Toby Halliday
Waconia, Minnesota
Toby’s Merkava Mk.3D represents several firsts, including his first armor model, first attempt at weathering, and first base. The talented car modeler added a Legend resin and photo-etched metal stowage set, D&N Models ball-and-chain turret skirt, Friulmodel metal tracks, and Echelon decals to the Meng 1/35 scale kit. The model is painted with Ammo by Mig Jimenez acrylics and weathered with Ammo washes and pigments.
Mike Kohta
Green Bay, Wisconsin
For a topical model, Mike built a Trumpeter 1/35 scale T-80UM as a Russian tank in Ukraine. The scene shows the tank’s crew looting a pub and the Ukrainians welcoming them with a Javelin antitank missile. He hand-painted the tank, stowage, and base with Tamiya acrylics and enamels, Vallejo acrylics, and Winsor & Newton artist oils.
Dean Kuitunen
Hanover, Minnesota
“This model depicts a Bronco my father rebuilt in the late ’70s,” says Dean. He removed moldings and newer side markers from the 1/25 scale Revell kit, added a modified frame and plow from a Revell GMC pickup, and set the Ford rolling on 15-inch wheels and tires from Fireball Modelworks. After painting the classic 4 x 4 with Tamiya spray-can lacquers, he weathered the chassis and engine compartment with a combination of “everything on the workbench,” he says.
Bob Maderich
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Bob built Special Hobby’s 1/48 scale F2G Super Corsair race plane out of the box and painted it with Tamiya colors. Because it is a racer, he omitted weathering, preferring to keep it clean and fresh for the starting line.
Bob Halliday
St. Joseph, Minnesota
Most of Bob’s collection of builds celebrating the Hemi engine were cars, but it included this Revell 1/25 scale speedboat, sold under the Hemi-Hydro label. Bob scratchbuilt the water-cooling system, installed Parts by Parks air cleaner and a resin battery box, and completely plumbed and wired the engine. The kit came from the collection of a friend that passed away and was given to Bob by his friend’s wife. “The model is built in honor of him, and the custom registration on the boat is his initials and the years he was born and passed away,” Bob says.
Steve Shaffer
Hastings, Minnesota
Going big, Steve finished Bandai’s Perfect Grade 1/60 scale RX-78-2 Gundam with MR Paint lacquers over Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black. To weather the mobile suit, he applied Tamiya pastels and washes.
Michael Gutierres
Minneapolis, Minnesota
To turn an AMT 1/25 scale ’57 Chevy into the car driven by Fireball Roberts to victory in the 1958 Southern 500 at Darlington Speedway, Michael scratchbuilt the interior and chassis. He painted the stock car with Tamiya spray-can lacquers.
Mark Jacques
Coon Rapids, Minnesota
“This special purpose tank was developed to fight in all terrain conditions in the year 2145 AD,” says Mark. He kitbashed the 1/35 scale hypothetical Object 20279 ground-effects vehicle with parts from a Takom Object 279 tank, a Hasegawa Maschinen Krieger kit, and bits from his spares box.
Bailey Humphries-Gustafson
Bloomington, Minnesota
After kitbashing a Bandai super-deformed Gundam Wing Zero with parts from the Bandai Endless Waltz kit and adding LED lights, Bailey airbrushed the mobile suit with Gundam lacquers from Mr. Color.
Jay Murzyu
Shoreview, Minnesota
Jay enhanced Tamiya’s 1/48 scale F-4B with Eduard Brassin wheels and decals after painting it with acrylics and enamels and weathering it with artist oils. He scratchbuilt the base for the Phantom from ZF-161 Chargers aboard USS Midway in 1972.
Jim Hencinski
Rochester, Minnesota
In addition to the other stowage on his 1/35 scale M26 armored tank recovery vehicle, Jim hung a captured German bicycle from an MB plastic and photo-etched metal kit from the spare wheel. He base-coated the Tamiya kit with Tamiya Olive Drab from a spray can, then hand-painted details with acrylics.
Tom Finch
Wyoming, Minnesota
Tom revved up a Fujimi 1/16 scale Porsche 959 with aftermarket hoses and flocked the carpeted area inside. He over-coated the pearl white finish with Gravity 2K matte clear.
Andrew Hill
Cottage Grove, Minnesota
To mimic the original 5-foot filming miniature of the Millennium Falcon as it appeared in later movies in the original Star Wars trilogy, Andrew added custom landing, running, and headlights to a Bandai 1/72 scale Perfect Grade kit. He painted the modified freighter with Tamiya and Testors Model Master acrylics and weathered it with Tamiya pastels, fine markers, and watercolor pencils.
Larry T. Lahs
Albert Lea, Minnesota
Larry built a Williams Brothers 1/8 scale Pratt & Whitney R-1340 radial engine out of the box, except for adding a data plate to the crankcase cover. He brush-painted the classic aircraft powerplant with Testors enamels and weathered it with washes and pastels.
