You can’t miss this 1968 Dodge Dart Pro Stock drag car wearing Testors Tangerine enamel by Elliot Doering. An AMT Parts Pack supplied blue-line slicks, and Slixx Decals decorate the doors of the “Voodoo Hemi.” Inside, Elliot added a roll bar and racing harness to the Revell kit.
Working from a Lizard Works Design paper model, Don Holewinski crafted a 1/50 scale the Albatros D.V dubbed “The Iron Eagle” and flown by Paul Wilhelm Bäumer. He rigged it with EZ Line and made a moveable prop from a wooden dowel and a brass paper rivet. The paper edges were all painted with acrylics to hide the seams.
Scott Bischoff has become known for his meticulous work and soaring imagination. He showcases both with his “what if” 1920 Indy race car. Inspired by a fictitious design he saw online, Scott scratchbuilt 90% of his model, including the body, chassis, and suspension. He painted with Tamiya Bare Metal Silver and German Gray from the spray cans.
Shadow Mendiola spent a year on his JoHan 1/25 scale 1955 Pontiac Star Chief hardtop. He painted House of Kolor Pearl White, and mixed Kandy Root Beer into the white for the cinnamon two-tone. He dropped the body to the ground and juiced the style with Pegasus tires and wheels.
Sgt. Tomas Perez served 18 years in the U.S. Army, including four tours, and saw him fight in the Iraq War at both Fallujah and Baghdad. He died in 2010 at age 40. Mike Kohta modeled this 1/16 scale sniper from a Live Resin kit in memory of Sgt. Perez for his mother and family.
Entirely scratchbuilt, this 1/25 scale hybrid electric microturbine hypercar couldn’t come from any other mind than Victor Demichei. He has a penchant for seeing the modeling potential in just about everything. For example, he crafted the body of his hypercar from an electric razor and the front clip and rear wing from the razor’s cover, and Victor incorporated Koss earbuds and cassette wheels into the engine.
Mike Kollver went to his stash and built a 1961 vintage AMT 1/25 scale 1932 Ford five-window coupe. Built from the kit, Mike says he didn’t use any parts newer than 1961, except for the masking-tape roof. That deep red is from Bob’s Paint shot with a Testors Aztec airbrush. And as he does with all his models, Mike modified the kit to make the front wheels posable.
Shannon Petitt says this ’64 Oldsmobile F-85 gasser would have been what he’d have built during the Gasser Wars if he’d been old enough to have participated. His model wears a JoHan 1/25 scale F-85 body over a ’65 Nova gasser chassis and hides a ’64 Olds super-charged engine under the hood.
From the exposed engine detail to the hoist to the overall presentation, Tom Kasper invites the viewer to study and ponder his 1/24 scale Corvette race car model. He used multiple kits, parts from his spares box, and plenty of imagination to pull it off. Bob’s Paints lacquers applied with an Iwata airbrush were Tom’s go-to colors for this project.
Combining a Revell ’62 Chevy Stepside chassis and a Jimmy Flintstone resin Chevy COE body, Scott Andeen modeled this smooth-sided, 1/24 scale ’65 cab-over-engine truck. The front end has a ’64 GTO grille and bumper, the rear bumper comes from a ’66 Nova, and the wheels were lifted from a Ford F-350. That liquid paint job is Tamiya Metallic Green over white Tamiya Fine Primer topped with Model Master Clear.
This absolutely stunning Tamiya 1/48 scale Fairy Swordfish arrived with Rick Hambel. He employed a Tamiya photo-etched metal set for the rigging, painted the doped fabric and aluminum with Vallejo and Tamiya acrylics, and weathered with oil paint and acrylic washes. Pastels and Vallejo pigments added the final touches to the World War II torpedo bomber.
This Valentine has broken down in post-World War II Palestine, and its crew works feverishly to get it running again. Maynard Nigbor says the figures were all pulled from his spares box, but he thinks they were originally from Tamiya. He hand-painted them and set them to work on the Bronco 1/35 scale tank.
