Tabla de contenidos para July/August 2025 en FineScale Modeler

Mix equal parts of your two-part epoxy putty (like Aves Apoxie Sculpt), making a flattened snake shape approximately the width of the sandbags. The putty is tacky, so shape it on a hard surface, like glass, and smear a little petroleum jelly to keep it from sticking. Using a ruler and a sharp hobby blade, cut the putty into equal-sized pieces appropriate for the sandbag length. Cut the top corners off each rectangle to start shaping the tops of the bags. Next, with a bladed sculpting tool, define the basic shape of the tied-off end of the bag. It does not have to be too precise at this point; the final shaping will happen after the bags are placed where you want them on your model. Position the bags considering…

The U.S. main battle tank (MBT) looks cool in its standard sand color, and few tanks can stack up a resume as impressive as the Abrams. A marvel of military engineering and considered by many experts to be the most effective MBT in modern times, the U.S. Army and Marine Corps operate 4,400 M1s according to Army.mil, including numerous variants for specialized uses. And I’ve always wanted an Abrams in my scale-model armor collection. The idea was to build an Abrams quickly, without a lot of fussing around. My research pointed toward the Academy 1/35 scale U.S. Army M1A2 TUSK II (No. 13298) as the best quality-to-price compromise. It didn’t hurt that it came with the Tank Urban Survival Kit, depicting a series of improvements to allow the Abrams to…

MATT MINNICHSOFFER LINDSTROM, MINNESOTA This 1/8 scale model of the 1917 Excelsior board track racer attracted a lot of attention. Matt 3D-modeled and scratchbuilt the bike from photo references, designed the decals, had them professionally printed, and painted the bike with colors from Scale Finishes and Vallejo. STEVE SHAFFER HASTINGS, MINNESOTA Steve modeled the German Me 163B Komet captured by the British and used for testing from 1945 to 1947. He detailed the 1/32 scale Meng kit with Eduard photo-etched metal, painted with MRP lacquer, and based it on a wooden plaque he bought from an art supply store. ED ST. DENIS ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA Ed added styrene-rod guideposts to the rear hull of his 3D-printed 1/72 scale U.S. T1E1 light tank. He painted the interwar prototype with acrylics and enamels. Black wash and pigments…

Sifting through the internet, I happened to search for photos of the Comet I (A34). One from the Imperial War Museums archives showed a Comet on a bridge crossing a small river near Osnabrück, Germany, April 1945. I liked the scene: a muddy road winding to a bridge with a stone arch and brick sides covered with mortar. Part of the bridge had been damaged, and British soldiers had planted steel bars along the road’s edge as makeshift guard rails or guide posts. The photo struck me as a good reference for a diorama. But it wouldn’t be quick: the dirt road, foliage, and bridge, not to mention the water feature. Then there was the Comet — the focal point for all the additional work. What the heck? Challenge accepted!…

Anyone who has built a plastic model knows that after finishing, you’re left with a pile of sprues (also known as runners or parts trees). More often than not, these sprues end up in the trash where they are delivered to landfills. Most recycling operations can’t recycle the type of styrene plastic used in sprues and are particular on the sorting end. Even if you were to throw sprues from a model kit into your recycling bin, they’ll be rejected at the collection facility and sent to the landfill anyway. This waste may not be top of mind for many hobbyists, but a growing awareness of plastic pollution in oceans, waterways, and landfills has some people thinking. In April 2021, Japan-based Bandai Namco Group (Bandai) started the Gunpla Recycling Project…

The Godzilla Minus One hero Koichi Shikishima flies an experimental aircraft to defeat the enormous kaiju (“strange beast” in Japanese). That aircraft, a Kyushu J7W1 Shinden (Magnificent Lightning), was developed late during World War II with two prototypes but didn’t enter production before the end of the war. Toho Studios built a 1/1 replica of the Shinden for the movie (which was excellent), and Hasegawa re-released its 1996 1/48 scale Shinden kit with new decals (No. 52739) in conjunction with the studio. Hasegawa made an effort to customize the kit to match the film’s aircraft, but there are a few extra modifications that can be made for an even closer match to the movie fighter. Although an old kit, the Shinden is well-molded with an acceptable amount of detail. The…

