Scott Bischoff
Wheaton, Illinois
Starting with a Jimmy Flintstone resin body, Scott scratchbuilt the chassis, interior, and dash to model a 1960s Volkswagen Autocross car. He painted the 1/25 scale racer with Tamiya spray-can maroon and black lacquers.
Kaleb Hartjes
Deforest, Wisconsin
Junior modeler Kaleb used aftermarket decals for the first time to mark a Revell 1/24 scale Ford GT as a Ford Chip Ganassi Racing car that raced at the 2019 24 Hours of Daytona. After thinning the diffuser fins, opening vents, and adding antennas, he painted the car with Tamiya white primer topped with Mr. Hobby clear gloss. The Indycal sheet provided the rest of the color. As a final touch, Kaleb stippled and flicked black and clear flat over the car to add spattered rubber.
Scott Anderson
Schaumburg, Illinois
Inspired by 1960s gassers, Scott built a Revell 1/54 scale ’57 Ford Ranch Wagon. His modifications include moving the battery to the rear and omitting the moon tank, wipers, and mirror. After painting the body with Tamiya Mica Blue, Dark Mica, and Testors Gold, he finished the trim with Bare-Metal Foil.
Logan Hanson
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Imagining the Cold War turning hot in the late 1940s, Logan kitbashed a what-if M30A2 heavy tank destroyer with a Takom 1/35 scale T30 hull fitted with a Takom T29E3 turret mounted with a larger gun from another kit.
Michael Gosda
Madison, Wisconsin
A dieselpunk-inspired urban patrol vehicle moves down the street of a futuristic, war-torn city in Michael’s scene. The vehicle started as a Dragon 1/35 scale German E-100 tank, with the turret ring blanked with sheet styrene and detailed with plenty of spare tank parts.
Mike Hartjes
Wausau, Wisconsin
Mike converted an AMT 1/25 scale 1971 Mustang Mach I to a Mustang Grande Coupe by grafting on the top and trunk from an AMT ’71 Mercury Cougar. A wide-body package for a ’69 Mustang, an Iceman collection 5-liter engine, chassis, wheels, and tires, and a scratchbuilt radiator, electric fan exhaust, mufflers, and front spoiler finish the restomod creation.
Richard Sliwka
Warrensburg, Missouri
To model USS Guadalcanal as it looked when it was involved in capturing the German submarine U-505, Richard dressed up Hasegawa’s 1/350 scale kit of the escort carrier with Hasegawa aftermarket photo-etched metal. He also modified the bridge and added an HF/DF radio detection mast.
Richard Schaffer
Sparta, Wisconsin
Wingnut Wings’ 1/32 scale Rumpler C.IV is plenty detailed out of the box, but that didn’t stop Richard from adding Taurus Models valves, lifters, sparkplugs, and scratchbuilt ignition wires and throttle assembly to the engine. HGW photo-etched metal took the cockpit up a notch, and he replaced the kit machine gun with a Gaspatch item. To paint the reconnaissance plane, Richard airbrushed on Vallejo and AK Interactive acrylics before he weathered it with artist oil washes.
Troy Riley
Janesville, Wisconsin
After building a Moebius 1/25 scale 1969 Ford F-100 pickup out of the box, Troy base-coated it with red primer before hand-painting the blue body and white cab top using Apple Barrel craft paint. Different shades of brown brushed lightly over the paint, giving it the patina of an old, worn-out farm truck.
Steve Shaffer
Hastings, Minnesota
Steve applied Two Bobs Aviation Graphics decals to a Kinetic 1/48 scale F-16C to produce a 309th Fighter Squadron aircraft in a commemorative scheme. He painted the plane with MRP lacquers.
Robert Raver
Crystal Lake, Illinois
Robert painted a 1/16 scale 3D-printed Gambody Jack Sparrow from “Pirates of the Caribbean” with Scale75 Scalecolor artist acrylics before placing it on a scratchbuilt pier.
Duke Spangler
Waukesha, Wisconsin
In addition to converting an AMT 1/25 scale Mack DMM-600 to an all-wheel drive, Duke added a scratchbuilt bed and a functioning Steel Master trolley crane. He airbrushed the truck with decanted Dupli-Color lacquers to replicate a cement-block delivery truck from the early 1990s.
