Online Reader Gallery: September 7, 2021
10 aircraft, sci-fi, and armor scale models submitted by builders from all over the world
September 7, 2021
You can submit photos of your scale-model masterpieces to
FineScale Modeler.
Below are this week's selection of fantastic models:
Antonio Thuemler
Miami, Florida
Antonio finished this Revell 1/48 scale Stearman PT-17 with bright Tamiya paints. To give the biplane a slightly used appearance, he then weathered with Master’s Touch oil paints. The tarmac base makes the aircraft look ready to take off.
Charles Lipkin
Naperville, Illinois
Here is Italeri’s 1/72 scale Convair B-58 Hustler. Charles scratchbuilt details for the three cockpits and cockpit hatches, and added brake lines and actuator struts to the landing gear. He primed the model with Dupli-Color automotive gray filler and primer which he polished with toothpaste for a glass-smooth finish. Various shades and mixes of Dupli-Color automotive silver lacquers painted panel-by-panel gave a natural-metal finish, and a few panels were highlighted with bright white added the silver mix. The darker sections at the aft ends of the engine nacelles and inboard pylons were airbrushed with Testors Model Master Metalizer Buffing Titanium.
Jacob B. Groby III
Lacombe, Louisiana
Jacob’s build of Revell’s 1/96 scale Cutty Sark was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. More than 10 years later, he decided to try to make something out of the mess. “I cut away the rigging, separated the parts carefully, stripped off the old paint, cut away the damaged section of the hull, and re-created just the bow section,” he says. His hard work paid off when he won first place in the Flying Tigers Model Contest at the Louisiana IPMS Chapter and a special award for creativity. He says that while he lost more models than he cares to remember in that hurricane, this winner is a good example of why you should never throw away a model!
Jason Vukovich
Anchorage, Alaska
Jason built Hobbycraft’s 1/72 scale de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter and converted it into a Turbine Otter with a conversion set from Khee-Kha Art Products, a company local to his state of Alaska. He finished it with Arctic Cals decals. “I added a full interior complete with passengers and crew that are barely visible,” he says. He finished his miniature scene by mounting it to look as if it’s coming in for a landing with an Alliance Model Works prop and acrylic water.
Mike SanGiovanni
Rockaway, New Jersey
Mike created an entire room for GeoMetric’s 1/6 scale vinyl Son of Frankenstein. The diorama consists of a scratchbuilt base, walls, and door, as well as Aves Apoxie Sculpt rats and a skull Mike borrowed from another kit. He also added a bucket from a dollhouse collection and a chain. The door is made of balsa planks and the pull was fashioned from a picture hanger loop epoxied to the wood. He sculpted an iron hinge from Aves Apoxie Sculpt, then cast two more. The bolts are heads clipped from finishing nails. The walls and floor are coated with water putty for texture. He painted details such as the metallic finishes of the door clasp and chain hook with Vallejo acrylics.
Patricio González
Arequipa, Perú
This vignette features figures from Master Box’s 1/32 scale French Cuirassier from its Napoleonic Wars Series. Patricio placed the figures on a bridge made of wood planks hovering above resin water. He made the ice using layers of paraffin and the snow is baking soda fixed with Ammo by Mig Jimenez glue. The reigns are then metal cut into strips and equipped with folded lead-wire buckles.
Rolando Creston
Legnago, Verona, Italy
Using Hasegawa’s 1/350 scale Soya, Rolando commemorated Japan’s first Antarctic exploration vessel. He detailed the icebreaker with photoetched-metal, also from Hasegawa, and placed it on a sea made of toilet paper, vinyl glue, DAS modeling clay, and transparent silicone. He colored the water with a mix of white, blue, and green. Notice the penguins in the left corner and dogs in the right corner.
Ron Cramer
Seymour, Tennessee
Ron weathered Tamiya’s 1/35 scale Leichter Panzerspähwagen SdKfz 222 with dusty hues, being sure to hit the wheels and wheel wells the hardest.
Roy Sorenson
Castro Valley, California
Roy had some fun editing this photo to show off all the detail of his Pro Street/Pro Touring car kitbashed from an AMT '55 Chevy and a Revell Pro Mod '57 Chevy chassis. The motor is a combination of a Big Block Chevy with fuel injection he found in the spare parts box and a Ron Olson 3D-printed dual turbocharger. The transmission is a manual six speed from a Corvette kit and the interior features bucket seats and a scratchbuilt, soldered 8-point roll cage. He painted it with House of Kolor Brandywine over a black base. The model took him about a month to build.
Mike Walston
Highlands Ranch, Colorado
“I wanted to build a classic sci-fi alien jumpgate, so I put a multi-colored 12-inch plasma disc into a round frame and detailed it with parts from an AMT Star Trek: Deep Space Nine space station kit,” says Mike. The model is 1/200 scale and is decorated with assorted pieces from his spares box. Mike used the 1950s Von Braun style rocket in Lindberg's Space Base and Satellite Explorer kit to portray an old school spaceship coming through the interstellar gateway. It's topped off with a re-entry vehicle from Hawk's Manned Orbiting Laboratory kit. He designed the decals on CorelDraw, including U.S. Space Force logos.