Paul Charles
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Paul combined kits from Revell, Fujimi, and ICM with scratchbuilt walls and floor and LED lighting for a scene he calls “Last Chance Garage.” He painted the components with Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics and added typical garage dirt and grime using washes and dry-brushing.
Brad Belsheim
Avon, Ohio
To build an Airfix 1/35 scale Cromwell Mk.VI out of the box, Brad airbrushed Tamiya acrylics with pre- and post-shading, and a wash for additional modulation. More washes and pigment finished the close-support tank.
Pete Malaguti
St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada
Pete improved a Monogram 1/72 scale space shuttle with a Real Space Models update set and first-aid tape thermal blankets. For the cargo bay, he scratchbuilt cargo and a Hubble Space Telescope undergoing repairs. His own printed decals went over Testors Model master enamels.
Benoit Bonnier
Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Three days? Yep! Benoit built Trumpeter’s 1/35 scale Canadian LAV III as a weekend blitz build, but it doesn’t look rushed. He painted the out-of-the-box project by mottling AK Interactive Real Color lacquers over black primer for a faded and modulated finish before weathering.
Bob Esplin
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Vallejo acrylics give Bob’s MiniArt Lanz Bulldog tractor a finish appropriate to the end of many a hard day on the farm. Even the weathering — rust, grime, and chipping — all game from Vallejo’s Mecha Color range. The 1/35 scale vehicle sits in a field of AK Interactive Dark Mud, real garden soil, and paintbrush-bristle grass on a scrap of MDF board.
Maurizio Laudisa
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
You won’t find this 1/35 scale Burlak 6 x 6 ATV on a store shelf! Maurizio scratchbuilt the specialized Arctic travel vehicle using online plans and photos. He painted the unique truck with Tamiya acrylics and weathered it with artist oils and pastels.
Alfred Wong
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Alfred’s Ukrainian navy Kamov Ka-32 “Helix” started as a straight-from-the-box build of the HobbyBoss 1/48 scale kit. He painted it with acrylics and kept it pretty clean, with just an artist oils wash to pop panel lines.
Jim Gardner
Meaford, Ontario, Canada
Working with two Nichimo 1/200 scale Type IX U-boats, Jim modeled U-boat U-511 headed back to base at Lorient in July 1942, crossing paths with U-boat U-117 headed out on patrol. He painted the scene with Tamiya acrylics and sculpted the seascape with clear silicone.
Joe Camilleri
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Head to the lake in style! Joe’s matched car and boat wear Mr. Clear Color Clear Orange over Tamiya Gold, topped by Gravity 2K clear. Both the ’56 Chevy Del Ray and the Hemi Hydro are Revell 1/25 scale kits dressed up with Gofer wiring and connected by a scratchbuilt trailer hitch on the car.
Brandon Walters
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
At battle’s end, the pilot of a Heavyarms Gundam steps out of the cockpit to surrender in Brandon’s 1/100 scale scene. He replaced the kit’s stickers with aftermarket decals after painting the mecha with AK Interactive Real Color lacquers custom mixed to match the desert setting.
Dean Sourwine
Welland, Ontario, Canada
To build a replica of the truck from the Diesel Creek web series, Dean scratchbuilt the front treadplate bumper, bull bar, and radiator louvers, and installed a winch from his spares box. The base coat came from a Rust-Oleum spray can, details picked out with Tamiya acrylics, and weathering applied with craft acrylics with salt used to mask paint chips.
Gary Deans
Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada
Gary’s 1965 Ford Mustang A/FX dragster started life as a 1/18 scale diecast replica. He stripped it down and replaced or modified a list of almost every part, including the roll cage, shifter, tachometer, and hood pins, raised the suspension, and added engine plumbing and wiring. He made and added decals to match the car driven by Gas Ronda.
