What an incredibly interesting collection, though as the article says, most of us will not see it unless enough money can be raised to build a suitable museum.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Look at this stash
I recently stumbled upon this article on Buzzfeed, about the US Army's Museum Support Center at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The center is the Army's repository for historical artifacts and more than 16,000 works of art reflecting military history.
What an incredibly interesting collection, though as the article says, most of us will not see it unless enough money can be raised to build a suitable museum.
Let's hope fundraising continues so that the artifacts and artwork can be enjoyed by the public. You can donate via the National Museum of the United States Army website.
What an incredibly interesting collection, though as the article says, most of us will not see it unless enough money can be raised to build a suitable museum.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Missing my favorite contest
As I write this at 11 a.m. on a Saturday morning Blizzardcon 2014 is underway in Columbus, Ohio, one of the best IPMS contests in the country. Hundreds of contest entries, great vendors, and top-flight organizers. I used to attend on a regular basis, making the flight from Newark, New Jersey to Columbus, but due to family obligations I haven't been able to attend in the last few years.
I'll write more about contests as we proceed further into the contest season in the next month or two, but I'm a big believer that every modeler should support local contests. I'll lay out a number of reasons why you should do so, but today, as I curl up and cry underneath two feet of snow, I'm reminded why I most miss attending Blizzardcon...the people. Some of my best friends in the hobby, and in my life, attend the contest, so yet another year is passing without my spending time with them.
It would be great to enter the contest and ogle at the other entries on the table; it would be nice to score a Hasegawa 1/48 F-15E as my friend Jason did an hour ago, and it would be awesome to bring home Best of Show (unlikely, but I can dream). But what I miss most is getting up at 6 a.m. to meet Mark, Graham, his wife Christie, Kurt, Dick, the other Mark, Jason, and others at a local breakfast joint. I'll miss shooting the bull throughout the day. I'll miss the emotional downer of packing up at the end of the day. And I'll miss the post-contest dinner where we talk about our favorite models in the contest and ponder what we might build for next year. Those are the reasons I attend contests.
Maybe next year.
I'll write more about contests as we proceed further into the contest season in the next month or two, but I'm a big believer that every modeler should support local contests. I'll lay out a number of reasons why you should do so, but today, as I curl up and cry underneath two feet of snow, I'm reminded why I most miss attending Blizzardcon...the people. Some of my best friends in the hobby, and in my life, attend the contest, so yet another year is passing without my spending time with them.
It would be great to enter the contest and ogle at the other entries on the table; it would be nice to score a Hasegawa 1/48 F-15E as my friend Jason did an hour ago, and it would be awesome to bring home Best of Show (unlikely, but I can dream). But what I miss most is getting up at 6 a.m. to meet Mark, Graham, his wife Christie, Kurt, Dick, the other Mark, Jason, and others at a local breakfast joint. I'll miss shooting the bull throughout the day. I'll miss the emotional downer of packing up at the end of the day. And I'll miss the post-contest dinner where we talk about our favorite models in the contest and ponder what we might build for next year. Those are the reasons I attend contests.
Maybe next year.
Monday, February 3, 2014
A few tips
Over the weekend Aircraft Resource Center user DutyCat wrote about his experiences building the Hasegawa 1/72 F-14 on this thread, and I echoed his thoughts on one item in particular. He pointed out that, after a coat or two of paint, the axles on landing gear often won't fit into the hole in the wheels. I've encountered the same difficulty over the years, also upon trying to insert landing gear into the fuselage/wings as well. It's very frustrating to be so close to completing a model only to find out parts won't fit. I contributed my "cure" for this problem on DutyCat's thread, but I thought I'd share it here with a couple more random modeling tips I've picked up along the way.
