Dave Clarke
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Dave brought a 1/35 scale 12.8cm FlaK40 Zwilling. He brought the Takom kit up to snuff with Eduard photo-etched metal details and an Aber turned-metal gun barrel. He built the Warriors figure with a Hornet head and painted the twin-barreled Vallejo Air and pre- and post-shaded to create more volume. Why did he build it? "Because it was different!"
John Everett
Las Vegas, Nevada
This stegosaurus is ready to kick some Jurassic! John built Cretaceous Creations 1/15 scale dino and painted with Tamiya and Vallejo paints sprayed through an Iwata NEO. John says the stego is contemplating his role in the universe.
Mark Walcott
Snyder, Oklahoma
Mark built his Bronco 1/35 scale German Seehund XXVIIB/B5 midget sub out of the box. He pre- and post-shaded the base coat and weathered with black artist-oil washes and pastels. The base came with the kit, but Mark added a bit of gravel to evoke the sea floor.
Larry Litoborski
Garland, Texas
This box-stock build from Larry features a Fujimi 1/24 scale Porsche 356A with Scale Designs Decals to make an entrant in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana Endurance Race. He airbrushed decanted Tamiya spray lacquers over Alclad II primer.
Scott Scariot
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Scott 3D-printed all of the parts for his Mondoshawan seen in The Fifth Element from files at Thingiverse.com. He painted with various Alcladd II colors with his Iwata Eclipse. Scott used Vallejo washes to pick out details and then lighted the figure's eyes and belly jewel.
Jim Clark
Scottsdale, Arizona
Jim converted a Tamiya 1/32 F-15C Eagle into Israeli Defense Force F-15I. He painted with Mr. Color lacquers and masked and airbrushed all of the markings.
Joseph Simon
Jackson, Wisconsin
Aftermarket details from Pontos, LionRoar, and Artworx helped Joe finish his Tamiya 1/350 scale IJN Yamato built to depict the ship in March 1945. Joe spent more than 2,000 hours over four and a half years on this build, and the care shows. He painted White Ensign colors and only engaged in a modest amount of weathering before setting on a base made from his grandpa's cabinets.
Martin Drayton
Park City, Utah
After years away, Martin has been back and building over the last two years and was inspired to build a diorama by the movie Enemy at the Gate. He combined model kits and figures from Trumpeter, SC3D, Eduard, Life Miniatures, First Legion, and Master Box to create this 1/35 scale scene telling the story of Vasily Zaitsev and Tania Chernova. Martin used paints from Scale Colors and Tamiya, along with artist oil washes and pigments to get this incredible diorama just right.
David A. Kimbrell
Norman, Oklahoma
David built this Meng 1/9 scale Ninja crotch rocket with figure out of the box. He airbrushed Alclad II Clear Red over Gold for the bike and Model Master enamels for the figure. He added a dragon tattoo to the rider, and that's where the name for the model obvious: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
David Goldfinch
Clyde North, Victoria, Australia
"These are really fun kits," David says of his Bandai 1/144 Zaku II. He built his mobile suit out of the box and airbrushed Mr. Color Mr. Metal as an undercoat and went over it with SMS Yellow. He used the hairspray technique for a worn effect.
Brian Leitch
Omaha, Nebraska
The speeder biker is in hot pursuit of rebel wookies on Kashyyyk! Brian build a 1/12 scale Bandai kit and added landscaping to the base and camouflage decals to the trooper. He finished the model with acrylic paints, artist oils, washes, and pastels.
Brian Kanefsky
Stamford, Connecticut
Brian's ICM 1/32 scale Gloster Gladiator Mk.I represents a plane in France early during World War II. He added photo-etched metal seat belts and rigged with E-Z Line and monofilament wire. Brian painted with AK Interactive acrylic paints and weathered with washes, pigments, and pastels.
