Chris Cortez
Racine, Wisconsin
While the GI is a box-stock Tamiya 1/35 scale figure, Chris scratchbuilt the groundwork to deploy the soldier to Italy with the 34th Infantry Division in 1944. He painted with AK Interactive 3G acrylics, brushing thin layers of color over zenithal priming applied with an airbrush to set shading. “My grandfather served in the 34th, and I used his photos for reference,” Chris says.