Η Τέχνη του Μοντελισμού σε Λεπτομέρεια

Weathering the Greek jet fighters

Killen-Strait armoured tractor - case report

Lads!!    Today, we will discuss the remarkable Killen-Strait armoured tractor. This experimental armoured vehicle was developed in the United Kingdom in 1915, during World War I. The project was initiated

Preview: Meng's new Pre-Painted ZTZ-100 MBT in 35th scale "In Living Colour"

Meng has "taken the masking hell" (their words) out of modelling their 1/35th scale ZTZ-100 MBT (Accurate Color Edition) with a prepainted version! We have the "finished" kit & the real thing in o

Preview: MiniArt's 35th scale StuG III Ausf. G Initial Production Full Interior Kit

Miniart has a new Stug! An "initial production" variant with a full interior in 35th scale. We have features & CADs showing all the details in our preview...Read on... »

Preview: Italeri's new 32nd scale "Early" Veltro strikes in November...

Italeri has given us the "early" version of their successful Macchi M.C. 202 Folgore, due for release next month. We have sprues, art, decals & colour choices in our preview...Read on... »

I’m Taking A Short Break

I am taking a temporary break from publishing anything on this blog and on YouTube. To be very transparent, right now I’m not having fun. Not really much at all. But it’s not because of the hobby. My primary

MiniArt's 35th-scale Airfield Tractor Standard N Mod. 1938 for your airfield diorama.

The 35th-scale Standard N 1938 tractor from MiniArt has just been announced. CADs, sprues, colours & the real subjects in our preview...Read on... »

Dynamo Models' new 35th scale figures & buildings in time for SMC

Dynamo Models has a new set of figure releases and buildings that will be very popular with modellers & due for release this weekend. More info on these great releases in our preview...Read on... »

Preview: Gecko Models 35th scale Indo-china Scarecrow set

Of all things, a scarecrow is Gecko Model's newest release in 35th scale. It will sit at home with their latest Indo-china series in 35th. See it in our preview...Read on... »

Preview: MiniArt's New Stone Balustrade in 1/35th Scale...

MiniArt's accessories sets continue with interesting items that we could have only had in resin in the past. We look at their new stone balustrade in our preview...Read on... »

Narrative Modeling & Design

I’ve always been fascinated by the stories behind the models I have built. Whether it’s imaganing Douglas Bader sitting in the Spitfire Mk. II I worked on that carried his “DB” markings, or imagin

Monkey Notes – October 2026

Warhammer Tone Pro I’ve not been keeping up with new product releases from Games Workshop (GW) in the Warhammer 40K world. I’m still building them, and using the paints. But I no longer await the latest produ

Irregularity

In the process of getting materials together for some new product launches, my brain went and decided to connect a bunch of dots that have been rattling around for years. And clocking how seemingly disconnected things co

Calculated Risk

This story is the narrative behind the PRU Falke build series. The J-U45 Mayfly gravcopter descended into the clouds, leaving the bright sunshine behind. Andy watched, fascinated by the gray swirls inside the clouds desp

How to Finish and Weather the Hasegawa Ma.K Falke

You can see the full Falke Recon series here. I’d been planning this recon Falke for years. The PRU Blue just seemed like it would be a great color to go on the airframe. I’ve been thinking about this for so

Poll: What Is Your Favorite Modeling Genre?

I’m always curious about people’s preferred modeling genres. I know many are like me and build in a variety of genres, and even sub-genres. Yet when it comes to that one… the one that if you were strand

On My Bench: JX Scale Model Gulf War Sheridan Underway

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Warhammer Hippogriff Part 3 – Finished

You don’t have to be in modeling for very long to run across one of those “Top 5 Best Kits” lists. Some idiots even do a “top two” list… lots of suspense there. I suppose they can be h

One Battle After Another

We’re closing in on the one year mark since I made the fateful decision to start selling physical products. That’s not the point of this post, but it seems like a useful reference point. Because this past yea

Deep Thoughts on Chipping: Methods, Materials & Storytelling

This past Saturday, September 26th, 2026, I released a public video on YouTube about chipping the Falke. This bonus video is all the boring ramble that so many YouTube watchers seem to whine and cry complain about. Howev

Hasegawa Ma.K Falke Part 7 – Chipping

Chipping models is a bit like eating chips and salsa at my favorite Mexican Restaurant. (Mi Casita! YES!) Just one chip. Just one. Maybe two. OK… three. “Sir, more chips?” Yes… please. Just bring

Call It Done: Stressful and Embarassing 1/144 Osprey (Like Prototype, Like Model)

I like small models, and I cannot lie. My last four builds featured large aircraft in the small scale of 1/144. As I’ve plunged deeperContinue reading

Call It Done: Revell 1/144 A-90 Ekranoplan, Another Sea Monster

Some modelers are devotees of a particular subject, or at least a family of subjects. My friend and Modellers Without Borders co-conspirator Tim Holland isContinue reading

A Nifty Mitchell and a Handful of 'SadersA Thought; Just a ThoughtI was thinking the other day, which is something I haven't done in a while, and I've reached a conclusion that may be of interest to you regarding the big

Why You Should Plan Your Model Finish Backwards

One of the more frequent questions I have gotten over the years revolves around planning a model’s finish. Quite a few years ago I published a video called Shop Talk: A Weathering Playbook. More than a few folks ha

A Change of Pace, 'Saders,

Just BUILD the Darned Thing!There was a time many years ago, several decades ago in fact, when there was no aftermarket at all available for plastic modeling except for decals and paint, and those were often difficult to

On My Bench: Colors on A-90 Ekranoplan

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THE HIGH FLYING SPITFIRE: PRESALE NOW OPEN!