Chad Truss
Crystal, Minnesota
"I've never weathered a car before," Chad says. You couldn't prove it by the work he's done on this Tamiya 1/24 scale Toyota Celica marked as the 1992 Kenya Safari Rally winner. He upgraded the kit with a six-point harness from Eduard and applied Le Mans decals, painted the body Tamiya lacquers, and dirtied it all up with Vallejo acrylics. Great job, Chad!
Alexandre Bigey
Papeete, Tahiti
Alexandre made his own clear parts for an Aircast Resin 1/72 scale Cessna H21C Golden Eagle and cut open the door in back. He painted with Tamiya lacquers decanted from the spray can. A light wash accented panel lines.
Cameron Corless
Riverton, Utah
AK Interactive Real Colors paint dresses Cameron's 1/48 scale F-16 Aggressor in Alaskan splinter camo. He added a metal pitot tube and resin exhaust, wheels, and metal static dischargers. He weathered Ammo by Mig Jimenez Starship Filth.
Chad Richmond
Pinson, Arizona
Built box stock, Chad painted with MRP colors through his Evolution airbrush. He masked for the markings and added very light Flory washes for weathering.
Michal Kanefsky
Stamford, Connecticut
Reaching for an older kit, junior modeler Michal brought a Testors-imagined 1/48 MiG-37B "Ferret-E" stealth fighter to the show. She built it from the box and painted with Tamiya acrylics with her Iwata airbrush and lightly weathered with with washes and pastels.
Jim Allen
St. Paul, Minnesota
Jim added a roll cage, engine wiring, and clear hood scoop to his 1969 Chevy Camaro Pro Stock drag car. Using Tamiya lacquers, he primed, airbrushed gold and then went over that with clear red.
Ray Engineer
Greenville, South Carolina
Modeling a replica of a fighter his dad flew, Ray built a 1/48 North American F-86F marked for Nellis Air Force Base in 1965. He used a Quickboost ejection seat and scratchbuilt the turtledeck details. For paint, he chose Alcladd II Chrome and Duralumin and popped the panels lines with Tamiya wash.
Kim Sheldon
Pensacola, Florida
Flying in with a Grumman-Columbia Aircraft OA-12 "Duck," Kim built the 1/72 scale Airfix kit, but needed to get dirty and make some modifications to the plastic. He sanded off over-scale rivets, substituted a vacuum-formed canopy for the kit plastic, installed a True Details resin pilot's seat, and ran rigging. Ultimately, Kim's model represents an Air Rescue Service aircraft flow out of Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska between 1949-1950.
Bill Read
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Bill calls his 1/25 scale garage diorama "Out with the Old, In with the New." Outside, you'll find a '65 Mercury Comet Cyclone, and inside is a 2011 Corvette. He built the base on a picture from with foam board and plaster of Paris for the garage's concrete floor. Inside are numerous goodies, including a Micro Machine car turned into a radio-control vehicle, an old turntable, and various tools, and a 3D-printed milk crate tucked under the workbench. So much and just not enough space to list all of it!
Cameron Jamison
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cameron took a AMT 1/25 scale 1963 Indianapolis 500 racer, replaced the nose with an aftermarket resin part for a more accurate shape, and brought in Indycals tires and decals to mark it as the 1963 winner. He decanted Tamiya lacquers for the colors, and used Alclad II transparent paints for the heat staining on the exhaust. It's all sealed under a Testors clear gloss.
Dana Mathes
Boerne, Texas
Dana cracked into a couple of AMT 1/25 scale kits to recreate his granddad's 1955 Chevy Stepside pickup. With kitbashing, he modified the fender for a spare tire mount and scratchbuilt the spare-tire rack. He used the hairspray technique to show weathering and rust, along with washes and dry-brushing. "This was the first vehicle I drove on my grandfather's farm," Dana says.
Scott Walsh
Lincoln, Nebraska
"The French captured a V-1 and specially outfitted it for Snoopy in recognition of his service during World War I," Scott says about his model, "Snoopy's War Prize." He added a vinyl Snoopy to a Bronco 1/35 scale V-1, put a control stick in his paws, and installed Vickers machine guns from Gaspatch.