Attachment points
I struggle with alignment, a lot. Getting parts to fit and adhere correctly is crucial in building a model (especially if you seek the great fame, wealth, and glory that accompanies a win at an IPMS contest), so lately I've been masking areas that will serve as mating surfaces for two parts. For example, on the B-26 I just finished I used thin strips of Tamiya tape to mask the narrow areas where the bulkheads joined the fuselage. This, I hope, provides a strong bond of those parts.
To DutyCat's observation on ARC, I've been using Micro Mask to ensure that the holes and mating surfaces for landing gear and wheels remain clean of paint, which eases assembly and ultimately provides a strong bond. Is all of this tedious? Yes, but anything that helps me during assembly is a good thing.
Paint chips
I love weathering. It's my favorite part of the model building process, and for me it begins with painting and ends with paint chips. I used to use silver paint to represent paint chips, but I've found that it's not condusive to creating "chips" small enough and jagged enough to look realistic. I've seen well-painted models with paint chips that resemble silver amoeba rather than irregular and jagged damage.
A better medium for me has been artist pencils. Using an inexpensive pencil sharpner, I can get them sharp enough to create very fine "chips," lightly tapping the pencil on the model to create the smallest chips. The trick then becomes creating chips that appear realistic, which is difficult and time consuming. I spent approximately two hours on the paint chips on my B-26.
Color
I'm a proponent of scale effect. I won't bore you with a technical explanation, but if you're new to the hobby the concept simply suggests that colors become less intense in smaller scales. For me it means that I never use paint directly out of the bottle. Every color I apply to a model is muted or altered in some way, and it's especially true of the so-called primary colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet), and white and black. I always reduce the intensity of these colors by adding another color to them.
For example, my B-26 features black and white D-Day invasion stripes. Rather than apply those colors directly from the bottle, I added a little tan to the white paint and white and tan to the black paint to weather them and avoid the stark contrast that a bright white and dark black would impart. The same holds true for the yellow on the tips of the propeller blades, which was toned down using tan and white.
I hope you can use these ideas for your models. I'll share some additional tips in the future.
Attachment points
I struggle with alignment, a lot. Getting parts to fit and adhere correctly is crucial in building a model (especially if you seek the great fame, wealth, and glory that accompanies a win at an IPMS contest), so lately I've been masking areas that will serve as mating surfaces for two parts. For example, on the B-26 I just finished I used thin strips of Tamiya tape to mask the narrow areas where the bulkheads joined the fuselage. This, I hope, provides a strong bond of those parts.
To DutyCat's observation on ARC, I've been using Micro Mask to ensure that the holes and mating surfaces for landing gear and wheels remain clean of paint, which eases assembly and ultimately provides a strong bond. Is all of this tedious? Yes, but anything that helps me during assembly is a good thing.
Paint chips
I love weathering. It's my favorite part of the model building process, and for me it begins with painting and ends with paint chips. I used to use silver paint to represent paint chips, but I've found that it's not condusive to creating "chips" small enough and jagged enough to look realistic. I've seen well-painted models with paint chips that resemble silver amoeba rather than irregular and jagged damage.
A better medium for me has been artist pencils. Using an inexpensive pencil sharpner, I can get them sharp enough to create very fine "chips," lightly tapping the pencil on the model to create the smallest chips. The trick then becomes creating chips that appear realistic, which is difficult and time consuming. I spent approximately two hours on the paint chips on my B-26.
I'm a proponent of scale effect. I won't bore you with a technical explanation, but if you're new to the hobby the concept simply suggests that colors become less intense in smaller scales. For me it means that I never use paint directly out of the bottle. Every color I apply to a model is muted or altered in some way, and it's especially true of the so-called primary colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet), and white and black. I always reduce the intensity of these colors by adding another color to them.
For example, my B-26 features black and white D-Day invasion stripes. Rather than apply those colors directly from the bottle, I added a little tan to the white paint and white and tan to the black paint to weather them and avoid the stark contrast that a bright white and dark black would impart. The same holds true for the yellow on the tips of the propeller blades, which was toned down using tan and white.
