Pat Vess
Napeville, Illinois
Pat painted Michael Miniatures’ 1/10th scale Imperial German Hussar with artist oils.
Tom Williams
Frisco, Texas
After a base coat of Scale 75 primer, Tom painted the flesh on Kimera Miniatures’ 200mm bust Angelica with artist oils. The rest of the masquerade-ready character was finished with Kimera and Scale 75 acrylics.
Greg Brown
Hammond, Indiana
To model British troops withdrawing to Dunkirk in 1940, Greg painted Tamiya 1/35 scale figures with Vallejo acrylics and places them on handmade groundwork.
Wes Salazar
Wentzville, Missouri
“This is the first figure model I’ve done,” says Wes. “I’m known for my model car builds, but I want to expand my skill.” He painted Young Miniatures’ 1/10 scale bust of a 101st Airborne trooper at the Siege of Bastogne with Scale 75 acrylics. He airbrushed the base colors on the face and jacket before hand-brushing details.
Robert Blum
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Doon’t look It’s clear Robert put a ton of work into Blackheart’s 1/2 scale bust of Stheno, one of the three Gorgon sisters from Greek mythology. He airbrushed acrylics for her face , snakes, and stone-cold stare.
Kreston Peckham
Menasha, Wisconsin
German ace Carl Menckhoff relaxes on the cockpit sill of his Fokker D.VII thanks to Kreston, who used Aviattic lozenge decals on the 1/32 scale kit from Wingnut Wings. He painted the sharp-looking fighter with Tamiya acrylics and eatehred with washes if Winsor & Newton artist oils.
Penny Meyer
Las Vegas, Nevada
Penny isn’t sure who made this flat of the Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima, but she painted the with Jo Sonja acrylic gouache and layered washes.
Kenneth Childres
Sherwood, Arkansas
To model a German officer lost in the snow, Kenneth painted MJ Miniatures 75mm figure with acrylics from P3, Vallejo, and Tamiya. After roughing out the shading with an airbrush, he refined the effects by hand; pigments added dirt to the knees, boots, and cuffs. The groundwork is Woodland Scenics snow over Apoxie Sculpt.
Gerardo Cantarero
Lincoln Park, Michigan
Gerardo pre-shaded shadows and highlights on FeR Miniatures’ 1/16 scale bust of a soldier from the 9th Kentucky Infantry by airbrushing black and white, then blocked in the main colors. Hand-brushing added details and pastels weathered the uniform.
Jacques Duquette
Bovey, Minnesota
To depict one of six Russian SA-15s sent to China for evaluation, Jacques built Panda’s 1/35 scale kit out of the box and painted it with Model Master acrylics over black primer.
Dave Youngquist
Royal Oak, Michigan
After painting Model Cellar’s 1/16 scale World War I German stormtrooper with Andrea acrylics, Dave placed it in a scratchbuilt trench.
John Long
Springfield, Missouri
John swapped the head from a vintage Chota Sahib 54mm figure of a World War II Royal Marine Commando with a resin item from Hornet. He painted the British soldier with artist oils and placed on a base with aftermarket architectural elements to look like Normandy.
Felix O. Gonzalez
Chicago, Illinois
Having some fun, Felix enlisted Bandai 1/72 scale Star Wars T-70 X-wings for service in the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds display teams. Both were painted with Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics.
John Long
Springfield, Missouri
As a 54mm tribute to Warren Zevon’s Werewolves of London, John modified a female figure and scratchbuilt the bar at Trader Vic’s including a werewolf enjoying a piña colada. The scene was finished with artist oils.
Bob Hickl
Birmingham, Michigan
Bob improved Revell’s 1/6 scale Flash Gordon by replacing the two-part clear helmet with a Christmas ornament and shaving off the molded hoses in favor of braided stainless-steel wire. He finished the figure with Tamiya acrylics and pastel shading and placed it on a base carved from balsa foam.
Lester Lantz
Hinckley, Illinois
To put Tamiya’s 1/35 scale SU-100 in context, Lester scratchbuilt a street scene around it.
Wendy Rafalski
Dorr, Michigan
Wendy finshed the bust, Cursed, from Creepytables with Vallejo, Andrea, and Golden acrylics using layering and wet blending. The figure is based on a Polish legend.
