Janusz Grzywna
Lodz, Poland
In this impressive 1/35 scale showpiece, Janusz combined a Dragon Panther Ausf D and a Sabre Model Schwerer Plattformwagen SSymS 80t armored-vehicle transport railcar. Janusz says he spent lot of time painting the six-axle flatcar with German gray enamels: Ammo by Mig Jimenez acrylics were used on the Panther. He weathered them both with black washes, weathering pigments, and oils. The tent is a T-Model WWII German Shelter Quarter.
Justin Dee
Acton, California
Citing a love of World War I airplanes, Justin built Wingnut Wing’s 1/32 scale Albatros D.V "Manfred Von Richthofen" kit. To amp up the detail, he added rigging from EZ Line, spark plugs from Albion Alloys brass tubing, and turnbuckles from GasPatch Models. Spark-plug cables, water lines, and oil lines are all made of copper wir, and he scratchbuilt the table and step ladder using balsa and basswood. Justin painted with Tamiya, Testors Model Master, Mr. Color, and Vallejo colors. Weathering and washes were done with 502 Abteilung oils and Ammo by Mig Jimenez Oilbrushers. More 502 Abteilung oils added wood grain to the cockpit and propeller.
Justin Dee
Acton, California
Doug Hamilton
Venice, Florida
This sleek racecar is a resin Provence Moulage 1/43 scale Panoz LMP EVO II. Doug painted it with PPG automotive lacquers and clear coats. The interior has decals, a scratchbuilt switch panel, additional wiring for the electronics boxes, and seat belts made from paper and photo-etched metal hardware. “My cars tend to be in 1/43 scale because I like sports prototypes not found in larger scales,” says Doug.
Carmen H. Bear
Bonaire, Georgia
Carmen started with Kinetic’s 1/48 scale McDonnell Douglas CF-188 Hornet; but he turned the volume way up by adding North Star Models wheels, Leading Edge Models decals, and a fully scratchbuilt cockpit. He designed the stencils used for the roundels and serial numbers. The Remove Before Flight tags are his design as well. He painted the CF-188A with Mr. Hobby and Vallejo acrylics. “I chose this model because 1993 was the year I joined my first Royal Canadian Air Force Hornet Squadron,” says Carmen. “In the windscreen is a 1993 issue of Sports Illustrated with the winning Montreal Canadiens over the LA Kings.”
Frank Walter
Levittown, Pennsylvania
Here is Frank’s interpretation of the Mobile Infantry Fighting Suit from Robert A. Heinlein's book, Starship Troopers. Inside is an old G.I. Joe figure and the suit is made of Aves Apoxie Sculpt, Evergreen styrene, clear epoxy, Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, and Gator’s Grip Hobby Glue. Frank finished it with Vallejo, Tamiya, and Testors Model Master paints and placed it on groundwork made using Woodland Scenics products.
Glenn Cauley
Kemptville, Ontario, Canada
Glenn built Takom’s 1/35 scale Soviet SA-N-7 surface-to-air missile launcher as a project for his IPMS club's "Build Blitz" over the 2021 Easter long weekend. He finished the kit in four days and earned third place for his efforts. Nice work, Glenn!
Harreld Bryant
Springfield, Missouri
A lot of modifications went into Harreld’s Chevrolet Colorado crew cab, built from a Maisto Assembly Line blue Colorado ZR2 kit, which was part diecast metal and part plastic. He cut the cab and interior in two and extended both, and shortened the bed and bed liner to match. It’s painted with Testors Revving Red lacquer and used a Molotow Liquid Chrome pen for the grille. The rims on the wheels were replaced with five-spoke rims.
John Britton
Jonesborough, Tennessee
“The article The Victor and the Vanquished in the February 2021 issue of FSM caused me to pull out an oldie from closet storage, built back in the 1990s,” says John. “The kit was the old Lindberg T-55, updated with some On the Mark photo-etched metal parts. The bollards and telephone pole were from an Italeri accessory pack, most of which is still gathering dust in my garage (unless I gave it away).” Inspired by a photo in Jim Mesko’s Ground War Desert Storm (Squadron/Signal, ISBN 978-0-897472-61-6), he carefully hand-painted the yellow Arabic script on the turret.
Garry Hulshof
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Garry’s painted Airfix’s 1/48 scale Supermarine Spitfire PR MK.XIX with Vallejo acrylics and applied markings from Xtradecal.
Barry L. Siler
Loveland, Colorado
Barry’s unique 1/35 scale diorama depicts a scene from the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648): It is late summer 1631, in Upper Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire, and the army of Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly is moving camp. “Not surprising, scale model figures and items for this period are rather scarce,” says Barry. “So, I had to kitbash a couple of commercially available kits.” He converted the wagon and team from Master Box’s Somewhere in Europe, 1944, kit with new sides and load. Although hardly visible, he even added nailed rims to the wheels. The teamster started life as a Dragon German Cossack Cavalry figure and Barry added a cap, cape, and long skirt to the girl in the cart. The cheval de frise gate, some of the wagon's contents, and the items in the garbage dump (not pictured) were all scratchbuilt.