Rick “Doc” Buikema has made a name for himself with rat rod and demolition derby models. His 1/25 scale U.S. Army 1929 Ford pickup rat rod comes from his parts box. It sports a chopped top, turbocharged Buick V6, and the exhaust tip was fashioned from an old, rabbit-ear TV antenna. He painted with Krylon colors straight from the can and weathered with pastels.
Elevating modeling junkers to an art form, Troy Deal provides a clinic on weathering and scratchbuilding details with his Tamiya 1/24 scale 1966 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. He replaced the hood and trunk lid with heavy-duty aluminum foil, opened the doors, made broken front and rear windows out of cell phone screen protector, and upholstered the seats with aluminum foil and foam padding. A Lipton teabag models a sagging roof liner. To achieve the rusty, worn appearance, Troy applied red oxide primer, followed by gray automotive primer, and topped with Rust-Oleum Vintage Teal and wet-sanded before touching up with a rusty patina around the holes in the body and floorboards.
Richard Warren scratchbuilt the chassis and many of the body panels on his 1/25 scale jet truck and used parts from Revell and AMT semi kits. He primed and painted the fade freehand with Testors spray lacquers from the can.
Bored one day, Larry Hahn pulled a JoHan 1/25 scale ’60 Cadillac Fleetwood out of his stash and got to work. The delicious finish is Bob’s Paint Candy Tangerine over Orion Silver with PPG clear on top.
Paper models made a big showing at the MSM this year, and David Sakrison displayed his World of Paper Ships 1/100 scale Australian paddle-steamer “Adelaide.” He scratchbuilt the dock, added cargo to the deck, and disguised the cut edges of the paper with watercolor pencils.
Stew Edwards replaced the metal chassis of his Gunze 1/24 scale Austen Healey Sprite Mk.I “Bug Eye” race car with one he scratchbuilt from plastic. He opened the hood, brought over an engine from a Tamiya Lotus Super 7, built a suspension from parts from his spares box, and hand-built the windscreen. He painted with Tamiya British Racing Green, masked, and laid down the stripes with Tamiya Chrome Yellow.
In tribute to his late grandfather Lowell, Logan Hanson modeled a derby truck built from a Great Northern Railway service truck. “Temper, Temper!” has the body of a ’60 Ford pickup from AMT stacked on a 1966 frame from Moebius Models. He scratchbuilt the front suspension, cab interior, front bumper, and all the interior details. Weathering? Of course! Logan used washes, pigments, and paint layers to achieve the appropriately beaten look.
Tim Noble excitedly told us about his AFV Club 1/35 scale British Bofors QF 40mm gun. His first attempt at a model like this, he painted with Ammo by Mig Jimenez and AK Interactive colors, masked the wheels to paint the tire, and then mounted it on a maple base he finished with a clear coat.
The Tamiya 1/35 scale French Char B1 bis always makes for an interesting subject, with design elements that are a throwback to World War I. Bruce Williams brought “Vercingetorix” to life with Tamiya and Vallejo acrylic paints and weathered with oil-paint washes.
Tony Hartjes joins his passion for slot cars with his love of scale modeling in this 1/25 scale ’69 Ford F-100 pickup drag-race slot car. He scratchbuilt the brass and stainless-steel chassis, upgraded with Dancing Bear wheels, and modified the interior with Mustang Boss 302 seats and steering column. He made the hood, center console, and tonneau cover.
“This model depicts the Tumbler prototype seen in the Wayne Enterprises warehouse in ‘The Dark Knight’ before Bruce Wayne converts it into Batman’s vehicle,” Greg Schmidt said. He built the Tumbler prototype from a 1/25 scale Moebius Models kit box stock. He only used Tamiya lacquers sprayed through an Iwata airbrush and then weathered with washes and Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color.
Revlon red fingernail polish coats this Provence 1/43 scale Ferrari 333 by Don Molitor. He airbrushed the red over Dupli-Color primer, painted the interior with black acrylic paint, and hand-painted the helmet. The base is wood topped with acrylic granite.