I hope you can use these ideas for your models. I'll share some additional tips in the future.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
We are a lazy bunch
The line between modeler and collector is getting fuzzy, and it's because we are lazy.
There, I've said it. Hate me for saying it, but someone has to stand up and express the concern that we're slowly losing whatever sense of craftsmanship we might have.
What separates us modelers from model collectors -- the guys who buy pre-assembled, pre-painted diecast models -- is that we are engineers, craftsmen, artists. At least we aspire to be. You see, anyone with the money can buy a diecast model and put it on a shelf. Modelers are better than that. We create representations of aircraft, armor, ships, and vehicles with our hands. The models that sit in our display cases showcase our skill, talent, and experience. That's a privilege that people who engage in other hobbies enjoy.
I worry that every year we hand off that responsibility to the aftermarket industry. (To be clear, I don't fault the industry. They're simply giving us what we ask for.) I present the following evidence to the court:
If you use any of these products, you are lazy. When I use them (and I admit I do) I lose a little bit of self-respect. I firmly believe that with practice and time I -- and you -- can master the effects that all of these items provide. The sense of pride we'd would feel would be much greater than simply using a collection of pre-made bits and pieces in an effort to build something "better."
Here's a recent example. Some modelers are asking the decal manufacturers to produce decals for the RAM panels on the new 1/72 F-35 kits. Really? I admit, masking them will be tedious, but won't that result in something better? And isn't tedious what this hobby is all about? How many times has someone looked at your models and said, "Oh, I could never be that patient." But we are. At least we used to be.
I know, you could argue that model kits themselves are cheating when we could build models from scratch. That's true. I could also manufacture my own paints and glues. But we have to draw the line somewhere, otherwise we'll find ourselves admiring 200 tables of diecast models at the 2025 IPMS National Convention.
Here's my advice. Don't be afraid to rely on your skills to do what seems difficult. You'll find a greater sense of satisfaction.
There, I've said it. Hate me for saying it, but someone has to stand up and express the concern that we're slowly losing whatever sense of craftsmanship we might have.
What separates us modelers from model collectors -- the guys who buy pre-assembled, pre-painted diecast models -- is that we are engineers, craftsmen, artists. At least we aspire to be. You see, anyone with the money can buy a diecast model and put it on a shelf. Modelers are better than that. We create representations of aircraft, armor, ships, and vehicles with our hands. The models that sit in our display cases showcase our skill, talent, and experience. That's a privilege that people who engage in other hobbies enjoy.
I worry that every year we hand off that responsibility to the aftermarket industry. (To be clear, I don't fault the industry. They're simply giving us what we ask for.) I present the following evidence to the court:
- Resin cockpits
- Pre-painted photoetch
- Canopy masks
- Camouflage masks
- Off-the-shelf weathering washes
- Paint chip decals
- Printed flightline surfaces
If you use any of these products, you are lazy. When I use them (and I admit I do) I lose a little bit of self-respect. I firmly believe that with practice and time I -- and you -- can master the effects that all of these items provide. The sense of pride we'd would feel would be much greater than simply using a collection of pre-made bits and pieces in an effort to build something "better."
Here's a recent example. Some modelers are asking the decal manufacturers to produce decals for the RAM panels on the new 1/72 F-35 kits. Really? I admit, masking them will be tedious, but won't that result in something better? And isn't tedious what this hobby is all about? How many times has someone looked at your models and said, "Oh, I could never be that patient." But we are. At least we used to be.
I know, you could argue that model kits themselves are cheating when we could build models from scratch. That's true. I could also manufacture my own paints and glues. But we have to draw the line somewhere, otherwise we'll find ourselves admiring 200 tables of diecast models at the 2025 IPMS National Convention.
