Experts Guide to Superdetailing

The better models get, the better modelers get. The inverse is true, too: The better modelers get, the better their models get. It seems simple and we see it at shows all the time. A modeler approaches our photo booth and lays on the praise of our magazine and all it has taught him over the years. We’re not alone though. The modeler usually is full of thanks for his fellow club members’ tips, advice he got from folks met at shows and contests, plus ideas shared with modelers worldwide via our online forums — possibly some other folks’ forums, too. The goal, of course, is to improve, to get better and better at modeling. That’s our intention for every magazine. We redouble our efforts for special issues such as…

Modelers are always looking for new ways to take their builds to the next level, whatever that means specifically to them. With kit quality constantly improving, creating a highly detailed model now means more than just painting and weathering, although that’s still a big part. Today’s modelers keep pushing the detailing envelope by using photo-etched parts, resin accessories, and their own ingenuity to scratchbuild bits and pieces that make their builds more realistic. We see them at shows from coast to coast, and readers send us examples from around the world. Increasingly our readers ask, How can we do that? How can we make our models pop? The following pages will explain and show you how!…

The better models get, the better modelers get. The inverse is true, too: The better modelers get, the better their models get. It seems simple and we see it at shows all the time. A modeler approaches our photo booth and lays on the praise of our magazine and all it has taught him over the years. We’re not alone though. The modeler usually is full of thanks for his fellow club members’ tips, advice he got from folks met at shows and contests, plus ideas shared with modelers worldwide via our online forums — possibly some other folks’ forums, too. The goal, of course, is to improve, to get better and better at modeling. That’s our intention for every magazine. We redouble our efforts for special issues such as this one on superdetailing,…

I have always wanted to build a “fork-tailed devil,” the twin-boom Lockheed P-38 Lightning. I prefer 1/32 scale, which meant the choice of a Revell or Trumpeter kit. I chose Trumpeter (No. 02227). It’s a good model, but it still has several challenges to overcome. An additional challenge was my goal of building a restored bird with clean, bare metal — because a metal finish hides nothing! As a matter of fact, every tiny flaw is magnified. Extra care must be given to both construction and surface preparation. These challenges are met in modeling Maj. Richard Bong’s P-38 Marge as it appears at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wis. This particular Lightning, No. 44-53087, is a later P-38L, although it has the markings of a P-38J Bong flew during…

Modelers are always looking for new ways to take their builds to the next level, whatever that means specifically to them. With kit quality constantly improving, creating a highly detailed model now means more than just painting and weathering, although that’s still a big part. Today’s modelers keep pushing the detailing envelope by using photo-etched parts, resin accessories, and their own ingenuity to scratchbuild bits and pieces that make their builds more realistic. We see them at shows from coast to coast, and readers send us examples from around the world. Increasingly our readers ask, How can we do that? How can we make our models pop? The following pages will explain and show you how!…

I have always wanted to build a “fork-tailed devil,” the twin-boom Lockheed P-38 Lightning. I prefer 1/32 scale, which meant the choice of a Revell or Trumpeter kit. I chose Trumpeter (No. 02227). It’s a good model, but it still has several challenges to overcome. An additional challenge was my goal of building a restored bird with clean, bare metal — because a metal finish hides nothing! As a matter of fact, every tiny flaw is magnified. Extra care must be given to both construction and surface preparation. These challenges are met in modeling Maj. Richard Bong’s P-38 Marge as it appears at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wis. This particular Lightning, No. 44-53087, is a later P-38L, although it has the markings of a P-38J Bong flew during the war,…