Ihor Hlohowskyj
Downers Grove, Illinois
This bizarre-looking aircraft is the Kharkiv KhAI-3, an 11-passenger aircraft that first flew in September 1936. Ihor built a Mikro-Mir 1/72 scale kit of the one-of-a-kind plane out of the box and painted it with Tamiya acrylics except for metallic areas that were colored with Vallejo Metal Colors.
Charles M. Schlom
Algonquin, Illinois
Takom’s 1/72 scale Akagi flightdeck represents the Japanese carrier as it appeared on the morning of December 7, 1941, as the first wave of fighters was being readied to attack Pearl Harbor. To reinforce that impression, Charles added a pair of Tamiya 1/72 scale A6M2b Zeros on deck. His only other addition to the kit was using fine thread for rigging.
Mario “Shadow” Mendiola
Chicago, Illinois
A master of custom paint, Shadow spent two years turning an AMT 1/25 scale 1971 Thunderbird into a 1970s lowrider airbrushing several colors of candy automotive paints. His multistep process is primer, sealer, the metallic base coat, masking and candy colors, lace, and finally the clear topcoat.
Vic Rood
West Allis, Wisconsin
Vic built a factory-stock ’71 Plymouth Duster from an AMT 1/25 scale kit, wired and plumbed the motor, and detailed the engine bay, frame, and interior. He painted the car in classic Mopar Plum Crazy Testors enamel.
Noe Trevino
Valparaiso, Indiana
The only modification Noe made to Vulcan’s 1/35 scale Mk.VIB light tank was replacing the tracks with vinyl runs from a Tamiya Universal Carrier kit. He painted the vehicle with Tamiya acrylics.
Robert Raver
Crystal Lake, Illinois
The U.S. Army used M29 Weasels to evacuate wounded from the snowy Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge. Robert replicated that with a Takom 1/35 scale M29 on a scratchbuilt base with modified figures and added stowage. He painted with acrylics and weathered with a combination of acrylics and enamels.
Troy Deal
Montello, Wisconsin
A maestro of modeling junker cars, Troy used a bunch of techniques on a Revell 1/25 scale ’66 Impala SS. They included a dryer sheet under the hood for worn insulation, a twist-tie for an antenna, replacing the front fender with tinfoil to show damage, automotive masking tape painted white for the weathered and torn vinyl top, foam padding coming out of torn Bare-Metal Foil upholstery, and the paper from a teabag for a sagging headliner. The rotted and rusted body and floor was produced by grinding and thinning the panels with various bits in a rotary tool.
Kelvin Cull
Dodgeville, Wisconsin
Even though the subject was apocryphal, the Testors F-19 Stealth Fighter was one of the most popular kits in the world when it was released in the mid-1980s. The design was refuted and the kit essentially made obsolete a few years later when the actual F-117 was revealed, but that didn’t stop Kelvin from building one of the original 1/48 scale kits. His only change to the otherwise out-of-the-box build was to mask and paint the markings after the ancient decals disintegrated.
Bob Sheehan
Elmwood Park, Illinois
This 1/10 scale figure of Naru, the hero of the 2022 Predator franchise film Prey was printed from a file at 3DWicked.com. Bob base-coated with acrylics and used artist oils for washes and details, adding the design on the young warrior’s tunic using a stencil.
Erik Hjelmberg
Novi, Michigan
The Vargas 1/72 scale Fortin Aubriot-Gabet is barely more than 1 inch long, but Erik airbrushed it with Tamiya acrylics, weathered with pigments, and placed it on an acrylic base. So, what is it? A 1915 French prototype tank powered by electricity from an external source, hence the cable at the rear. Only one was built.
Mike Oberholtzer
River Forest, Illinois
Resin, white metal, and photo-etched metal parts comprise the Alley Cat 1/48 scale Shorts Tucano Mk.1 kit. Quite detailed and needing no modification, Mike focused on painting, which required a lot of masking. He finished the Royal Air Force basic trainer with MRP and Tamiya colors.
Irene Rogal
Madison, Wisconsin
“The model shows Freddy Flameout flying away from his own set fires, like people running from their problems,” said junior builder Irene of the classic Hawk Weird-Ohs kit. She airbrushed the plane and hand-painted the details and figure.
Deven Lehst
McHenry, Illinois
To model a truck he wants to own in real life, Deven cut up and merged the cabs from two AMT 1/25 scale ’78 Dodge D-100 pickups. He also swapped out the powerplant with a 12-valve turbo diesel engine and extended the chassis to produce a crew-cab truck. The finish is three coats of automotive lacquer over primer hand-cut and buffed for shine.
Lilly Daoud
Madison, Wisconsin
Lilly, 9, built a Hasegawa 1/48 scale A6M5 Zero from the box to replicate a full-size aircraft in a Tokyo museum. Using Tamiya acrylics, she airbrushed the underside color as a primer, masked, sprayed the upper camouflage, and added more masking before airbrushing the wing leading edges yellow.