George Wray
London, Ontario, Canada
The show venue was dominated by a full-size Royal Canadian Air Force Canso A, so George’s 1/72 scale model seemed right at home. He added scratchbuilt surface vessel radar antennas to an Academy Catalina and applied aftermarket decals for an RCAF sub-hunter in Iceland during World War II over Vallejo Model Air acrylics.
Bob Esplin
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
To model a small-town Ontario snowplow from the early 1980s, Bob thinned the bodywork on a Revell 1/24 scale GMC pickup with a rotary tool for rust, ripped the seats, and scratchbuilt a snow shovel and sandbag for the bed. He painted it with Vallejo acrylics with plenty of post-shading and weathered with oils, enamels, Vallejo Mecha Colors weathering shades, and AK Interactive snow. “I included period-correct Tim Hortons containers, license plates, and window stickers,” he says.
Ron Therrien
Lindsay, Ontario, Canada
For his sharp Chevy Vega Green Elephant funny car, Ron refinished all the chrome parts in a 1/16 scale Atlantis kit with Alclad II lacquers. The rest of the paint is Testors Model Master enamels, and he weathered the tires before painting the Goodyear logos.
Sandy McRorie
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Sandy painted the Caunter camouflage on his out-of-the-box build of a Thunder Models 1/35 scale Scammell Pioneer SV/2S with Tamiya acrylics.
Andrew Armstrong
Lindsay, Ontario, Canada
To put his Ryefield 1/35 scale Sherman Firefly VC in the field, Andrew added Tamiya stowage and foam camouflage netting and MiniArt’s British tank crew figures to man the tank. The paint is Tamiya and AK Interactive Real Color over a flat black base coat. The model sits on cobblestones punched from foam board.
Shalev Conforti
Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
A GI peers around a scratchbuilt wall featuring hand-cut and textured bricks in 14-year-old Shalev’s vignette. He painted a Tamiya 1/35 scale jeep, the two figures, and the groundwork built on insulation foam with acrylics and weathered with dry-brushing and washes.
Gary Skelton
Collingwood, Ontario, Canada
It takes guts to reimagine one of the prettiest cars, but get a load of Gary’s chopped, channeled, and lowered Bugatti Type 50. Powered by a twin-turbo, 3.3-liter Bugatti straight-8 motor, the car features custom dual exhausts, a scratchbuilt radiator, headlamps, and fuel tank, and rides on four-wheel torsion bar suspension with independent rear axle and in-board brakes.
David “Blappy” Guertin
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
A fan of Gulf racing colors, Blappy naturally finished his Moebius 1/25 scale ’71 Ranger Ford Ranger XLT with Zero lacquers and combined aftermarket and custom decals. The sharp pickup rolls on 3D-printed rims designed by Blappy.
Jules de Raucourt
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Jules hand-painted Pegaso’s 90mm samurais with acrylics.
Omid Salehi
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
For the digital camouflage on his Iranian Chieftain, Omid applied plenty of tape between airbrushed layers of Tamiya acrylics. Scratchbuilt sandbags offer extra protection for the glacis.
David “Blappy” Guertin
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
This Day-Glo orange wedge is the theoretical lifeboat for the U.S. Air Force’s Manned Orbiting Laboratory that was proposed in the 1960s but never launched. Blappy painted the Fantastic Plastic 1/48 scale Convair lifeboat with Mr. Color lacquers.
Aiming
Dundas, Ontario, Canada
To add action to a Dragon 1/700 scale model of the Russian battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy, Aiming used an LED for a missile leaving the launcher. He painted the ship with Tamiya acrylics and placed it on a seascape sculpted from aluminum foil. “Four years at university for electrical engineering, the most useful thing I learned is how to use LEDs,” he says.
Arielle Merritt-Murrell
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
After building Bandai’s 1/12 scale Kylo Ren out of the box, 14-year-old Arielle painted the Star Wars antagonist with Tamiya and AK Interactive colors.
Tim Howell
Howell, Michigan
“In the future, the Alliance will approach Earth and ask us to join,” Tim says. “They will share technology, hence this USAF X-wing.” He airbrushed Tamiya acrylics for the camouflage, adding that masking was the hardest part and required planning.
