William Webb
London, Ontario, Canada
Repurposing a Hasegawa 1/72 scale Vanship from the anime Last Exile, William tuned it into a racer mimicking a 1931 Miller-Ford Indy car, The Wonder Bread Special. He painted the vehicle with Tamiya, AK Interactive, and Mr. Color colors before adding custom decals made by Above & Below Graphics.
Paul Harvath
Lake Orion, Michigan
Building Glencoe’s 1/300 scale Disney Man in Space Nuclear Space Station required significant seam filling and sanding just to prep the basic parts, Paul says. He dressed up the basic kit with photo-etched metal parts from his spares box and used music wire for the spokes before painting it with Vallejo acrylics.
James Lewis
Blanchester, Ohio
James painted Isobel the Matriarch, a 1/10 scale bust from CA.Sculpts, with Vallejo Model Color acrylics.
Joe Pacak
Lowellville, Ohio
The cover of The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a collected edition of Douglas Adams’ fabulous book series, springs to life thanks to Joe. He scratchbuilt the so-called Cosmic Cutie and painted it with Vallejo and Tamiya acrylics.
Richard G. Guetig
Louisville, Kentucky
Richard converted a Halo action figure from McFarlane Toys into a futuristic Reichlander German soldier with extra armor and MV Products lenses. After airbrushing camouflage with Tamiya acrylics, he placed the trooper on a base from an X-Men toy.
Mary Miller
Colorado Springs, Colorado
To give a Gillman Productions 1/4 scale bust of Beetlejuice a deathly appearance, Mary hand-painted craft acrylics over gray Rust-Oleum primer. “I thin the paint to almost watercolor, then apply it in layers,” she says. The face started with skin tones that were gradually covered with antique white.
Mark Domeck
Louisville, Kentucky
Mark embellished a UX Labs 3D-print of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin with ribbons, tassels, and a jewelry chain. He painted skin colors with airbrushed Tamiya acrylics and hand-painted everything else with craft acrylics.
Brian Duddy
Dayton, Ohio
Re-creating a classic chase from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Brian combined modified 1/35 scale vehicles from ICM and MiniArt with a Mos Eisley Modelworks kit of Indiana Jones on horseback. The other figures come from Warriors, MiniArt, and ICM, and the Ark in the truck is a resin crate. He painted the vehicles with Vallejo acrylics and the figures with artist oils.
John Chestnut
Lucasville, Ohio
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Jedi starfighter took a beating on the way to rescue Chancellor Palpatine during the Battle of Coruscant in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. John replicated the damage on an AMT 1/30 scale kit, adding spare parts and wire to the inside of what’s left of R4-P17’s dome and removing and damaging the port S-foils. Pinwashes, artist-oil streaks, pigments, and hand-painted chipping completed the battle damage.
Jay M. Chladek
Bellevue, Nebraska
The sharp livery on Jay’s 1/72 scale VF-1A Valkyrie is for the Angel Birds aerobatic team seen in the first episode of Macross. Jay built a Plamax kit out of the box, sprayed it Tamiya Pure White, and masked and painted the markings with a mix of Model Master enamels for the fluorescent red and Vallejo Mecha Color Electric Blue acrylic.
Doug Corp
Charles Town, West Virginia
Bandai’s 1/144 scale AT-ST and Snowspeeder battle it out in Doug’s diorama. After staging them on a custom base, he added an explosion of polyfill and fiber optics lit from inside with LEDs. He painted the Star Wars scene with Vallejo Model Air acrylics and weathered it with AK Interactive washes.
Michael Hall
Carthage, Indiana
Gaira looks angry in Michael’s model, which replicates a scene at the end of the 1966 kaiju film The War of the Gargantuas when Gaira tosses a boat at another gargantua. Michael hand-painted the Pestilence Labs model with acrylics.
Alec Dawson
Des Moines, Iowa
Junior modeler Alec didn’t tell us much about how he painted this Horizon 1/6 scale kit of The Amazing Spider Man, but it looks sharp!
Lee Barnes
Clarksville, Indiana
To mark the 25th anniversary of the superb anime Cowboy Bebop, Lee built Bandai’s 1/72 scale Swordfish II. After gluing the movable wings in flight position to eliminate gaps, he painted it with Tamiya and Citadel acrylics and weathered it with Citadel washes and AK Interactive pencils. For a final touch, he printed a label for an old 45 rpm single with the theme song for the show.
