May 15, 2025 • 17 mins
When Kevin Hedrich noticed a serious gap in the modeling market, he knew exactly what to do. "Manually masking canopies sucks," he explains bluntly, "and somebody had to step in to save those countless kits from the shelf of doom." That's how KitMasx was born—a specialized business creating precision-cut canopy masks for scale model aircraft.
What makes KitMasx unique in the modeling world isn't just their quality products, but their focus on overlooked kits. While many manufacturers rush to create masks for the latest releases, Kevin and his wife Janelle concentrate on producing solutions for older, discontinued, and neglected models that might otherwise never receive proper masking options. With over 400 sets available and more being added regularly based on customer requests, they're breathing new life into forgotten kits sitting in modelers' stashes.
The couple's passion for serving the modeling community shines through in everything they do. Kevin personally cuts and tests every mask set multiple times for quality assurance, while Janelle manages customer relations with warmth and efficiency. "Canopies are the first thing you notice on an aircraft model," Kevin reminds us. "If the lines aren't clean, it detracts from the whole model." This attention to detail has earned them devoted customers who appreciate both their products and their exceptional service. Ready to transform your next build? Visit kitmasx.com and use code MOJO15 for 15% off your first order. Your shelf of doom will thank you!
Your source for Harder & Steenbeck Airbrushes and David Union Power Tools
SQUADRON
Adding to the stash since 1968
Model Podcasts
Please check out the other pods in the modelsphere!
PMM Merchandise Store
Support the show with PMM Merchandise!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Give us your Feedback!
Rate the Show!
Support the Show!
Patreon
Buy Me a Beer
Paypal
Bump Riffs Graciously Provided by Ed Baroth
Ad Reads Generously Provided by Bob "The Voice of Bob" Bair
Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kevin Hedrich (00:05):
kev, tell everyone why you started kit
mask well, manually maskingcanopy sucks and somebody had to
step in to save those countlesskits from the shelf of doom and
now we've got over 400 sets andcounting.
Janelle (00:17):
We've got old kits, new kits, forgotten kits, you name
it yeah, and if we don't have it, just ask yeah, people don't
realize.
We take customer requests andwe even have a service that gets
you canopy masks for free.
Kentucky Dave (00:27):
We do.
Janelle (00:28):
Our masks are precision cut.
They fit well, they're easy toapply.
Kevin cuts and tests every set.
Kevin Hedrich (00:34):
Several times.
Janelle (00:35):
Yeah, precision is kind of his thing.
Kevin Hedrich (00:37):
And Janelle.
She does everything else.
She cares about each customerand is the heart of our business
.
Janelle (00:42):
If you ever reach out, you're talking directly to us.
Real people, real modelers.
Kevin Hedrich (00:47):
And if you don't love your masks, we'll refund or
replace them.
No questions asked.
Janelle (00:51):
Visit kitmaskcom, join the mailing list and treat
yourself to easier, cleanermasking.
Kevin Hedrich (00:57):
Kitmask made by a modeler for modelers.
Janelle (01:00):
Hey, what about me?
Kevin Hedrich (01:01):
You're not a modeler.
Mike (01:07):
Oh, all right, kentucky Dave.
I don't know what we're goingto call this one.
Kentucky Dave (01:16):
I don't know, mask Mania.
Mike (01:19):
Mask Mania.
We can call it Mask Mania.
There you go, we've come upshort on our model show
spotlight but we need to do avendor showcase to talk about
our latest sponsor that we'vealluded to.
In the last episode we broughtKit Mask on board.
They had shown some interest insupporting Plastic Model Mojo
(01:39):
and we sure liked those folksyes absolutely.
We took them up on it and we hadkevin back for a little
conversation about that and kitmass and heritage con and all
the things around.
What's been going on with that,and well, let's just hear it
from the horse's mouth, dave,well, dave, I'd hope to drop
(02:02):
some of this content afterHeritageCon, but when we
recorded the session up there Ihad a lot of crosstalk from our
adjacent podcast buddies overthere on all our recorded
channels and I really couldn'tdo much with the audio yeah.
That's the downside of recordinglive Well tonight with us is Mr
Kevin Hedrick from Kit Mask.
