Sommaire pour January 2020 de FineScale Modeler

Mayo tray helps organize bench Being married to a surgical scrub has its advantages and learning an advanced level of organization has been one of them. In lieu of tools scattered all over the bench, my bride suggested I use a Mayo tray to organize the tools I’m using for a project. It keeps everything at hand and eliminates the old hobby knife on the floor, (or in the leg) problem. A Mayo tray is part of the system developed at the Mayo Clinic for keeping track of, and having instruments at the ready, during a surgical procedure. By breaking down your steps you have the least number of instruments on your bench at one time. In surgery this is important for tracking the tools. You know the old stories…

Richard Marmo, a founding member of IPMS/USA, produces a series of modeling guides in a variety of digital formats, including as a printable PDF. Titles include: · Building the Revell 1/32 Scale Bell AH-1G Cobra in a Vietnam Vignette (No. MMMG-8), $3.99. This installment adds aftermarket components along with a scratchbuilt revetment, honoring those who sacrificed so much in Vietnam. · Curtiss C-46A Commando Photo Reference Gallery (No. #MMMG-7), $3.99. This is your detailed guide for the Williams Brothers 1/72 C-46A kit. · Building the Williams Bros. Curtiss C-46A Commando in 1/72, $3.99 Provides step-by-step instructions and clear photographs will enable you to produce a finished model you can be proud of. · How To Make Your Own Decals (No. MMMG-4), $4.99, answers the big question of how to make…

Taking Tamiya’s 1/32 scale Spitfire all the way PART 1: Assembling and detailing the airframe Since Tamiya released its 1/32 scale Spitfire Mk.IXc (Kit No. 60319) modelers have marveled at its accuracy, fine details, and perfect fits right from the box. As a result, the modeling world was flooded with excellent builds. I wanted my Spitfire to be unique, so I pulled out all the stops to upgrade this kit even further, using scratchbuilding and aftermarket parts from BarracudaCast and Eduard. This model is dedicated to my long-departed father, Gordon Sawyer, who was an Airframe Mechanic on Spitfires in the Royal Canadian Air Force 401 Squadron, code YO, which was stationed in England and later France toward the end of World War II. He told me many stories when I…

What I enjoy most about modeling is trying to reproduce the look of well-used machines. To accomplish this, rust and dirt are required. One of the simplest, yet most effective, ways to achieve that aged and worn look involves acrylics and Windex glass cleaner. I like to use Tamiya paints. To put this technique to use, I chose Wave’s 1/20 scale HAFS (heavy armored fighting suit) Gladiator from the Maschinen Krieger universe. It is a walking weapon platform with a crew of one, fighting in the post-nuclear battlefields of Earth. Such a vehicle would probably look less than pristine, so here’s how to rust it up using Windex.…

I have been a fan of the Lockheed Lightning since my dad bought me the Aurora kit more than 50 years ago. So I was surprised when Tamiya announced a new-tool 1/48 scale P-38F/G lightning and happy to score one of the pre-production white-box kits at the 2019 IPMS/USA National Convention. All the part trees were individually bagged and protected from scuffing. Tamiya’s state of the art surface detail consists of delicate recessed panel lines and rivets. I found the 20-page, 54-step instructions easy to follow, but you need to pay attention to keep up with building as there are some small differences between the two marking options, one an F, the other Miss Virginia, a P-38G that took part in the interception and shooting down of Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto’s…

Purell hand sanitizer kills 99.99% of germs — so you have to be real weary of whatever nasty is able to live inside a bottle. Enter David Smith’s 1⁄1 scale creation. After scratchbuilding the tiled base with resin pieces, he attached the monster bust from an unknown manufacturer. He pre-shaded with washes before airbrushing the diorama with FW artist acrylic inks. More washes post-shaded the creepy scene. He relabeled a travel-size bottle of Purhell and called it good. Not so good for the rest of us.…

I love building models but I find that painting is where the fun truly begins. That was part of the reason I grabbed Hasegawa’s 1/72 scale Kawasaki Ki-45 “Nick” off my shelf in preparation for the 2018 IPMS/USA National Convention in Phoenix. Typical of 1990’s small-scale kits, the exterior is marked with recessed panel lines but interior spaces, like the cockpit, engines, and gear bays are simplified. I detailed the gear bays, replaced the cockpit with Pavla resin, and kitbashed engines, then I base-coated the model with Tamiya spray-can primer. I used Tamiya colors throughout unless otherwise stated. When spraying multiple colors, I start with the lightest and work progressively darker. So I began with white (XF-2) on the wings, vertical tail, and rear fuselage. Then, I masked the wing…

