How does one paint fin roll pattern?

Ok, I'm embarassed to be asking this but here goes. The attached photo shows a custom-painted little Estes Alpha. I must add, a VERY cool paint scheme in my opinion.

How do you mask that checkerboard pattern onto the fin can section? If one were to use masking tape and a hobby knife, there's no WAY it would look that crisp and exact. These are supposedly not decals either. I've scratched my head and I can't see how he did it. This photo is of a model by a guy named David Snodgrass whom I have been unable to locate. I got this photo off his "rocketry" website which has not been updated in several years.

Any ideas? I'd like to do this on several models and have been unsuccessful in achieving this precision.

Marc

Do you think those are Monokote trim sheets? That is a cool paint job.

I guess it could be monokote. But do you think he actually sat and cut out those shapes for every fin on the thing? My guess is it would be a bugger to trim it accurately along the leading edges of those fins. By the looks of it, it seems like it was done after the rocket was completed.

I was hoping you guys would say, "oh yeah, well we have a standard way of painting these roll patterns..." I guess no such luck.

Marc

Could it have been masked and finished before the fins were attached? I notice that I don't see any external fillets. That would make it alot easier.

They do make Monokote trim sheets that are checkered. So far I have seen red/white and black/white. Just a note.

Looks fairly simple to me. The base coat of white paint provides the white "squares". The quandrant facing us is simply 3 squares of black monokote (or similar stick-on material).

As for the leading edge, simply attach a full square to the fin. Then, run a very sharp x-acto blade flat against the leading edge to trim. Viola.

Or not....