Charles Schlom
Algonquin, Illinois
Charles depicted a 1/72 scale MH-47E at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan during the summer of 2005 when he served there. He painted the Italeri kit with Model Master enamels and based it on a board static grass and sand groundcover.
Rick Giancarlo
Plainfield, Illinois
“Chaplain’s Office,” a B-17 of the 384th Bomber Group was shot down on Nov. 26, 1943. Charles Zitnik, pilot, and Frank Pelley, bombardier, were taken prisoner by the Germans. Rick modeled the downed bomber starting with a 1/48 scale Revell kit. He covered the entire exterior with aluminum foil cut into individual panels with rivet details. He painted the plane olive drab, weathered it with pastels, and put it on a base with static grass and figures.
Kenneth Erickson
Grant Park, Illinois
“What if the Phantom II had been a phlop?” That’s what Ken asked himself as he modeled this “what if” F-101E Voodoo with GE J79 engines starting with a 1/72 scale Hasegawa kit. He scratchbuilt the leading-edge root extensions over the intakes and finished the cockpit, undercarriage, exhaust, and weapons with a variety of Hasegawa parts.
Tom Reese
Algonquin, Illinois
Working on modeling every plane his son has ever flown, Tom built a Tamiya 1/48 scale F-16CJ Block 50. He upgraded the cockpit with Quinta Studios 3D decals, installed an Eduard Brassin Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod, and Olimp Models HARM targeting pod. Tom painted with Hataka (Orange Line) and MR. Paint colors.
Felix Gonzales
Chicago, Illinois
Felix built a Bandai 1/12 scale “Star Wars” General Grievous. He painted with Tamiya and Vallejo colors, weathered the cyborg a bit with pastels, and dressed him in an aftermarket cloth cape.
John Tokarewich
Bartlett, Illinois
John’s Eduard 1/48 scale F6F-3 Hellcat received a few photo-etched metal upgrades and an antenna made of E-Z Line. He painted Model Master acrylics over Tamiya primer and masked the canopy with Bare-Metal Foil. The weathering is artist oils and pastels.
Osman Erden
Rockford, Illinois
Thirteen-year-old Osman brought this dramatic scene to the show. He modeled a Zvezda 1/35 scale T-80BV aiming its cannon at a little girl in Ukraine. He used Tamiya spray paints, oil paint, and enamel on the tank and figure.
William Wallace
Cary, Illinois
William built his Bandai 1/100 scale Gundam Double X out of the box without paint or primer, relying on the colored plastic to do the work. He did darken panel lines with a fine-tipped black pen.
Bob Clift
Milton, Wisconsin
Bob had a vision for a vignette of an old abandoned tow truck. To get there, he raided AMT kits for donor parts, scratchbuilt the hoist, fuel tank, and seat, and then based it on foam insulation. The dirt and stones are real, and Bob made all the grass and leaves.
Scott Andeen
Schaumberg, Illinois
There’s a lot packed away in Scott’s classic single-car garage. He scratchbuilt the building from basswood and covered the roof with sandpaper shingles. Inside, is an AMT 1/25 scale ’63 Nova waiting to have an engine dropped in from a scratchbuilt hoist. Scott made the boxes from paper and wood and raided his spares for tools and other dressings to round out the scene. Well done!
Allan Heninger
West Allis, Wisconsin
Allan built a Monogram 1/35 scale M8 U.S. Army light standard armored car with figures to depict a recon crew during the latter days of World War II. “The name, Colbert, was an actual vehicle,” he says. Allan painted with Vallejo acrylics and a variety of artist oils.
Charles Thomas
Burns Harbor, Indiana
Using a Hobby Craft 1/48 MiG-17 as a starting point, Charles imagined what a German aircraft might have ended up looking like if World War II had continued. Calling it a Focke-Wulf Ta-582, he painted with Model Master enamels over gray primer.
Mark Danko
Valparaiso, Indiana
Mark put Eduard photo-etched parts and canopy, Brassin wheels, UltraCast resin exhausts and fairings, and LIfeLike decals into a Tamiya 1/48 scale P-51D Mustang to model “Contrary Mary.” He primed with Mr. Surfacer, painted with Mr. Color Silver, and weathered with inks and pastels.
Ronald Neuendorf
Waukesha, Wisconsin
This honey of a hot rod from Ronald is a Monogram 1/25 scale 1930 Ford Model A phaeton. He added a distributor with wires, coil, fuel pump, and fuel lines. The brake booster came from another kit, and then he ran brake lines. He also upgraded with hose clamps, a six-sided die for the shifter, and seat belts, all under Dupli-Color auto paint.
Scott Bischoff
Wheaton, Illinois
Scott chose a Jimmy Flintstone resin body for his 1934 Ford Bonneville Salt Flats racer and then scratchbuilt the chassis and interior. He painted with Tamiya Olive Drab and Gloss Black from the spray cans and then finished with Tamiya Gloss Clear.
Mario “Shadow” Mendiola
Chicago, Illinois
The fish scales on this 1/25 scale 1930 Ford coupe aren’t decals, they’re painted! Mario airbrushed the scales over a custom mixed “tangerine” color, all applied over a white base coat. He chromed the chassis, painted the wheels House of Kolor Pagan Gold, and fully detailed the engine with wires and custom carbs.