When I opened the new HobbyBoss 1/48 scale U.S. B-24J Liberator plastic model kit, my first thought was, “We’ve got trouble right here in Rivet City.” The exterior is littered with the recessed polka dots, although the petite panel lines look fantastic. The detail on the interior parts looks soft rather than sharp. The engines are strangely shaped, and to my horror, the front and rear turrets are split straight through the center of the clear areas rather than on the natural seams. The box top notes the full interior, and HobbyBoss isn’t joking. The first 17 pages of the instructions comprise just the fuselage. At first, I thought some of the details were modern additions to warbirds that still fly, but my references showed they were installed in combat…

Roscoe Turner Invitational photo gallery The Roscoe Turner Invitational in Lebanon, Indiana, continues to be a hallmark IPMS/USA competition. This year it saw nearly 600 aircraft, armor, auto, sci-fi, and figure models on the contest tables. Of course, FineScale Modeler was on hand to shoot video and pick the models that caught our eye and take photos of them for you to enjoy. Visit FineScale.com/show-galleries and plan to be there next year! FineScale Modeler Weekly is back! After a brief hiatus, join us as we return to finish Season 4 of FineScale Modeler Weekly. Don’t miss opening and looking inside the latest kits, discovering (or re-discovering) tools and techniques for use at your workbench, and hanging out with the FSM staff as we discuss what scale-modeling news has us buzzing. Join…

A few years ago, while I was researching details for an M4 Sherman project, I stumbled across pictures of a heavily damaged and graffitied M4 sitting on a beautiful beach. The dichotomy of this trashed weapon sitting on a pristine beach was intriguing, and the graffiti made it all the more interesting. Digging deeper, I discovered this M4 sits on Flamenco Beach on Caldera Island off the coast of Puerto Rico, left by the U.S. Navy after it stopped using the island as a location for target practice. People have painted the Sherman again and again as it slowly deteriorates to eventually be claimed by the sea. I saved a few images, filing them away and making a note the tank would be an interesting subject for a modeling project…

DOUG WEBB SANFORD, FLORIDA Doug built his Hobby Boss 1/48 scale F-111D/E out of the box, except for the nose art, an aftermarket throwback to the B-17 era. He finished the aircraft with AK Interactive Real Colors lacquers and Flory washes. RYAN YOUNG CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA Ryan added largely airbrushed Tamiya 1/35 scale late-war German infantry figures with hand-painted details to his AFV Club 1/35 scale SdKfz 251/22 Pakwagen scene. He painted the tank with Tamiya acrylics and added post-shading and chipping effects after airbrushing on the camouflage. Ryan used Archer dry transfers for markings. He made the base from insulation foam and styrene sheet topped with AK Interactive groundwork products and added Green Stuff World foliage to the tree made from a real branch. Ryan added a lot of…

Today’s state-of-the-art model-car kits build into stunningly accurate replicas of 1/1 automotive subjects, even down to decals of the assembly-line worker marks across the engine compartment of the Revell 1971 Mustang Boss 351. The only decision for box-stock builders is the choice between two body graphics options. Conversely, 60 years ago, model kits were designed to offer kit builders a relatively simplified and quickly assembled replica that also provided multiple building and customizing options. A great example is the original Monogram 1/24 scale 1955 Chevrolet kit. The box top wording sold the proposition: “Modeler’s Choice Customizing Kit — Makes any of a variety of custom and stock models.” Monogram’s offering was the first 1/24 or 1/25 scale kit of Chevrolet’s 1955 Bel Air. Illustrations of showroom stock convertible and hardtop…