Mike Kutz
Jackson, Wisconsin
Mike built his Eduard 1/48 scale Wildcat out of the box and primed with Mr. Surfacer Black before airbrushing Mr. Color paints, post-shading as he went. He applied gloss to seal his work as he accented select areas with oil paints. After another round of gloss, he applied pinwashes, chipped, and sealed it under flat clear.
Vic Rood
West Allis, Wisconsin
This factory-stock AMT 1/25 scale ’71 Plymouth Duster wears plum crazy airbrushed over primer. Vic added plug wires to the engine.
Samuel Parent
Winona, Minnesota
Known for his wooden ship models, Sam has other modeling interests, too, like this American Civil War Napoleon cannon. A 1/16 scale replica from the Model Expo Guns of History line, he scratchbuilt the “worm” tool and wheel chocks. The wheel rims are hobby crepe tape. He painted the ironwork Vallejo Black and applied Danish oil on the walnut carriage and wheels. Sam made the base from stained oak and decoupaged a map of the artillery battery emplacements at Gettysburg to the top.
Richard Sliwka
Warrensburg, Missouri
Richard built a Yankee Modelworks 1/350 scale USS Philadelphia (CL-41) and modified the bridge and superstructure to replicate the ship as it appeared at the opening of the World’s Fair in 1939. He built the masts from brass rod and installed guns from L’Arsenal. Richard airbrushed Polly Scale and Model Master acrylics over auto primer.
Logan Hanson
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
It took two Moebius Models 1/25 scale 1966 Ford Custom Cab 4x4 kits to make Logan’s F-250 crew cab. He grafted the cabs and frames from both kits and then cut dents and damage into the body. To finish his beat-up, rusty but reliable hunting truck, Logan painted it Floquil New York Central Jade Green and weathered with pigments.
Bill Read
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Bill used a Resicast SRL conversion set to put a Tamiya 1/35 scale Jeep MB on rails. He airbrushed his Jeep with Mission Models and Tamiya colors and weathered with AK Interactive washes, colored pencils, and Tamiya pigments. Bill found the tracks for the base online.
Keith Koene
Janesville, Wisconsin
To model the Great Unclean One coming through a warp, Keith turned to a Games Workshop kit, taking the head, bell, and both small demons from it. He combined it with a frame bought from Goodwill and scratchbuilt the tentacles and guts. He applied Cuttlefish Colors by hand and made the slime from Dirty Down Snot.
Rick “Doc” Buikema
Clinton, Iowa
Doc’s Permanently Saved car hauler started as an AMT 1/25 scale American LaFrance fire truck. He smoothed and lowered the body, completely modified the rear end, and detailed the interior with all sorts of Easter eggs from chip bags and coffee cups to a computer gaming system. Out back are a 1929 Ford coupe and Buick nailhead rat rods.
Jeremy Olsen
Milton, Wisconsin
Studio Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle is a favorite among many anime lovers. Jeremy printed a 1/200 scale kit on Cults 3D, assembled it, added guylines to the crow’s nest, and smoke effects. The base is a coaster mounted on a circular plate with bearings so the model can rotate. Jeremy painted with acrylics mostly in vertical lines to re-create the diffuse colors Studio Ghibli uses in its animation.
Stew Edwards
Grafton, Wisconsin
Stew built his Tamiya 1/24 scale Porsche 959 out of the box. He painted it Tamiya Metallic Black lacquer under Testors Wet-Look Clear. The 959’s history as Porsche’s first four-wheel-drive rally car tested during the Paris-Dakar race inspired him to build the production version sold from 1986 to 1993.
Andy Keyes
West Bend, Wisconsin
A palette cleanser after all the work finishing the new HobbyBoss B-24J, Andy built his Tamiya 1/48 scale F4U-1 “Birdcage” Corsair straight from the box. He pre- and post-shaded with Real Colors paints, and detailed panel lines with an acrylic sludge wash.
Toby Halliday
Waconia, Minnesota
Tamiya Silver and Clear direct from the spray cans decorate Toby’s Fujimi 1/24 scale Mercedes SLS AMG GT3. He built the model box stock, marked it with decals from Racing 43, and detailed the wheels with RB Motion valve stems.