Lou Dalmaso
Raleigh, North Carolina
Lou’s model of Lonestar’s trusty Eagle 5 from Spaceballs started as a 1/32-ish scale, 3D-printed kit from Cozmic Scale Models. Lou scratchbuilt details, including trash for the ship, flocked the carpeted interior, and painted it with Tamiya acrylics.
Joe Hudson
St. Charles, Missouri
Joe painted a Rise 3D Printing 300mm bust of Guardians of the Galaxy Gamora with Monument Hobbies acrylics, airbrushing 95% of the model.
Dave Lentell
Waukee, Iowa
Dave left out the interior and replaced the windshield of a Fine Molds 1/72 scale TIE fighter with a Thomas the Tank Engine face from an HO scale Bachmann train. He painted "Thomas the TIE Fighter" with Vallejo and Tamiya acrylics and weathered it with artist graphite powder. “After the Rebel Alliance accidentally destroyed the Island of Sodor, Thomas became very cross with the Rebellion,” Dave says. “This is his story.”
Scott Owen
Morgantown, West Virginia
Luke Skywalker pulls up after dropping proton torpedoes into the thermal port of the Death Star in Scott’s model. He built a Bandai 1/72 scale X-wing box-stock, painted it with Tamiya acrylics, and weathered it with artist oils, pastels, and AK Interactive enamels. He chipped the paint with sponged-on liquid mask as well as paint applied with a sponge.
Bob Vailliencourt
Wauseon, Ohio
Has Vader finally met his match in an Aliens xenomorph queen and her horde of warriors? Bob printed this 1/18 scale mashup from a file on Gambody and painted it with Citadel acrylics over Citadel Chaos Black Primer.
Douglas Scott
Fountain Inn, South Carolina
To update AMT’s 1/32 scale Trade Federation tank from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace to the vehicle’s appearance in the first season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Douglas sprayed a base coat of blue over automotive primer, masked, and airbrushed the gray. PanPastels and artists oils weathered the tank.
John David Cook
Nashua, New Hampshire
Aiming to build his best Starfury, John added battle damage, including an inoperable engine, lighting, and extra detail like new cannons, cockpit, missiles, and thrust vanes, to a Revell 1/72 scale kit. He hung the Babylon 5 fighter under a 3D-printed launch gantry after painting it with Vallejo and Testors acrylics and Testors enamels.
Tony Lamb
Edwards, Colorado
Inspired by Jeff Wayne’s musical version of The War of the Worlds, Tony built a Martian War Machine from Rick Cantu crashed against a 3D-printed Tower of London base. The dying alien and the crows are also 3D-printed. He painted the scene with craft acrylics from FolkArt and Apple Barrel.
Ethan Clark
Louisville, Kentucky
Kyle McLachlan, as Paul Atreides, gets ready to ride a sandworm, as seen in the 1984 movie Dune. Ethan finished a Hunk of Junk Productions 1/6 scale figure of the character with acrylics, using washes and pigments for shading and weathering.
Kip Pelton
Crestwood, Kentucky
Drawing inspiration from the wasteland vehicles of Mad Max, Kip turned a Revell 1/25 scale Ford F-1 pickup into a post-apocalyptic war machine by raising the frame and using parts from a Dark World Creations zombie set and Tamiya paints.
Dana Smith
Weaverville, North Carolina
The canopy of the Industria Mechanika’s 1/35 scale Steampunk Fish Submarine is designed to be built closed, but Dana thought the interior too good to hide, so he worked out a way to pose it open. He hand-painted the finish with True Earth acrylics, mixing colors to give each panel a slightly different sheen, and placed the model on a scratchbuilt wharf. “It shows someone working on refurbishing the vehicle, probably on the cheap, like most of us would do it,” he says.
Dan Varner
Borden, Indiana
What would horror movie host Svengoolie drive? A 1958 Ford Edsel Ranger convertible with skull flame graphics, according to Dan, who modeled such a ride by cutting off the roof of a 1/25 scale AMT kit and scratchbuilding details. He painted the car with Tamiya lacquers, Testors enamels, and Ceramcoat acrylics.
Emily Whitehouse
Akron, Ohio
To light a Games Workshop 28mm Wraithknight, Emily scanned the kit’s chest piece, printed it in clear resin, and placed an LED behind it. She painted the miniature with SMS lacquers and Proacryll acrylics to invoke the anime, The Vision of Escaflowne.
