Damaged

Ask 12 modelers what the hobby means to them and you’ll likely get a dozen answers. Common answers will include: “I build because I love history.” Or, as a variation: “I build the vehicles I flew or drove.” There are modelers who aim to put together a collection of models from an era or country. Or, as many do, we get a kick out of building a model for a friend or family member or veteran who has a connection to the subject. If you are like me, you love building science-fiction or fantasy. I find that building an X-wing or Batmobile gives me a visceral connection to my fandom. I’ve met people who build to relax and unwind. Or builders who use time at the bench as a form of mental…

Dolmuş (pronounced dolmush) — small, privately owned public buses which traverses certain routes — are a tradition in Turkey. Anyone who lives in Istanbul, a city famous for its traffic jams, has taken a dolmuş to work. In fact, residents of Istanbul know that these public buses have permanent, traditional routes that rarely change through the year. With time, passengers often get to know each other and even the drivers. These vehicles have created a special local culture with its own slang, clichés, and stories. There are even some Turkish cult comedy movies based on dolmuş. I have always been obsessed with the idea of building a model of a futuristic flying machine, but I never had the opportunity to make one. Not only has my modeling time been dedicated to tanks,…

Korea. Hill 355. November 1951. They say luck can turn suddenly. You can’t predict it, you can’t foresee it. Can good luck be found in a wet, cold, miserable place made of mud, debris, and blood? Some believed they found it in a quiet pause in the fighting. A peaceful moment, lost in a cigarette and loving memories. Or simply a mouthful of food to ease the twisting hunger. Yet, you have to be cautious, because everything comes at a price. And so, when you least expect it, your luck might runout!…

I build all of my models out of paper (with some added details from other mediums), and for a long time, I’ve wanted to build a bulldozer. Recently, I imagined an interesting color combination and decided to get to work. I’ve been building paper models since I was a kid, and now, I even design my own. For my ChTZ T-130, I chose to build a Ripper Works kit because it offered me a chance to relax from the strain of designing my own. I built it with no particular end in mind, letting my imagination run wild, so construction progressed quickly. I made extra details to match some equipment I saw in reference photos on the internet, because that’s what I do. COMPLETLY BUILT FROM PAPER…