My latest modelling guide takes a detailed look at the Supermarine Spitfire, or more specifically, the 1/24 Airfix kit of this classic Second World War aircraft. Here's your chance to our a copy of this exciting new book

On My Bench: Masking Masking Masking

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M24 Chaffee light tank - case report

Armored, attention!    Today we're going to talk about a light armored vehicle that arrived near the end of WWII, but had a long career in the post-war period and even at the beginning of the Cold War, inf

Seabases for waterline ship models – how to?

Testing The New Lightbox

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September, Interrupted

TLDR What’s Going On? Next week, we’re loading the family up and driving out to Savannah to move our oldest into his dorm room for his freshman year of college. Instead of a grueling there-and-back, we’

On My Bench: Another 1/144 Ekranoplan In Test Fit

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Char FCM 1A - French heavy tank - case report

Attention, carristes!!!   The tank featured today is a French prototype of which only one unit was built, to test the concepts of a more effective and versatile heavy tank than the Char Saint Chamond, in the fi

Call It Done: Takom’s 1/144 Lun Ekranoplan, AKA The Caspian Sea Monster

Two major categories of modeling subjects always manage to get my attention: late Cold War Soviet Union ‘marquee’ weapons, like Backfire bombers and Mi-24 HindContinue reading

ARL Tracteur C - 1940

 Aux armes, citoyens!!!    Today we're going to explore one of the most ambitious projects of the French at the beginning of WWII: an era of enormous and massive tanks, which would behave like giant l

Quinta 1:48 Sukhoi Su-31

On My Bench: 1/144 Lun In Primer

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Pure Modeling Joy, Improbable Soviet War Machine Edition

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Fiat G.91R/1 “Gina”; 103 Gruppo, 2 Stormo AMI, Treviso S. Angelo 1980

Fiat G.91 has its roots in 1953 NATO competition for a light fighter bomber jet aircraft that would be used across many NATO member states. The design required a low cost and simple to operate aircraft, that could work f

Meng 1:72 Fiat G.91R/1 “Gina” – build article

As you can see in the picture, the kit supplied ejection seat is just too simplifed and hardly resembles a real thing. While I didn’t want to go overboard detailing this model, I just had to replace it. Sparkit res

Check Out Our New Ship(ping)

Shipping – and international shipping in particular – is one of the absolute suckfests of running an e-commerce business. I won’t bore you with the list of grievances, which ranges from minor, daily ann

Cruiser Tank Mk.IV and Mk.IVA - A13 Mk.II - case report

Tankies!!!    Today we'll look at a parallel, twin construction: two brave English sisters, with minimal differences between them: the Cruiser Tank Mk.IV and Mk.IVA - A13 Mk.II. Let's press on and no

Pr.21631 Buyan-M class corvette

Buyan-M was developed from the smaller 21630 Buyan class corvettes, which entered Russian Navy service in 2006. After the initial 3 ships of the smaller class, all subsequent ships were built of 21631 type. Buyan-Ms are

Dreammodel 1:700 Pr.21631 Buyan-M – build article

Third ship in a row. As with other two, Buyan is also a multimedia kit of injected moulded plastic (mainly the hull), 3d printed resin (superstructure and most of details) and photoetch (mainly railings and some other de

THE LEGACY PART THREE: A COMPLETED COLLECTION

Four years having passed since the release of Part Two, I'm delighted that the final part of my Tamiya Legacy project, is now ready to complete your three-part collection!

Crusader Mk.III AA Mk.I - 40mm Bofors - case report

Watch out!! Jabos at 2 o'clock!!    The so-called anti-aircraft point defenses have always been a constant concern of the military, even more so after the advent of dive bombers and fighter-bombers in WWII

21 cm Mörser 18 - German heavy howitzer - case report

 Artilleristen des Deutschen Reiches!!!      After a long, long break, I'm back to work in our Bunker!!! Today, we're going to talk about the 21 cm Mörser 18, one of the most technicall

Pre-Orders Update – June 2026

Updates on outstanding pre-orders. TL;DR - mostly they're facing a production capacity traffic jam. Except for the Chaffee tracks, which are just awaiting final kits to validate that everything fits properly.

T28 Release Madness!

An overview of the six Doogs Studios upgrade sets now available for the Takom T28 and M28 kits.

Paint, Those DSES Guys, and A Few From Nanks

 Let's Put Some Color On the ThingWell, let's try to do that anyway! Sometimes it seems as though there's a new hobby paint out there every fifteen minutes or so, and it also seems as though there's an unpleasant si

IBG Models 1:72 Supermarine Type 300

Pr.20380 Steregushchiy class corvette

Pr.20380 is a class of new corvettes for the Russian Navy. Their size is actually such, that NATO classifies them as frigates yet their mission is more or less standard for corvettes – littoral zone operations, gun

Taming Production Chaos

In whcih I struggle with production management due to ADHD, leading to chaos and mental overload. To streamline operations, I transitioned data from Google Sheets to Airtable and implemented automated order updates. Oh,