Home of the modeling savants....Celebrating forty years of modeling fun, education, and history in 2024!

Michael Teerman brought in another one of his fabulous dioramas.  This one he called Wo sind wir (Where are we?)  The kit and figures are Master Box scale 1/35, the base is extruded foam insulation board, the road is his usual acrylic latex caulk and painted with acrylics.  The power pole is a wood dowel, copper wire, and glass beads.  Ground cover is from various sources.  What we have here is German officer asking for directions.  And they say men won’t stop and ask for directions!  Great job, Michael!

Let’s start with the new guy, Mark Walling.  He brought in his 1/35 Tamiya PBR used in Vietnam from 1966-1975.  The rope is from Hobby Lobby.  The original PBR’s were 31’ long and later they were 32’.  Great job, Mark!  Looks like you know what you are doing to me!  Welcome!

Mark Jahsan brought us another theme today: Bunker Hill Air Group circa 1945.  All kits were 1/48 and the Corsair F4U and the Hellcat F6F photo recon plane were constructed 25 years ago from Otaki kits.  Mark said the Pro Modeler Helldiver SB2C dive bomber was a good kit and Accurate Miniatures was responsible for the Avenger TBM.  These models were built in Jan-Feb of this year.

The new guy is at the top left....

I gotta say Burggren really honked me off today.  A real SA!  The paint finish on his Buick Lola IndyCar is smoother than a baby’s butt…and no clearcoat.  He says he just brushes on two coats of Testors in the small bottle.  I smell a rat.  So, I have instructed him to put on a painting clinic at the next WS.  Incredible finish…no brush marks at all.  I hate this guy….  He made no changes to the kit except new decals.  Did I mention I hate this guy?  And we can’t even get rid of him…he’s President for life!!

REMEMBER TO START DOWNLOADING (COPY AND PASTE) ANY OF YOUR MODEL PHOTOS YOU WANT TO KEEP!!

Tulgey Farm abandoned cow bar
3/4/22
Scale: HO  (size 8 x 7”)
Structure is 100% scratchbuilt.  The exterior siding is individual boards…2x6, 2x8, 2x10 and 2x12s”.  Did some minor scratch building of an interior.  The roof is rolled aluminum and a bitch to work with…paint won’t stick.  Next time I try self-etching primer for better paint adhesion.
Tractor and gutters 3D printed by Shapeways (thanks Al George!)
Paints used: many brands.
Scenery products: many brands
History: photos of the actual cow barn were sent to me by a friend who just built a retirement home in West Virginia and this barn is located nearby.  The woods that came with the property were name Tulgey Woods after Alice in Wonderland.  I modified the name.  The model kinda, sorta represents the actual barn.  The barn is now closed off to keep the cows out!
Two of my favorite tiny details are the concrete block and the rope.  Notice the 55-gallon drums and the log…might look odd…but that copies the prototype!
If you take a good look, you will see the barn was built on a hill and NOT leveled off!  The barn conforms to the terrain…which made construction very difficult.  Not only working with something that’s not flat, but the insulation board has to be carved to create the right contour.

Mr. Seekman displayed his 1/48 Tamiya Lancaster Dambuster.  He purchased this on eBay and was surprised to find that the kit had already been started.  What a mess!  He painted this beauty with Gunze Mr. Color, XTRADecals, Belcher Bits resin engines, Eduard PE interior and Super Fabric seatbelts, Quickboost gun barrels, and he weathered with oils and pastels.  Jeez!  Oh, and the aft wheel well bulkheads are terrible.  He should know…he’s built four of these and thinking about a fifth!!  Great job, Doug!