Jake, Author at build.

How To: AFV Metal Tracks

Metal tracks are all the rage when building AFVs, so I knew on my latest build (Trumpter Sd. Kfz 7/2, kit # 01527), I knew I had to try them. I bought a pair of the Friulmodel tracks and dove in. I totally ruined a set when I burnished them to turn them black(ish). Well, not ruined as much as made really great burned out/rusted out tracks. Some day, I'll put them to work on that particular project. So... I started over, and learned along the way. Here's some of those learnings, in no particular order, and with what personally works well for me. Your mileage may vary. Construction After doing cleanup one at a time on the first set, I started a production line for the second step. Clean up any burrs or other imperfections. In the Sd. Kfz. 7 set, the imperfections were all basically in the same spot [...]

By Jake|2016-10-29T19:09:31-05:00April 9th, 2015|How to|0 Comments

Friday Finds: April 3, 2015

Friday's fun time! Star Wars diorama build Great vignette build: Anti-Tank Dodge

By Jake|2015-04-06T14:37:59-05:00April 3rd, 2015|Fun Finds|0 Comments

Friday Finds: Back in the saddle

Oh boy, life's been crazy and this blog hasn't gotten the attention it needs! But I'm back, baby. Hopefully! "The Hard Way" - Fantastic beach landing diorama Cool photos of the final atomic bomb assembly Repurposed Steyr Kommandeurwagen More photos from the Moson Model Show 2014 Really interesting read with a veteran German tanker 27 Extremely Rare And Stunning Color Photos From World War II Amazing build: Flak Truck Mercedes L4500A 3.7cm Armoured Cab Satoshi Araki's Work... it's really quite impressive Seriously impressive Sd. Kfz. 250/7 interior build Texas history image portal - some good WWII stuff! Rick Lawler's fantastic Komatsu G-40. Rusty goodness! "Am I late for the tram?" diorama

By Jake|2016-10-29T19:09:31-05:00March 27th, 2015|Fun Finds|0 Comments

Friday Finds: September 19, 2014

I've been super busy with life and work, so I'm finally getting back into the swing. Painting wooden boxes Figure painting step by step Very cool product I've just recently used to clean a gunked up brush. This brush cleaner is worth picking up. Transfer image onto wood with inkjet printer Very cool diorama: "How the gods kill" ScratchMod.com - if you haven't seen this site, spend some time digging through the rusted model awesome! Hilarious use of a ceiling fan Not "modeling" content, per se, but very cool video of the creation of a model moped out of a bolt

By Jake|2016-10-29T19:09:31-05:00September 19th, 2014|Fun Finds|0 Comments

Review: Reality in Scale German 88 Ammo boxes

Armorama has posted another one of my reviews, this time around on Reality in Scale's German 88mm ammo boxes. Here's the headline: amazing product. Check out the full review for the rest of the info! --- Update: Check out this review of the 75mm version of this product.

By Jake|2023-09-14T17:02:47-05:00September 12th, 2014|Reviews|1 Comment

Friday Finds: August 22, 2014

And for some Friday Find coolness: Take some time and browse the Kubelmodel's Facebook page. Some really incredible work! Painting a Wall in 1/35 scale. Step by Step Very cool model, but stunningly awesome base design! WWII Myths – T-34 Best Tank Of The War Amazing rusted omnibus hulk How to article for Vallejo Liquid metallic paints (and dig around this site... lots of great content!) Quick, but handy figure painting tutorial (click the "next" button to go through the steps) Beautiful Opel Omnibus model Creating realistic wood grain (I've been trying this method and it works!) Painting figures video (This is a basic view of the process, but a good reminder when we need to dust off our brains between figure projects) Very cool book I just ordered: WWII Diorama Art And just because, here's some additional non-modeling links to keep you people happy: Life Magazine's collection of vintage cocktails "Birdman" trailer [...]

By Jake|2016-10-29T19:09:31-05:00August 22nd, 2014|Fun Finds|0 Comments

It’s time to pay attention to Pinterest

When was the last time you found yourself on Pinterest.com? I’ve followed the rise of Pinterest for the last several years as it related to my job and personal interests around online social connection and networking. And my wife has been an avid user for some time now. But I never really thought much of the site for my personal interests, and certainly not as it related to scale modeling. Pinterest has held a reputation from the beginning as a “female oriented social network”, and until recently, this was a reputation with some amount of merit. After all, if you want to find cooking instruction, fingernail art, or scrapbooking content, for instance, there is no better place to look. Scale modeling content? Not much there for much of Pinterest’s life… until now. If you aren’t paying attention to Pinterest, you’re missing out. The next time you have a few extra minutes… [...]

By Jake|2016-10-29T19:09:31-05:00August 18th, 2014|Modeling thoughts|0 Comments

Friday Finds: August 15, 2014

I missed last week's links, but I have a good excuse... I was in Virginia at the IPMS Nationals! So let's start off with some of that coolness from the event: Vendor room setup time lapse Amazingly well done 1/32 scale B-17 diorama (The propellor + sound timing is stunning) A behind the scenes version of the electronics of that B-17 Cybermodeler Online show report Scale Model Soup report + his photo gallery A huge photo gallery of the creations at the show Judging time lapse (wow, that's a lot of activity!)

By Jake|2016-10-29T19:09:31-05:00August 15th, 2014|Fun Finds|0 Comments

Friday Finds: August 1, 2014

AUGUST?? WHAT?? Fine. Here's the links for the first Friday of a new month. Yikes! Great new build! Great diorama. I love these "in-motion" diorama! Really takes some special skills to make this work!

By Jake|2016-10-29T19:09:34-05:00August 1st, 2014|Fun Finds|0 Comments

Monday Giveaway: The Package

UPDATE: Since there wasn't much response this week, given my lack of promotion due to work travel, I'm extending through this coming week! -- Well, the first Monday Giveaway was a great success. So let's do it again! I recently moved my hobby room to another room in the house and in doing so, discovered a few duplicate items. So I'm bundling for a "package" giveaway this time around. Below is what you stand to win. It's a grab bag of fun. Don't tell me you don't want to turn the Ford truck into a rusted out hulk! Tiger I In Action (Squadron Signal) book Trumpeter 1/72 British "Wyvern" S.4 1/72 Aber German Tank Barrel for Ferdinand & Elefant (#72 L-05) Monogram 1/24 Ford F-350 "Duallie" Pickup Like last time, you have to do some work for the prize. To enter, leave a comment below telling me the following: How many projects [...]

By Jake|2016-10-29T19:09:34-05:00July 28th, 2014|Contests|2 Comments

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