Originally designed for rescues in the swamps of the Florida Everglades, the U.S. Marine Corps realized the potential of the Buffalo as an amphibious landing vehicle. Orders for LVTs (Landing Vehicle Tracked) soon commenced, and the LVT-2 and, later, the improved LVT-4 joined the war in Europe. The British 79th Armoured Division used LVTs, known to the soldiers as Buffaloes, as part of their specialized armor inventory in Europe until the end of World War II, the last operation with Buffaloes — ferrying troops across the Elbe River — commenced six days before the German surrender. I wanted an LVT-2 dressed for the January 1945 assault on Kapelsche Veer, Maas River, the Netherlands and started with a choice to build a 1/35 scale Italeri LVT-2 (No. 6462). The Buffaloes that…

Thousands of models crowded the tables in the contest room at the 2019 national convention of the International Plastic Modelers Society/USA in Chattanooga, Tennessee, giving attendees plenty of eye-candy. FSM editors Mark Savage and Aaron Skinner hit the road to photograph the event and here are just a few of the scale masterpieces from the show. You can see more in Great Scale Modeling 2019 on sale now. Visit KalmachHobbyStore.com to get a copy. The coming convention will be July 29 to August 1, in San Marcos, Texas. For more info, go to nats2020.com.…

When I heard Eduard was releasing a new P-51, my thought was why another Mustang? What we really need is something new to 1/48 scale, such as a Stinson L-5 or a C-46. On the first day of the IPMS/USA National Convention, I realized that the rest of the world had a different opinion. There were at least 40 people queued to buy the new kit. When I returned three hours later, people were still in line and the mountain of kits Eduard had was dwindling fast. So, I bought one before they were gone. Opening the box revealed how wrong I was in my original opinion. In today’s world, it may seem cliché to say the surface detail on this kit is the best I’ve ever seen. But it…

The Beetle, Kafer, Bug, Vocho, or KdF wagens. Call them what you want, they are one of the most recognizable vehicles in history. Although Porsche built them, Bela Barenyi working for Mercedes-Benz is credited for the original design and won a court case in 1955 over copyright infringement. Ferdinand Porsche started production under the name Volkswagen in 1938 and production ceased in 2003 after more than 21 million units had been made. The German military used several versions, the type 82E being the most common. Ryefield Models 1/35 scale Type 82E is a fine kit, but it’s not a Type 82E. The chassis tunnel is larger and has the gear linkage with the 4x4 selector molded on the top. The model actually represents the Type 87, which used the Kubelwagen…

If you are anything like me, you get a new box of models in hand and want to play with them that moment. If you’re dealing with a group of figures however, the painting process can stand in the way. When thinking about how I wanted to paint the ten infantry men from Warlord Games’ Hungarian Army Honvéd Division, I knew I wanted colors that would blend easily to create a wide variety of hues. With the many different mixtures, I could cover the whole 28mm squad without a lot of stops to blend extra colors. My biggest advice: Do one step at a time! Paint all the pants at once, all the uniforms, and so on. This makes the overall process more uniform for the unit as a whole.…

The F-86L was a stronger, long-winged version of F-86D Sabre Dog, the world’s first single-seated dedicated night/all-weather fighter aircraft. Different from its day-fighter brethren, the Sabre Dog’s only armament was 24 unguided FFAR rockets, dubbed the “Mighty Mouse,” placed in a retractable tray in the fuselage bottom. I acquired Special Hobby’s 1/72 scale F-86L as an impulse purchase at a modeling show. A few years later, Hasegawa’s F-86D also wound up in my stash. I quickly realized that Special Hobby’s Sabre Dog was better suited as a donor kit — it has fantastic photo-etch parts (PE) and decals but many of the shapes are off. To transform Hasegawa’s kit into the F-86L Easy Valley Girl flown by Cpt. R.G. Hollring of California’s Air National Guard, I’d need to borrow Special Hobby’s…

After World War I, the U.S. Army standardized artillery to the 8-inch howitzer and the 155mm gun. While the design of the 8-inch howitzer began in 1919, it was 1940 before the gun entered service. The howitzer would have a long service life and would be used in Korea and Vietnam. In 1962, its designation changed to M115 8-inch howitzer, but the gun remained basically the same throughout its lifetime with only minor changes. In 1997, AFV Club released a 1/35 scale M115. Now, 20 years later they have rereleased the kit with updated and new parts to backdate the gun for WWII service. Two new sprues include parts for the WWII style limber as well as improved parts for the gun breech and the trails. Also included are a…

Early aircraft designers were not shy about deviating from convention. But, even among some unique designs, the Gotha G.I has to be considered unusual, looking more like an entry in Wacky Races than a warplane. Choosing this as its 10th anniversary kit confirms that Wingnut Wings is not shy about releasing kits that are off the beaten path. A quick look at the more than 350 parts confirms the company’s typical detail is included, although strangely there is only one set of photo-etched detail (PE) for the Spandau guns despite calling out options for using two. Also not mentioned in the instruction booklet is PE Part 4, meant to be installed over the hole for the bombsight. This mistake and other corrections can be found at wingnutwings.com, including a reminder…