It’s been a while, so stand by! Tutorial: Creating realistic metal pipes Photo studio upgrade The world’s largest model railroad Take a ride on 9 of the world’s best model railroads Build log of an amazing project: Faun L900 6x4 tank transporter (with some great reference photos!)
Another fun find! Lost in Shangri-La: A Story of Survival and Rescue during World War II from Virginia Historical Society on Vimeo.
Yeah, it was bound to happen sooner or later... my stash is out of control. Given that I've only been back in the hobby for 4 years, it seems ludicrous that I've gotten to this point. I travel regularly, and it's too damn easy to stop in the local hobby shops and check out the deals. Add to that purchasing another modeler's stash... and BAM! Big stash! I think I'm going to have to start clearing things out, especially considering I'm moving in a few months. But that process sounds even worse than packing up and moving extra stuff.
UPDATE: Given the minimal response, I'm extending through the weekend! It's been a while, but I'm back with another Monday Giveaway! This time I'm giving away a Tamiya BMW R75 German Motorcycle with Side Car. Here's the rules for this time around: Share your favorite tip/trick related to scale modeling Points for the quality of the tip (depth, detail, etc.) and uniqueness of the tip You have to post in the comments of this post by Wednesday midnight CST. I'll pick a winner shortly after that and send out the kit. Be sure to leave your email address so can contact you if you win! Good luck!
This is a bit strange, but I’m going to try it anyway. I’ve seen this interviewing technique done elsewhere and it always seemed fun. So here we go… Jake interviewing Jake. 1. How long have you been modeling and what got you into the hobby? I started when I was in middle school, some 25+ years ago. I did most of my “first round” building in high school. I even entered (and placed, as a junior) in a number of shows. This was back when materials were mainly what you found or repurposed, after market kits almost all came from Verlinden and a small number of cottage industry companies. My “dark ages” story is pretty typical: went to college, had a roommate, limited space, time, and interest in things other than girls and grades. In 2000, I went to work for LEGO doing Web development and fan relations. (I worked with [...]
Friul tracks are great… the metal weight shows just the right amount of sag, the details are super realistic, and the way you can naturally “rust” the metal makes them fantastic. But assembly can be … tedious and often troublesome. I wrote a long how-to article about this topic a while back. But one of the things I’ve struggled with is cutting the pins that bind each track link together. Each type of track is much different in design. A modern track link is much different than a German WWII Sd Kfz 9 is much different than a German Sd Kfz 11. Because of that, I’ve found that a strong brass wire can be better than a softer spooled wire like Friul included with the tracks. But either way, there’s a challenge to assembling the tracks: how do you cut a bunch of precise length pins? Some people put a longer [...]
A few years back, I ordered the Alliance Modelworks FAMO mit Flak 88 conversion kit. It's been sitting on my workbench since then, calling my name so sweetly. Well, I finally listened and busted it out. This conversion kit takes the Tamiya FAMO (#35329) and the Dragon's 8.8cm Flak37 (#6287) and reworks with resin and photoetch. At $150 USD, it's a pricey kit for a big vehicle. I have mixed feelings about this kit. At first glance, the instructions are clear, the resin parts have crisp details, and the photoetch was nicely done. And the subject was an interesting one, so I was excited looking at the parts and instructions to get started. Like so many conversion kits, however, it's the details that matter. While the instructions are some of the best for conversion kits I've seen, they are still lacking in a number of ways, in a number of places. [...]
I’ve always been fascinated by the “rest of the story”. The battlefield tales are interesting, but learning how local residents survived or rebuilt after the battle is infinitely more interesting. I came across this footage of Germans surrendering at the end of the war. Fascinating look at how things can turn from brutal to something much different. There’s also a TON of diorama ideas here! [Watch the video] UPDATE: The moment I posted this link, I went back to the video. It had been playing and I noticed that the FAMO mit Flak vehicle was driving along in the video. Hilarious, considering finding pictures of this low production, end of the war vehicle has been incredible hard. And now here’s a color video! Nice!
If you're not following Atlas Obscura, you should. It has some amazingly interesting content! This article caught my eye, and the video below is a great watch. An Up-Close and Personal Look at the World's Largest Model Railroad