Tabla de contenidos para March/April 2026 en FineScale Modeler

The Mitsubishi J2M Raiden (a combination of the Japanese kanji Rai (thunder) and Den (lightning) and translated variously as “lightning bolt” or “thunderbolt”), Allied reporting code “Jack,” was a bold departure from normal Japanese design philosophy. Instead of prioritizing maneuverability, range, and lightness like most other Japanese fighters, the Raiden was designed to combat the high-flying B-29 Superfortresses over Japan by emphasizing rate of climb, speed, firepower, and armor protection. As such, it was a point defense interceptor with a single purpose: to bring down B-29s and protect the homeland. Designed by famed Japanese aeronautical engineer Jiro Horikoshi, who also designed the Mitsubishi A6M Reisen (Zero fighter), the Raiden was powered by an 1,800 horsepower Mitsubishi Kasei (Mars) 23a 14-cylinder engine. With a maximum speed of 365 mph at 17,390…

A 1968 Kaiser Jeep advertisement promoting its M715 1¼-ton military truck declared, “A new truck for a new Army.” Ironically, the guts of the new military truck were hardly new, based largely on the Jeep Gladiator pickup introduced in 1962. Moreover, the M715 featured an innovative but troublesome overhead-cam engine that would disappear from civilian versions about the same time soldiers started receiving the M715. In order to save time and cost, the U.S. Army kept modifications to the civilian truck to a minimum. The result was a vehicle that seemed to have been spawned in Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory. The utilitarian cargo bed mated to the stylish sheet metal of the Gladiator’s hood and fenders; a scar remained evident where the curved and raked windshield had been discarded in favor…

ROBERT PROKOP CHASKA, MINNESOTA Robert built this War Paint Studio 1/6 scale Vietnam OH-58 door gunner and added scratchbuilt safety harness straps, a comms cord, M-60 bungee, and the inside of the door. He painted and weathered with various acrylics and artist oils and added decals he found online. For the scenery, Robert used heavy-duty acrylic rod and artificial plants from an art store trimmed to size and arranged around the rod. DECLAN CHODAK CHERRY HILL, NEW JERSEY Declan scratchbuilt a base from styrene strip and finished it with acrylic paints and artist oils for his Cix Models 1/35 scale 1913 Indian board track racer and pilot. He painted the figure with Tamiya lacquers, Vallejo acrylics, and weathered with Winsor & Newton artist oils to make a figure and bike…

Often described as a dive bomber and predecessor to the Ju 87 Stuka, the Henschel Hs 123 was more rightly considered a close air support aircraft, gaining fame as a sturdy and reliable aircraft in the face of austere field operations. Designed before the war began, the Hs 123 was employed throughout the Spanish Civil War — as seen in this boxing — and served until near the end of World War II. The ICM 1/32 scale Hs 123A Legion Condor plastic model kit has sufficient cockpit detail, although it lacks seat belts. Weapons options are included, however, according to my research, the bombs used in the Spanish Civil War look more like the ones in the kit that have the fuse extenders in the nose, but the extenders were…

Introduced in the 1960s, the MD-3A “Mule” tow tractor was used to move aircraft around on aircraft carrier decks until the late 1990s. It came equipped with a compressor used for starting aircraft engines. The Reskit 1/32 scale MD-3A “Mule” tow tractor 3D-printed resin model would be appropriate to display with a variety of 1/32 scale U.S. Navy aircraft, including A-4, F-4, F-14, F-8, EA-6B, and F-18 jets. I was impressed by the care with which the kit was packaged. Not only were some parts swaddled in bubble wrap, but many parts included protective cages to avoid damage. Even though removing the protective cages adds to the cleanup, it is well worth the extra time because no parts were damaged in my sample. Carefully remove the printer supports from all…

Many hobbyists today do not recognize the Aurora name as a maker of model kits. Yet, 60 years ago, Aurora was one of the world’s top producers of scale models. But as strong as Aurora’s product range was, it was but a minor player in 1/25 scale automotive kits. Aurora set out to change that with a new series of international sports car kits and the introduction of two “double kits” (two complete model kits in one box). The first of these included factory showroom stock and hot-rodded 1934 Ford five-window coupes; the second double kit was based on the 1922 Ford Model T. The “Double Deuce” kit provided parts to build both a showroom stock automobile and a stereotypical late 1950s or early 1960s hot rod Model T (often…

Hello fellow modelers I would definitely fall into the category of old modelers. I was introduced to inexpensive 1/72 scale airplanes when I was about 10 and was very fortunate to have a group of peers who all liked building. We built cars, a few ships, and a lot of planes before I left home for the Navy at 17. Most of this was the 1970s. I rediscovered building after a few years in the Navy and a more stable housing situation. Built a lot of tanks and aircraft as my interest shifted over the years. In 1982, I found a copy of FSM at a local shop in California. It became my routine to stop in when your new issues were released. While you often covered topics I was…

One of my favorite movies, The Flight of the Phoenix from 1965, is about a small group whose twin-engine cargo plane gets caught in a sandstorm and makes an emergency crash landing deep in the Sahara Desert. One of the passengers, a brilliant aircraft designer, tells the other survivors that a smaller, single-engine plane can be built from the wreckage and fly them to safety. The others know there is no hope of rescue and this long-shot option is preferable to slowly dying in the desert. For decades, I’ve wanted to add a Phoenix model to my collection. Since no manufacturer has offered a kit of it, I convinced myself the easiest way to acquire one was to do what they did in the movie — start by heavily modifying…