Wayne Puffer
Pewaukee, Wisconsin
Wayne reworked a Monogram 1/24 scale 1970 GTX, fixing the inner wheel wells, making new solder exhaust pipes and 3D-printed mufflers, and installing a 426 Hemi up front. In the back, he opened the trunk, corrected the taillights, scratchbuilt shocks, drilled the chassis and added bolts, and much, much more. Wayne finished with automotive paint and clear.
Lloyd Little
Westgate, Iowa
Wanting a cool car hauler, Lloyd 3D-printed a ’41 Chevy COE cab, scratchbuilt the rest of the truck, and then built a Revell ’49 Mercury for the payload. He painted with Tamiya acrylics sprayed through a Harbor Freight Black Widow airbrush.
Ronald Neuendorf
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Ronald opened the hood vent and added a screen to reveal the engine up front, but otherwise, built his Revell 1/25 scale 2015 BMW i8 from the box. He airbrushed it with MSW enamels.
Tyler Halliday
St. Joseph, Minnesota
Tyler ran ignition wires and a fuel line for his AMT 1/25 scale Meyer’s Manx dune buggy. He detailed the interior with photo-etched metal seat belt buckles and fabric belts and hand-lettered the tires. The paint is Krylon Gold Glitter, Dupli-Color Transparent Red, and Testors Wet-Look Clear over black Tamiya primer.
Brian Stanley
Glenwood, Iowa
“These are members of the [Army’s] 3rd Infantry Division, which my son belongs to,” Brian said of his scene. Named You gotta be kidding, he built an RFM 1/35 scale MRAP L-ATV from the box, added stowage, and extra details. He painted the Alpine figures with AK Interactive acrylics and the MRAP with Real Colors.
Rick Hoffman
Racine, Wisconsin
AFV Club workable tracks detail the running gear on Rick’s Tamiya 1/35 scale M5A1. He primed, airbrushed Tamiya acrylics, and picked out panels with a pinwash before applying light weathering.
Scott Bischoff
Wheaton, Illinois
Scott’s 1932 Ford Roadster Bonneville race car comes completely from his imagination. He said 80% of the model was scratchbuilt, including the chassis, suspension, interior, wheels, and coil packs. He used a Revell 1/25 scale kit for the body, removed the trunk, and replaced it with the cockpit. The hood comes from a Monogram Duesenberg kit.
Bob Clift
Milton, Wisconsin
Bob built a classic MPC 1/11 scale Star Wars Return of the Jedi Speeder Bike out of the box. However, instead of mounting the Imperial speeder biker riding the bike, he modified the figure to sit on the bike, taking a bit of a rest before hunting down more Ewoks. Bob painted with Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics and chipped using the hairspray technique.
Nate Sidwell
Mackinaw, Illinois
Inspired by a series on YouTube that performs “rustorations” on vehicles, Nate built a Hasegawa 1/24 scale 1959 VW Type 2 single cab pickup to show a still salvageable truck. He scratchbuilt the rear window and crimped the sides of the bed. He used the hairspray method to wear away the acrylic blue to reveal the brown base coat. Nate weathered with artist oils.
Cal Wood
Hudson, Wisconsin
To depict a car from Hot Rods & Racing comic driven by protagonist Clint Curtis, Cal started with a Monogram 1/24 scale Kurtis Kraft super modified kit. He cut open the nose, added a new driver’s seat, made injector holes in the hood, wired the motor, and installed brass velocity stacks.
Randy Dieck
West Bend, Wisconsin
Randy’s impressive Tamiya 1/48 scale Douglas A-1H Skyraider sports a 3D-printed seat and AOA decals for the Republic of Vietnam air force. He airbrushed the camouflage freehand with Model Master enamels, post-shaded, and popped the panel lines and rivet details with a sludge wash.
Steve Shaffer
Hastings, Minnesota
Steve used the IPMS/USA 2017 National Convention decals to mark his HobbyBoss 1/48 scale A-7 Corsair II for Operation Linebacker in Vietnam. He added texture with stippled primer to the bombs to simulate the ablative coating. He airbrushed MRP colors over black Mr. Surfacer 1500 and weathered with Tamiya washes and pastels.