Grant Letford
Pelham, Ontario, Canada
Aside from using Leading Edge Decals for the markings, Grant built a Hasegawa 1/48 scale Starfighter out of the box as a Canadian CF-104, posing it vertically on an acrylic rod. He painted the fighter with Tamiya acrylics, including pre- and post-shading.
Geralo George
Lindsay, Ontario, Canada
Geralo added photo-etched metal details to an Airfix 1/48 scale Supermarine Walrus and painted it with Tamiya acrylics. Then, to give it context, he scratchbuilt a base and turret to depict an aircraft deployed aboard HMS Rodney in 1941.
John Snider
Buffalo, New York
“I have been a Brad Sweet fan for many years, and this is my tribute build,” John says. He built the American racer’s Sprint Car with parts from a Revell 1/24 kit mounted on a scratchbuilt chassis with added engine and interior details. He painted the Ollie’s sponsored car with Tamiya lacquers.
Dave Gosling
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Thanks to Dave, Aoshima’s 1/24 scale Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X wears a beautiful metallic teal finish mixed from Mr. Color lacquers polished, wet-sanded, and waxed for a glass-smooth sheen. “I’ve always loved modified JDM cars, so this was perfect,” he says.
Tom Brown Sr.
Elma, New York
Tom re-sculpted a plaster cast of Mount Rushmore to honor the U.S. armed forces. He calls his creation Mount Freedom.
Mike Jones
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
For a mid-’60s drag truck, Mike revved up an AMT 1/25 scale 1960 Chevrolet Apache with a detailed 409 powerplant from a ’62 Bel Air and installed parts-box wheels and tires. The candy finish is enamel clear red over silver.
Frank MacKay
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
After improving textures with pyrogravure, Frank painted MiniArt’s 1/16 scale French Dragoon with craft acrylics and artist oils for the horse. He placed the Napoleonic soldier on plaster and grass mat groundwork and added straps.
Dalton Nyberg
Bridgenorth, Ontario, Canada
Impressive! That’s the work that strikes you when you see Dalton’s Mercedes-Benz 500K-AK Cabriolet. It amazes with its size — 1/8 scale — and even more so when you realize it is a Pocher kit, notorious for its fiddly nature. He scratchbuilt the cover and boot, wired the engine, lit the headlights, and painted it with Splash EVA Dark Blue under 2K clear. Molotow chrome finished the metallic parts.
Ahmad Othman
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Clever painting gives the impression that the lava consuming the base of the platform Lieutenant Greyshield stands upon is casting orange light on the dwarven warrior. Ahmad finished the 75mm figure from Big Child Creatives with AK Interactive acrylics and Scale 75 metallics.
Christopher Botting
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
To re-create Stagefright, a favorite Hot Wheels car from the 1980s, in 1/24 scale, Christopher combined the body of AMT’s Raiders Coach, the chassis and more from a Monogram Paddy Wagon, the engine and drivetrain from a Monogram S’cool Bus, wheel rims from an Aoshima RX-7, the radiator from a Monogram Ferrari Daytona Spyder, fuel tank from an MPC Dodge Charger, and a Kenworth driveshaft. He painted it with Premier, Tamiya, and Vallejo spray cans.
Mackenzie Lennon
Brantford, Ontario, Canada
Mackenzie, 10, built this Tamiya 1/35 scale Panther out of the box and airbrushed the three-color camo with Tamiya enamels.
Bob Dewaal
Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Ever wonder what would happen if you rodded an old Peterbilt tractor? Bob did when he chopped a scale 5 inches and channeled 10 inches on a Monogram 1/16 scale kit. Among the extensive modifications are a shortened a Z’d chassis, a scratchbuilt bed with decking from a wooden ship model, scratchbuilt bomber seats, a dash, chain steering wheel, door panels made from soda can aluminum, engine details, and so much more.
