Quick question: does anyone use stencils when painting their ships/ squadrons? If so, how do you make them, and what material do you use? I am new to the painting scene, and have some pretty ambitious plans. I have designs that would most likely look terrible if I tried to do them by hand, but might look passable if done with a stencil.

I haven’t used one yet but I have plans. I’m going to use contact sheets for larger items and painters/masking tape for smaller items. The contact sheet should make it easier to cut through with an xacto (aka sword of exact zero). That’s my plan … it briefs well.

I'm just in the middle of painting up my rebel squads, and did all of my imperials last year. I'd say, most Armada fighter models are just way too small for stencils. Just freehand squad markings or overall paint schemes, and don't stress yourself too much over tiny details. Under normal circumstances, any observer will be too far away to see more than the general color... (looking at you, Dutch Vander and Gold Squadron, both of which got yellow stripes, plus some additional "ace markings" on Dutch - barely distinguishable on the mat, especially under non-perfect lighting conditions)

Probably not worth it, as TheWampa said, but if you really want, you can throw down some masking tape on a vinyl cutting machine - that can get you some precise stencils, maybe?

1 hour ago, ThatRobHuman said:

Probably not worth it, as TheWampa said, but if you really want, you can throw down some masking tape on a vinyl cutting machine - that can get you some precise stencils, maybe?

These blood stripes, too accurate for Sand People...

OH, one other thing: after I put the stencil down I'll put down a clear-coat and let it dry before I paint the stencil (usually Matte or Satin, whatever matches the current finish) this way the clearcoat will kind of "seal" the edges of the stencil, makes for much cleaner lines once the real paint has been put down - prevents paint from crawling under the mask.