Steve Hustad
Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Steve’s intricate 1/72 scale Hansa-Brandenburg W.18 started life as a vacuum-formed kit from Sierra Scale. He scratchbuilt the interior, struts, and outriggers and painted it with Humbrol enamels but used artist oils over acrylic base coats for the wood grain on the fuselage.
Victor Demichei
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
From the imaginative mind of Victor comes this HyTech street rod concept based on a Monogram 1/24 scale Kurtis Kraft Indy car. He modified the body to make it a two-seat roadster and airbrushed it with lacquers.
Weston Wedeward
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Except for fitting it with Scale 3D tracks, Weston built a Tamiya 1/35 scale Panzer III Ausf N out of the box. He camouflaged the German tank with Scale Colors and weathered it with tempura washes and graphite pencil highlights.
Mike Kohta
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Mike added Evans Designs LEDs controlled by a motion sensor to a Tamiya 1/35 scale M18 Hellcat and placed it on a railroad track base to model an American tank destroyer in Italy in 1945. He painted the vehicle and scene with Tamiya enamels, Vallejo acrylics, and AK Interactive enamel.
Elliot L. Doering
West Allis, Wisconsin
“I wanted to make a mild custom as built by a teenager in the 1950s,” Elliot says. Using a Revell 1/25 scale 1948 Ford, he shaved and decked the hood and trunk, added Buick fadeaway fenders, lake pipes, DeSoto grille, and baby moon hub caps, and wired the flathead motor. He painted the car with Testors Dark Red enamel.
John Tokarewich
Bartlett, Illinois
Eduard’s 1/48 scale Wildcats have proven popular with modelers, and John was happy to build the F4F-3 out of the box. Using Testors Model Master acrylics and poster putty for masking, he finished it as Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Henry Elrod’s fighter from VMF-211 that shot down two Japanese bombers and sank the destroyer Kisaragi in two days.
Bret Dillenbeck
Janesville, Wisconsin
Modeling a Canadian Leopard 2A7 in Afghanistan, Bret added Barracuda insulation blankets, camouflage netting, and resin stowage to a Ryefield Models 1/35 scale kit. He painted the main battle tank with Tamiya acrylics, weathered with artist oil and enamel washes and Warpig pigments, and placed the model on Vantage Model Systems Smart Mud groundwork on plywood.
Bob Clift
Milton, Wisconsin
ESCI’s 1/72 scale M113A1 dates back to 1987 but builds nicely, according to Bob. He built the basic APC out of the box, adding epoxy putty sandbags and rucksacks to the hull, and spares-box figures to the open hatches. To deploy the vehicle to Vietnam, he placed the diminutive model on a circle of insulation foam and included palm trees made from fern fronds on whisk broom bristles.
Jeremy Olsen
Milton, Wisconsin
“This depicts a Black Sun Syndicate speeder truck,” Jeremy says, adding that it belongs to a major criminal organization in the Star Wars universe. He painted the 1/48 scale miniature from Fantasy Flight Games Star Wars Legion game with Tamiya acrylic base coats and hand-painted AK Interactive and Vallejo acrylics for details.
John A. Pawlowski
Mount Prospect, Illinois
Using a Jimmy Flintstone resin body, John converted a Moebius 1/25 scale 1953 Hudson Hornet into a salt flat custom, cutting holes in the sides to fit aluminum-tube exhausts, fitting a driver, and installing drag ’chutes at the rear. He applied Bob’s Paint for the striking red, white, and blue livery. For the salt-flat base, he applied sugar over spray glue.
Paul Johnston
Adell, Wisconsin
Paul’s mods to a Tamiya 1/24 scale 1995 Nissan Skyline GTR-LM include removing some raised surface details, fitting side mirrors and wipers from a stock Tamiya R33 Skyline, using 3D-printed hood and trunk pins and a metal antenna. He airbrushed decanted Tamiya spray-can lacquers to model the 10th place finisher at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Bruce Smith
Edina, Minnesota
To improve a Tamiya 1/35 scale M113A1 Fire Support Vehicle, Bruce replaced handles with copper wire and added piano-wire antennas. He hand-painted the Australian Army vehicle with Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics.
