Charles L. Lipkin
Naperville, Illinois
Except for the ordnance, Charles built a Hasegawa 1/72 scale A-1H Skyraider mostly out of the box. “I substituted CBU-24s from my spares box for the two kit-supplied wing drop tanks and added eight Mk.81 bombs from my spares box to fill otherwise empty wing hardpoints, in addition to the four kit-supplied six-tube rocket launchers,” he says. “I substituted a [shortened] straight pin for the molded-in tail air-data probe and added a radio antenna wire made from 0.004-inch diameter gray invisible quilting thread.” He airbrushed the model with Testors Model Master enamels and weathered with a sludge wash and pastels. “This was a very well-engineered and molded kit that went together quickly and easily, needing only a touch of filler at the seam between the lower wing trailing edge and the fuselage underside; a pleasure to build!” he says.
Chris Carney
Columbus, Georgia
Chris built Tamiya’s 1/35 scale Marder III out of the box and applied the base coat with Testors Model Master Afrika Mustard from a spray can. The rest of the camouflage was hand-painted with acrylics. Explaining why he built it, Chris says, “I hadn’t built one yet, and it looked like it would be a fun kit to put together. And it was.”
Ali Kay
Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
To replicate an Iranian Imperial Air Force Tomcat in 1978, Ali applied aftermarket decals to a Monogram 1/48 scale F-14A. He painted the camouflage with Tamiya acrylics. “As a big fan of military jets and fighter pilots, I decided to build this model as a thank-you gift for a renowned retired IIAF pilot for all his bravery and chivalry during his career,” Ali says.
Andres Ocampo Arango
Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia
Andres improved a Tamiya 1/35 scale T-55 with wire, plastic, and paper, and hand-painted it. Washes and dry-brushing finished the project.
Andrew Crowe
Sunbury, Victoria, Australia
After kitbashing a Revell 1/35 scale H-31H and an MRC Bell HTL-4 Coast Guard, Andrew added extensive modifications and scratchbuilding to model a better Bell 47G. Some of that work included interior details and a completely new tail boom made from brass wire and rod.
Bruce Smith
Vero Beach, Florida
“For a long time, I have had an idea to create a catamaran destroyer,” Bruce says. He purchased two Trumpeter 1/350 scale Arleigh Burke-class kits and joined them with a deck made from Evergreen styrene. He painted the fanciful ship with Testors Model Master spray-can enamels and Tamiya acrylics, added Trumpeter 1/350 scale aircraft to the helicopter pads, and fitted Gold Medal and White Ensign photo-etched metal parts. “The model includes an aircraft hangar deck with a flight-control bridge above,” he says. “I spent about 70 hours on this project.”
Martin Bishop
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
“While my main interest is World War II German armor, I also have an interest in modern British armor that I worked with or around while spending 12 years in an armored infantry battalion in the British army,” Martin says. He enhanced Trumpeter’s 1/35 scale AS90 self-propelled gun with Accurate Armour’s resin updates and individual-link tracks from Bronco. “It is in the markings of a gun from the regiment that provided the heavy guns for the brigade my own battalion was part of,” he says.
Jonathan Botting
Alliston, Ontario, Canada
Jonathan built Wave Corporation's 1/72 scale Legioss AFC-01Z ETA Armo Soldier out of the box and painted it with Tamiya acrylics over pre-shading. After weathering the mecha with Tamiya weathering pastels, he photographed it on a beach near his home.
William Phillips
Omaha, Nebraska
William is a fan of Autocar tractors. “It was never considered glamorous, but this truck encountered few rivals in its day, and certainly none was more interesting to look at than Autocar,” he says. He built an AMT 1/25 scale Autocar A64B tractor box-stock except for a scratchbuilt exhaust stack rain cap and functional butterfly hood on the passenger side. He painted it with Tamiya red and black over Mr. Color primer and topped with several thin coats of Tamiya clear. “After stripping the chrome, I applied Spaz Stix to improve the look of polished metal,” he says. “Bare-Metal Foil was used where needed.” Finally, he placed a stuffed bear in the passenger seat to keep the driver company.
Martin Quinn
Hawthorne, New Jersey
Martin’s only additions to Trumpeter’s 1/350 scale USS Texas was rigging and North Star Models 3D-printed figures. He set it asea on a base using foam insulation board and techniques gleaned from a story by Chris Flodberg published in FSM April 2016. The model, weathered with artist oils, depicts Texas in November 1944.