RICHARD SCHAFFER SPARTA, WISCONSIN “The model depicts an aircraft used for artillery spotting and light bombing,” Richard said of his Wingnut Wings 1/32 scale Rumpler C.IV. He superdetailed the engine and spruced up the cockpit with aftermarket seat belts. Richard painted with acrylics and lacquers from Tamiya, AK Interactive, and Ammo, and weathered with washes typically used on green vehicles, and added artist oils and pastels to simulate dirt. VICTOR DEMICHEI MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN Victor calls this 1/25 scale unit the Autonomous Amphibious Urban Assault Vehicle. Coming completely from his imagination, Victor scratchbuilt this model. It includes a bomb-sniffing“robo” dog, wheels made from Nerf bullets, motors derived from earbuds, four 8-foot-tall robot officers, a .50-caliber machine gun, water cannon, concussion rockets with launcher, and a plethora of equipment fit for a…

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has a decades-long record of deploying heavy D9 bulldozers in combat. First used during the Suez War (Operation Kadesh) in 1956, successive versions of the beast have appeared over the years performing combat engineering and assault missions. The commercial version of the Caterpillar D9 is huge and heavy, comparable to a medium tank in weight. By the 1990s, the IDF had started adding even more weight by protecting its bulldozers with a comprehensive armor package. In this configuration, a D9’s weight and dimensions are on par with a Merkava MBT. The IDF relies on armored D9s in urban combat, often using them to clear paths and collapse structures. They can be fitted with several different dozer blades and plows, and one version can be operated…

The M915 line-haul tractor widely used by the U.S. Army starting in the late 1970s, has been repeatedly upgraded for decades. The Trumpeter 1/35 scale M915 gun truck plastic model kit takes an early version of the semi-tractor and depicts a field conversion from a hauler to an armed and armored truck ready for convoy security duty. Trumpeter did a nice job with the parts in this kit, all exhibiting good detail and mostly decent fits. The 16-page instruction booklet is easy to understand and follow, too, though it only offers color callouts for the exterior. The armored box, bed, cab, and hood are all molded as single parts. Unfortunately, the gun turret mount is molded into the box along with the hardware for the roof hatch. However, it would…

For a Star Wars lover like me, the Bandai kits for the universe have always been impressive. Inexplicably, I’m drawn to the AT-AT, and have built many — usually one that’s functioning. This time around, I wanted to build one of the behemoths destroyed in battle. With a 1/144 scale AT-AT kit in hand, I reviewed the contents and planned the build process. Considering the modifications I intended to make, and the number of parts packed into the box, I knew I was in for a good time, especially since I’d already built this kit three times before!…

MATT MINNICHSOFFER LINDSTROM, MINNESOTA Matt built an Eduard 1/48 scale P-51B Mustang box stock and decorated it in D-Day markings for Flying Scot II/Vicious Virgie flying out of Bodney, England, piloted by Lt. Carleton Fuhrman. He primed the plane with Mr. Finish 1500, pre-shaded panel lines, and painted the natural-metal finish first. Next came the blue nose, and Matt left the invasion stripes for last. Pastels colored the nose and wings for exhaust. ROB TEUBERT EDGERTON, WISCONSIN This 1/72 scale Char I Bis wears markings for the Free French Forces in 1944. Rob reworked the front vision slot, added cast texture to the Trumpeter kit’s turret and hull, and installed exhaust covers, rear chain hooks, and chains. AK Interactive acrylics furnished the tank’s colors, and he hand-painted the markings to…

My fascination with military engineering vehicles has led me down many conversion paths and projects over the years. However, I think one type of vehicle often gets overlooked: the humble bulldozer. When MiniArt released several different kits of the Caterpillar D7 in 1/35 scale, this oversight was, in my opinion, corrected. The next step, naturally, was to build one. I chose the U.S. armored tractor with angled dozer blade (No. 35291). The mountain of sprues inside the box made me wonder where all the parts would go, considering the finished D7 measures only 4 inches long, minus the blade. It’s a complicated build with many tiny parts, but it turns into a detailed model of the workhorse of many World War II Allied military engineering outfits. The kit itself offers…

The Semovente M43 “Bassotto” was a self-propelled gun built on a lowered and widened chassis from the M15/52 tank with a 105mm howitzer. Only 30 were built before Italy’s armistice in 1943, with an additional 91 built by Germany. The 1/35 scale Semovente M43 da 105/25 Bassotto plastic model kit leans into Italeri’s reputation for covering unique World War II armor subjects. Of the eight plastic sprues provided, two appear to be from a previous Italeri release, the M42 75/18, but the rest are all new. The reused parts trees are for running gear common among many Italian tracked vehicles and interior details. Construction starts with the vehicle interior. There aren’t a lot of interior references for the Semovente, but the parts provide a decent representation of what I could…

The redesigned Honda Prelude was announced in 2023, and following its production and rollout in 2025, Tamiya introduced the 1/24 scale Honda Prelude (BF1) plastic model kit. During cleanup, I found some fine mold lines that were tough to see and removed those. I did make one minor change and filled the locator holes for the license plate on the front fascia with superglue. I prefer to leave the front plates off my car models whenever I can. The Prelude’s chassis and suspension look good with nice details, especially considering it’s a curbside model. Both build up quite easily, but be prepared to spend time painting the chassis if you want to follow the instructions to the letter. I did, and I enjoyed the process. The interior is engineered so…