(02:22):
Kevin, how are you doing?
Kevin Hedrich (02:24):
I'm great.
How are you guys?
Mike (02:26):
We're real good and we just were thrilled to meet you
and Janelle up at HeritageCon inOttawa at the Canadian Warplane
Heritage Museum.
It was just a lot of fun atHeritageCon and it was just a
blast seeing you guys set uptalking your talk to all the
folks that were at the show.
Kevin Hedrich (02:41):
Yeah, we had a really good time up there as
well.
Kentucky Dave (02:43):
So now, that was your first time at HeritageCon.
It was Now I know you weredoing it mostly to try and
become more visible and all, butit seemed like your table was
fairly darn active.
Kevin Hedrich (02:58):
We were pretty busy from the morning to the
early afternoon and theneverything just sort of tapered
off.
Sure, but we had a really goodmorning.
Kentucky Dave (03:07):
It was great, and luckily, with your product, you
can transport it a whole loteasier than a lot of vendors can
.
Kevin Hedrich (03:14):
It's very easy.
We don't have to worry aboutairplane-holding jigs or
anything like that, just a box,yeah.
Mike (03:23):
Well, for the uninformed or the folks not paying
attention in the past, how abouta quick rundown of exactly what
Kit Mask does?
Kevin Hedrich (03:30):
We do canopy masks and marking masks for
scale model airplanes.
We do do some requests forarmor and sci-fi, although
mostly we've been focusing onairplanes.
Mike (03:43):
Well, your products are really good and I know the folks
I know who've seen them andtried them are really pleased
with them.
So that brings me to the nextpoint.
Because of that, because ofyour style of business and your
way of doing business andinterfacing with the public,
we're just really pleased tohave you guys come on board as
another sponsor for PlasticModel Mojo.
Kevin Hedrich (04:02):
Yeah, it's our honor.
We're really looking forward tothe collaboration with you guys
.
Well, it's been great so far.
Mike (04:07):
We've got a box of swag from you guys a couple three
days ago, oh good, and lookingfor our next opportunity to hand
out some info cards and somestickers.
Kentucky Dave (04:18):
Well, and count me as one of your satisfied
customers.
Of your satisfied customers.
I got the F8F Bearcat canopymasks up at Heritage Con and
just started using those andI'll post some photos in the
dojo shortly.
But really, really pleased withthem, thanks.
Kevin Hedrich (04:39):
That's great.
Yeah, that's going to make yourlife easier, especially when
you're doing a batch build.
Yeah, I told you.
Kentucky Dave (04:44):
I am really to the point that I will not do an
aircraft model without canopymasks.
I don't blame you.
It's so much of a time saverand you get such a better result
With aircraft.
Canopies are the first thingthat you notice and if the lines
(05:07):
aren't clean, it detracts fromthe whole model.
Kevin Hedrich (05:11):
You tend to look at the canopy and if it's not
clean, you sort of dismiss therest of the airplane.
Kentucky Dave (05:17):
That's absolutely true.
That's absolutely true.
So, like I said, I'll post somephotos on the dojo.
What's your latest stuff?
Have you been focusing on anyparticular scale, any particular
company, or I mean what's inthe pipeline for you all right
(05:37):
now?
Kevin Hedrich (05:44):
right now, basically, right now, it's just
what people have sent us.
There's a multitude of 72nd and48.
We have some of the HK modelsparts coming in, so hopefully we
can jump on that bandwagon.
Kentucky Dave (05:53):
Gotcha.
Kevin Hedrich (05:53):
And just catching up on everything that's been
sent to us.
There's no rhyme or reason asto what is coming out.
It's just what we get, and thenthat's what we make.
Kentucky Dave (06:05):
And that's why your business is a little bit
different than maybe some othercanopy mask manufacturers out
there.
You'll see the latest kit comeout and then the manufacturers
will announce a set for that kit, where you all tend to be.
(06:25):
I mean, you may do some stufffor some very recent kits, but
then you do a lot of canopystuff, canopy masks for kits
that have been out 15, 20 years,that may not have a mask set.
Kevin Hedrich (06:39):
Yeah, most of our stuff is old, discontinued kits
and just kits have been maskset.
