In Progress
9/2019: One of the Star Wars
subjects I've wanted to add to my 1:72
scale personal collection, the B-Wing
Fighter from BanDai is no
disappointment...
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In Progress 4/2019:
Tamiya's new M3A1 Scout Car is a welcomed
addition to all the other its now available
in this scale. After patiently cleaning it
up, the fun begins...
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In
Progress 1/2019: Hobby Boss' FAV
is a small, but richly detailed vehicle that
I've wanted to model at least once since the
mid-1980's. Finally fulfilling scale modeler's
desires to have this subject done in
injection-molded plastic, this kit is
challenging and fun all at the same time...... |
In Progress 2/2019:
Just like Roden's Dodge M37 Trucks preceding
this release, the M43 Ambulance calls for a
lot of cleanup during assembly. It is not a
"weekend kit". There is a lot of
test-fitting required to ensure you set the
components in the correct positions and
orientations, but with careful attention
things do go well...
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In Progress 2/2019:
I've been wanting a new Sheridan after the
experience(s) I had with the resin Jaguar
Models kit. I was chomping at the bit
waiting for this one to hit the shelves...
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In Progress 11/2018: AFV
Club's new 5-ton Cargo Truck has jumped into
my collection, and I jumped into four new
conversion projects with it. It's
highly-detailed and sophisticated in design
- perhaps a handful for less-skilled
modelers. I'm finding the cleanup during
construction lengthy, but...
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In
Progress 9/2013: Another miniature for
my growing collection of T-214 series of WWII
Dodge Trucks, this WC-54 is being converted
into a Signals Truck. The base kit is from
Bilek, and is a joy to work with. I am
improving the kit with Skybow Wheels and other
items to raise the level of detail, and intend
to keep the roof section removable... |
In
Progress 6/2018: I love American
High-Speed Tractors. I got this, and its
sister kit, when they first came out. I don't
know why I waited so long to get into them,
but I'm sure glad I did. This one has been
pretty rewarding so far... |
In
Progress 1/2015: Another hypothetical
Sherman Tank I've always wanted to model for
my collection, this M4A1E8 Medium Assault Tank
is equipped with the long-barreled 90mm gun
from the Super Pershing as an answer to the
German King Tiger in a protracted World War
II... |
In
Progress 1/2014: One of finest detailed
and most challenging truck models I have ever
undertaken. I find it exhausting and thrilling
all at the same time - and I'm only making
progress in small steps... |
An
outstanding 1:35 scale rendering of the WWII
Jeep, Bronco Models' kit is a little
over-engineered in some places and a
complicated build at times, but it turns out
to be a wonderful miniature in the end. I
turned this kit into a simple representation
of a subject I've wanted to do for a long time
- the US Army's gift to Admiral Nimitz in
Hawaii. It is reported that the Admiral loved
his Jeep, and it was a common sight around
Oahu... |
The
next Gama Goat for my collection is Tamiya's
M792 Ambulance... |
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Completed
11/2015 I have always wanted to
model the Sherman Jumbo for my collection.
Naturally, I couldn't settle upon a
standard Jumbo though. I'm modeling the
unusual tank called "Aquino".
Tasca/Asuka's M4A3E2 Sherman Assault Tank
is a great model kit, and leaves the
modeler plenty of room to customize and
add additional details...
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Completed
6/2015: A longtime subject I've
wanted to add to my collection of
Sherman Tank models, this is a
representation of the proposed 90mm Gun
equipped M4 - often called "Sherming". I
am building a model of the only Sherman
modified using the turret from the M26
Pershing, #30103950, which was a
Chrysler-built Sherman M4(105) Howitzer
Tank in June 1944 into what it might
have looked like accepted into service
during a protracted World War II.
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Completed
12/2015: I spent
2015 pulling old and forgotten projects
out of storage to finish them up. I
started this one several years ago, but
only pressed on to finish one of two
Dragon Operation Cobra Sherman kits as one
I wanted to do for a long time...