Harold Parsons,
Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota
Harold’s improvements to Techmod’s 1/48 scale Friedrichshafen F.F.33E include sanding away molded interior structure and replacing it with styrene stringers, adding photo-etched metal details, and extensive rigging. He painted the German reconnaissance floatplane with Tamiya acrylics and Alclad II lacquers.
Dave Perzel
Rosemount, Minnesota
Dave replaced the simple cockpit in an ESCI 1/48 scale Saab JA37 Viggen with resin from Maestro Models. He then applied the stunning Swedish splinter camo using DN Models masks and Tamiya acrylics.
Dave L. Morrow
Mankato, Minnesota
Dave airbrushed Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics to camouflage a Bandai 1/48 scale M1A4 Juggernaut from the anime TV series 86. For context, he placed the spiderlike mech on a base of spackle and broken concrete.
Douglas Smith
Rochester, Minnesota
Douglas makes no bones about it, saying, “This was a difficult kit to build.” He had to carve and re-sculpt each part of Glencoe’s 1/25 scale Tyrannosaurus Rex, even going so far as to replace the kit skull with one carved from resin. He reposed the skeleton on Celluclay groundwork and painted it with Tamiya acrylics and Winsor & Newton artist oils.
Don Stauffer
Coon Rapids, Minnesota
To show America’s first carrier, USS Langley, during flight operations, Don added photo-etched metal details to a Trumpeter 1/350 scale kit and extra decals for the air wing. He painted the ship with enamels and Tamiya Fine Surface Primer gray, which serves as the hull camouflage color.
Steve Hanson
St. Louis Park, Minnesota
“This is how the Superbird should look,” says Steve with a smile. He customized the JoHan 1/25 scale 1970 Plymouth muscle car with scratchbuilt flared fenders and ground effects and added parts from a Hemi ’Cuda and Ferrari Enzo, F40, and Mythos kits. The stunning finish is House of Kolor Pavo Purple base topped with Purple Kandy and Tamiya Clear lacquer.
Randy Worringer
Bloomington, Minnesota
Randy built Douglas’ ultimate propliner using a DC-7 conversion set from Transport Wing on a Heller 1/72 scale DC-6B. The set included a resin fuselage extension, white-metal props, resin engines, and intakes for the oil cooler and carburetor. A Vintage Flyer Decals set provided the classic Delta livery.
Scott Glatstein
Minnetonka, Minnesota
Among the more unusual models at the show was this 1/24 scale San Francisco Cable Car. Scott detailed the OcCre wooden kit with safety mats inside, leather handholds, and 600-grit sandpaper for nonskid strips on the steps. He used wood stain for the interior and painted with acrylics outside. “Each piece has an interior side and exterior side,” he says. “On the interior, I had to enhance the wood grain, but on the exterior, I buried the grain with filler primer.”
Gunnar Peterson
Fridley, Minnesota
Gunnar, 12, made a base from insulation foam with tile-grout groundwork for his diorama of a Sherman passing a knocked-out Panzer IV. He airbrushed the Tamiya and Monogram kits with lacquers.
Robert Hyman
Burnsville, Minnesota
For context, Robert set Revell’s 1/72 scale PT-109 afloat on a resin seascape. He built the torpedo boat out of the box and painted it with Vallejo acrylics, post-shading the dark green into the light green for weathering.
Charlie Schaefer
North Mankato, Minnesota
Charlie, 10, added metal track to a Dragon 1/35 scale T-34 and airbrushed it with Tamiya acrylics, starting with a layer of green and then overspraying with white for worn winter camouflage. He weathered with Ammo by Mig Jimenez pigments and enamels.
Hadrian Zielinski
St. Michael, Minnesota
Hadrian built AFV Club’s 1/35 scale SdKfz 11 3-ton halftrack out of the box and airbrushed it with Model Master acrylics. The 13-year-old hand-painted the seats and added chips to the German vehicle.
Navin Bala
Minneapolis, Minnesota
To pose an Airfix 1/72 scale Phantom FG1 as a Royal Navy fighter about to take off on a missile training sortie, Navin scratchbuilt a British carrier-deck catapult base. He painted the model with Mission Models acrylics using pre- and post-shading and flowed on gray Tamiya Panel Line Accent wash.
Patrick Edwards
Northfield, Minnesota
Detailing a Trumpeter 1/350 scale kit with White Ensign photo-etched metal, Patrick built the Russian guided-missile cruiser Moskva. He painted the ill-fated ship, sunk in April 2022 by Ukrainian missiles, with Tamiya acrylics and weathered with light washes.
Bill Read
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Bill built Bronco’s 1/48 scale MQ-1 predator out of the box and painted it with Tamiya acrylics.
Phil Puissegur
Sandstone, Minnesota
Scientific’s 1/140 scale Mississippi steamboat Robert E. Lee is all balsawood. Phil built it out of the box and airbrushed it with Testors paints.