Natalie Janney
Columbus, Ohio
A Kaiyodo 1/35 scale SAFS fighting suit sits amidst a full English breakfast Natalie sculpted from Sculpey, dried beans, and UV-curing resin. She painted the Maschinen Krieger scene with water-based acrylics, artist-oil shading, and pastel and enamel weathering. Why? “I always thought the SAFS looked like an egg, and I love breakfast,” Natalie says.
Ken Spriggs
Muncie, Indiana
To reproduce the scene where André Dealmbre reveals his deformation to his wife Hélène in the classic 1958 film The Fly, Ken paired a Monarch 1/6 scale figure of The Fly with an Escape Hatch Hélène. Everything else is scratchbuilt, including the transporter and equipment, and lit with prewired circuits from Evan Designs.
Greg Domian
Chicago, Illinois
Greg painted Jeff Yeager’s 1/6 scale scene of Wolfman breaking through a door with artist oils on the shirt and acrylics and pastels.
Steve Coykendall
Honeoye Falls, New York
Don’t look for this 1/6 scale Dalek in the store. Steve scratchbuilt the Doctor Who villain using styrene and brass sheet, aluminum tubing, and custom cast-resin parts.
Annya Shetinina
Fridley, Minnesota
Annya printed this 1/4 scale bust of Wanda Maximoff from the Marvel TV series WandaVision from a file designed by 3D Wicked and painted it in grayscale to match the show’s first couple of episodes using acrylics and pastel shading.
Dan Gardon
Charlotte, North Carolina
To set apart his build of Cretaceous Creations 1/15 scale Wooly Rhinoceros, Dan scratchbuilt a floor, stanchions, and rope, and designed an informational sign in Photoshop to make a museum display. He painted the prehistoric beast with “lots of acrylic, lots of oils, and lots of work,” he says, adding that there are at least 20 layers of paint, including highlights, shadows, more highlights, more shadows … you get the picture.
Kevin Foureman
Arcanum, Ohio
Working with a 1/16 scale Pedro Fernandez Works bust titled Brooklyn, Kevin replaced the resin hoop earrings with brass wire. He airbrushed acrylic base coats before building up the skin tone with many layers of oils, pigments, pencils, and inks.
Joe Schmidt
Holland, Ohio
After tearing apart and rebuilding a 1975 release of Aurora’s 1/160 scale Orion Clipper from 2001: A Space Odyssey and adding parts to enhance detail, Joe needed a better way to display it. So, he converted a clock with scratchbuilt details to resemble the dock of the orbital space station seen in the movie to serve as a stand. He painted the spaceliner and base with Vallejo acrylics over Krylon primer.
Clif Dopson
Shreveport, Louisiana
Clif isn’t sure who manufactured this postapocalyptic figure, but he knows it is part of a series sculpted by Masato Ohata depicting children fending for themselves in a world overrun with zombies and despair. Describing the 1/8 scale figure that he painted with acrylics and oils as excellent, his only additions were debris, plants, spiderwebs, and smoke on the base for more atmosphere.
Donald Sutton
Nashville, North Carolina
Showing his love of the anime Macross, Donald added details and a pilot from a VF-1J kit to the cockpit of a Hasegawa 1/48 scale VF-1S Valkyrie to match the TV version of the fighter. He painted with Tamiya acrylics and flowed on Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color to pop detail.
Doug Black
Clarksville, Tennessee
If it is full-size, can it still be considered a scale model? That’s a query for philosophers to ponder, but what is not in question is how well Doug finished a 3D-printed replica of Thing from The Addams Family with Vallejo acrylics.
Kenny Haverly Jr.
Bardstown, Kentucky
“It’s an A-wing of Angel Squadron, 1st Combat Search and Rescue Group, 4th Special Forces Regiment, Alliance Special Operations Command covering the retrieval of down pilots at the Battle of Endor,” Kenny says. He detailed a Bandai 1/72 scale kit with Green Strawberry photo-etched metal and fixed the panel lines around the kit’s red body inserts before painting the unique scheme with Vallejo, Apple Barrel, and Ammo by Mig Jimenez acrylics.
Eric Gonzalez
Coral Gables, Florida
Using a resin set from PNT Models, Eric converted a Polar Lights 1/1000 scale Star Trek USS Enterprise into a Star Fleet cargo hauler, the USS Ptolemy. He painted the starship with Tamiya and Testors Model Master acrylics, drew panel lines with a pencil, and added light weathering with pastels.
