Just curious to ask, Out of all the model kits you’ve built, what would you say is the ONE model in your completed collection out of all others that you feel the most proud of that you did your best when it comes to assembly, painting, decaling, etc.
Remember, you can only pick ONE completed model from your collection.
Show a pic of it if you have one.
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Well, in terms of satisfaction of the end result, my model is Ramba Ral’s Zaku I in 1/100 scale.
It was the first time I tried the “Max Watanabe shading” technique, which is now commonly known as black basing. The custom mixed colors were just right to my eyes, and it only took about a month to finish which is unusually short for a “turtle modeler” like me.
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I actually have a few that I could go with. But in the interest of keeping to the post guidelines, I’ll go with this one:
Tamiya’s 1/32 F4U-1 Birdcage Corsair.
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Tough to choose one. I’d say the 1/25 Revell dragster. I got the decal set to do Larry Dixon’s Miller Lite rail.
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My Monogram Flak Bait. I went all out scratching up interior detail that can hardly be seen, and researched the hell out of both the individual aircraft and the B-26 during the process. An enjoyable obsession.
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Hobbycraft 1/32 SPAD XIII in American ace Ray Brooks’ markings, as in the NASM. Saw it as a tattered hulk in storage back in the '80s - just before it was restored to pristine condition by the artists at Silver Hill - and vowed then and there to ‘do it up right.’ But with no commercial markings available, I had to wait until ‘print your own decals at home’ technology became a thing.
It was worth the wait!
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Beauty! Still have those same decals, but haven’t gotten there yet. 
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WOW stikpusher and gregbale, your two models look fantastic! I know what a “challenge” that B-26 kit is and you did a masterful job of construction and painting. Your preshading looks amazing.
Greg that Spad is awesome. The Spad is my favorite WWI aircraft and looks terrific in those markings/scheme. I’m in a similar situation with my Revell 1/28 Spad that I recently bought. I’d like to do it in Frank Luke’s markings but they can’t be found.
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Revell 1/720 USS Enterprise, I detailed it to represent her in 1968. Made it into the FSM Reader Gallery at the 2024 Butch O’Hare IPMS Contest.
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It would have to be the Trumpeter 1:48 Type VII-C U-Boat done as U-96 from the movie “Das Boot”. Sorry for all the photos, but there was just too much to see. It was an honor to have this build put on permanent display at the Miami-Dade War Museum in Homestead, FL.
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Probably the best model that I’ve done is my VERY FIRE 1/350 scale USS Louisiana BB-71 MONTANA class battleship. The ship never existed in real life, but I still wanted a model kit of it anyway. I even went so far as to scratch build the turret housing. That’s something you don’t see everyday. 
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I’m most proud of this Zeta Gundam I designed. I based it off a drawing I did in high school and worked on it for 2.5 years. It took a while to get the general silhouette the way it looked in the drawing and also sourcing the kits and scratch building “filler” areas. It was a kit bash of 3.5 kits. I think the most difficult part was getting the proportions correct as it is almost 2 times as tall as a regular, unmodified 1/144 Gundam. It’s technically still a work in progress because it is a smaller part of a bigger project that I hope to get done in the next month or so.
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Hands-down, one of the best paint jobs I’ve seen in a very long time. You absolutely nailed it.
AFV 1/35th scale Israeli M109. I dressed up the inside of the turret with quite a bit of scratch building.
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How much are you take for that? hahaha just kidding. I love the detail! It’s something I would never be able to do at that scale. I really like the composition of the diorama too, it really pulls everything together.
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If I consider how well one of my builds does in a contest, it would be the Challenger 2 I did a couple of years ago. It’s mostly Trumpeter’s original kit which is not very good, with lots of Tamiya parts and a fair amount of scratched details. Much to my surprise it got a 2nd in class at IPMS Nationals, 2023.
IMG_3749 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
IMG_3750 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
IMG_3753 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
And a pic before paint. Tan is Tamiya, green Trumpeter and white is Evergreen. Gray is Mr Surfacer.
IMG_3714 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
I recently built the Tamiya kit nearly OOB and it was an absolute breeze compared to this. The only reason I used the Trumpeter kit at all was that they molded the hydrogas suspension units separate from the hull and I wanted to build a tank with the “short” bazooka plates which would make the suspension almost visible.
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Beautiful finish on the corsair!
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I love looking at this 1/48 sub build and I really really want one. Lighted too. But the high cost and the sheer size of it - where will I put it? - has kept me from pulling the trigger.
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The turret housing is a stroke of genius.