John Carlson
Milaca, Minnesota
John added Eduard seat belts and aftermarket decals to a Sword 1/72 F3H-2 Demon. He painted the Navy fighter with Ammo by Mig Jimenez acrylics over Tamiya primer and pre-shaded and weathered with pastel chalks.
Keith Brusten
Woodbury, Minnesota
Keith’s Bandai 1/100 scale Sazabi Ver. Ka wears extra, aftermarket resin armor. He painted the big mech with five shades of red from Mr. Hobby.
Adam Folk
Milbank, South Dakota
This military-themed gasser started as an out-of-the-box build of Revell’s 1/25 scale 1954 Chevy panel delivery. Adam painted the candy green camouflage with three shades of clear green over Tamiya and Testors silvers with Silly Putty masking.
Bob Maderich II
Minneapolis, Minnesota
To build a sprint car driven by Jac Haudebschild during the 1990s in the World of Outlaws series, Bob enhanced a Monogram 1/24 scale kit with a seat belt and wing supports. He painted the Pennzoil scheme with a mix of Tamiya yellow and white.
Tom Finch
Wyoming, Minnesota
Adding aftermarket cable ends, tubing, and Scale Motorsports carbon-fiber decals to a Tamiya 1/12 scale Yamaha YZR500, Tom modeled a Red Bull-sponsored bike ridden by Simon Crafar in 1999. He hopes to get the rider, now a pitlane reporter, to sign it at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas in April 2024.
Samuel X. Parent
Winona, Minnesota
Samuel cut the wood hull of a Mamoli 1/72 scale British cutter at the waterline and placed it in model railroad scenic water to show the 18th-century ship at anchor. He hand-painted the vessel and ran lines based on Lennarth Peterson’s book Rigging Period Fore and Aft Craft.
John Zweber
Blaine, Minnesota
Model Factory Hiro’s multimedia kits are notoriously fiddly builds, but you couldn’t tell from John’s 1/24 scale Shelby Cobra Daytona 427 Super Coupe. He wired and plumbed the motor and painted with Splash Paints Guardsman Blue under 2K clear. The Super Coupe was partially completed in 1965 when Ford decided to focus on the GT. The car was finished years later.
Steve Shaffer
Hastings, Minnesota
“This is one of five CF-105s ever built,” says Steve, who tackled the only 1/48 scale kit of the Avro Arrow from Hobbycraft, dressing it up with 3D-printed ejection seats, “which promptly got buried under the canopy,” he said. Steve painted the pristine prototype with Tamiya lacquers. “I don’t generally do shiny things, so this was a real learning experience!” he said. “So. Much. Polishing.”
Howard Quednau
Minneapolis, Minnesota
After fitting extra details and figures to the deck of Heller’s 1/60 scale Sinagot, Howard painted with Tamiya acrylics and added acrylic and oil washes. The French fishing vessel sails on a sea of artist acrylics.
Deborah Salmon
Somerset, Wisconsin
Deborah’s out-of-the-box build of Airfix’s 1/43 scale Jaguar E-Type is painted with Tamiya Metallic Red and Flat Black. Vrrrooommm!
Allen Weaver
Faribault, Minnesota
Even Allen can’t name whatever this is, but he airbrushed the 3D-printed creature with different Vallejo reds over black primer. He hand-painted highlights and applied a red wash to the eyes for a bloodshot look under Alclad II Aqua Gloss for shine.
Thomas L. Crayne
Woodbury, Minnesota
Using Tamiya acrylics, Thomas painted an Italeri 1/32 scale Mirage IIIC as a frontline Israeli fighter in 1980.
Annya Shetinina
Fridley, Minnesota
Annya printed this Bust of Vision from the Marvel TV series Wandavision from a Wicked Patreon STL file and finished with airbrushed acrylics and pastel shading.
Merrill Anderson
Edina, Minnesota
For his World War I scene of a British tank at rest in a French town, Merrill painted a Tamiya 1/35 scale Mark IV with Polly Scale acrylics and placed it on a plywood base amid ruins from various sources.
Dana Lyon
Lonsdale, Minnesota
Proving Revell’s 1/25 scale ’90 Mustang LX 5.0 Drag Racer is truly a 2-in-1 kit, Dana built the drag car and a stock version using two kits. He painted both with Tamiya spray-can lacquers, red and black for the dragster and metallic orange and maroon for the daily driver.
