Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Looking for Betto Tape

betto tapeI hate masking models for spraying but it is a necessary evil if a decent paint finish is required. Sadly I can't use the sort of masking tape found at autojumbles, markets and car boot sales at 50p for 10 rolls. It's far too coarse and doesn't give a decent edge to the paint line. No, it has to be proper model making masking tape.

For most people this means Tamiya. It is the best masking tape but it's also blooming expensive. For finescale model railways or even toy trains, this isn't too much of a problem. You don't use much even on 7mm scale models.

On the other hand a model boat, even a modest one, can use up several feet of the stuff at a time. I've just masked the waterline and deck of one such vessel and used 6 feet. Which is why I like BETTO tape.

Bought from a model shop that has long since closed down, it gives a nice clean line, is stretchy when required, comes in lots of widths and is reasonably priced. Or at least it would be if I could find any more.

Can anyone suggest a supplier ? Google isn't much help with an insistence of trying to palm me off with Betamax video tape. Any suggestions gratefully received.

2 comments:

David Smith said...

Electrical insulaton tape is slightly stretchy (can be used on curves) and works for me, although I have only used it on bare metal so far. Don't know if would damage painted surfaces.

Greg Sloman said...

http://freeflightscale.com/TechnicalTips.htm has an address that might be viable.