Eric Cremeans
Lebanon, Ohio
Eric’s 1/6 scale model of the X-Men’s Jean Grey came from a 3D Wicked design. After printing it, Eric painted it with Vallejo and Army Painter acrylics.
Paul Gertsch
Roswell, Georgia
For context, Paul built a Hoth base for a Bandai 1/72 scale Snowspeeder using foamcore board and insulation foam. He painted the Rebel Alliance fighter with Tamiya acrylics and added LED lighting and fiber optics.
Roy Stanton
Sarasota, Florida
Roy embellished Masato Ohata’s popular 1/12 scale Gamer Girl with metal parts on the chair and custom decals for her hoodie and the TV screen. He painted the figure with Com-Art craft acrylics and weathered it with washes and pastels.
Anthony Goodman
London, Ontario, Canada
Macross fan Anthony wanted to make Wave’s 1/72 scale VF-4G Valkyrie Lightning II as realistic as possible, so he added an Eduard ECM pod, Hasegawa ordnance modified to fit the pylons, and brass barrels on the GU-II gun pod. He painted it with Mr. Color lacquers sprayed through a splatter template to produce subtle wear.
Brad Growden
Mandeville, Louisiana
To model Imperial remant speeder bike troopers on Nevarro as seen in The Mandalorian, Brad printed and built a kit from a 3D file from Merlin Models and painted them with Tamiya acrylics. He accented the base’s printed details with Sculptamold, molded plaster rocks, and a moisture vaporator from Thingiverse.
Oggie Gonzalez
Delmar, California
With a Cozmic Scale Models 1/72 scale landram from the original series of Battlestar Galactica detailed with Apoxie Sculpt duffle bags and snowy terrain made from air-dry clay, Oggie relived a scene from the episode, “Gun on Ice Planet Zero.” He painted the vehicle and groundwork with Vallejo acrylics and hand-painted the backdrop with artist oils.
Tasha Baskett
Charlestown, Indiana
Tasha painted Games Workshop’s 160mm Alarielle the Everqueen from Age of Sigmar with Turbo Dork color shift and Citadel acrylics. “Alarielle is my first full model and first contest entry,” Tasha says. We expect to see more from her in the future.
Jeannine Lewis
Hummelstown, Pennsylvania
After basing the colors with airbrushed acrylics, Jeannine layered artist oils to give life to a 1/24 scale Spinosaurus from Pegasus. Specifically, she primed with blue, flowed on a blue wash, and airbrushed the base of the pattern with lighter blues. Hand-brushed oils enhanced the colors and added highlights.
Steve Shaffer
Hastings, Minnesota
This sharply painted 1/35 scale B-wing is 100% 3D printed using files from Alain Rivard Model Shop. Steve finished it with MR Paint lacquers and weathered it with Tamiya pastels, AK Interactive pencils, and airbrushed scorching.
Tim Brown
Louisville, Kentucky
“This was my most fun build ever!” Tim says. Re-creating a key moment from his favorite movie Animal House, Tim built a 1/25 scale resin Death Mobile from Jimmy Flintstone, corrected the front bumper, tires, and wheels, and opened the turret. Feeling the car wasn’t complete without its disguise, he scratchbuilt the “Eat Me” cake to go with it.
Jeremy Blakeley
Clarksville, Kentucky
Jeremy’s creepy, kooky Wednesday Addams is a 1/6 scale 3D-print from Sanix3D designed after the Netflix series poster. He used a brass rod to support the umbrella and painted the clothing with Stynylrez primer and the flesh with Army Painter Kobold Skin as a base coat and mineral makeup shading. The water droplets on the umbrella and coat are thick, clear craft paint dotted on with a fine brush.
Mike Petryszak
Dallas, Texas
This poor robot seems at a loss to know what to do about his severed limb in this 3D-printed creation from Paul Braddock. Mike re-meshed the model for fiber-optic lighting, reposed the figure, and improved the groundwork with epoxy clay sand, real rocks, and scenic grass. Salt served as a mask for the weathered finish on the sadly decaying automaton.
Brian McGinnis
Madison, Alabama
Brian built Hasegawa’s 1/20 scale Maschinen Krieger 44 Ammoknights out of the box and sprayed it with Stynylrez primer and Reaper acrylics. Free-handed layers of sponge-applied acrylics added grime and weathering to the fighting suit. To make it feel at home, Brian used a 3D-printed base detailed with acrylic water and scenic grass tufts.
Conrad Chapman
Northbrook, Illinois
Using a file from IO_Butov at Cults3D, Conrad painted a 28mm Von Ryan’s Leaper with Vallejo and Citadel acrylics.