Sometimes, the unusual at a model contest just grabs your attention. Here is Dwight Workinger’s MSC 1/35 scale motorized submersible canoe. Built out of the box, he said it depicts a rare piece of espionage history. The parts for the model were “fiddly,” Dwight said, so he used a razor saw to remove the parts for the parts trees. He painted it freehand with enamels and picked out details with washes and inks.
“This depicts a World War I truck repurposed after the war into a coal delivery truck in London, England,” said Richard Schaffer of his MiniArt 1/35 scale British Lorry 3T LGOC B-type. He ran ignition wiring to the engine and coal dust and chunks to the bed. “The weathering was all done using [artist] oils and oil washes,” Richard said. Pastels created the dust on the frame and wheels and the coal dust on the bed.
Bob Clift airbrushed the Tamiya base coat on his Hasegawa 1/72 scale M3 Grant and then painted the camouflage by hand. Built out of the box, the medium tank was weathered with AK Interactive washes and pastels. The base is a small candy tin, and the groundcover is taken directly from his backyard.
“Rest & Reload: France, Spring 1945” is a 1/35 scale scene by Chris Valenti. In it, Chris has the crews of an M3 halftrack and M5 Stuart in between battles, readying for the next encounter. The diorama has kits and figures from Tamiya, Dragon, and MiniArt, details from Black Dog and Value Gear, and Master metal barrels and shells.
John Anton masked and hand-painted the stripes on his AMT 1/25 scale 1971 Dodge Charger. He altered the stance for a more aggressive look and wired the engine.
Pulling back a bit from his usual super-detailed custom builds, Tim Kasper exhibited a 1/25 scale ’70 Buick GSX with a modern flare that started with a Revell kit. He tubbed the rear end to fib the massive JPS wheels and added 3D-printed seats inside. Under the hood is a turbo V6 from a Grand National kit. Beyond that, he primed with Tamiya, airbrushed Bob’s Paint lacquers, and hand-painted the graphics. All in a few days’ work for Tim!
Jeff Barrette converted a Revell 1/48 scale B-17F to a B-17E to model the 379th Bomb Group’s 525th Bomb Squadron Lead Assembly Ship, “Birmingham Blitzkrieg.” First, he removed all the guns and placed covers over the turret openings. After airbrushing almost three bottles of MRP White, he masked with Tamiya tape and painted one-and-a-half bottles of MRP Red. That’s a lot of paint!
Taking a classic MPC “Star Wars” kit, Ronald Neuendorf modeled an AT-ST on patrol. He made the vines from twine and parsley flakes and modeled bushes from plastic flowers he found at a dollar store. “I primed with Rust-Oleum and painted with Vallejo,” Ronald said. He weathered with watercolor pencils.
Russ Collins swapped a 390 V8 into his Revell 1/25 scale Ford Bronco, tubbed the back end to fit huge wheels and tires, and dropped the front axle for an aggressive rake. The rear side windows are film negatives, and Russ ran plug wires and brake lines. He painted with Rust-Oleum Yellow and White from the cans.
In the Juniors category, Kaleb Hartjes arrived with his Revell 1/25 scale 2014 Mustang GT. He painted the kit with spray-paint enamels and masked to get the blue stripes. He said this is a model of the Mustang he wants to own when he’s older.
Rob Schmidt built Chuck Miller’s Firetruck show rod, starting with an MPC 1/25 scale kit. He made new cross members for the frame, scratchbuilt engine headers, and kitbashed the drivetrain, suspension, wheels, and tires.
John Tokarewich modeled a VF-51 F9F-3 Panther during the Korean War from a 1/48 scale Trumpeter kit. He painted with Model Master and Tamiya acrylics, masked clear parts with Bare-Metal Foil, and weathered lightly with pastels.
At only 6 years old, Abraham Daoud built an Atlantis 1/79 scale F-89 Scorpion with his grandfather’s help. Grandpa painted and decaled the parts on the tree, and Abraham snipped them out and put them together. Way to go!
Lilly Daoud, 9, completed an Airfix 1/48 scale P-40B Warhawk for the contest. She airbrushed the base coat, after which her grandfather masked it. Lilly painted the second color for the camouflaged and applied decals. Good job, Lilly!