Vic Rood
West Allis, Wisconsin
Working with an original 1964 boxing of AMT’s 1/25 scale ’64 Falcon Sprint, Vic replaced the engine with a wired Chevy small-block 327 and added a hi-rise manifold and dual four-barrel carbs for a pro street setup. He painted the body with red-orange acrylic, wet-sanded, and polished with Novus.
Rick “Doc” Buikema
Clinton, Iowa
Doc takes a lot of ribbing from friends about his fondness for bacon, so he couldn’t resist labeling his 1940 Chevy Delivery rat rod for Chris. P. Baycon BBQ. Working with an AMT 1/25 scale kit, he chopped and channeled the body and placed it and a scratchbuilt Deutz motor on a custom frame sitting on airbags made using O-rings. The barbecue grill trailer was made with parts from an AMT 1940 Chevy Coupe.
Bill Nichols
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
After fitting a Monogram 1/48 scale P-47D with an aftermarket cockpit, engine, wheels, machine-gun blast tubes, and pitot tube, Bill airbrushed various brands of acrylics to mark it as a Thunderbolt flown by ace Francis “Gabby” Gabreski with the 56th Fighter Group.
Ronald Neuendorf
Waukesha, Wisconsin
To customize an AMT 1/25 scale ’72 Chevy pickup, Ronald replaced the long bed with a ’79 Dodge sidestep bed. Other kitbashed parts include seats and intake set from a Corvette, the center console from a Chevy Nomad, and a Mustang steering wheel, and the finish is Testors Purplelicious lacquer.
Erik Hjelmberg
Novi, Michigan
Erik built a New Ware 1/144 scale Sparta WRESAT rocket out of the box and painted it with custom mixes of Tamiya acrylics. Launched from Woomera in South Australia, the vehicle, a modified Redstone, carried Australia’s first satellite, WRESAT, or Weapons Research Establishment Satellite into orbit in November 1967.
Jun Jeong
Rochester, Minnesota
Junior modeler Jun hand-painted a Reaper Miniatures 32mm giant spider with acrylics and placed it on air-dry clay groundwork.
Verna Neal
Ridott, Illinois
Verna isn’t sure who made these miniature rodent warriors, but she said she had a blast finishing them with artist oils and acrylics.
Keith Brusten
Woodbury, Minnesota
Keith updated Andy’s Hobby Headquarters’ 1/16 scale Tiger I Early to a Late Production tank with 3D-printed steel road wheels, tracks, fenders, and turret, fitting everything with Atak resin Zimmerit. He airbrushed Mission Models and Tamiya acrylics to camouflage it as a tank in Normandy around D-Day.
David Bainbridge
Hobart, Wisconsin
To finish the intricate 1692 uniform of United Empire Miniatures’ 80mm Bavarian infantry staff officer, David blended artist oils over acrylic base coats.
John Werwie
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
John’s not sure who made this 120mm figure of a Roman Hastatus soldier circa 200 B.C., but he painted it with Winsor & Newton colors. He added a pair of scratchbuilt snakes and some dried plants to the base.
Soren Campbell
Madison, Wisconsin
What is it? It’s a Wandering Mausoleum from the video game Elden Ring, Soren says. He scratchbuilt the large building with XPS insulation foam around a wire skeleton, detailed beads pushed into air-dry clay and Warhammer skulls, and cut apart a water bottle for the bell underneath. The mysterious building was painted with craft acrylics and weathered with oil washes and dry-brushing.
John Leidel
Merton, Wisconsin
There’s just something pretty about a yellow-wing airplane! John built a Czech Model 1/48 scale Curtiss A-12 Shrike out of the box and rigged it with Infini Model Rigging line. The “Between the Wars” scheme was complete with two coats each of Scale Colors blue and yellow over primer and topped with clear.
Tony Hartjes
Deforest, Wisconsin
Tony equipped a Tamiya 1/24 scale Toyota Mk.4 Supra with a 3D-printed single turbo in place of the factory twin turbos. “It’s a popular conversion on 1:1 cars to fit a big, single turbo and a straight rear axle,” he says. He made other mods, including fitting 3D-printed wheels and tires, the new rear axle kitbashed from a Mustang Boss 302 kit, and some engine wiring. The understated finish is Dupli-Color Forest Green.
