I have just finished the third build video for the 1/48 Tamiya Tomcat. This one was about finishing all of the subassemblies ahead of painting the big turkey. As I have mentioned previously, there are few build challenges with this kit so this video shows one strategy for quickly painting the tires on the landing... Continue Reading →
I have just finished the second build video for the 1/48 Tamiya Tomcat. This one was about finishing the build of the fuselage and painting the engine exhausts. Generally speaking, these are not the most exciting aspects of a model build, except when it comes to sealing up the fuselage. Most of us have developed... Continue Reading →
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 →
MODEL AIRPLANE MAKER 