Gerard Joria
Silver Spring, Maryland
Garard painted Royal’s 1/35 scale figure of Italian air force pioneer Italo Balbo with acrylics. It will be part of a display about the Balbo’s visit to the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago.
Bob Sarnowski
Schererville, Indiana
During the 1811 Battle of Barrosa, Sgt. Patrick Masterson of the 87th Regiment of Foot, an Irish unit of the British army, captured a French eagle. Bob painted Stormtroopers’ 1/16 scale figure of Masterson with Winsor & Newton oils over acrylic base coats.
Tony Stencel
Long Grove, Illinois
To hold a scratchbuilt pipe, Tony rescuplted the left arm of a 54mm 1870 Prussian army soldier from Michael Roberts and painted it with Reaper, Jo Sonja, and others over black primer. He placed the veteran NCO on Vallejo groundwork atop foam. He says it depicts a battle-hardened soldier stopping to a smoke when he hears a noise. Was it the rat near the butt of his rifle or the enemy hiding behind the ruined wall?
John Leyland
East Peoria, Illinois
After opening the deck doors on Orange Hobby’s 1/70 scale USS America (LHA-6), John scratchbuilt interiors for the hangar and vehicle decks and lit them with LEDs. He also scratchbuilt replacement masts. The amphibious assault ship was mostly painted with enamels over Mr. Surfacer 1500 primer and applied blue and brown washes to break up the basic gray camo. For the base, he sculpted waves on Plexiglas with Liquitex Gel Medium.
Bob Mason
Levittown, Pennsylvania
Bob painted Young Miniatures’ 1/10 scale Templar sergeant with acrylics for the clothing and artist oils for the face.
David Acker
Levittown, Pennsylvania
To finish Lord of the Print’s 3D-printed Igorot traders, David used Vallejo and AK Interactive acrylics. He staged the 1/32 scale scene based on the Dinotopia books on a scratchbuilt base.
Scott Primeau
Harris, Minnesota
Scott’s 1/10 scale female samurai comes from Big Child Miniatures. He painted the armor and clothing with acrylic and finished the flesh with enamels and artist oils. His scratchbuilt background complements the figure beautifully.
Randy Riley
Orlando, Florida
Recalling John Wayne as Col. Mike Kirby in The Green Berets, Randy shaved the epaulets from Bravo 6’s 1/35 scale figure. He painted The Duke with Vallejo acrylics.
Robert Raver
Crystal Lake, Illinois
After World War II, a lot of surplus equipment found its way into civilian hands, something Robert depicted with Merit’ 1/35 scale M19 tank transporter and MiniArt’s bulldozer. There are too many modifications to mention as he adapted the vehicles for civilian use, but he painted the distressed finishes using the hairspray technique for chipping.
Michael Bedard
Cottage Grove, Minnesota
Michael borrowed from another of his hobbies, painting portraits, when he finished Nuts Planet’s 1/20 scale Hinata. He primed the figure using a grisaille, a series of grays that help create shading. Over that, he painted the colors to mimic lighting from the torch and moonlight from above and behind the warrior. The base coats are Vallejo acrylics and the upper layers are artist oils from Winsor & Newton and Williamsburg.
Charles M. Schlom
Algonquin, Illinois
In 1967, Lt.j.g, Denny Early had both legs shattered by antiaircraft fire over North Vietnam, but returned to the USS Oriskany and touch down using the carrier’s arresting barrier. Charles recreated that moment with Trumpeter’s 1/32 scale A-4E painted with Tamiya and Model Master colors. He made the barrier with string and medical tape.
David L. Stokes
Greensboro, North Carolina
To model Virginia Continental Line Militia at the Battle of Brandywine Creek in 1777, David made extensive conversions to 1/30 scale Historex figures including reposing limbs and bodies and adding Nemrod heads and Michael Roberts muskets. He painted the soldiers with Winsor & Newton oils over acrylic base coats.
David L. Stokes
Greensboro, North Carolina
David modified the legs and arms of a Historex figure to pose an officer of the 5th Hussars mounting his horse. He painted horse and rider with artist oils over acrylics.
