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Interested primarily in WW II aircraft carriers in 1/700 scale, but branching out lately into some 1/72 aircraft, starting with carrier planes but more recently RAF and Luftwaffe as well. And hoping to get somewhere on my backlog of Star Trek kits. A scratchbuilt launch umbilical tower for my 1/200 AMT Apollo/Saturn V is my white whale.

1/72 Lt. Frank Luke SPAD S.XIII

I don’t even remember why I got this little SPAD - the only WW I biplane I’ve ever built was the venerable Snoopy Sopwith Camel. But after studying it online I decided I wanted to build it as Lt. Frank Luke’s aircraft when he was [...]

1/72 PzKpfw VI “Tiger 131”Ausf. E

After I started the 1/35 model I realized that there were Dragon 1/35 and 1/72 kits (exterior only) and ordered a 1/72 kit so I could add Tiger 131 to my 1/72 armor shelf and take advantage of the research on its big brother. The Dragon [...]

1/35 Academy PzKpfw VI “Tiger 131”Ausf. E

Last summer our family started our vacation with two days at “Tankfest” at the Tank Museum in Bovington, UK. Our son Parker is a huge tank nut, and we enjoyed two days there. But as you can tell by the photos, Tiger 131 was a big [...]

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1/25 Aurora 1968)

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has always been a favorite of mine. I got the Corgi car for Christmas in 1969, and have never looked back. This build of one of the rare 1968 Aurora kits is my latest experience in the world of all things [...]

1/72 Aichi Type 99 “Val” Dive Bomber

Next in my trio of 1/72 1941-42 IJN aircraft was an Aichi Type 99 "Val" dive bomber. The kit was the 2011 Dragon/Cyberhobby, which contains markings for seven Pearl Harbor aircraft (two from Akagi). While the kit itself is [...]

1/69 V-2 Missile with Meillerwagen Transporter

I picked up a 1972 boxing of the classic Revell kit several years ago, and finally got around to building it. The "box scale" kit, which at 1/69 is close enough to 1/72 to pass muster, contains a German V-2 Missile with detailed [...]

1/72 GMC 2 1/2 Ton Cargo Truck

Several years ago I started a collection of significant 1/72 WW II military equipment which not necessarily involved actual ordnance. Of course the new Airfix Higgins boat was the first finished, with the next being the iconic German 88mm [...]

1/72 Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero Type 21

I've always wanted to build a set of 1941-42 IJN carrier airplanes, and picked up a complete set of Hasegawa kits last summer. This is the first to make it to the workbench, a A6M2b that appears to be a 1993 issue. It is finished as Lt. [...]

Me 262A - 1960 and 2017 Airfix 1/72 kits

I recently finished a double-build - two 1/72 Me 262A German jet fighters. The reason for the double-build was that I had two kits - a 1960 Airfix kit which I sat on for so long they came out with a much-improved version in 2017, which I [...]

The Last RefitUSS Lexington (CV-2) Before And After March/April 1942 Pearl Harbor Refit

This double build of 1/700 Trumpeter and Meng kits is intended to show how the aging U.S. carrier Lexington was refitted in two and a half weeks at Pearl Harbor in the spring of 1942 to improve her defensive capabilities. The carrier's [...]