Randy Van Dyke
Ada, Michigan
Not content to build a Filmy’s Girls 1/5 scale Judy out of the box, Randy built a pedestal and column to raise the platform and added LEDs for the taillights. He painted the updated take on the Jetson’s eldest child with GarageKit.US acrylics for Judy’s skin, Comart acrylics for her outfit, and Pactra enamels and Alclad II lacquers on the scooter and robot.
Mike Wallace
Madison, Wisconsin
Mike replaced the base on a Killer Kits Aliens diorama with a custom display featuring EZ Pour epoxy water and styrene tube pipes. He painted the 1/6 scale scene with acrylics, artist oils, and pastels.
Bob Waltman
Navarre, Florida
Bob’s Big Muddy Monster is a straight-from-the-box build of Mark Van Tyne’s 1/4 scale bust. He finished the Big Foot-like creature with Vallejo and Scale 75 Smoothcolor acrylics.
Charles Haines
Indianapolis, Indiana
Using a 3D-printed figure of Sean Young’s character, Rachel, Charles reproduced an early scene in Blade Runner when Deckard arrives at Tyrell Corporation. He added buttons to her dress and built the base including the marbled wall using parts of tiles. The model was painted with various acrylics and enamels.
Matt Key
Greer, South Carolina
Matt’s not sure who made this 1/6 scale Goku going Super Saiyan, but he painted the Dragonball Z hero with Army Painter, Citadel, and craft acrylics and shaded pastels. The scratchbuilt base features carved floral foam coated with Durham’s Rock-Hard Water Putty.
Duncan Scott
Monroeville, Pennsylvania
Painting with Tamiya lacquers and weathering pastels, Duncan built a Bandai 1/100 scale Zugock as an amphibious mobile suit from the 1979 Gundam TV series. It sits on a 3D-printed base to resemble the Mid-Atlantic sea floor.
Dottie Matthews
Louisville, Kentucky
Dottie, 10, painted Black Heart Enterprise’s 1/4 scale Pumpkinhead bust with Vallejo acrylics using brushes and sponges and finished with washes and glazes. Scary good, Dottie!
Jonathan Lee
Cary, North Carolina
“I get a lot of my inspiration from nature, which is why I choose a very vibrant, lively coloring approach,” Jonathan says about his 28mm Games Workshop figure. He obtained those colors with layers of glazes made using Vallejo and Citadel acrylics and lots of highlighting.
Changhuei Yang
Pasadena, California
At almost 3 feet long, Changhuei’s 1/144 scale Star Wars Blockade Runner is impressive. The fact that he scratchbuilt the entire thing from styrene sheet and resin casting greeblies from Bandai’s 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon, U-wing, AT-M6, and AT-ST kits, makes it even more impressive.
Dylan Borgman
New York, New York
To give Godzilla that internal glow as he builds up a destructive breath blast, Dylan 3D-printed the kaiju in clear resin and inserted blue LEDs. Careful painting with Vallejo acrylics and AK Interactive weathering products, starting with dry-brushed black primer, left the light visible.
Elizabeth Fleming
Medford, New Jersey
Elizabeth chose a 3D-printed 1/4 scale bust of Catwoman for her first attempt at wet-blending and glazing to achieve the blue-toned leather costume as it appears in the comic book. The skin was sponge-painted and glazed.
Paul Rathbun
Bothell, Washington
After replacing the jump-pack hoses on a Forge World 1/6 scale Chaos Space Marine bust with guitar strings, Paul painted with Golden, Vallejo, and Citadel acrylics.
Vincent Simonelli
Streamwood, Illinois
Calling Young Frankenstein a modern classic, Vincent was pleased to finish a 1/6 scale bust of the monster from the film — the one with Abby Normal’s brain — from Pestilence Labs. He painted it with acrylics, artist-oil washes, and pastels.
Roy A. Baril
Martinez, California
Monsters in Motion’s 1/6 scale figure captures a classic Clint Eastwood pose as The Man With No Name lights his signature cigar. Roy added real string to model the fringe on the serape and painted the gunslinger with Vallejo and Pollyscale acrylics dry-brushed over black primer.
Kevin Farry
Nazareth, Pennsylvania
Kevin improved Monogram’s Cylon Raider with 3D-printed engine parts before painting the classic Battlestar Galactica ship with Tamiya and Anita’s acrylics. Black washes popped details, and pastels added weathering.