Do you wanna build a snowman?

[Ashlandchris]

My first stab at using my vinyl cutter to try to create masks for painting a shell. Airbrush used was a cheap £35 set up from amazon. Not up to the standards of some of the true artists on here, but my twin 6yr olds think it is wonderful so I'll go with that

[G-Kenny]

Thats Fantastic! Excellent work.

[whites75]

awesome Chris, so much for telling me you aren't professional....looks damn good to me!!

[Ashlandchris]

Cheers all. Must admit, I was pretty happy with it

It also goes to show that even a rank amateur can achieve decent results with the right tools. My Silhouette Cameo vinyl cutter makes this very easy - certainly easier than when I tried to create a Moshi Monsters shell for my son using liquid mask and a scalpel - looked OK from a distance, but close up was a bit rough. With the vinyl cutter it is muuuucccchhhh easier. And it will convert jpegs to a mask - superb!

[Ashlandchris]

This is a bit rough around the edges, but not bad overall. I was given a BMax2 shell to copy so apologies if anyone recognises the design. I was OK'd by the owner to try to copy. Clearly I am no expert so don't think I will be threatening any of the true artists on here.
Vbc firebolt for a friend

[Ashlandchris]

and one of my first tries with liquid mask (This was last summer). A few tatty lines and the colour choice at edge of splash is rubbish, but hey ho, you live and learn

[Ashlandchris]

Another shell for my Bmax2, although not as happy with the colour choice. The pearl green came out lighter than I'd expected, ho hum

Variation on the theme of the yz2 shell I did earlier in the week.

[Ashlandchris]

T'other side

[Ashlandchris]

VBC Firebolt, requested to look like Darren Bloomfield's shells (apologies to those who don't approve of copying someone else's work).
It isn't a direct copy, but I've used a few themes from a few different Bloomfield shells and added a little bit myself.

[Ashlandchris]

Another angle

[dariush]

Looks great!! Love the design and colour scheme!! Will look great on the car

Thanks a lot Chris!!

[dariush]

Hi Chris,

I thought i'd post a couple of pictures of the shells on the car for you, they look great!!

Off to race this evening with it :0)

[Ashlandchris]

Thanks for posting Dariush. Hope it went as well as it looked.
Glad you liked it

[Ashlandchris]

And now Santa has done his stuff, here are a couple more I painted on his behalf

[Ashlandchris]

Well, I had intended to get some gardening done while my wife is away, but the thunder has put paid to that...

So decided to paint a shell. Inspired by Mr Andy Shilly shells, although not to his standards

Will give it a run out tomorrow at Manor I think

[neallewis]

Nice new shell Chris

[andys]

Looks good that fella

One tip I could give you is possibly thin the paint a bit more and really lower the pressure for the fades. Fading black to white is a nightmare and you only need a 'sniff' of black as it always looks more solid from the outside then from the inside when you are painting. I still put too much back down - then kick myself for not trusting myself with a lighter layer.

Also - thinner paints and lower pressure = nice fades.

Lastly
Buy some of Jon's RCS Body Prep - never paint a fade without using it first - it's an anti static spray that stops spray / mist adhering to the shell through static It's awesome.

[Ashlandchris]

Originally Posted by andys

Looks good that fella

One tip I could give you is possibly thin the paint a bit more and really lower the pressure for the fades. Fading black to white is a nightmare and you only need a 'sniff' of black as it always looks more solid from the outside then from the inside when you are painting. I still put too much back down - then kick myself for not trusting myself with a lighter layer.

Also - thinner paints and lower pressure = nice fades.

Lastly
Buy some of Jon's RCS Body Prep - never paint a fade without using it first - it's an anti static spray that stops spray / mist adhering to the shell through static It's awesome.

Great tips. Cheers.
And just a quiz, can you tell which shells of yours were my inspiration 😀

[Ashlandchris]

For a friend - Dex410v4 "box art" (well, nearly!!)

Interesting to do them - Not done a Durango before and wonder if the Lexan is a slightly different spec to other Lexan as the liquid mask stuck like glue. Wouldn't peel in nice easy pieces like normal

[Ashlandchris]

Another shell for a friend. Another coat of LM needed I think as it didn't strip easily leading to some "not too clean" lines. Looks ok unless close up...