nick-R]

Thanks for that Stan.  Very nice paint job!


 I have built quite a few hard chine boats and they do not present the same problem with marking the waterline.  My particular issue with Nordkap was how to get a nice crisp line at the stern where the hull shape at that point is closer to horizontal than vertical.

[Stan]

Hi Nick hope thes pictures help. Cut down your masling tape to about 3mm wide and apply has we discussed. Looking foward to some pictures.


Stan.

[SailorGreg]

Also getting masking tape to fix cleanly around the compound curves of the counter/stern seems tricky.  I plan to use 6mm Tamiya tape initially and use other tape fixed to that to attach newspaper.


Anyone got better technique for such a hull shape?

I suggest you try some thin, flexible tape such as this to mark your line, then use ordinary masking tape to cover up to that line.  Normal paper tape, even the Tamiya, doesn't do tight or compound curves very well.

Good luck!

Greg

[Stan]

I USED THIN TAMIYA MASKING TAPE  WITH NO PROBLEMS SEE ABOVE PICTURES.

[Nick-R]

Success! At least, good enough for me!


Thanks to Stan for his helpful phone calls. 

Traditionally I have used the old block and pencil method for drawing waterlines but Stan mentioned he used the plan to measure the waterline from the gunnels at various points along the length of the hull and place marks on the hull at the measured points.  You then apply masking tape to align with marks, using good old Mk 1 eyeball to ensure it is straight.  I used 6mm Tamiya tape from bow to short of the stern.

For round the stern and under the overhanging counter, I put a length of the 6mm tape on a bit of melamine and used a steel rule and Stanley knife to half its width to about 3mm - again thanks to Stan for his tip!  I then chocked up a spirit level with a laser light to align with the end of the 6mm tape and used that to mark the hull every 2cm or so around the counter.  The 3mm tape was the applied using these marks and went around the curves with no creasing.  After that it was just a case of fixing wider tape/newspaper to the 6mm/3mm tape and we were good to go.

The paint used was a chance buy spotted on the middle row at our local Aldi.  The colour is not quite right for red lead and it is a bit glossy when the can described it as Eggshell but for £1.50, I do not suppose I can complain.

The other point is that this is my first plank on frame model and I clearly should have spent more time preparing the bare hull.  I toyed with using automotive filler but eventually dismissed that as being too hard to rub down.  Next time, I will use some kind of filler maybe less hard than automotive but better than the polyfilla consistency the Balsa lite which I used before sheathing in fibreglass.  Applying fibreglass was also a first and there are some flaws where I will try to do better next time.

[roycv]

I do not know if this helps but I use tape for waterlines as above and thanks for all the tips.  Then I paint a line of clear varnish at the tape edge and wait for it to dry and then the spray or painr is applied.
With the thin film of varnish the paint cannot creep under the masking tape.
Roy

[Nick-R]

Thanks for that Roy - may try that next time!