Here's my advice. Don't be afraid to rely on your skills to do what seems difficult. You'll find a greater sense of satisfaction.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Great flying in the movies
There's a fun thread over on ARC asking about favorite flying scene from the movies. My first thought always turns to Iron Eagle, where Doug, flying Cessna 150 Aerobat, races Knotcher, riding a motorcycle. As I said in my response to the thread, seeing an F-14 go vertical or P-51s dogfight is almost not a big deal considering they're designed to do that, but watching that Cessna being pushed to the edge of its capabilities -- and probably beyond -- is aviation magic. That the pilot behind the controls was the late Art Scholl shouldn't be surprising.
Some trivia: from what I can tell that same airplane, N9828J, is still flying, owned by Albatros Corporation near Oxnard, California.
This clip makes the venerable old Cessna 150 looks downright exciting! Enjoy.
Some trivia: from what I can tell that same airplane, N9828J, is still flying, owned by Albatros Corporation near Oxnard, California.
This clip makes the venerable old Cessna 150 looks downright exciting! Enjoy.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Rethinking conversions
Twenty years ago aftermarket conversions were extremely exciting. A number of small companies were regularly releasing conversions for aircraft and armor that, at the time, we were sure would never be produced by the mainstream manufacturers. If you wanted an M4A2 Sherman in 1992 you had to buy the Panzer Concepts or Verlinden conversion. Eager to build a Pzkpfw II Ausf. C? You got the MB Models conversion. If you built flying things and wanted a 1/72 F-101B you looked for the Airmodel conversion, and a full kit of the B-66 was available only as a vacuform kit.
My, how times have changed!
Despite cries that our hobby is dying, we're at a point in its ongoing evolution where anything is possible. Just look at all the great kits that were released last year and announced for 2014. This must be an incredibly difficult time to be in the business of conversion kits, because no matter how obscure the subject, there's a very real possibility that one of the mainstream manufacturers will produce it sooner than later. And with little notice!
Look at the armor community for a recent example. The Leopard C2 MEXAS has been seen service in Afghanistan since 2006 and intrigued me as soon as I first saw it. Recently Trackjam Models stepped up to produce a MEXAS conversion for the Italeri/Revell kit, and I quickly put it on my personal wish list as I awaited its release.
But then two, um, bad things happened. First Legend Productions released its own MEXAS conversion (no wait required), and then Takom announced its upcoming release of a complete, injection molded kit.
My excitement about the Takom kit was tempered only with the realization that the folks behind the Trackjam conversion may have lost a good degree of momentum, guessing that most modelers will prefer a buying kit rather than a conversion. While Legend might be able to absorb diminished sales of their conversion, a small, cottage industry shop like Trackjam has much more invested in terms of their overall resources. That said, as Trackjam specializes in Canadian subjects, I think modelers are confident that their MEXAS conversion will be a great product and might even be used to correct any errors on the Takom kit.
As I look at other conversions I'd like to buy, I find myself re-thinking just how urgently I want them. A little voice inside my head tells me that if I wait long enough someone will eventually produce a kit. I've always liked the Israeli Nagmashot, yet I've been putting off buying the Legend conversion because it's not hard to envision Meng producing a kit of it in the next year or two, particularly if their Achzarit sells well. The same is true for those less detailed kits of more obscure subjects. For example, I have a Heller 1/72 Saab Viggen in the stash, which will require significant effort to superdetail. How long will it be before Trumpeter or Hobby Boss produces a new tool kit of that jet? Ditto for a new kit of the F-106 that's better than Hasegawa's ancient offering?
Are you re-thinking purchases in light of the new kits we're seeing? How long are you willing to wait for a complete kit rather than use a conversion?
My, how times have changed!
Despite cries that our hobby is dying, we're at a point in its ongoing evolution where anything is possible. Just look at all the great kits that were released last year and announced for 2014. This must be an incredibly difficult time to be in the business of conversion kits, because no matter how obscure the subject, there's a very real possibility that one of the mainstream manufacturers will produce it sooner than later. And with little notice!
