Gary Baker
Indio, California
Using pre-shading to determine the fall of directional lighting, Gary finished Hard Day, a 75mm vignette from In Motion Creations, with acrylics, inks, and artist oils. He added the tree and backdrop to give the emotive scene more context.
Don Haney
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Don used Hornet resin heads, Tamiya helmets, and Alpine Miniatures figures for his vignette of two tankers from the 761st Tank Battalion and painted with acrylics, including Vallejo, over Tamiya primer. The tankers stand on muddy groundwork made with acrylic modeling paste.
Tom Williams
Frisco, Texas
After priming Bonapartes Military Models’ (now DF Military Figures) 1/9 scale bust of a Royalist Cavalier, Tom painted the English Civil War soldier with artist oils over acrylics.
Glenn Hamilton
St. Albert, Alberta, Canada
Glenn painted FeR Miniature’s 1/12 scale bust of a Dacian chieftain with acrylic base coats and artist oils; he used AK Interactive True Metal paste on the helmet and armor.
Robert Raver
Crystal Lake, Illinois
After making numerous corrections and modifications to a Takom 1/35 scale KraZ-260V tractor and ChMZAP-5247G trailer, Robert built it as a surplus army truck pressed into its original role as a tank transporter by the Ukrainian military. It carries a Meng T-72B3 captured from Russian forces, now under new management. To show damage that wasn’t enough to knock the tank out, but hard enough to convince the crew to abandon it, Robert used metal foil.
Jason Whitman
Bath, Michigan
Jason’s vignette depicts Prince Rupert’s Royalist cavalry during the English Civil War Battle of Newbury in 1643. He heavily converted Airfix horses and sculpted the soldiers, incorporating bits and pieces from Airfix and Historex kits. He painted with acrylics, made the base from epoxy putty, and the grass is unraveled twine.
Wes Salazar
Wentzville, Missouri
Every part, including the engine components, on Wes’ 1/25 scale 1956 Ford F-100 pickup is a different color. He painted the Revell kit with a Harlequin set from Splash Paints intended to replicate an ’80s Golf Volkswagen painted in these four bright colors. “I wrote what color every panel on the model should be and took a photo so I could remember what panel would be what color,” Wes said.
Grant Mayberry
Glendale, California
Grant painted a 28mm Games Workshop vampire with AK Interactive 3G acrylics and light oil washes. He placed it on a resin ice base finished with AK snow.
José Maria Bolio
Mexico City, Mexico
José scratchbuilt his scene of a cat left closed in a bathroom and painted it with enamels and artist oils.
Scott Gentry
Eagle Mountain, Utah
After painting an AK Interactive 1/35 scale Toyota FJ43 as a Lebanese government vehicle with Tamiya and MR.Paint lacquers, Scott placed it on a foam base covered with AK textured acrylic groundwork. Using the same tones on the model and the base tied everything together.
Chris Mrosko
O’Fallon, Missouri
Chris built a Copper State 1/35 scale Romfell Panzerwagen “pretty much” straight from the box and airbrushed the prototype Austro-Hungarian armored car with Tamiya acrylics. Rather than using the kit decals, he masked and painted the markings.
Chris Cortez
Racine, Wisconsin
While the GI is a box-stock Tamiya 1/35 scale figure, Chris scratchbuilt the groundwork to deploy the soldier to Italy with the 34th Infantry Division in 1944. He painted with AK Interactive 3G acrylics, brushing thin layers of color over zenithal priming applied with an airbrush to set shading. “My grandfather served in the 34th, and I used his photos for reference,” Chris says.
Aaron Kuck
Beavercreek, Ohio
Aaron improved a Nitto 1/20 scale SAFS Space-type Fireball by adding cast-metal texture to the armor, replacing the kit plumbing with aftermarket hoses, and sculpting leg and arm joints. He painted the camouflage with Tamiya and AK Interactive acrylics and weathered with brush-painted chipping and washes.
Mindy Moore
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mindy painted this Scale 75 officer from the British 10th Regiment of Foot at a class led by noted figure painter Julio Cabos at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. It is finished with Scale 75 artist acrylics with colors, especially the red, starkly layered and then blended with glazes.
Richard Bruna
Plainfield, Illinois
For a postapocalyptic family portrait, Richard combined figures from Alternity Miniatures with a 1/35 scale Volkswagen from Ryefield on a scratchbuilt base. He shaved and thinned the car’s plastic so it could be dented and bent. Richard painted with Vallejo acrylics, Ammo by Mig Jimenez enamels, and artist oils. The last chilling detail was a mushroom cloud reflected in the goggles of the gas masks.
John Long
Springfield, Missouri
After bringing two First Legion 28mm figures together and modifying the woman’s hand to better show the pair reading together, John scratchbuilt a base and background from foam and Custom Dioramics bricks. He painted the fantasy scene of a sorceress consulting with an herbalist using acrylics.