Scott Weir
Monroe Center, Illinois
Scott painted Airfix’s 1/48 scale Spitfire F.Mk.22 with Floquil colors and weathered the British fighter with artist oils and pencils. The markings came from an Aeromaster sheet.
Bill Wedeward
Waterloo, Wisconsin
Going old-school, Bill built an original 1975 boxing of a Tamiya 1/35 scale SU-85 out of the box. He painted the Soviet self-propelled gun with Vallejo acrylics over Mr. Surfacer 1500 primer, post-shading panels and weathering with oils. The decals mark it as a vehicle at the Battle of Kolberg in spring, 1945.
Andy Keyes
West Bend, Wisconsin
Tackling a kit that is rarely seen built at shows, Andy finished a Monogram 1/48 scale B-26 Marauder with Mr. Color lacquers using chipping fluid for the first time to weather the finish. The markings on the medium bomber are a combination of Aeromaster insignia, Superscale tail codes, and PYN-up nose art.
Joseph Schock
Marengo, Illinois
Joseph teamed an AFV Club 1/35 scale AEC Matador early version with an AFV Club 40mm Bofors gun on North African groundwork made from AK Interactive diorama products. He added tarps for the rear bed with rolled epoxy putty and painted with Tamiya and AK Interactive acrylics.
John Clancy
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
A fan of paper models, John put together a Cadias 1/20 scale Back to the Future DeLorean time machine and used metal for the hook and wiring.
Alan Zais
Ridott, Illinois
The Vultee P-66 Vanguard did not have a combat career with the U.S. Army Air Corps, but it saw fighting in the Chinese Nationalist air force against the Japanese. Alan built one of these fighters from a Sword 1/72 scale kit, painting with Model Master enamels and weathering with washes and pastel chalks.
Thorsten Herbes
North Barrington, Illinois
After adding a Def.Models pilot to the cockpit, Thorsten painted an Academy 1/48 scale A-10C Thunderbolt II with acrylics over primer and weathered with post-shading and artist oils.
Rick Doering
Decatur, Illinois
Rick added a complete 3D-printed chassis and drivetrain to a Revell 1/25 scale Henry J as well as returning the wheel openings to the factory dimensions to turn the kit gasser into a custom. It rolls on homemade resin wheels and the gleaming finish is black with flames airbrushed through masks.
Arnold Hunt
Saybrook, Illinois
Arnold spliced the rear of the cab from a second Revell 1/25 scale ’64 Chevy pickup to extend the cab for a unique truck. Looking for something to haul with it, he discovered he had several AMT 1/25 scale go-karts, so he scratchbuilt a trailer from styrene strip and angled stock. To tie the truck and trailer together, he painted them in matching Mission Models Iridescent Duck Teal with Mission Pearl White for the top of the truck, all sealed with Dupli-Color 1K clear.
Ezekiel Lutz
Roselle, Illinois
“This model depicts an SA-6 in Czech service on the move to defend critical airspace,” Ezekiel said about his Trumpeter 1/72 scale Gainful transporter erector launcher. After painting it with Ammo acrylics and weathering with enamel washes and Vallejo pigments, he placed it on a base he designed, 3D printed, and topped it with dirt and leaves from his backyard.
Kevin Stover
Evanston, Illinois
To show a modern Type 212A German submarine as it might look at a dock, Kevin added rope to the deck using scale lines from Syren Ship Model Company. He painted the vessel with acrylics and weathered it with artist-oil shading and pastel streaking.
Ed Nowak
Buffalo Grove, Illinois
Building a Tamiya 1/48 scale Spitfire Mk.Ia out of the box is straightforward, so Ed focused on finishing it as a well-used, mid-production version of the British fighter. He painted it with custom mixes of Mr. Color lacquers, including the roundels and serial numbers that were airbrushed with Maketar masks. Washes, pastels, a silver pencil for chipping, and watercolor pencils added wear and tear.
Bill Krueger
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
In real life, the Japanese Type 94 tankette is diminutive, so in 1/72 scale it’s downright tiny. Bill built an IBG Type 94, adding only a chain between the vehicle and the chemical trailer it’s towing. Over Stynylrez primer, he airbrushed Tamiya acrylics and brush-painted details including the tracks; artist-oil washes and Tamiya pigments finished the vehicle.
Ethan Smith
Waukesha, Wisconsin
For a Warhawk with the 45th Fighter Squadron in the South Pacific, Ethan painted a Hasegawa 1/48 scale P-40N with Mr. Color lacquers and weathered with a brown wash.
Mark Danko
Valparaiso, Indiana
Mark applied BarracudaCals markings to a Tamiya 1/48 scale P-47D and masked and painted the invasion stripes to finish the Thunderbolt as a D-Day attacker. He detailed the kit with Eduard photo-etched metal cockpit parts and attached Ultracast resin wheels. The natural metal finish is Mr. Color lacquers.