Gregory Rwaldo
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Building a Revell 1/72 scale kit, Gregory modeled PT-109 and changed the position of the depth charges to match his research. The front rails are 3D printed, and other details come from photo-etched metal and resin aftermarket sets. He used Tamiya primer and Mr. Color paints to finish everything off.
Austin Paxton
East Moline, Illinois
“I raised the turret rear to allow clearance over the exhaust,” Austin says of his Dragon 1/35 scale M103A1. He made the duffel bags in the bustle and details with Voyager photo-etched metal parts and a turned-metal cannon barrel.
James Binder
Darien, Illinois
James finished a FineMolds 1/72 scale “Slave I” as Jango’s ship from “Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.” He added fiber optics and LEDs to light the ship and painted it with Tamiya products. James chipped the finish using the hairspray method.
Adam Hills
Aurora, Illinois
A fan of invasion stripes, Adam couldn’t resist finishing his Tamiya 1/48 scale F-15C Eagle in the Heritage paint job celebrating the 75th anniversary of David R. Kingsley sacrificing his life to save those of his aircrew when their B-17 was shot down in battle. He improved the cockpit with a 3D-printed replacement from Quinta Studio. He drew masks and made them on a Silhouette Cameo 4 cutting machine.
Andy Keyes
West Bend, Wisconsin
Andy built this Tamiya 1/48 scale F4F Wildcat out of the box. He added seat belts made of tape to the cockpit. Not a fan of Tamiya decals, he persevered, pre- and post-shaded with Mr. Color paints and weathered with an acrylic sludge wash.
Thorsten Herbes
North Barrington, Illinois
Thorsten brought his Special Hobby 1/48 scale Ju-88 to NimCon. Built out of the box, he airbrushed the camouflage freehand and post-shaded to add volume. Oil washes gave the plane its well-worn appearance.
Jeff Barrette
Madison, Wisconsin
Coming in from Mad City, Jeff showed off his Fujimi 1/48 scale A6M2 “Zero.” He cut circles from masking tape to airbrush the Hinomaru insignia.
Mark Miller
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
Mark replaced the tracks on his Tamiya 1/35 scale Jagdtiger with Scale Colors’ 3D-printed workable tank tracks and made his own vision blocks, too. Again, turning to Scale Colors, he airbrushed primer, modulated with white and black before base-coating.
Jon Krueger
Columbus, Wisconsin
Jon modeled the USS “Enterprise” (CV-6) cruising in the South Pacific. The planes on deck wear photo-etched metal props, and Jon scratchbuilt props for the planes in the air. The water is acrylic paint over plexiglass with Liquitex gloss gel on top.
Kelvin Cull
Dodgeville, Wisconsin
This cleanly modeled Revell 1/48 scale Spitfire Mk.II arrived in Kelvin’s care. He made the antenna with E-Z Line, laid down a coat of Tamiya primer, and then airbrushed the rest with Vallejo acrylics.
Phil Pignataro
Algonquin, Illinois
Phil’s Eduard 1/72 scale LET Z-37 Čmelák (Czech for “bumblebee”) was a showstopper. He made grab handles for the wing tanks and fuselage with copper wire and painted the red-and-yellow scheme with Tamiya acrylics. Phil airbrushed Tamiya Smoke along panel lines and judiciously used pastels and artist oil washes to weather.
Bob Sheehan
Elmwood Park, Illinois
Bob painted a 1/8 scale Gamora from the MCU’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie with acrylic and oil paints. He pre-shaded and then airbrushed the basic colors before detailing by hand.
John Clancy
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
We’re seeing more and more paper models appear at scale model events, and John brought his 1/4 scale Yamaha YA-1.
Geoffrey Waller
Tinley Park, Illinois
“These are Black Watch soldiers fighting a French lancer at the Battle of Waterloo,” Geoffrey says. He airbrushed the horse and painted the kilts by hand. Acrylic colors were used throughout.
Bill Cook
Janesville, Wisconsin
Bill ain’t monkeying around! He built an AMT 1/25 scale Monkee Mobile mostly out of the box. What didn’t come in the kit? Exhaust tips from Parts by Parks and wires for the engine. He painted it with Tamiya Bright Red and topped it with Tamiya Gloss Clear.
John Anton
Midlothian, Illinois
Have you ever wondered what Batman’s car would look like if Bruce Wayne had a sense of style? John answers with his ‘lux 1/25 scale Batmobile dripping in high-gloss color-shift paint and boasting gold-plated wheels, machine guns, and trim. We don’t care about practicality, just that it looks cool.
Robert Raver
Crystal Lake, Illinois
In the building of his 1/35 scale M10, Robert added texture to the mantlet and counterweights on the back of the turret. He also used two-part epoxy putty weld seams on the mantlet barrel and splash guards. Other details include photo-etched metal stowage boxes, the hedgerow cutter, and hand-sculpted sandbags.
David Schultz
Elgin, Illinois
The 1/4 scale “Creole Queen” steamed in under David’s command. Measuring 48 inches long at the keel with a 10-inch beam, the model has custom searchlights, rails, radar units, horn, power winch, funnel tops, and stairs, all made from a combination of brass, wood, and cardstock. The base features ¾-inch dowels wrapped in rope.