Yeah, most of our stuff is old,discontinued kits and just kits
have been neglected mostly.
We'd love to get some new kits.
I'm going to try to get hold ofsome manufacturers and maybe I
can work with them a little bit,but I don't know if there's
much I would have to contributeto them Right, whereas it would
(07:01):
be definitely a benefit to meand not so much them.
So we're going to have to comeup with some creative ways to
work on that.
Kentucky Dave (07:08):
Well, I'll tell you, what gives me a little bit
of hope and encouragement is thefact that you are getting all
these requests for theseslightly older kids.
That tells me that there'sstill a lot of people out there
who are building them, eventhough they may not be the
(07:28):
latest and greatest kit off theassembly line.
Kevin Hedrich (07:32):
Yeah, there's a lot of old kits that people are
building.
It's kind of it's surprising inone way, because there are a
lot of the subjects.
Kentucky Dave (07:40):
There's better kits out there, but I think a
lot of people like the oldnostalgia builds so they keep
those kits around and now thatthey have masks they can tackle
them mike did a nostalgia buildwith the little airfix armor
piece and it is amazing how mucha nostalgia build can kind of
(08:01):
bring back the fun of modeling,so that, like I said, I find
that really encouraging.
Kevin Hedrich (08:09):
Yeah, it's nice to see.
Those old kits need some lovetoo.
Kentucky Dave (08:13):
Yep absolutely.
Mike (08:15):
Well, you say a lot of what you got going on is what
people have sent.
So is this the backlog ofcustom jobs?
Kevin Hedrich (08:22):
Yeah, there's a lot of backlog still.
I'm still not caught up.
We were setting it up so that Icould have a little bit of time
off in the summer, but not somuch.
There's just not enough time inthe day.
Mike (08:36):
Oh sure Is that something you're still pursuing, the
custom stuff You're still addingto the pile, and if so, let
folks know how that works again.
Kevin Hedrich (08:43):
Yeah, what we originally started was I had my
stash, I made a few off that andthen I realized quickly that my
interests were kind ofone-dimensional.
So we decided to offer peoplefree canopy masks if they sent
us their parts and that sort ofbasically launched everything.
(09:05):
We just took off after that andpeople just keep asking to send
parts and make masks for andit's mostly old stuff that
nobody makes masks for anymore.
And we did have to pause itlate last year and we're going
to open it up again in thisSeptember.
I'm still just working througheverything from last year still.
Kentucky Dave (09:25):
Well, that's the sign of a successful business.
You obviously have touched anerve when you get that kind of
demand.
Kevin Hedrich (09:33):
Yeah, I think so.
Like most of the biggermanufacturers, they tend to do
runs and stuff, so some of thatstuff that may have had mass
before, I mean, you can't findthat stuff anymore.
So I kind of stepped in andfilled a hole, which is nice.
Kentucky Dave (09:49):
Now, are you having any problem with material
supply?
I mean, the material is theOramask 810, isn't it?
Kevin Hedrich (09:58):
We use Oramask 810.
That's really easy to get holdof.
I mean, every everybody usesthat stuff right.
But we use tamiya tape rightsheets right, because we can't
really find a bulk supplier ofof any other kind of kabuki tape
like that right, plus thetamiya is.
(10:18):
You know, everybody knowstamiya tape is really nice.
So every every few months wehave a supplier hiccup where
we're running dangerously closeto being out of it, and then
we're on a big scrambleworldwide to find a supply.
Kentucky Dave (10:34):
Well, at least so far you've been able to keep
finding it.
I hope that keeps up.
Kevin Hedrich (10:40):
Yeah, we just got hooked up with a wholesaler in
Canada and it sounds likethey're going to be able to help
us out.
Oh nice, so that's a bit of astress relief there.
Kentucky Dave (10:51):
Well, good, that's good news.
Now what's the next show youall are attending?
Kevin Hedrich (10:56):
We were supposed to go to Seattle for their show
that they just had RightEverything was packed up ready
to go.
We had all our stuff.
Grab our passports.
I opened mine up and it hasexpired in February.
Yeah, that can be a problem.
That was a huge problem.
That was basically oh my Lord,we're not going anywhere.