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Completed
5/2018: With the long-awaited
impending release of AFV Club's
injection-molded 5-ton Cargo Truck, it is
likely my 18+ years of scratch/bashing 5-ton
truck conversions is quietly coming to an
end. "Easy Rider" has been a challenge and a
lot of fun...
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Completed
7/2018: Having
built a few Dragon Models Sherman tank
kits, you'll quickly a generous amount of
spares. So much so you can't help but
wonder if you could build a whole other
kit with them. I certainly did, and set
out to use three boxes of leftover parts
to add this early M4A3(105) Sherman
Assault Tank to my collection...
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Completed
4/2017: Building another AFV Club
1:350 scale Gato-Class Fleet Submarine
reminded me of the challenge and
frustrations found in working with such
small parts. This time around, I still
didn't experience a lot of fun working out
the photoetched parts, wishing they had
been offered in styrene. The
second version of the Gato-Class (1942)
in my collection is a reprentation of
USS Cavalla...
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Completed
4/2015: Tamiya's release of the M561
Gama Goat was much welcomed - more so than
the actual vehicle was when introduced to
the troops. Nicely detailed, Tamiya left
plenty opportunity to add even more
details for the avid modeler...
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Completed
3/2017: A long time coming, many
armor modelers wished Tamiya would produce
a new M10 Tank Destroyer to finally put
their old one away for good. Though simple
in some respects, the new Tamiya model is
engineered for easy assembly and a bit
less cleanup than other recent efforts in
this scale. I was encouraged to fill up
some of the voids with extra detailing to
help bring it to life..
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Completed
8/2014: Participating in the 2010
Softskins Campaign over on Armorama.com, I
chose to set out on a longtime,
always-wanted-to-do, project in creating a
Dodge WC-64KD (Knock-Down) Ambulance for
my personal collection of Dodge T-214
Series of Trucks from WWII. Here, I am
basing my scratch-conversion efforts off
Skybow's excellent WC-51/52 3/4-ton
Weapons Carrier. After a bit of a delay, I
resumed working on my project and decided
to incorporate ADV/Azimut's conversion for
the old Italeri Weapons Carrier model kit.
Another delay, even longer, resulted in
unsuccessful attempts to correct warpage
problems with the ADV/Azimut resin parts,
prompting me to switch gears and reboot
the project with a scratch/conversion of
the remaining Skybow WC-51 Weapons Carrier
parts. I probably should have done this to
begin with...
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Completed
10/2017: M5A1 Stuart Light Tank
"Babs / Paper Doll", Bambiano, Italy 1944.
This is a miniature dedicated to my wife
for our 15th Wedding Anniversary. Every
five years, I build a model that was
nicknamed "Babs". This one is an example
that served in Italy during the Battle for
Monte Cassino in World War II. There is a
photo of it in R.P. Hunnicutt's STUART
reference book. The model is Formations
Model's excellent M5A1 Stuart - with a
whole lot of extra items to flesh out the
Interior and Engine Deck underneath the
Grills - a whole lotta work no one will
see or likely care about when it's all
wrapped-up. After a lengthy delay, I got
back into this miniature...
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Completed
8/2017: Academy's M12 155mm Gun
Motor Carriage model has sat forgotten and
unfinished since 2000. Upon discovering it
while looking for some (still) missing
detail part, I decided to return to
it and finish the project...
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Completed
2/2016: Italeri's nice, and
overlooked in this age of hyper-detailed
model kit, M47 Patton (II) MBT. This is
another one I work on between projects and
reviews simply because I want a complete
series of Patton Tanks in my collection.
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Completed
5/2012:
I really like miniature Submarine
subjects, but rarely see ones that look
like the real thing. There are a lot of
vogue techniques out there to hype-up the
finish and presentation of models because
most of the time, reality is boring. When
I approached AFV Club's excellent 1:350
scale Gato-Class Fleet Submarine (1941), I
wanted to address the all-black schemes
these early boats wore and keep it more
realistic (boring) and not stray into the
bombastic and overly-rusted examples I've
seen. It's not popular in model shows and
contests, but who cares...
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