Brian Wildfong
Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Brian built this Young Miniatures 1/10 scale bust of a "Flying Tiger", an American volunteer who flew with the Chinese Air Force early in World War II. He added oxygen mask clips to the flying helmet using tiny loops of stainless-steel wire and Apoxie Sculpt. Brian also added the chinstrap using a lead sheet from a wine bottle, with a shearling chin pad made from Apoxie Sculpt textured with a dental pick. The paint was a combination of acrylic undercoats with shadows and highlights rendered with oil paints.
Jeff Burke
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Jeff’s first commission came from country singer Steve Wariner, who asked for this ’40 Ford sedan to give a friend as a birthday gift. The car is painted star-spangled blue and has several coats of Testors clear lacquer. It has a Chevy small-block engine with a wired distributor, chrome Bare-Metal Foil for the trim, and Revell whitewall tires and chrome steelies. The interior is completely custom, with piping on the seats and 85 stripes throughout.
Joseph Shaw
Corpus Christi, Texas
Joseph has a history with this model; he worked on Firebirds in a Pontiac dealership in Dallas when they were brand new. While between builds, he broke out this Revell Pontiac Firebird kit, adding an AC Delco decal on the oil filter, a Hot Rod Magazine in the front passenger seat with a picture of an older Trans Am on the cover, and he robbed the dual-outlet exhaust pipes from a Revell 2000 Camaro SS kit. Joseph says he “couldn't build this car with a single-outlet exhaust system” like the one the kit came with from the factory. He painted the exterior Tamiya Red with Testors clear lacquer.
Mike Walston
Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Mike decided to make two builds from Revell's 1/8 scale "Apollo 11 Astronaut on the Moon" kit, the first recreates Lt. Doolittle's climactic surfing demise at the end of the cult classic Sci-Fi movie, "Dark Star." Parts from his spares box were used to make a new helmet, thruster pack, and improvised surfboard. The figure is attached with heavy gauge wire to a Zulux Moon Lamp that Mike painted in Testor's Transparent Red to match the planet that Lt. Doolittle surfed into.
Michael Epstein
Prairie Village, Kansas
Michael made this 1/35 scale diorama using Squadron’s base, a Cyber-hobby Bego Type 82 Kübelwagen, Tamiya Type 166 Schwimwagen with figures, and a Tamiya Panzerkampfwagen V with Panzer Division Recon Team. The finished scene includes nine figures, snow from Woodland Scenics, and well-researched patterns on the uniforms. Michael’s diorama started as a one-model build, but once he saw the base, he knew he had to use it for something special. The Kübelwagen sports Panzer Art wheels with snow chains, perfect for the weather conditions.
Luk Vanstappen
Mechelen, Antwerp, Belgium
Luk says that the war in Ukraine is a big concern for the people of Europe, and he wanted to build something to express his support for Ukraine. An avid World War II model builder, he came across a Tamiya 1/35 scale SdKfz 251/9 with a figure holding a paintbrush. Luk painted his scene with Tamiya acrylics and depicted the figure painting ‘slava Ukrain’ (meaning ‘glory to Ukraine’) on his vehicle. As for the pig’s name, he says, “well, you can guess.”