Glad to be here. I have been lurking around for a while trying to pick up tips. I have an interest in Gundam, so I have been enjoying getting into airbrushing and trying out techniques I have always admired. I also like painting miniatures. However, as I get through college it has been inspiring to learn more about historical scale modeling. I hope to be able to advance my skills beyond the Gundam space and become better at stuff like weathering by learning here from people who focus more on automobiles, armor and aircraft. Thanks for reading!
Welcome James
I like anyone who builds any kind of models it doesn’t matter what type.
If you venture into historic scale models have you anything in mind?
I built armour for most of my modelling life but turned to WW2 aircraft as it’s far less expensive but still not cheap.
I should mention the Southern California Area Historical Miniatures Society. They used to hold regular meetings and an annual show, went into hiatus for some years, then made a comeback. They had a website but now use a Facebook group:
You might be interested in having a look at them. The group’s members include Bill Horan and John Rosengrant.
Here’s my diorama of the crew leaving for the first successful Wild Weasel mission Dec 22, 1965. Go on and tackle one yourself. If you haven’t, read Shep Paines book on dioramas.
Welcome, James. A Vietnam-era Huey could make for a great diorama.
One thing I’ve really gotten interested in lately is finding an actual period photograph and using it as the basis for a build or diorama. It gives you a ready-made story and sends you down all kinds of interesting research rabbit holes trying to identify the aircraft, equipment, people and setting in the photograph.
I’m currently planning a Vietnam-era B-26K project that way, based around a specific photograph taken at Nakhon Phanom in Thailand. I’ve found that researching the story behind the photograph can become almost as much fun as building the model.
