Modeling thoughts

Entering contests: my own journey

I've been back in the hobby for a couple years now, but am only recently starting to turn out enough final model product to be able to enter in contests. I'd gotten stuck in an unhealthy mindset about whether I'd participate. Largely, I suffered from two issues: "I'm not good enough" - My work, while improving, is still not award winning. I was really worried that people would wonder "Why is he bringing this crap?" "Why bother?" - I've too focused on the end prize of 1st place. If I don't have a real chance of winning, what's the point of entering? When I was a kid in high school building models, I took them to shows at least 3 or 4 times a year. I was blessed living in Southern California - a few hours drive in any particular direction would get you to a new contest. You didn't have to [...]

By |2016-10-29T19:09:34-05:00May 14th, 2014|Modeling thoughts|0 Comments

Surprisingly good primer

My buddy Bob is an amazingly good figure painter. His house is full of amazing creations, the likes of which I can only hope to achieve. He told me once a while back that the only primer he uses is Touch ’n Tone Primer, available at auto parts stores. For some reason, that recommendation went in one ear and out the other. I was probably thinking “Hey, the small, expensive spray can of Tamiya primer just has to be the best…right??" During a figure painting lesson recently, he repeated this recommendation. By now, I’ve learned to listen to Bob, so I ordered a can off Amazon (link). It showed up a few days ago, and I headed out to the garage tonight to test it out. Wow. For half the cost and three times the quantity, this stuff is great! Lays down very smooth, no problems with spray control or pebbling, and looks [...]

By |2014-03-31T03:34:17-05:00March 31st, 2014|Modeling thoughts|0 Comments

DIY project: Brush holder

I've been less than impressed with my cheap paint brush carousel lately. Plus, it creates a ton of visual clutter and moves the brushes out of (easy) reach. Add to that the fact that I'm spending more time switching between various brush types (oils, acrylics, enamels, putty, drybrush, pigments, etc.), and I needed a better way to organize. So I headed to Lowes and spent some time on the PVC pipe aisle. I've been surprised how many times I think "I need to do something" and the solution reveals itself in the combination of various shapes and configurations of PVC pipe fittings. After a few minutes, the solution revealed itself. This holder is made up of the following parts: 1.5" Y fittings (x2) - these are the main "holders" 1" pipe caps (x2) - these are stuck in the bottom to close up the Y fittings L-bracket (x2) - these are [...]

By |2016-10-29T19:09:35-05:00December 24th, 2013|Modeling thoughts|1 Comment

My mobile paint studio

I travel quite a bit for work, and spend far too much time in a hotel room. A few months ago, I stepped into the figure painting world. It dawned on me that if I could somehow transport a relatively small footprint of equipment along with me on my trips, I could set up a mobile painting station in the hotel room. So I headed to the sporting goods store to pick up a storage container that would pack easily, filled it up, and tested it out. Here's how it's worked out... TSA My first concern was the paints (and distilled water). They're liquids, and y'know ... TSA liquid restrictions. I've carried my kit through security at least six times now. Knock on wood, but nothing's been flagged. Now, one potential caveat: I've got Pre-Check, and these security occasions have been through Pre-Check lines. But the airports have been a wide variety of size [...]

By |2016-10-29T19:09:35-05:00December 24th, 2013|Modeling thoughts|3 Comments

I hate braille scale.

For Father's Day, my wife and daughter gave me a 1:72 scale Dragon Sd. Kfz. 263. It's a WWII German armored vehicle, so I was excited to start building it. I build exclusively 1:35 scale, so stepping out of my comfort zone was going to be fun experiment. Plus, I've been reading many articles about cool new 1:72 releases lately. In particular, I really want to build the Opel Omnibus, and since it's only produced in 1:72 scale right now, I had to dig in and learn something new. You know how sometimes a great theory turns out to be a frustrating reality? Yeah, I don't think I'm a 1:72 scale (also affectionally known as "braille scale") modeler. I was about halfway through this fun experiment when I realized that I wanted to turn in my xacto knife! The parts were small and lacked detail, the small part build was incredibly [...]

By |2016-10-29T19:09:35-05:00September 12th, 2013|Modeling thoughts|1 Comment

Newbie learning: Photoetch

I'm deep in the midst of my first super detail project. I've recently returned to scale modeling after a 20+ year break…and back when I was doing it 20 years ago, I didn't have the money to afford, nor was there as many options for resin and photo etch and the rest. So you can imagine my amusement this weekend as I began reflecting on the build process for my first super detail, a Steyr 1500/A Radio Truck conversion, and realized I have no less than four aftermarket detail kits at work here. No wonder it's taken so long! As a newbie to this fine art, I thought I'd capture a few things I've learned along the way. Maybe they'll help others as they get started. Drum roll, please…. and in no particular order, here's my random list of tips. I'm going to divide into categories to make it easier to [...]

By |2016-10-29T19:09:35-05:00August 7th, 2013|Modeling thoughts|0 Comments
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