Tabla de contenidos para May/June 2022 en FineScale Modeler

There’s something about a well-crafted diorama that epitomizes the craft of modeling. Don’t misunderstand, I am impressed by freestanding models and that’s how I finish most of mine. They look great and capture the essence of the aircraft, vehicle, ship, or figure. But a simple display base with basic groundwork and a figure gives the model context and a sense of scale. For example, a beautifully painted and weathered F4U-1 Corsair always looks cool, but placing it on a base with a surface that looks like a crushed-coral runway with bare-chested ground crew shows the kind of grueling conditions under which many of these fighters operated. The height of the art form are those carefully crafted scenes that, whether they are simple or complex, tell a story. The best of…

The Mandalorian is an iconic addition to the Star Wars saga and brilliant for a lover of sci-fi like me. There are countless models and 3D-printing files to buy or download and 3D printing allows you to choose to print a model in any scale, perfect since I wanted a larger model. The Din Djarin pose I picked is based on promotional posters for Season 2, which I used as reference when painting. You can see how I did that in the April 2022 FSM DLC. Since I wanted to place the finished figure in a diorama, I purchased files to print a speeder bike and planned a scene set on Tatooine. The diorama had to be large enough to fit the speeder bike and Din but small enough to…

After I built Dragon’s 1/35 scale Tiger I as the tank under the command of the leader of the 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, I wanted a base that clearly placed the big vehicle in France in the weeks after the D-Day landings. To do that, I added figures and built a simple base. You can read how I modified the kit in FSM’s December 2021 DLC, available for download at FineScale.com/Feb2022DLC. FINAL THOUGHTS WITH THE DOOMED SIGNPOST and the tank putting it in jeopardy in place I called the model done. A base, even a simple one, goes a long way to putting a model in context and giving it meaning.…

The Oberth-class science vessel USS Grissom appeared in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and was promptly destroyed by the Klingons. The filming miniature did survive and was remarked and appeared in several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine as well as the films Generations and First Contact. Polar Lights’ 1/350 scale Grissom comprises 79 parts, but almost two thirds of them are clear parts for windows and lights. Also included is the Polar Lights’ standard domed display base. The parts are designed with holes and supports for wiring and lights, a nice touch. Photos on the box are useful for painting and decal placement, but the actual color and marking guide is printed on the sides of inner tray. That makes the diagram…

The market for scale plastic models is quite alive and well, and new kit manufacturers continue to appear. Often, these new manufacturers immediately make a name for themselves by releasing a model of an unusual and odd subject. Thunder Model, a recent addition to the model manufacturer roster, recently produced a model of an American-made tractor — a Case VAI — in service with the U.S. Army during World War II. Definitely a model of an unusual 1/35 scale subject. The Army used the tractor for towing, digging, and various engineering tasks. So far, Thunder Model has released the tractor in two variants — I fancied the one equipped with a Hough Payloader. But what is a tractor without a place to work? If I was going to build the…

The more details you add to a model, the more interesting it becomes. You can measure a model’s success by how long it maintains viewers’ attention. For aircraft, a pilot and/or ground crew can serve that purpose; for armor, interesting or unusual stowage might make the difference; and for model cars it could be a superdetailed engine or rust effects. The environment in which a subject operated is also vital to displaying it in historic operational context. I kept those things in mind as I set out to replicate a entrenched, immobile Panzer IV in a Berlin street. Although smaller and less complex than a diorama, a vignette still needs an initial vision. Decide what the main idea is and if it needs any secondary supporting elements such as a…

Right out of the gates: This is the best “fullback,” Merlin-powered Mustang in 1/72 scale — possibly in ANY scale! Arma Hobby is a relative newcomer to plastic model hobby, but this Polish company is producing quality kits that rival long-standing leaders in the industry. Arma’s Mustang features the finest recessed panel detail and excellent cockpit equipment, including separate radios and choice of two seats. Outside, you get a choice of fins: standard and with the leading-edge strake. Clear parts include camera windows for the F-6C, along with closed and opened versions of the standard canopy and the retro-fitted “Malcolm” sliding hood. Separate flaps are intended to be in the dropped position, but you can clip off the attachment tabs and raise them if you like. Options include three sets…

Online Reader Gallery Check out the latest creations from fellow modelers and FSM readers with the Online Reader Gallery. Each week, we post some of the coolest models and dioramas submitted by builders from around the world. Look for them under the “Extras” tab on the home page. Scale Model Basics Whether you’re returning to modeling, a newcomer, or an old hand looking for a refresher, FSM Scale Model Basics videos provide quick how-to advice from the editors to get you building in a hurry. Find them under the “Videos” tab on the home page. February 2022 DLC In this DLC, Phillip Gore builds a 1/24 scale Hawker Hurricane Mk.I and Mike Del Vecchio converts an M113 personnel carrier for service with NASA. Tim Boyd shows you how to kitbash…

Orphaned children are a constant but often hidden repercussion of war, and I wanted to build an Eastern Front scene showing displaced children with ICM’s 1/35 scale T-34/85 (No. 35367) and MiniArt’s railway goods wagon (No. 35288) as the backdrop. Beyond careful planning for the scene’s layout, a lot of the work focused on weathering to tie together all of the elements. I wanted the diorama to represent part of a train station but without any buildings or other large objects that might distract from the story it told. FINAL THOUGHTS TO FINISH THE RAILYARD SETTING, I added a water crane from MiniArt (No. 35567) and a buffer from Armor 35 (No. ARM35029). I imagine the children have lost their parents and are left to fend for themselves in extreme…

Academy has just released a new 1/35 scale plastic model kit of a fairly uncommon armor specimen: the Panzer II Ausf F in North African service. “Uncommon?” you ask. Well, by the time the Panzer II Ausf F began production in late 1941, the tank’s role had been switched primarily to reconnaissance. Only about 500 were built by the end of 1942 when Germany started using the chassis solely for self-propelled guns, like the Marder II. The kit includes markings for six North African vehicles, including one captured by U.S. Rangers. The instructions have clear assembly diagrams, but because of all the available options in the kit, they can get a bit complicated. I suggest you pick the version you want to build and go through the instructions crossing out…

Buick’s Wildcat debuted in 1962½ in answer to the Oldsmobile Starfire and Pontiac Grand Prix. It continued as a performance-enhanced mid-market offering positioned between Buick’s mainstream LeSabre and its luxury-focused Electra 225 until being superseded by the Buick Centurion in 1971. For 1964, AMT, as Buick’s kit maker of record, switched from producing replicas of the Electra 225 to the sportier Wildcat, which presumably would appeal to young kit buyers everywhere. Also, in 1964, AMT adopted entirely subject-specific box art for its annual kits. In keeping with this change, AMT’s art department developed a box top graphic treatment using Buick’s Wildcat badge in both outline and silhouette. Inside that box, modelers found a precisely rendered two-door hardtop body (a companion convertible kit was also offered). The pristine white styrene was…