Mike Abbas
Maple Grove, Minnesota
For his first model, Mike built an Academy 1/35 scale Magach 6B in the snowy Lebanese mountains during Israel’s 1982 invasion. He painted the camouflage with Vallejo acrylics over black and gray pre-shading.
Noel Allard
Delano, Minnesota
To model an early Northwest Airlines plane, Noel opened the cockpit and added a pilot to a Special Hobby 1/72 scale Lockheed 9D. He painted the livery with Model Master enamels over Krylon primer.
Patrick Edwards
Northfield, Minnesota
Patrick painted Trumpeter’s 1/350 scale HMCS Huron with Tamiya acrylics, custom mixing the green, mostly using an airbrush and “lots of tape.” Light weathering includes a little rust in the hull and grime streaking.
Ryan Friesen
Winona, Minnesota
“I’ve stopped obsessing over detail and perfection and have just started building simple models simply,” Ryan says. If that’s the case, he does simple well, based on his build of Aoshima’s 1/48 scale Blue Thunder helicopter that he painted with Vallejo acrylics.
Steve Hansen
St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Imagining if the Minnesota Highway Patrol had a passion for hot rods, Steve fitted a Revell ’48 Ford with a 429 ci motor and new wheels and modified the stance. Painting with Minnesota H.P. maroon touchup paint and applying decals, he dressed the car in the current scheme. Much of the police equipment — the guns, hat, radio, and light — is 3D-printed, and the horns are turned aluminum.
Paul Jacobson
Cannon Falls, Minnesota
Paul’s rat rod features bomber seats from Iceman Collections, 50-year-old headers from his parts box, aftermarket rear tires designed for a semitrailer, and front spokes from his spares box, all fitted to an AMT 1/25 scale ’32 Ford Vicky. After priming with flat black, he painted the car with Testors Flat Red enamel and sanded a few areas to expose black for patina.
Matt Minnichsoffer
Lindstrom, Minnesota
“My grandpa in the Po Valley, Italy, circa 1944,” said Matt, explaining his build of an I Love Kits 1/35 scale M19 tank transporter hauling a MiniArt D7 ‘dozer. He painted each element separately with olive drab primer, pre- and post-shading. He made custom decals to match his grandfather’s unit and placed the model on AK Interactive Dry Ground with natural sand and scale grass.
Tim Streeter
Edina, Minnesota
To build a U.S. Marine 1st Tank Battalion M3 Stuart at Guadalcanal in December 1942, Tim replaced the turret of a Tamiya 1/35 scale Stuart with a 3D-printed part from One Scale Project and used Def.Model photo-etched metal front visors. He base-coated the Stuart with Model Master olive drab, shaded with LifeColor acrylics, weathered with artist oils, and applied Star Decals for the markings.
Michael Gutierres
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Michael added a slant-six engine and front bench seat to an AMT 1/25 scale ’71 Plymouth Duster before painting it Tamiya Pure Red to model a high school friend’s car from 1981. It looks ready to cruise on a Friday night.
Jim Utke
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jim’s improvements to AMT’s 1/25 scale 1941 Plymouth include scratchbuilt door handles, window cranks, and armrests; engine wiring and plumbing; the chrome around the running boards; and a hand-painted front emblem. The striking finish is New York Jade Green, a Floquil model railroad color.
Scott Murray
Cottage Grove, Minnesota
Tackling a Tamiya 1/12 scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R for a club challenge, Scott built it out of the box and finished it with Splash Paints on the body panels and Tamiya everywhere else.
Chad Truss
Crystal, Minnesota
Chad’s stunning pickup marked a couple of firsts — his first time scratchbuilding and his first time adding 3D-printed parts. His modifications to the AMT 1950 Chevy 1300 include smoothing the hood, bumpers, and dash; filling the cab seams; scratchbuilding the hood hinges and shifter; and fitting 3D-printed seats, engine, rear axle, and drop front axle. The finish is Splash Paints Limestone and Pastel Green, and Tamiya Pure Orange.
Mike Scott
Northfield, Minnesota
Longtime modeler Mike Scott passed away in July 2023 and passed his model collection to fellow modeler and friend Jim Kampmann. Jim brought examples from Mike’s prolific collection to NordicCon to showcase the variety of models Mike enjoyed building and his modeling prowess.