Steve Schaffer
Hastings, Minnesota
Turned on to Zoukei-Mura kits by a friend, Steve modeled his 1/48 scale F-4EJ Kai straight out of the box. The scheme replicates a Japanese paint job used for the aircraft's retirement from active service.
Jacques Duquette
Bovey, Minnesota
"No modifications of any kind!" Jacques says of his Tamiya 1/35 scale Type 97 Chi Ha. He painted with Polly Scale and Model Master acryl, with lots of panel shading, washes, and detail highlights to break up the monolithic green. Jacques wants other modelers to know that older kits "can still be built a a respectable level." We agree!
Simon Scott
Norway, Iowa
Simon, 10, painted a 1/10 scale resin bust of a 1st Cavalry soldier during the Vietnam War. He used Vallejo acrylics and mixed his own colors to shade and highlight the folds. Washes, pigments, artist oils, and pastels round out Simon's ingredients for bringing his miniature to life.
Ken Niles
Fayetteville, Georgia
Ken's venerable Heller 1/72 scale Lockheed Constellation in TWA markings landed at the photo booth. He replaced the engines and nacelles with resin parts from Fisher Designs, flush-sanded the windows, scribed panel lines, and added full wheel-well detail. Ken used "lots of washes to illustrate the heavy staining from the engines and in the wheel wells."
Bob Maderich II
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Bob modeled a 1/43 scale pit scene from the 1952 French Grand Prix featuring a Model Factory Hiro Maserati 250F. He built the car out of the box painted with Tamiya colors. He made the base from a wooden plank and added figures from Denizen.
Tyler Halliday
St. Joseph, Minnesota
We love rat rods, and Tyler doesn't disappoint with his 1/25 scale 1932 Ford Roadster. Kitbashing parts from Revell, AMT, and Moebius kits, and turned in a list of modifications a page long, but included denting the body, cutting down the frame to fit the body, smoothed the seat and covered it with a blanket decal, custom-made floor pans from corrugated styrene sheet, and much more. He used the hairspray technique for chipping and then weathered with crushed pastels.
Mike Zender
Camp Dennison, Ohio
Mike sanded and re-scribed the panels lines on his Monogram 1/72 scale B-52D, as well as upped the wing detail with flaps from Black Dog and Eduard photo-etched metal fan blades. He pre-shaded panels with black on the underside and white up top, and also painted select areas chrome. "It's the B-52 at the National Museum of the USAF," Mike says.
Steven Burwell
Omaha, Nebraska
Steven roared up with a completely scratchbuilt (except for the engine, wheels, and tires) 1/16 scale Super Late Model dirt track racer. He built the chassis from 3/32 inch brass tubing. He painted with lacquers.
Toby Halliday
Waconia, Minnesota
Many hours of decaling is what Toby recalls most from his build of Tamiya's 1/24 scale Mercedes CLK 2000 DTM. He didn't modify the kit but added Scale Motorsport photo-etched metal details and carbon-fiber decals.
Kurt Krans
Tulsa, Oklahoma
This model of the Pinnacle Landing features a Trumpeter 1/35 scale CH-47D Chinook. Kurt made the rocks out of plaster pasted over a wire frame with steel supports. Brass tubes support the heli. He painted with Gunzye Sangyo colors and weathered with Ammo by Mig Jimenez products.
Bob Halliday
St. Joseph, Minnesota
Bob scratchbuilt many parts for his AMT 1/25 scale Don Garlitt Swamp Rat 6b and added aftermarket parts, too. He covered the model with Dupli-Color automotive primer, paint, and clear.
Everett Quam
Lake Tapps, Washington
The wiring and tubing came with the Revell Germany 1/8 scale "Porsche Killer" kit Everett built out of the box. He opened some of the hole to fit better. He painted all the chrome parts with Alclad II lacquers, and the rest was finished with Tamiya, Model Master, and Humbrol colors. Based off a motorcycle in a German comic.
