I am more of a Second World War prop airplane builder but I sometimes dabble where I am not supposed to. I have recently started a build of the lauded 1/48 Tamiya Tomcat. Unfortunately, most of my Cockpit Finishing Techniques had to be thrown out of the window. That is not necessarily a bad thing... Continue Reading →
I have written previously about finding inspiration at my local aviation museum. Well, it has been some time since our last visit and things are a little different now. I posted a video of our last visit. There you will find a decent overview of the collection and you will get a good idea about... Continue Reading →
Last weekend I attended my first ever swap meet. Not only was it my first swap meet, it was my first time as a vendor at any sort of model show. Did I sell anything? Yeah, a couple of things. Did I buy anything? Actually, I did not buy anything. But boy, did I sure... Continue Reading →
Forget 24th or even 18th scales. Those seem so small and insignificant now. For I have seen the world's largest scale model! And boy, it's a big one: This is a 1:1 scale, CF-105 Avro Arrow and it lives in a hangar maintained by the Edenvale Aviation Heritage Museum in sunny Stayner Ontario. Earlier this... Continue Reading →
There are a lot of reasons why we build models. For some it is an interest in a subject like airplanes, tanks or ships. For others, it is an interest in history and how these vehicles were used. But sometimes we are just looking to go back to a happy place and enjoy a trip... Continue Reading →
A little History Most people do not know much about the Pacific War aside from the highlights: Pearl Harbor, Midway, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, kamikazes and a couple fairly large bombs to wrap things up. I'll admit, I've been keenly interested in this theater for decades and I am still learning new things about it all... Continue Reading →
As a younger model maker I could never figure out how they highlighted the panel lines on airplane models. I tried a thin black pilot pen with horrific results. I then tried a mechanical pencil with a bit more success. I never thought of a wash back then. After coming back to the hobby in... Continue Reading →
Whether we are pre-shading panel lines, post shading, black basing, dot filtering, mottling or marbling, the goal is to find a way to weather or distress the paint finish and otherwise to bring some interest to the surface of the model. When I first got back into the hobby (circa 2007) the finishing technique that... Continue Reading →
I've uploaded a video with a demonstration of how I make my own paint masks for Japanese aircraft. With the right tools (ie good tape and sharp blades) masks can be made very easily and with complete control. The result are markings that perfectly conform to every surface, panel line and rivet without the need... Continue Reading →
I've uploaded a video with a demonstration of how I paint and weather my propeller engine exhausts. I demonstrated using the supercharger on the 1/48 Tamiya P-38 Lightning. I did not invent this technique! I first read about using thin coats of brown paint to simulate rust in JM Villalba's FAQ book. I added Tamiya... Continue Reading →
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