Paul Boyer
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Paul, a former FineScale Modeler senior editor, unveiled his freshly finished Hasegawa 1/72 scale F-111 Aardvark. The camouflage is Mr. Color lacquers sprayed through a Paasche H airbrush. Paul used pre-cut vinyl masks, Caracal decals, and aftermarket bombs to complete his Takhli-based 474th Tactical Fighter Wing supersonic combat aircraft.
Thomas Kasper
Gordon, Wisconsin
This sweet, candy blue 1938 Chevrolet Delivery has a custom-built body by Thomas Kasper with opening doors. He painted with lacquers from Bob’s Paint over Tamiya primer.
Mike Kollver
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
Mike opened the hood of his MPC 1/25 scale ’74 ‘Cuda and dropped in a Chrysler Slant-Six. Bob’s Paint lacquers cover the ‘Cuda’s interior and body. Mike built the model in commemoration of the model’s final production year.
Mario “Shadow” Mendiola
Chicago, Illinois
With 40 body modifications, Shadow’s Lindberg 1953 Ford Victoria definitely got the custom treatment, taking six years to complete. He chopped the top, installed custom head and taillights, pancaked the hood, lowered the body, and much more. That smooth finish is Bob’s Paint Kandy Avocado over silver flake with custom accents.
Scott Bischoff
Wheaton, Illinois
Scott’s dangerous-looking 1934 Ford Bonneville Salt Flats race car is a Jimmy Flintstone resin body over a completely scratchbuilt frame, suspension, and interior belly pan. The Tamiya Olive Drab and Gloss Black were applied directly from the spray cans.
Tom Nowak
Oak Creek, Wisconsin
Tom started building this 1967 Barracuda with his friend and fellow Auto Modelers Group of Milwaukee member, Mike Dowd. “When Mike passed, the project stalled,” he says, “but I managed to focus on finishing the build.” The model incorporates an MPC body and AMT 1971 Duster chassis. Detail Master wire, fuel lines, and fittings detail the engine, and the stripes are Slixx decals.
Bob Dahl
New Berlin, Wisconsin
Owner of Bob’s Paint, Bob showed off his ’61 Ford Galaxie Starliner hardtop, replicating a car from the movie Hollywood Knights. He wired the engine, added a distributor, used Dupli-Color primer, and painted with — what else? — Bob’s Paint lacquers.
Stew Edwards
Grafton, Wisconsin
Stew built his Heller 1/24 scale 1939 BMW 328 Le Mans racer box stock. He decanted the Tamiya Racing White lacquer from the can and applied it with his Paasche airbrush.
Ed Doering
West Allis, Wisconsin
Here we see a replica of Al Tasnady’s 1957 USAC Ford Custom 300 No. 44 as raced at the Milwaukee Mile’s Fair Week. Ed added a rear-end cooler, a correct E-code 312 Y-block engine, two four-barrel carbs, dual shocks, a roll bar, and a fire bottle. Testors lacquers and metalizers were used throughout.
Bret Dillenbeck
Janesville, Wisconsin
Bret went beyond Trumpeter’s box-stock kit with his 1/35 scale AS-90, bringing in a turned aluminum barrel, resin stowage, and metal tracks. He pre- and post-shaded with Tamiya acrylics, painted, and then used UMS pigments to dirty up the mobile gun.
Stan Davey
Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin
Blue pearl sets off Stan’s 1950 Oldsmobile convertible. He started with a Revell hardtop kit, and, wanting to try something new, he chopped off the top. He improved the wheels with plastic from Pegasus and detailed the engine with a Parts by Park distributor.
Troy Deal
Montello, Wisconsin
Troy makes no bones about telling you he builds junkers. And what beautiful junkers they are! This time he wowed us with a rotted-out 1967 Volkswagen Type 2 bus. For the rough exterior, he used a combination of Krylon colors and primer, wet-sanded for weathering. Various details were made with brass wire, springs from mechanical pens, foam padding, and tinfoil.
Mike Klessig
West Bend, Wisconsin
This 1/43 scale Penske PC-18 Indy car is all white metal and has the heft to prove it. This was the first time Mike built an Indy car in this scale, and he finished it as the car driven by Rick Mears to win the pole position for the 1989 Indy 500. After building the kit box stock, Mike airbrushed the car with Tamiya Pure Yellow lacquer over white primer.
Rick Hoffman
Racine, Wisconsin
Takom’s 1/16 scale PzKpfw I Ausf B attracted Rick’s attention for a big-scale project. He built it out-of-the-box and painted with Tamiya acrylics throughout. He airbrushed the camouflage freehand, popped details with a pinwash, and dirtied the tracks and hull with pigments.
Marek Rogal
Madison, Wisconsin
Marek’s Modelsvit 1/48 scale German Messerschmitt Bf 109 C-3 wears markings for September 1939 during the Polish campaign. He built the model out of the box because, as Marek says, it came “with more than was needed.” Marek utilized Stynylrez primer, Gunze lacquers, and VMS clears to get the look right.
Jeremy Schul
West Alexandria, Ohio
The demolition derby was a popular class this year. Jeremy entered his “Shul 808” Modelhaus ’73 Impala Caprice station wagon. He stretched a ’67 Impala form to fit the body, creased the quarter panels (a technique to add strength to derby cars), added a bunch of interior, exterior, and engine details, and weathered the heck out of it.
Hayden Hoffman
Racine, Wisconsin
Hayden concentrated on a clean build for his Tamiya 1/35 scale Ford GPA jeep. He primed and painted with Tamiya acrylics, using a black wash and dry-brushing to get the suitably swampy appearance.