Scott Glatstein
Minnetonka, Minnesota
Scott, a purveyor of the unusual, rolled in with a 1/32 scale 1925 Allchin Traction Engine, the last of the great British steam-driven agricultural tractors. He replaced some of the South Eastern Finecast metal kit parts with wood and hose and painted with Splash Paints lacquers and 2K clear.
Randall Worringer
Bloomington, Minnesota
“This is an original Revell Lockheed Electra I built in 1960 when I was 10,” Randall said. “I recently found it in a box with six other old models. I had used poor glue, so I was able to completely disassemble and rebuild it, although I had to replace the props with P-3 Orion props from Atlantis.” He painted the airliner with Vallejo Aluminum acrylic and Testors Gray enamel, and Vintage Flyer Decals supplied the American Airlines livery.
Coleman Mjos
Golden Valley, Minnesota
Other than aftermarket carbon-fiber decals, Coleman built Tamiya’s 1/24 scale Lexus LFA box stock. The finish is Tamiya Clear Red lacquer over Tamiya Gold.
Cal Wood
Hudson, Wisconsin
Feeling 43’s 1/43 scale Ferrari 250 is barely 3 inches long, but that didn’t stop Cal from wiring the motor and using paper-thin leather to upholster the seats and interior. The scoops and hood are soldered brass. He painted the race car with PPG lacquer.
Torben Rothgeb
Minneapolis, Minnesota
To build Bobby Allison’s 1975 AMC Matador, NASCAR modeler Torben revved up an AMT kit with an updated chassis from an early ’80s AMT NASCAR kit, fitted photo-etched metal hood pins, and window clips, wrapped tires around Salvinos JR chrome rims, and scratchbuilt headlight covers and a fuel filler. The paint makes the model stand out even more: MCW AMC Red and Blue over white.
Scott Primeau
Harris, Minnesota
After modifying the arms of a 3D-printed Snowtrooper to better hold the blaster, Scott airbrushed acrylic base coats, applied inks for shadows, and weathered with artist oils. He scratchbuilt the base to look like a hallway in the Echo Base on Hoth.
Steve Rewey
Edina, Minnesota
Tamiya’s 1/48 scale F-14A wears MRP lacquer camouflage and Furball Aero-Design decals for VF-213, a squadron that three of Steve’s classmates flew with. He enhanced the kit ejection seats and placed the model on a Just Plane Stuff carrier deck base.
Richard Schaffer
Sparta, Wisconsin
Richard’s upgrades for Revell’s PV-1 Ventura include Eduard photo-etched metal details in the cockpit, wheel wells, and bomb bay; fine-wire brake lines on the gear legs; corrected engine cowls and props; and EZ Line antennas. He painted the camouflage with acrylics, mapping thin layers to weather the paint, flowed on washes, and applied streaks and grunge with pigments. The model depicts a Lend-Lease aircraft operating with the Royal Canadian Air Force in Newfoundland during the Battle of the North Atlantic.
Dave Perzel
Rosemount, Minnesota
Airbrushing Tamiya acrylics freehand, Dave finished a Tamiya 1/48 scale P-47D as a Thunderbolt from the 334th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group.
Sean Brzozowski
Coon Rapids, Minnesota
Sean printed an Easy Guy file of the X-01 Power Armor from the video game Fallout at 1/16 scale and painted it with custom-mixed Tamiya acrylics over Mr. Surfacer primer. It is marked with homemade decals and sits on a base he designed and 3D-printed.
Dennis Strand
St. Paul, Minnesota
The Dutch Fokker G.I is one of the lesser-known fighters of World War II, with only 23 serviceable when the Germans invaded the Netherlands in May 1940. Dennis modeled the attractive plane from a 1/48 scale Mikro Mir kit and finished it with Model Master enamels.
Rob Zielinski
St. Michael, Minnesota
Among Rob’s many modifications to HobbyBoss’ 1/48 scale Me 262A-1A are repositioned slats, flaps, and elevators; aftermarket resin seat, wheels, and engines; the wiring in the cockpit, gun bay, and wheel wells; rivets; and custom wingtip lights. He airbrushed the camouflage with AK Interactive acrylics and the engines with Mr. Color metallic lacquers.
Jeffrey Campbell
Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Jeffrey used Tamiya acrylics and Draw Decals markings to dress a Revell 1/144 scale Airbus A350-900 in Delta Airlines livery.