Aedan Bala
Bloomington, Minnesota
“This model depicts the Polish Su-22M4, which is sitting, at this moment, in a museum in Poland,” Aedan says. He scratchbuilt an instrument panel and pitot tubes for Mister Craft’s 1/48 scale Fitter and airbrushed the camouflage freehand with Tamiya and Alclad II lacquers before applying aftermarket decals.
Jun-Yeong Smith
Rochester, Minnesota
Jun-Yeong painted a Reaper 28mm Frost Giant with acrylics and oil washes.
Mattias Olivo
Zimmerman, Minnesota
Mattias dressed up Bandai’s Master Grade 1/100 scale Gundam Barbatos with expansion parts from an MG set and painted it with Rust-Oleum spray cans.
John Carlson
Milaca, Minnesota
John’s model of Moya, the sentient Leviathan spaceship from the TV show Farscape, started as a four-part 3D-printed kit, which he hollowed out to make room for fiber-optic lighting. After detailing the outside with a styrene rod, he painted with Vallejo acrylics, starting with a black base, and gradually adding metallic colors to produce shading.
Torben Rothgeb
Minneapolis, Minnesota
To build Fireball Roberts's 1963 Ford stock car, Torben replaced the chassis on an AMT 1/25 Galaxie with one from a 1960 Ford, added rear window straps, front window clips, wheel weights, valve stems, hood pins, headlight covers, fuel-filler cap, and Plastic Performance Products tires and rims. He finished the car with MCW Regency Purple Metallic and Mr. Hobby Clear and applied Powerslide decals.
Michael Horscheidt
Robbinsdale, Minnesota
Michael painted Grace the Duelist, a 75mm figure from Mr. Lee’s Minis, by first airbrushing zenithal primer, then hand-brushing the flesh and clothing by layering on Vallejo, Privateer Press, and Monument Hobbies acrylics. Static grass and tufts of foliage from various manufacturers place Grace in a natural setting.
Carson Minnichsoffer
Lindstrom, Minnesota
“I got into World War I from the video game Battlefield 1, and this is a paint option in the game,” Carson says. He painted a Wingnut Wings 1/32 scale Sopwith Camel with Vallejo acrylics, pre-shading the rib detail on the wings, and rigged the biplane with EZ Line.
Matt Minnichsoffer
Lindstrom, Minnesota
To replicate Captain America’s World War II ride, Matt built Italeri’s 1/9 scale 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA out of the box and propped a 3D-printed shield next to it. He painted the bike and shield with Vallejo acrylics and used pastels and metallic dry-brushing for weathering.
Edward St. Denis
Rochester, Minnesota
Combining 1/72 scale kits from RPM, Edward modeled a U.S. Army Mack AC truck hauling a Wisconsin National Guard 6-ton tank in 1927. He improved the tank with Steelworks resin tracks and detailed both vehicles with styrene and wire before painting them with Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics and Humbrol enamel.
Dennis Strand
St. Paul, Minnesota
Dennis improved Fonderie Miniatures’ 1/48 scale Handley Page Halifax Mk.III with resin engines, scratchbuilt cockpit details, and Master gun barrels. He painted the Royal Air Force bomber with Testors enamels, applying pre- and post-shading and raising the edges of the masks to give the camouflage pattern slightly soft edges.
Jeremy Smallbeck
Maple Grove, Minnesota
Imagining an early-’60s custom, Jeremy shaved the door handles and emblems from an AMT 1/25 scale 1953 Ford Pickup before lowering the body. He set it rolling on AMT Parts Pack wheels and tires. After painting it candy green, he applied pinstriping from a Revell decal sheet.
James Hilgemann
St. Paul, Minnesota
James added the lifeboat to a Model Shipways 1/64 scale HMS Sultana and painted the wooden kit of the schooner with Model Master and Humbrol enamels.
Cal Wood
Hudson, Wisconsin
To build the unusual Maserati Birdcage that Jim Jeffords drove in the 1960 Lacuna Seca race, Cal added custom decals to a 1/43 scale Southern Cross Miniatures kit. He wired the battery and coils and airbrushed the car with Alclad II Aluminium over a dark blue base.
Howard Quednau
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Painting an Italeri 1/12 scale Fiat 806 with Tamiya Italian Red, Howard built a car that raced at Monza in 1927. He kept the finish less than glossy because the real car was brush-painted.
Jeffrey Campbell
Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Re-creating a Vietnam War interdiction aircraft, Jeffrey detailed Italeri’s 1/72 scale B-26K with Quickboost resin engines, a CMK resin cockpit, a Black Dog gun nose, an Eduard bomb bay, and a Whirlybird rudder. He airbrushed the Counter Invader with Tamiya acrylics.
Erik Zabel
St. Paul, Minnesota
After adding Eduard photo-etched metal seat belts to Revell’s 1/72 scale Ju 88A-1, Erik painted it with Model Master acrylics and weathered it with airbrushed shading, artist-oil washes, and pigments. He says the Luftwaffe bomber completed his Battle of Britain collection.