Stripes white film 2mm

A two-millimeter trace for bold stripes

Two millimeters is no longer a line but a full band. In 1:72 scale it gives a trace corresponding to 14.4 cm on the real machine, in 1:48 roughly 9.6 cm and in 1:35 seven centimeters. This size suits places where a separation is to be obvious at first glance and where a finer strip would be lost in the texture of the surface.

The best-known example is offered by the Allied aircraft of June 1944 with black and white banding on the fuselage and the wings. Similar identification bands were carried by equipment in Korea, in the Middle East and in later conflicts. A masking strip makes it possible to spray them in paint instead of using a decal, so the result has neither a glossy film nor a step left by the edge of a carrier membrane.

How to handle a repeating pattern: first mark the spacings lightly on the surface and only then lay the individual bands. Checking after the whole series is finished comes too late; once it is sprayed, a shifted stripe can be corrected only by repainting the whole area.

Width against radius: the wider the material, the smaller the curve it manages without going wavy. On a rounded fuselage, therefore, lead the band perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, where the carrier holds without trouble. Along a curve, by contrast, count on the outer edge wanting to lift, and press it down gradually in short sections.

Removal: with the wider format pull the strip back over itself, not perpendicular to the surface. The thin edge of paint then stays whole. Proceed slowly, because a quick movement will pull off even a layer that never adhered to the carrier at all.