UPDATE #2: April 20, 2014
Killstripe time! Have a nice relaxing afternoon so I thought I'd show my entire killstripe process.
Lots of pics to follow.
I begin by measuring out where the stripes will go. I use several reference pics to do this. It's
best to have reference pics that are as oblique as possible. In other words, pics where the camera
is at 90 degrees from the area you want to measure.
The first measurement I determine is how much space there is between the red band and the bottom
of the killstripes. The best measurement I could get was 7 mm. (I always do my measurements in
metric. I can get a greater degree of accuracy that way.) I cut a strip of blue painters tape that is
7 mm wide and apply it to the helmet. I keep it flush with the upper limit of the "hat band" ridge.
Next, I use reference pics to determine the position of the stripe above the left ear. In this pic of
my laptop, I have drawn a thin line that goes right up the center of the ear piece. It shows that the
stripe above the ear has its front edge slightly forward of the ear centerline.
I mark the center of the ear platform on the helmet and extend that line upward onto the
blue tape. This will help determine the placement of that stripe.
The measurements I have come up with for the stripes themselves are: 8 mm wide, 25 mm tall,
with a 6 mm space between each stripe. Tamiya makes a 6 mm masking tape, which is perfect
for taping off the spaces between the stripes.
I use the line I made previously and apply the first piece of Tamiya tape. In the following pic, you
can see that I've positioned it slightly forward of the pencil line. This makes the front edge of
that stripe slightly forward of the ear centerline, just as I explained above.
I then measure and mark lines 8 mm on either side of the Tamiya tape. Then I continue to
apply strips of Tamiya tape vertically, marking out the killstripes. I generally write a small number
below each stripe so I don't get lost when I mask off the chips!
I continue this process until all 17 killstripes are masked off. Ahaaa!! Caught you napping. . .
there are 14 stripes of course.
I then mark off 25 mm vertically from the bottom of the stripes (top edge of the blue tape).
I use another piece of blue tape to mark the upper limit of each stripe. I cut the tape thin
to conform better to the curve of the helmet.
Continued in next post!