104 articles · 3.6K karma · 13 friends · active 2 days, 10 hours ago

Building models since age 7 (except for a short respite in my military years). Enjoying it now more than ever. I build across the spectrum but am biased towards towards historical miniatures and military vehicles.

Meng British R-R Armored Car 1:35

In 1914 Rolls-Royce developed an armored car for use in WW1. Even though it was totally unsuited for trench warfare on the Western Front, it was useful in many other theaters during the war and thereafter, such as in the Irish Civil War, [...]

Academy 1/72 Merkava Mk.III

This is a crisp 2024 release Academy armor kit. It has very good fit and nice detail for a small scale kit. I built it OOB with the exception of the tactical marking sheets on the rear of the turret and the canvas covers for the aft [...]

Head-to-Head Broncos, Academy & ICM

I tried another head-to-head comparison build of a vintage and a recent new tool kit; this time 1/72 scale OV-10A kits. I built the venerable Academy kit originally issued in 1999 and the 2023 ICM kit. The OV-10 is a distinctive iconic [...]

THE BIG EASY M4A3E8 1/16 by Takom/Andy’s Hobby Hqtrs

To me the M4A3E8 “Easy Eight” Sherman is the most iconic Allied tank of WWII. It was the last M4 variant deployed during WWII, with upgraded wide track HVSS, a 76mm M1A2 cannon, improved armor and firepower and wet stowed ammunition. [...]

Ferret 1:35 Airfix

The Ferret is an armoured scout car that was produced from 1952–1971 that was used by the British Army, the RAF, and various Commonwealth countries. Ferrets were ultimately operated by over 36 countries and they were deployed in at [...]

Tamiya 1:48 U.S. Howitzer Motor Carriage M8

The M8 Howitzer was a self-propelled infantry support gun based on the M5 Light Tank chassis that was used by the US during World War II in both the ETO and PTO. It was also used by France during WWII and after the war was deployed to [...]

ICM 1/72 BM-21 Grad

In my long ago stint in the military I was an expert at identifying all vehicles and aircraft in the Soviet arsenal. At that time the BM-21 was a fearsome weapon and there was no equivalent in the U.S. inventory. When I saw the recent [...]

A Build for a Friend

Focke-Wulf Fw190 D-9 (motorized), Fujimi, 1:48 For many years my friend Mike hosted monthly working meetings of a small group of modelers with a common interest in historical miniature figures. Those meetings were fun, informative and [...]

Comet Tamiya 1:35

Another great kit from Tamiya. As with his all of their newer kits, this one is essentially flawless. Similar to other recent Tamiya kits, the crew figures in this kit are a real step above what Tamiya produced in the past. It was a fun [...]

A Blast from the Past, M-109 1/48 Atlantis

In my youthful early modeling days I think I built the entire Aurora 1/48 armored vehicle series. I remember them being pretty decent (for the time) easy-to-assemble kits. They were pretty enjoyable projects. I remember the M109 kit, [...]