Bruce Williams
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
This Panzer III Ausf N has seen some things. Built from a Takom 1/35 scale kit, Bruce painted the base gray, sprayed Vallejo Chipping Fluid over it, and followed with Tamiya White. Then he chipped the winter camo to reveal the gray beneath. Artist oil washes and pigments provided weathering.
Andrew Hill
Cottage Grove, Minnesota
Andrew 3D-printed a studio-scale turret for the Millennium Falcon from files he found online. After priming the model black, he masked it with Vallejo Liquid Mask and approached each panel separately while looking at photo references and airbrushing Archive-X acrylic colors. The base is a frame with an enlarged photo of Andrew’s Bandai Perfect Grade Falcon.
Stan Kurcz
Naperville, Illinois
To support his MPC 1/172 scale Millennium Falcon, Stan made a completely unique base from 3D-printed figures. One figure shows Luke Skywalker with an ignited lightsaber, another depicts Han Solo encased in carbonite, and at the rear of the ship is Darth Vader’s helmet. Stan used an airbrush and Tamiya paints to complete this unique model.
Troy Deal
Montello, Wisconsin
Troy kitbashed a ’55 Chevy Bel Air four-door sedan resin body with an AMT Chevy kit and beat the tat out of it. He replaced the front driver’s side fender with tinfoil to model damage, holed the body elsewhere with a rotary tool, and modeled rust all over the car. He hinged the doors, opened the trunk, and scattered old magazine covers and other trash throughout to model an old car “sitting behind the barn, rotting away.”
Kristopher Panick
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
It isn’t every day you see an IMC 1/25 scale 1964 Cougar II at a model contest. Kristopher built his box stock and sprayed two coats of clear lacquer over the factory-molded color.
Lance Noltemeyer
Waunakee, Wisconsin
This Mad City Modelers contest was the first time Lance entered a model in a show, and we’re glad he did. He entered a box-stock Fujimi 1/24 scale Toyota MR2 (AW11) airbrushed with Sikkens automotive paints. Lance said he performed “lots of filling and sanding to fit the body kit before priming.”
Nico Digrindakis
Naperville, Illinois
Nico’s Tamiya 1/12 scale Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP 30th anniversary edition has a Tamiya metal fork and Falcon Scale Models 3D-printed cowling rivets. He painted with Tamiya lacquers.
Ro Annis
Park Ridge, Illinois
Ro built an Amati 1/48 scale Greek bireme galley. He said the kit was interesting to assemble, and he learned to use a sewing machine to make the sails. He finished the hull with tung oil and made a separate base for his replica of an ancient warship.
Mike Olberholtzer
River Forest, Illinois
“[The kit] really didn’t need anything,” Mike said of the well-detailed Revell 1/24 scale Citroën 2CV Charleston, but he did add sun visors and valve stems. He painted with Tamiya colors and used Bare-Metal Foil for chrome trim on the body. Mike outlined the doors and other panels with a fine-tipped artist pen.
John Werwie
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
“Paleontologists cannot agree on what color dinosaurs were,” John said. That gave him the freedom to explore what they might have looked like with his three triceratopses from Black Heart Models, calling them The Tri-Siblings. John took six hours to finish each bust with Vallejo paints. He painted the eyes with artist oils and topped each figure with satin varnish.
Mike Gosda
Madison, Wisconsin
Mike calls his scene My Discovery, and it depicts a young boy unexpectedly running across a dilapidated mech. He finished the Hasegawa 1/35 scale Mechatro WeGo mech and figure with craft acrylics. The base is a combination of modeling grass and plants with a real branch for the broken tree trunk behind the mech, all on a wooden square.
Chris Chapman
Northbrook, Illinois
Chris converted a Tamiya 1/35 scale M4 Sherman into an M4A3E2 assault tank, also known as a “Jumbo,” with a resin set from Blast Models. He added various tarps and stowage from aftermarket sources. The tank runs on 3D-printed tracks. The base was made from DAS modeling clay over foam, painted, and finished with leaves and grass.