Tim Howell
Howell, Michigan
Tim finished his Jada "Big Time Muscle" 1/24 scale Ford GT in U.S. Air Force markings. He drilled indents for rivet details and applied decals and stencils from 1/48 scale aircraft kits. He painted with Testors Model Master Metalizer and Tamiya paints. He applied a wash to panels lines to bring up the door details. Why the paint job? "It's just what I would do to my GT," Tim says.
Chris Derks
Alexandria, Virginia
Chris' unusual W-Model 1/72 scale RLM-SE NEBO-M Radar attracted out attention. He says he replaced bent parts with brass or styrene and painted with Gunze lacquers sprayed through his Grex Tritium airbrush. The entire array is soldered photo-etched metal. Incredible job!
Andrew White
Hollywood, Maryland
Andrew, tucked HobbyBoss Mk.20 cluster bombs under the wings of his Hasegawa 1/48 scale AV-8B Harrier II. Painted to represent a Harrier operating out of Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, he used Gunze Sangyo acrylic colors and weathered with oil washes and Tamiya Panel Line Accent.
Bryan Krueger
Denver, Colorado
If you've never seen a T-40 in this camo scheme before, don't feel bad: It was experimental and only a rare few wore it. Bryan built a HobbyBoss 1/35 scale kit for his special tank and brought up the accuracy with a Voyager photo-etched metal set. He airbrushed the 4BO base coat and hand-painted the camo to match references. To weather, he applied a mix of oil and enamel washes and filters, and added a bit of dust with pigments.
Tony Zadro
Marietta, Georgia
Plus Model produced a 1/35 scale kit of the unusual Pavesi P4/100-30A, and Tony finished it for service in North Africa. He added bolts, stowage, canopy, and figures to complete the vignette. He made the groundwork with polymer clay and kitty litter.
Duncan Scott
Monroeville, Pennsylvania
Do you remember The Last Starfighter? Duncan sure does, and he brought his Black Sun Models 1/72 scale Gunstar 1 to prove it. The cockpit features a clear targeting screen and polished resin canopies. He primed and pre-shaded with dark green, top-coated with a 50/50 mix of Tamiya Pearl and clear, with various gray and metallic colors sandwiched in between. Duncan accentuated the panel line with a wash made with Vallejo paint and India ink.
Paul Cassatt
Little Elm, Texas
Paul cut his Trumpeter 1/350 scale USS New York at the waterline, added Master Model metal gun barrels, but otherwise built the kit out of the box. He painted exclusively with Mr. Hobby lacquers, and it was the first time he'd used the brand. It depicts the ship retrieving one of its Kingfisher scout planes.
Matt Jacobson
Lawrence, Kansas
Stay out of the water! Matt started this model as a Monogram 1/48 scale AV-8B Harrier, but then quickly changed. He flipped the kit over, moved the vertical stabilizer to the top, moved the horizontal stabilizers forward, and brought in parts from other kits to make what Matt calls the "Terminator Shark." Two red LEDs light up the eyes and it wears a white LED spotlight in the nose. This model won gold at WonderFest 2022.
Fred Bell
Keenesburg, Colorado
Inspired by a photo, Fred converted an AMT/Ertl 1/25 scale Volvo semi tractor into a tow truck. He built the truck mostly out of the box, adding an aluminum exhaust, and scratchbuilt the tow unit. He painted with Krylon Safety Orange and Safety Yellow over Dupli-Color primer.
Kristy Hermanson
Mankato, Minnesota
Meep meep! Kristy painted her MPC 1974 Plymouth Road Runner sublime green, badged with Keith Marks Decals, and sealed it all under a lacquer clear coat.
Ian Dow
Livonia, Michigan
Here's the whole deal: a 1/72 scale M26 Dragon Wagon hauling a landwasserschlepper! Combining Academy and HobbyBoss kits, Ian created this amazing scene, adding Eduard photo-etched metal details, chains, blocks, stowage, and a scratchbuilt interior. He painted with Tamiya paints and weathered with Ammo by Mig Jimenez pigments.
