>I just calculated what a checkerboard would look like from
>above if it went around a quarter circle in one direction,
>then a quarter circle in the other direction and continued
>on a parallel, lower plane. I transfered the numbers to a
>CAD program, then took the CAD file to a sign shop. There
>are hundreds of these shops in Seattle. They have plotters
>with knives in them instead of pens. They cut a sheet of
>sticky-back vinyl as they would for a sign, then put a sheet
>of stuff like masking tape on the front of the vinyl to hold
>the mess together while I removed the backing and peeled off
>half the vinyl pieces. I then applied this mask to the
>airplane and removed the masking tape stuff from the top.
>That left a nice vinyl mask. I gave the airplane a toot of
>black and then peeled off the remaining vinyl. I did two
>Impacts with the same technique without incident. You can
>have a copy of my file if I can find it.
>
>Some vinyl sticks more than others. People want vinyl signs
>to stay stuck, whereas we would rather not have vinyl masks
>pull up the dope and covering when we remove them. On my
>first airplane, I used regular sign vinyl and got away with
>it. On the second, I used some lower-tack stuff made for
>advertising signs on buses, which get peeled off after a
>limited time. It worked dandy. I've heard of stuff called
>Gerber Mask, which is lower-tack vinyl made for masks,
>rather than signs. There are some people who make vinyl
>lettering specifically for models. They'd know what to use.
At you local art supply you can buy *FRISKET* Paper. works fine for checks.
Steve