Silly Putty

Who knew that one of your favorite childhood toys would be a must-have on your workbench for camouflage masking?

It is far simpler and easier to work with than tape, frisket paper, or other materials such as a liquid masker.  It gives far more thorough protection, leaving no edge for "underspray" or fuzzy joint lines.  Even when saturated with paint, Silly Putty leaves no residue and pulls away cleanly.  If your estimate of how much you'll need to cover an area turns out to be slightly off, you can just stretch it a little more to fit.  It is easy to squeeze inside and around small parts like wheel sockets and mounts, so that you can paint those parts off the model and still have bare styrene as a gluing surface to attach them after painting.