Aiden Mann
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Aiden, 15, built Trumpeter’s 1/32 scale Bf 109E-4, mostly out of the box, except for Eduard photo-etched metal seat belts and other parts. He camouflaged the Luftwaffe fighter with AK Interactive, Ammo by Mig Jimenez, and Vallejo acrylics.
Jordan Baker
Dunnville, Ontario, Canada
“My grandfather’s cousin was in the turret of this tank on D-day,” Jordan says. “It hit a submerged mine on Juno Beach while landing.” He replicated that Sherman V OP from the 14th Field Regiment as it looked in England before D-day with Resicast wading trunks and plenty of stowage and painted with Tamiya, AK Interactive, and Vallejo acrylics.
Alex McKelvey
Georgetown, Ontario, Canada
Inspired by the movie Greyhound, Alex combined Tamiya and HobbyBoss kits for a 1/700 scale scene of HMS Oxtail turning hard to engage a stationary U-boat with a broadside. He detailed the vessels with Tom’s Modelworks photo-etched metal details and added stretched-sprue rigging. The seascape is sculpted from insulation foam and covered with shop towels and poster paint.
Greg Hanchuk
Berea, Ohio
Greg added missing bolts, wiring, and welds to a Bronco 1/35 scale ZTZ-99 Phase II and painted it with Tamiya and AK Interactive colors. Groundwork and weathering put the Chinese People’s Liberation Army's main battle tank on maneuvers.
René Lehmann
Shelburne, Ontario, Canada
A bundle of fiber optic lines buried inside carries light to numerous windows in René’s Star Wars Imperial Destroyer. He painted the Zvezda 1/2700 scale kit with Tamiya acrylics using a mask set for the panel effect.
John Trippe
Victor, New York
To improve Zvezda’s 1/350 scale HMS Dreadnaught, John added photo-etched railings, fittings, and a self-adhesive wood deck. He painted it with various Tamiya grays to show the seminal battleship in 1906.
Jacob Pizzuti
Paris, Ontario, Canada
Modeling an African Union tank on peacekeeping duties, Jacob airbrushed a Takom 1/35 scale T-55AMV with AK Interactive acrylic Russian green, followed by Ammo of Mig Jimenez Chipping Fluid and Tamiya acrylic for the weathered white finish. Ammo and AK enamel weathering products added the final touch.
Olivia Germann
Elmira, Ontario, Canada
It’s an egg plane Boeing 747, and it’s purple because that is how Olivia, 9, envisions the freedom of flight. She airbrushed the smooth paint with a Badger 20/20.
James Germann
Elmira, Ontario, Canada
The family caravan should look like this, according to 5-year-old James. He airbrushed the two-tone paint job and applied aftermarket decals.
Marco Panowski
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Marco’s beautifully weathered CF-188 represents a Royal Canadian Air Force Hornet deployed to strike ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria as part of Operation Impact in 2014. He detailed the Kinetic 1/48 scale kit with Eduard photo-etched metal and painted it with Vallejo Model Air and Tamiya acrylics with pre- and post-shading.
Roy Hu
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
To show a Panzer III in Tunisia, Roy sculpted sandbags for the front plate and added a bunch of stowage to a 1/35 scale Tamiya kit. He painted the German tank with acrylics and weathered it with washes and pigments.
Jim Anderson
Sundridge, Ontario, Canada
Rusty Meyers Flying Service transports anglers to remote Canadian fishing outposts. Jim modeled one of the service’s aircraft with ICM’s 1/48 scale Beech 18 upgraded with Belcher Bits wing root extensions and 3D-printed floats, struts, doors, wingtips, and cockpit. It’s tied to a 3D-printed dock in a lake made of epoxy and Mod-Podge waves.
Mike Sneyd
Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada
Mike scratchbuilt the catapult from a Jim Anderson design to display a Kitty Hawk 1/32 scale OSU2 Kingfisher. He detailed the scout plane with a Big Ed set from Eduard, painted it with KA acrylics, and kept weathering to a minimum.