Glue, Sprue, and BBQ

06/17/2026

WIP Tamiya 1/24 Nissan R34 GT-R 'Z-tune'

I've made some significant progress on the new project and the underside is now completed and I have moved onto preparing the interior and body for painting.

The underside and suspension components were finished using various Tamiya Lacquer Paints (LP), specifically, Semi-Gloss Black (LP-5), Flat Black (LP-3), and Silver (LP-11). The exhaust assembly was painted using Titanium Silver (LP-63), Titanium Gold (LP-62), and Light Gun Metal (LP-20). The model's overall body color will be painted with ProScale Paints Nissan Z-Tune Silver (PS-2031) and the remaining underside portions were painted this color. All of the components received pin washes using Tamiya's Panel Line Accent Color - Black (871313) and Panel Line Accent Color - Light Gray (87189).

The body was primed using ProScale Paints Black Micro Filler Primer (PS-1011), and once dry it was lightly sand with a 4k-grit sanding sponge. The joint where the front-end meets the hood needed some additional attention, and once I was satisfied with the effort, this section was re-primed and is now ready to receive the body color after a few days resting in the dry booth.

The full scale version of this car features an overall black interior with vibrant red accents in the seats, and door panels. To prepare for this scheme, I primed the interior parts with a mixture of Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Gray for the areas that will be painted black and Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Pink for the red accent areas. The pink primer will help increase the vibrancy of the red accent color which will be needed to add that 'pop of color' in the rather dark and plain looking interior.

I decided to alter the color of the wheels from a simple black to a metallic gray color, specifically Metallic Gray (LP-61). I wanted to enhance the details of the wheels, while adding some contrast to the overall Nissan Z-Tune Silver color of the body. This metallic gray color will also work well with the colors of the disc brakes when assembled. Lastly, the front and rear disc brakes were painted Semi-Gloss Black, and Silver and the caliper was painted Titanium Gold. The photoetch disc brakes from the upgrade sets were added and as a final touch, I added the rotational marks by spinning the photoetch disc on a flat Dremel disc and lightly pressing 800-grit sanding sponge to the surface. I'm really pleased with the effect and the final appearance of these prominent parts.

06/10/2026

Sweet, the issue that my article about the M1008, is a topic on The Modeling News...

06/06/2026

WIP Tamiya 1/24 Nissan R34 GT-R 'Z-Tune'

After returning from the Rocky Moutain Expo (RME), I wanted a quick build to take advantage of the momentum from that wonderful show. I've had this kit sort of in-progress since last summer, the body was assembled and cleaned up, however, it was just sitting off to the side for months waiting to recapture my attention.

Well, I've just finished the primary airbrushing of the main underbody components and I just had to share some quick WIP pictures.

05/14/2026

Please take a moment to checkout the upcoming issue of Abrams Squad ( #45) as it includes an article about my recent AK Interactive M1008 CUCV truck build.

I've submitted a couple of articles to various publications, however, this is the first one that is actually going to be published in a magazine 😀

I'm pretty excited, and I'm really looking forward to making a childhood dream a reality!

05/13/2026

WIP Tamiya 1/35 German Infantry

So, last year, I started these two (2) Tamiya figures as a simple painting exercise to enable me to play with the new AK Interactive 3rd Gen paints, as well as add some RADO photoetch details. I used a couple of spare WW2 German heads from Alpine Miniatures to replace the Tamiya heads.

Overall, I'm rather pleased with the painting and blending of the uniforms and other details but, honestly, I'm not too happy with the faces. This is an area defiantly needs significantly more practice before I'm satisfied and I'll be using some Hornet heads that I picked up at AMPS Nationals last month to continue this little exercise.

For now, I'll be wrapping up the bases this weekend by adding some tufts if grass and ground clutter to complete the small scene. The weapons will be finished up and then this exercise will be complete and then it's time to get back to the RFM Stryker MGS build.

05/11/2026

These are a great products, that I surprisingly use all the time when airbrushing. I highly recommend to anyone looking for a handy painting assistant when airbrushing multiple tiny parts. Also, they have fantastic customer service 👏 😀

Some of you ask for it! You got it!
Sticky Stix small parts holders just got bigger, Sticky Stix are now available in 3 sizes.

Original 1/4 X 5” 15 pack Stix,
BIG Stix 1” X 5” three pack, and
MONSTER Stix 1” X 9” two pack
All Stix are $6. per pack plus shipping.
Come see me at the upcoming St. Louis Railroad Prototype Modeler’s Meet July 23rd-25Th in Collinsville IL.
and at the IPMS National convention August 5-8 in Fort Wayne Indiana.

04/22/2026

This past weekend, I attended the AMPS Nationals in South Bend, Indiana and it was such an amazing weekend and definitely one to remember. Rod K***z, and I began our road trip in Colorado and then met up with SoDak Scale Models in Des Moines, Iowa, before continuing on together to South Bend, Indiana. We connected with members of Plastic Posse Podcast along with IBonez Models, Scalemodel Doc, AaronKuck Armor, however, once we were altogether the shenanigans really began ;)

This year's show was another fantastic adventure, and overall the event was really impressive as well as inspirational to get back to the modeling bench. It was great to connect once again in-person with both old and new friends, and share various stories, and laughs throughout the weekend.

On the whole, the contest entries this year were impressive, however, there were a number entries that were just mind blowing with their ex*****on and overall presentation. I'm still gathering my pictures from the weekend and will post some of the entries that I liked in the new couple of days.

I brought two (2) entries this year to the contest, the Magic Factory 1/35 M2A3 Bradley IFV, and the AK Interactive 1/35 M1008 CUCV. Both of my entries were fortunate to receive a Gold medal in the Advanced Skill Level group, however, my Bradley ended up receiving my first ever Perfect Score with a total score of 30.5!

Cheers for now :)

03/30/2026

SoDak Scale Models You are knocking this one outta the park...

03/29/2026

What a fantastic build...

03/14/2026

WIP RFM 1/35 M1128 Stryker MGS

I just have a brief update today on the Rye Field Model 1/35 M1128 Stryker MGS build that I am building alongside my friend Josh SoDak Scale Models. Please take a moment to check out his page and see for yourselves how his build is coming along.

The couple of days have been hectic with work but I was able to take a few minutes in the evenings to work on the model. I applied an overall layer of Alclad II Aqua Gloss to protect the model's finish and prepare the model for the decals. I started by applying the kit's decals to the model and these went on without any issues and I used both Micro Set and Micro Sol without any problems. I also added little bit of Mark Fit Strong applied with a filbert brush for good measure.

After the decals were finished, I applied a layer of satin varnish using VMS Varnish HD XXL Satin as a final top coats before moving onto weathering. Tomorrow, my wife and I are hosing the monthly in-person meeting of the Northern Colorado (NoCo) AMPS club so I'm sure I'll make more progress during the Build and Bull session.