Randolph Larch
Appleton, Wisconsin
Clearly, Randolph scene is no place for strangers. He combined an old Lindberg car kit with Masterbox 1/35 scale Skull Clan Amazons for the post-apocalyptic tableau.
Jason Green
Liberty, Missouri
Jason painted Andrea figures with acrylics to show Gen. George Armstrong Custer in the hours before the Battle of Little Bighorn.
John Wendt
Downers Grove. Illinois
Working with Bandai’s 1/550 scale AT-M6, John built a prone heavy walker after its energy cells were damaged in battle. He painted the First Order walker with Vallejo acrylics and weathered with oil washes and filters.
Paul LaRock
Mt. Prospect, Illinois
Paul added an interior and four extra figures to Revell’s 1/48 scale Tally Ho Coach and harnessed the team with reins made from a heavy-duty trash bag with buckles and rings made from brass wire. The coach was airbrushed and the figures and horses hand-painted before everything was placed on a papier-mâché base.
Phil Kirchmeier
West Allis, Wisconsin
To put Jeff Shiu Miniatures’ 120mm Marines in a Pacific War environment, Phil embedded their feet in resin water on a round picture frame. He replaced the gun barrels with brass tube and painted the figures with Jo Sonja acrylics.
Tom Kondziolka
Chicago, Illinois
After adding a spare-wheel rack to Dragon’s 1/35 scale PzKpfw IV Ausf F, Tom painted it overall German gray using Tamiya acrylics. The unique winter camouflage was applied with an artist pencil. Keeping the point scale sharp was a challenge, he says. He weathered the tank with Winsor & Newton oil paint and Ammo by Mig Jimenez pigment to tie it into the winter groundwork built on Celluclay covered styrene foam.
Ted Paone
Austin, Texas
With the exception of a Hornet resin head, Ted sculpted this 1/35 scale rodeo cowboy for a scene called 7½ Seconds — riders must stay on the bull for eight seconds to qualify. He painted the vignette with acrylics.
Rich Erickson
Milan, Indiana
For his realistic take on Lisa Hayes, a character from the 1980s anime series Robotech, Rich created a computer image and produced the model on 3D printer. He painted her with acrylics, airbrushing base coats and hand-painting shadows and highlights.
Chris Barrett
Eagen, Minnesota
Chris painted Young Miniatures 1/10 scale Tuscan knight with artist oils over airbrushed primer.
David Acker
Levittown, Pennsylvania
To finish Young Miniatures 1/10 scale Roman cavalry commander, David hand-painted Vallejo and AK Interactive acrylics.
John Jeffries
Freeport, New York
John sculpted a 90mm medieval knight hunting boar and painted it with acrylics.
Lon Selbach
Racine, Wisconsin
Lon painted Young Miniatures’ 200mm bust of a Gebirgsjäger, light infantry that were part of the German mountain troops, with Vallejo and Andrea acrylcs.
Kreston Peckham
Menasha, Wisconsin
Kreston combined Copper State Models’ 1/35 scale Minerva armored car with Model Cellar figures for his Wrld War I scene set on the Belgian Frontier in 1914. He painted the vehicle with acrylics and used artist ils on the figures.
Dimitri Papadimitriou
Conway, Arkansas
After finishing Post Militaire’s 120mm mameluke with acrylics and artist oils, Dimitri detailed the scenic base with real vegetation.
Doug Cohen
Roanoke, Virginia
Inspired by Rogue One, Doug built a Star Wars scene with Masterbox and 3D-printed figures. The destroyed Imperial walker was built from spare parts. He painted the scene with Tamiya and Reaper acrylics.
Steve Hustad
Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Inspired by photos from the Battle of Britain, Steve posed a Bf 109E-4 crashed in sheep paddock. The fighter was kitbashed from Tamiya and ICM Messerschmitts. The farmer is a modified Preiser figure and Steve scratchbuilt the flock of a sheep.
Chip Rembert
Brighton, Michigan
To build a 1/35 scale desperado, Chip scratchbuilt upper body, arms, and pistol on an ICM Cossack and painted the outlaw with Vallejo acrylics. He hand-painted the horse stippling brown over white. “Lots of dots!” he says.