David Falk
Appleton, Wisconsin
Entirely scratchbuilt, David's GM Futureliner tractor-trailer mobile workshop wears Testors Gloss Dark Red and White enamel over automotive primer. "The 12 Futureliners traveled in a convoy with nine tractor trailers and other support vehicles painted and trimmed to match the buses," David says.
Kristy Hermanson
Mankato, Minnesota
Kristy created this 28mm scene with gaming figures to depict Mera (from the Aquaman comic books) fighting a poisonous blue ring octopus. She painted the figures and coral stones with Vallejo acrylics and gel pens to create the camouflage on the octopus.
Richard Sliwka
Warrensburg, Missouri
Richard sailed into port with his 1/700 scale USS Cheranga escort carrier. He built the Loose Cannon kit out of the box and painted with Polly Scale acrylics.
Jerry Jackson
Oceanside, California
Couched in a sea made from acrylic gel medium, Jerry's Fujimi 1/700 IJN Kirishima battleship was bettered by aftermarket parts and painted Floquil Grime Black and Testors Deck Tan. He weathered with washes, artist oils, and Prisma pencils.
Lynn Rowley
Midlothian, Texas
"War Horse" is part of a planned six figures that Lynn is sculpting and detailing completely from scratch. He made the horse head and armor from Magic Sculpt, equipped it with styrene strip harness, a sword made of styrene sheet, and raided his sister's beading supplies for interesting details. "When you're scratchbuilding, you find ways to use all sorts of parts that you might not otherwise," Lynn says.
Caleb Levonas
Longmont, Colorado
Caleb built his Eduard 1/48 scale Spitfire Mk.Vc/Trop out of the box and marked for service with the Royal Australian Air Force. He painted a natural metal base, airbrushed the camo freehand, and then chipped to reveal the metal underneath. Caleb weathered with artist oils, enamel washes, and AK Interactive colored pencils.
Oliver Scott
Norway, Iowa
Oliver, 14, built his AMT/Ertl '71 Dodge Charger R/T and wired the engine with aftermarket parts from Gofer Racing. He painted with Hemi Orange from the spray can, picked out the doors with Tamiya Panel Line Accent, and made the custom vinyl roof with masking tape before painting with acrylic black.
Abe Scott
Norway, Iowa
Abe, another junior modeler, constructed a Tamiya 1/35 scale M4A3E8 Sherman "Easy Eight." He built it out of the box, airbrushed it Tamiya Olive Drab, weathered the body with Tamiya pigments, and dirtied the tracks with pigments from AK Interactive.
Jay McKeown
Monument, Colorado
Jay used 1/200 scale plans to bring his Revell 1/350 scale SMS Emden to life. The base is styrofoam, rolled oats, acrylic water colors, and acrylic gel finished with gloss varnish. Jay made the sea spray and foam with cotton.
David Waples
Westminster, Colorado
David modified the hull of his Mikro Mir 1/350 scale USS James Monroe to accurately reflect the hull shape. To model the sub underway, he made a base from foam insulation and used the Chris Flodberg water method as demonstrated in the April 2016 FineScale Modeler magazine.
Jarrod Booth
Desoto, Kansas
Holy bling, Batman! Jarrod built his Italeri 1/24 scale Scania from the box--except for a single antenna. He draped it in Testors Wet-Look enamels, but painted the cab panels separately, polished them, placed decals, and then put it all together. Spectacular truck!
Fred Bogs
Winterset, Iowa
Fred modeled an M4A1 during the Normandy Breakout in August 1944. He used an Asuka 1/35 scale kit as a base, modified the hedgerow cutter, added photo-etched metal tool tie-down straps and fittings, and made sandbags with two-part epoxy putty. A variety of paints and techniques went into finishing Fred's Sherman, including Tamiya lacquers, acrylic paints, and oil washes for highlights.
