Stuart Malone
Kansas City, Missouri
The Junkers D.I was the first all-metal fighter airplane, and Stuart modeled one from a Wingnut Wings 1/32 scale kit. He upped the already highly detailed kit with a 3D-printed floor compass, lead wire for throttle and trigger controls, and wood veneer laminate hand-carved for the prop. Piano wire and brass tubing serve as spark plugs wired to 3D-printed magnetos. Stuart scaled a photo of his subject, cut out the camo pattern for a mask, and attached it with poster putty before airbrushing for a just-soft line. Using the kit decals, he said it took about a week of applying Solvaset to get them all to conform to the corrugated surfaces.