Tony Hartjes
Deforest, Wisconsin
Inspired by a custom he saw as a kid, Tony took his 1959 Chevy Impala to new heights. He designed and 3D-printed the air filters, subwoofers, and 1000-watt amp. Tony slapped an Aurora Jaguar XKE independent suspension in the back and rounded out the build with Z-man wheels, Createx Blue and Pearl White paints, and Alclad II Chrome.
Jeff Barrette
Madison, Wisconsin
Jeff went old school with Testors 1/16 scale Dodge 426 Hemi engine. Built box stock, he painted with Testors enamels directly on the plastic. This model placed third in its category at the IPMS/USA National Convention in July.
John Tokarewich
Bartlett, Wisconsin
This gorgeous Accurate Miniatures 1/48 scale F3F-1 is marked for the VF-5B Section 5 Leader, USS Ranger, in early 1937. He upgraded with Eduard photo-etched metal details, rigged with E-Z Line, and airbrushed the bright scheme with Model Master acrylics.
Bob Kremer
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Bob came down from the tundra around Lambeau Field with his AMT 1/25 scale 1963 Nova wagon. The exterior is Tamiya Haze Grey, and the interior is Tamiya Light Blue. Bob flocked the carpet inside and finished the brightwork of this curbside factory stock with Bare-Metal Foil.
Jesse Boyavian
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Jesse brought some muscle to the contest with his 1/25 scale 1971 Plymouth Duster 340. He custom-made the vinyl top and brought in aftermarket decals for the stripes. He painted with acrylics and applied a wash to add realistic depth to the chrome wheels.
Chris Valenti
Hawthorn Woods, Illinois
Black Dog stowage helped round out Chris’ Dragon 1/35 scale M3A1 halftrack. He achieved his vision with Vallejo and AK Interactive acrylic paints and enamel washes. Pigments provided some dust to make the vehicle look appropriately used.
Kelvin Cull
Dodgeville, Wisconsin
Kelvin added aftermarket accessories and antennas to his Tamiya 1/35 scale M1A1 Abrams. Tamiya paints and washes helped him wrap up a clean build of a U.S. Army mainstay.
Gregory Waldo
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
You don’t often see lighted military models, but Gregory goes against type. Not only did he provide interior lighting for his 1/35 scale M24 Chaffee finished for the Korean War, but he detailed with dry-transfer decals; added oil, electrical, and hydraulic lines; and installed workable tracks.
Bill Cook
Janesville, Wisconsin
Bill painted his Revell 1/25 scale Porsche Junior 108 tractor body Tamiya Bright Red and wheels Testors Radome Tan. He scratchbuilt all of the dash details; wired the injector, starter, and battery box; made the pedals from brass; and piped the seat with yellow wire. Cool and unusual, and we like it!
Mickey Krause
Berlin, Wisconsin
Mickey found an Aurora 1/8 scale The Forgotten Prisoner kit in a basement, rescued it, and restored it to all its glory. He primed the figure and then went to work with artist's oils. The final touch was a wooden base for a refined appearance.
Victor Demichei
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
In keeping with the tractor-trailer theme for the show, Victor dreamed up a futuristic military semi that hauls, deploys, and pilots a drone fighter. Calling it the Autonomous Electric Semi concept, he scratchbuilt the entire model, including working doors, a rolling drone carriage, and a drone with extending wings. Fittingly, Victor painted the exterior Tamiya NATO Green.
Deven Lehst
McHenry, Illinois
This brooding ’71 Plymouth GTX has a motor that didn’t come with the Revell 1/24 scale kit. Deven, 14, installed the engine upgrade, painted dark blue metallic with lacquer straight from the spray can, and masked to paint the flat black portions of the hood.
Greg Schmidt
Appleton, Wisconsin
Absolutely amazing! Greg began this model with a Monogram 1/24 scale NASCAR kit and then made working roof flaps. Not satisfied, he scratchbuilt the oil cooler, fender braces, brake ducts, wheel hubs, and trunk details. He painted the car Testors Yellow enamel and then marked it with Dale Earnhardt’s 2000 “The Winston” all-star race scheme.
Rick Buikema
Clinton, Iowa
Your rat-rod hauler should match your rat rod, and that’s exactly what Rick has modeled. He hand-painted both vehicles with acrylics and weathered them with washes and pastel chalks. As for the hauler and its rat rod cargo, Rick says there are tons of custom-made and spares-box parts.
Tom Foerster
Eagle River, Wisconsin
Tom’s Witchdoctor show car rolls on resin slicks and wheels, and the detailed engine boasts a fuel system and plumbing. He painted it chartreuse, gold, and lime green, Alclad II Chrome, and airbrushed the tiki head — that isn’t a decal!
Tony Swaekauski
Eagle River, Wisconsin
Needing something different to take a break between builds, Tony turned to a Polar Lights 1/25 scale Speed Racer Mach V. Built box stock, he painted the anime favorite with Testors enamel and wet-sanded between coats for a smooth-as-glass finish.
Duke Spangler
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Duke’s AMT 1/25 scale Autocar quad-axle dump truck immediately caught our eye. Starting with a fresh kit and glue-bomb parts, he lengthened the chassis and box, scratchbuilt lift axles, and opened the doors and hood. He airbrushed Dupli-Color primer before following up with Krylon colors decanted from spray cans.
John Anton
Midlothian, Illinois
John can be counted on to display the unusual, and he doesn’t disappoint with this fiery ’58 Chevy Impala he calls The Punisher. He de-chromed the AMT kit’s parts, painted the body dark gray pearl metallic with dark red flames and trim, and topped it off with a skull hood ornament.
Joe Chernauskas
Danville, Illinois
Joe dented the body and dulled the chrome on his primer ’77 Monte Carlo ride. He wanted to model a beater with a heater and had some fun with changing out the wheels and tires in the back for something a little meatier.