Wayne Holmes
Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
Wayne didn't use any aftermarket parts on his ProModeler 1/48 Curtiss SB2C-4 Helldiver as seen on the USS Yorktown in April 1945. Instead, he scratchbuilt the bomb bay, folding wing, landing gear bay, and much of the cockpit. He primed and masked with Silly Putty, painted with Mr. Color lacquers, and weathered with pastels and artist oils.
Richard Robison
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
In November 1966, Gemini 12 docked with the Agena target vehicle and Buzz Aldrin performed a space walk to test handholds, foot restraints, and other harness methods. Richard used Revell and Real Space Models kits to recreate this historic moment in 1/48 scale. He used Testors and Krylon enamels for paint and mounted it to a wooden base.
Jason Holt
Blacklick, Ohio
Jason trotted out his Tamiya 1/48 scale F-51D in markings for the Republic of Korea Air Force 1st Fighter Squadron flown by U.S. advisor Major Dean Hess in 1950. Photo-etched metal seat belts dress up the cockpit. After having the model on his shelf for 18 years, Jason recently brought it out of retirement and weather it with Tamiya pigments and washes.
Douglas Leach
Bellevue, Nebraska
For his F/A-18E marked for VFA-81 Sunliners, Doug began with a 1/48 Revell kit and added a resin ejection seat and ordnance from Hasegawa weapons sets (the GBU-12s are mounted on resin racks from Reskit). He base-coated the fighter black, painted with Tamiya and MRP colors, and then added Flory washes and artist oil paints for detail and a bit of weathering.
Stan Spooner
Boerne, Texas
Stan's Zvezda 1/35 scale K-17 Bumerang IFV was brought up to current operational standards with scratchbuilt updates, including suspended smoke grenade launchers, anti-personnel frag grenade launchers, additional armor plates, light guards and steps, electronic armatures, and forward and rear TV cameras.
Eldon Flitton
Lehi, Utah
This Airfix 1/72 scale P-51D Cavalier finished in El Salvadoran colors. He replaced the kit wings with resin wings to emulate the Cavalier and airbrushed the camo freehand with Testors enamel through a Badger Krome.
Craig Brown
Glendale, Arizona
Revell's 1/32 scale Fw-109F-8 served as the base for Craig's "Black 2". He went in and added rivets to the entire airframe, dropped an Eduard engine up front, installed brass guns, and scratchbuilt brake and fuel lines. He cleaned the plastic with alcohol and then painted with Tamiya and Mission Models colors and weathered with artist-oil washes. He airbrushed freehand and pre- and post-shaded for more depth and volume.
Robin Edwards
Omaha, Nebraska
Starting with an AMT 1/25 scale 1940 Ford coupe, Robin lowered it's suspension and scratchbuilt the roof rack and luggage. He base-coated with a rush color and used the salt method to chip the acrylic paint.
Bob Steinbrunn
Phelps, Wisconsin
Bob's Wingnut Wings 1/32 scale Bristol R.2B fighter is pulled by a laminated cherry-wood prop and rigged with white E-Z Line colored with a silver Sharpie. He airbrushed khaki drab, masked the wing ribs, the airbrushed a light coat of Tamiya Smoke, the then repeated the process for the underside. He lightened the khaki drab and painted that between panels to indicate fading.
Steven Foster
Norman, Oklahoma
Steven's delectable 1/25 scale 1941 Chevy 1/2-ton pickup is dressed in MCW lacquers. He wired and plumbed the engine, cut out and repositioned the door with scratchbuilt hinges and hardware, and added wood veneer to the truck bed for even more realism. But that's not all! He stripped and repainted all the chrome part with Alclad II lacquers and hand-painted the logos and hubs--those aren't decals!
Ian Keizer
Narre Warren, Victoria, Australia
Building Copper State Models' 1/35 scale Autocar Canadian armored machine gun carrier, Ian drilled out the gun barrels, opened the side door, and added tread to the tires. He mixed Gunze Sangyo paints for custom colors and painted with an Iwata airbrush. "The model depicts a war-weary car and crew that just want to go home," Ian says.