Sarah Mort
Orangevale, California
Inspired by an online photo of a well-used artillery piece from World War II, Sarah built a Trumpeter 1/35 scale 15cm howitzer out of the box and painted it with Vallejo acrylics. She added dust with pastel powders mixed with water and placed the finished gun on foam covered with white glue and sand.
Brandon Darnell
Sacramento, California
Brandon fitted an Arma 1/72 scale P-51B with an Arma 3D-printed seat and exhausts and Eduard Brassin wheels before marking it as a Mustang flown by American ace Bud Anderson on D-Day. The bulk of the fighter was painted with MRP lacquers over black primer and he applied minimal weathering to match photos of the plane taken shortly before the invasion.
Michael Baldrica
Reno, Nevada
To model the winner of the 1973 Indianapolis 500, Michael added resin wheels and a 3D-printed rear wing to an AMT 1/25 scale Patrick Eagle Indy car. He painted the bright orange livery with Scale Finishes colors.
Rob Miller
Arnold, California
Before placing Doll & Hobby’s 1/35 scale Lost in Space Chariot on insulation foam, mat board, and sanded tile grout groundwork representing a generic “planet of the week,” Rob added lead-foil seat belts. After applying Aztek Dummy masks, he painted the Robinson family’s RV with Tamiya acrylics, Alclad II metallics, and AK Interactive Real Colors lacquers.
Pat Cohen
Brentwood, California
Set inside a can, Pat’s 1/76 scale diorama of the Battle of Malaya features an Airfix Type 97 Chi-ha tank advancing past an Airfix Quad tractor in a river. He finished the vehicles and scenery with Tamiya acrylics and Apple Barrel and Folk Art craft paints, used resin water for the river, and planted Woodland Scenics and Ammo vegetation.
David Carr
Paradise, California
“It was really fun to paint!” said David about a Warhammer Feculent Gnarlmaw. He drilled out the bells to accommodate 3D-printed clappers and added a few more 3D-printed flies, primed the creature with Mr. Surfacer 1500 Black, blocked in base colors with Tamiya acrylics, and picked out details with Citadel colors.
Frank Babbitt
San Jose, California
Applying Aztec Decals over Mr. Hobby acrylics, Frank marked a Hasegawa 1/48 scale F-16A as a Venezuelan air force fighter. Other mods include Aires wheels, Seamless Sucker intakes, a Black Box cockpit, Eduard photo-etched metal details, a resin parachute housing, turned-brass probes, and a drop tank and Sidewinder missiles from Kinetic.
Postoria Aguirre
Castro Valley, California
It may represent a clean, new bike that has only been ridden a couple of times, but that doesn’t mean Postoria skimped on details. He dressed up the Tamiya 1/12 scale Yamaha SRX-6 by drilling out the lightning holes in the brake rotors, placing micro bulbs in the turn signals, and applying gauge decals capped with punched discs from tinted clear styrene. The body was painted with Krylon spray cans, the chrome with Alclad II lacquers, and details with Tamiya and Floquil colors.
Steve Klein
Redding, California
Imagining a ’69 Dodge Charger running across the wasteland, Steve added scratchbuilt armor and a bed for post-apocalypse supplies to a 1/24 scale Revell kit. He painted it with Tamiya acrylics and weather with artist-oil washes to give the survivor a worn look.
Dave Smestadmoen
Yuba City, California
While the Tamiya 1/35 scale Hummel self-propelled gun was built out of the box, Dave added a Dragon solider and modified a Tamiya German Shepherd for the final display. He finished the model with Tamiya spray-can lacquers and hand-painted Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics.
Steve Lenthe
Oakley, California
To model a Roman Centurion loyal even in death, Steve hand-painted a 75mm 3D-printed bust with Citadel and Army Painter acrylics, applying washes over base coats and dry-brushing to enhance textures.
Tony Rossetto
Davis, California
Using aftermarket decals, Tony marked a Revell 1/24 scale Camaro as one of drag racer Bill Jenkins’ Grumpy’s Toy. His improvements to the kit include scratchbuilt seat belts, wiring, and fuel lines, parts-box wheels, tires, intake, carbs, and a hood scoop.
Ben Hughes
Red Bluff, California
This started as a 1/87 scale AMT switcher, but Ben rebuilt it with scratchbuilt parts to convert it into a well-used logging locomotive from the late 1920s. Washes and Pan Pastels over a layer of Model Master gray black weathered the tank engine.
Daryl Newbeck
Marysville, California
Daryl built a Bandai super-deformed Gundam mobile suit out of the box. “I liked the model, so I built it,” he said. We can’t argue with that logic.
Roy Arimoto
Sacramento, California
To give a Fujimi 1/24 scale Suzuki Samurai a hip-hop vibe, Roy fitted larger rims, built a boom box in the trunk with faucet aerators for speaker screens, and painted the interior with zebra and cheetah print upholstery. After airbrushing the luscious pink using nail polish, he applied graphics from the internet.
Dave Williams
Lincoln, California
“I modified this kit to have starboard and portside cameras,” said Dave about modifying a HobbyBoss 1/48 sale RF-80A. He painted the Shooting Star with Alclad II Dull Aluminium and flowed on artist-oil washes to replicate a plane from the 160th Fighter Recon Squadron in the 1950s.
Randy Bumgardner
Fairfield, California
Modeling a brightly colored fighter deployed aboard the USS Enterprise in 1938, Randy painted an Accurate Miniatures 1/48 scale F3F-2 with Model Master enamels and Mr. Color lacquers. The VF-6 markings are from Yellow Wings Decals, and he kept weathering to a minimum, applying Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color washes to bring out the detail.
Kody J. Kuczynski
Starks, Nevada
Thanks to Kody, this AFV Club 1/35 scale M5A1 Stuart is chock-full of stowage from Legend and Value Gear. He painted the light tank with Ammo acrylics for the camo and Vallejo acrylics for detail, applied Star Decals to mark it as a vehicle from the 37th Tank Battalion in September 1944, and weathered it with Ammo washes and pigments and Vallejo mud.
Donald Wayne Low II
Oroville, California
Donald emblazoned the doors of a Forge World 28mm Deimos Pattern Rhino with the symbol of the Ork Word Bearers Legion before painting the Warhammer 40K vehicle with Citadel, Vallejo, and Pro Acryl acrylics. Oil washes, as well as Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color and AK Interactive Streaking enamels, added subtle weathering.
Ed Unwin
Wheatland, California
To build a stock car driven by early NASCAR legend E. Glenn “Fireball” Roberts, Ed painted a Revell 1/25 scale 1957 Ford with spray cans.