Look at the armor community for a recent example. The Leopard C2 MEXAS has been seen service in Afghanistan since 2006 and intrigued me as soon as I first saw it. Recently Trackjam Models stepped up to produce a MEXAS conversion for the Italeri/Revell kit, and I quickly put it on my personal wish list as I awaited its release.
But then two, um, bad things happened. First Legend Productions released its own MEXAS conversion (no wait required), and then Takom announced its upcoming release of a complete, injection molded kit.
My excitement about the Takom kit was tempered only with the realization that the folks behind the Trackjam conversion may have lost a good degree of momentum, guessing that most modelers will prefer a buying kit rather than a conversion. While Legend might be able to absorb diminished sales of their conversion, a small, cottage industry shop like Trackjam has much more invested in terms of their overall resources. That said, as Trackjam specializes in Canadian subjects, I think modelers are confident that their MEXAS conversion will be a great product and might even be used to correct any errors on the Takom kit.
As I look at other conversions I'd like to buy, I find myself re-thinking just how urgently I want them. A little voice inside my head tells me that if I wait long enough someone will eventually produce a kit. I've always liked the Israeli Nagmashot, yet I've been putting off buying the Legend conversion because it's not hard to envision Meng producing a kit of it in the next year or two, particularly if their Achzarit sells well. The same is true for those less detailed kits of more obscure subjects. For example, I have a Heller 1/72 Saab Viggen in the stash, which will require significant effort to superdetail. How long will it be before Trumpeter or Hobby Boss produces a new tool kit of that jet? Ditto for a new kit of the F-106 that's better than Hasegawa's ancient offering?
Are you re-thinking purchases in light of the new kits we're seeing? How long are you willing to wait for a complete kit rather than use a conversion?
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
The kit I'm most looking forward to in 2014
If 2013 was any indication, 2014 promises to be an exciting year for scale modelers. Looking at the list of 2014 new kit releases on Cybermodeler there's something for all of us to look forward to. Kitty Hawk's Seasprite, UH-1Y, and AH-1Z. The Su-33 Sea Flanker from Aviation Art. Trumpeter's 2S7 Pion and T-80. Another huge 1/200 scale ship from Trumpeter.
Someone recently asked me what I'm most looking forward to, and my answer was...the kit we don't yet know about.
Seriously, look back one year to January 1, 2013. We knew nothing about the most exciting kits that were announced or released during the year. Who would've guessed we'd see a new tool 1/72 F3D Skyknight, a 1/48 MiG-25, a 1/35 IDF D9R, or three Object 279s! Or that we'd learn that a 1/48 MiG-31 is in the works or a 2S7 Pion is on the horizon?
This is why 2014 is exciting. We now know that the manufacturers are willing to keep some of their best projects under wraps until the last minute. At this point I'd venture that whatever secrets reside in the hangers of Area 51 are far less interesting than what Kitty Hawk, Trumpeter, and Meng have in store for us.
And as the manufacturers announce these new kits, I ask that you remember one of the five questions you should stop asking: When is it going to be released? It'll get here when it gets here.
Someone recently asked me what I'm most looking forward to, and my answer was...the kit we don't yet know about.
Seriously, look back one year to January 1, 2013. We knew nothing about the most exciting kits that were announced or released during the year. Who would've guessed we'd see a new tool 1/72 F3D Skyknight, a 1/48 MiG-25, a 1/35 IDF D9R, or three Object 279s! Or that we'd learn that a 1/48 MiG-31 is in the works or a 2S7 Pion is on the horizon?
This is why 2014 is exciting. We now know that the manufacturers are willing to keep some of their best projects under wraps until the last minute. At this point I'd venture that whatever secrets reside in the hangers of Area 51 are far less interesting than what Kitty Hawk, Trumpeter, and Meng have in store for us.
And as the manufacturers announce these new kits, I ask that you remember one of the five questions you should stop asking: When is it going to be released? It'll get here when it gets here.
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