Rob Teubert
Edgerton, Wisconsin
Working with the small palette that is Masterbox’s 1/72 scale British Mark I female, Rob added extra protective netting on top and detailed the hydraulic unit at the rear. He painted the World War I tank with Ammo acrylics and weathered with Ammo and AK Interactive products.
Mike Peer
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Mike built Italeri’s 1/48 scale F7F-3 Tigercat out of the box and painted the Navy camouflage with Vallejo acrylics. He kept weathering to a minimum, with little oil paint for the exhaust stains and light chipping with silver acrylic on a sponge.
Bruce Williams
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
For a French truck in German service, Bruce built an ICM 1/35 scale Renault AHN2, replacing the passenger-side windshield with styrene sheet armor plating for the gunner. He painted the cargo hauler with acrylics and weathered with artist oil washes and pigments before loading the bed with oil drums and mines.
Ro Annis
Park Ridge, Illinois
“This is Manbagi Rumiko from the manga Komi Can’t Communicate when she realizes she has a crush on Tadano,” Ro says. He used a Bandai 1/12 scale 30 Minute Sisters kit as the basis for the figure, sculpted all the clothing and hair with Apoxie Sculpt, and painted her with Gaia and Mr. Color lacquers.
Toby Halliday
Waconia, Minnesota
Best known for car models, Toby crossed the aisle to tackle an ICM 1/48 scale AH-1G Cobra. He finished the out-of-the-box build in U.S. Army arctic colors with Mr. Hobby Mr. White Surfacer and acrylics from Tamiya, Testors, and Revell. For weathering, he only applied a light panel line wash because the arctic machines stayed pretty clean, Toby says.
Scott Hackney
Omaha, Nebraska
Imagining a Japanese tank abandoned in the jungle on a Pacific island during World War II, Scott placed an Atlantis 1/48 scale Type 97 on a base. He added thick surrounding foliage that is slowly covering the hulk. He armed the ancient warrior with Eduard machine guns, added bent wire for the antenna, and applied a base coat of rust shades from MRP, then layered on mold and moss using Ammo products.
Marek Rogal
Madison, Wisconsin
Using aftermarket decals, Marek marked an Airfix 1/48 scale P-51D as a Mustang Mk.IV of No. 3 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force in Italy during World War II. He camouflaged the fighter with Mr. Color and Hataka lacquers and weathered it with washes and pastels.
Paul Boyer
Cedarburg, Wisconsin
To build an AP-2H, a heavily armed Lockheed Neptune used to halt traffic on the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam War, Paul used a Blackbird resin conversion set on Hasegawa’s venerable 1/72 scale kit. He camouflaged the Navy bird with Mr. Color lacquers and hand-cut tape masks.
Brady Kats
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
After kitbashing a Bandai 1/144 scale Rick Dom II mecha with a Bandai 1/48 scale Xabungle Hobuggy, Brady detailed it with various hoses and other equipment to create what he calls a Dom Turbo Ground War Type. He added Zimmerit texture to lower areas and hand-painted it with Mr. Color lacquers.
Chris Doppler
Hobart, Indiana
Chris built a Tamiya 1/35 scale M3 Stuart out of the box, primed it with Mr. Finishing Surface 1500 Black, followed by Mr. Color olive drab lacquer airbrushed to leave shadows in recesses and under overhangs. Weathering? “No, it was a 24-hour build, so there wasn’t time,” he says.
Bryce Mertes
Rockton, Illinois
To model a 4th Armored Division tank in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, Bryce detailed a Tamiya 1/35 scale M4A3E8 with Legend ammo cans, a Eureka tow cable, Value Gear stowage, and an AFV Club .50-caliber machine gun, and crewed it with Evolution figures. He painted the Easy Eight with Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics, using both pre- and post-shading, and weathered it with artist-oil washes, dot filters, and pigments, then tied the base and Sherman together with AK Interactive diorama products.
Mike Oberholtzer
River Forest, Illinois
Mike’s only additions to Modelsvit’s 1/72 scale Beriev Be-12PS were antenna wires and bolstering the landing gear with wire inserted into the struts. He painted it as a Ukrainian search-and-rescue plane with MRP, Tamiya, and Model Master colors over Vallejo primer, varying the shading on the upper surfaces to show fading and weathering with Tamiya Smoke for exhaust stains, and enamel washes to show panel lines.