Ralph Moschler
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Ralph painted this 1/10 scale medieval German knight bust with various acrylics, including Scale 75, over black primer and layered on shading.
Steve Shaffer
Hastings, Minnesota
To paint a Zoukei-Mura 1/48 scale Phantom as a U.S. Navy F-4J, Steve airbrushed many thin layers of MRP lacquers over black and weathered with Tamiya and Ammo by Mig Jimenez washes and pastels. He marked it for VF-143 using Furball Aero-Designs decals. “I love the Pukin’ Dogs CAG scheme,” he said.
Chip Rembert
Brighton, Michigan
Inspired by the work of renowned figure modeler Bill Horan, Chip repositioned the legs of an ICM 1/35 scale ANZAC infantry soldier and replaced the kit head with one from Hornet. He hand-painted the Digger with Vallejo acrylics and made the beach at Anzac Cove with spackle over cork.
Chad Anderson
Libertyville, Illinois
Reedoak 1/48 scale figures look on as another figure fishes from a float of an Azur Latécoère 298, a kit Chad describes as difficult but satisfying to get together. He painted the floatplane with Hataka lacquers over black primer and weathered with post-shading, artist oils, and enamel washes. The base is made from particleboard with a basswood pier and a foam wall and road.
Dave Browne
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
To model a Marine Corps tank in Korea in 1952, Dave built a Takom 1/35 scale M46 Patton out of the box. He airbrushed the vehicle with Tamiya acrylics and weathered it with artist oil washes. Pastels tie together the painted Polyfilla groundwork and tank.
Elliott Jailal
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Tackling Pegaso’s 75mm British Officer at the battle of Rorke’s Drift in 1879, Elliott replaced the head and added sandbags to the base that he expanded with Milliput epoxy putty, sand, and dry grass. He painted the figure with acrylics over black primer.
Lon Selbach
Racine, Wisconsin
It’s time for tea in Lon’s World War I scene centered around a Copper State 1/35 scale Lanchester armored car. He detailed the British vehicle with a few rags and wires and painted it with Vallejo acrylics using color modulation over black.
Jack Muldoon
East Patchoque, New York
Jack finished FeR Miniatures’ 75mm Marine first sergeant with artist oils over acrylic base coats and placed it on Celluclay and powdered pigment groundwork. The figure represents one of the Marines who captured Fort Beauregard, South Carolina, during the first year of the American Civil War.
Derek Clark
Chicago, Illinois
“He is a protector of the clan’s eggs, battle-hardened and ready to fight,” says Derek of his 75mm figure of Bronko the Turtle. He painted the Zaba Art miniature with Pro Acryl and Kimera acrylics, applying heavy brushstroke layering over black primer and blending everything with light glazes.
Greg Cihlar
Downers Grove, Illinois
Greg modified one of two 75mm Teutonic knights from Medieval Forge to fit a horse and painted them with acrylics, enamels, and oils. The scene represents the retreat from Tannenburg after the Battle of Grunwald in 1410.
Ray Welshman
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Ray base-coated a Seil Miniatures 54mm 1st century Roman archer with acrylics and applied shading and highlights with artist oils.
Jeffrey Bowden
St. Charles, Illinois
At Jeffrey’s hands, Games Workshop’s 32mm Jain Zar wears Citadel and P3 acrylics blended with feathering and glazes. The Phoenix Lord hovers over the miniature’s base, which is embellished with rocks, sculpted groundwork, and Milliput debris.
Jack Lynch
Fallsington, Pennsylvania
Jack’s modifications to Andrea’s 54mm T.E. Lawrence include altering the left hand to hold a Webley revolver, lengthening the robe, and equipping him with an Enfield rifle and canteen. He painted the model with Vallejo acrylics and provided context by adding a Celluclay base with scratchbuilt railroad tracks and a telegraph pole.
Tim Streeter
Edina, Minnesota
Using a set from MMK and 3D-printed parts, Tim converted an Academy M3 Stuart into an M2A4 light tank. He painted the camouflage with LifeColor acrylics over Model Master base coats. “This is an M2A4 on Guadalcanal in 1942, the only time this tank saw action in combat,” he said.
Dave Peschke
Spring Grove, Illinois
Dave dressed up a Wingnut Wings 1/32 scale Albatros D.V with Aviatic decals, Taurus sparkplugs, Gaspatch Spandau machine guns and turnbuckles, and Bob’s Buckles eyebolts and rigged with EZ line. He finished the fighter with Tamiya acrylics and Alclad II lacquers and painted the plywood on the fuselage with Vasari oil paint over Vallejo acrylics.
Iñigo Rodriguez
Spain
Warren Judge showed off this terrific 54mm model of Maureen Dunlop, a famous British Air Transport Auxiliary pilot in World War II, that he bought from Iñigo for his wife. The Tiger Moth's tail is scratchbuilt, and the entire scene is painted with acrylics.