Mike (11:19):
We've got some friends who had to pull the ripcord on a
Bahaman vacation.
Oh no, that's even worseBecause of an expired passport.
Kevin Hedrich (11:28):
Yeah, it was nice when we used to be able to
cross the border with just ourdriver's licenses, but it's been
a while since that was the case.
Kentucky Dave (11:38):
Well, my passport expired the month after
HeritageCon, so I now have toget a new passport if I'm going
to get to HeritageCon next year.
Kevin Hedrich (11:47):
Our next show that we're going to be at is in
Vancouver.
Oh, okay, when is that?
That's Canadian Thanksgivingweekend in October, gotcha, I
think it's right around the 8th,9th or 10th somewhere around
there.
Mike (12:01):
Okay, okay, we're glad you're getting around there.
Okay, yeah, well, glad you'regetting out to another one.
Kevin Hedrich (12:05):
Yeah, I mean Seattle, Vancouver and hopefully
Heritage Con yearly are kind ofthe only ones we've been able
to get to so far, but I reallywould like to go to the
Nationals next year.
Kentucky Dave (12:19):
Well, the Nationals are very close to us
next year.
So, yeah, we're going to be inVirginia or Hampton this year
and then next year it's up inwhat is it?
Fort Wayne, fort Wayne, indiana, yeah, fort Wayne Indiana.
So that's super close to us.
So, yeah, you'll have to comedown.
We'll have a good timeExcellent.
Mike (12:41):
That sounds like a plan.
Well, kevin, to wrap this up,why don't you tell folks where
they can find Kitmas and thenexplain a little bit how you got
a family operation going onthere, because your website's
really nice.
I'd like to know who's helpedyou out with that, and then
we'll let you go.
Kevin Hedrich (12:54):
So the website has been done.
Everything has been done by mywife, Janelle.
She is very talented.
She's a stickler for detail,she loves talking to all our
customers and she makes surethat everybody is looked after
and responded to right away.
So you can thank her for thatand you can find us at
(13:18):
kitmaskcom, K-I-T-M-A-S-K.
And for everybody listening,there is a discount code that
you can apply to get a 15%discount and the code is MOJO15,
M-O-J-O 15.
Kentucky Dave (13:34):
Well, I will say, having met your lovely bride at
HeritageCon, she is definitelyan asset to your operation.
She was absolutely the star ofthe show, talking to pretty much
everybody who was there.
It was amazing.
She has a real greatpersonality.
Kevin Hedrich (13:55):
Yeah, she's awesome.
I mean I lucked out there.
I was punching way above myweight class.
Kentucky Dave (14:00):
There you go.
You only got to get lucky onceman.
Yeah, that's right.
Mike (14:05):
Well, Kevin, we are really thrilled to be working with you
folks on the sponsorship sideof things Likewise, and look
forward to the next time we seeyou at a show.
I assume it's probably going tobe Heritage Con next year, so a
lot of water under the bridgebefore we get there, but we hope
it works out.
But I'm sure we'll be in touchfairly regularly.
Until then.
Folks check them out.
Kevin and Janelle are great.
They have a great business andit's really going to help you
(14:27):
out having some kit masks forthose kits you didn't think you
could find one for.
Kevin Hedrich (14:31):
It was great talking to you guys again and,
like I said, we're definitelygoing to try to make Heritage
Con next year and we do havesome loose plans in the works to
visit more model shows as timeallows.
Mike (14:42):
All right, loose plans in the works to visit more model
shows, as as time allows.
Good, all right, we'll talk toyou next time, kevin.
Kevin Hedrich (14:47):
Take it easy you betcha, you guys have a great
weekend, thank you.
Mike (14:55):
You too, dave.
It's going to be fun handingout the new swag from kit mass
and plastic model mojo andlooking forward to our next
opportunity to do that, becauseunfortunately it wasn't an AMPS
this week.
Kentucky Dave (15:06):
Yes, our consolation prize for not being
at AMPS is sitting here tonightrecording.
Yeah not great, but lifehappens.
You know, you and I both arestill employed, still working.
We got teenage kids andsometimes life comes first.
Mike (15:28):
Life comes first and work comes first and all that stuff.
So you know, like I told you inprivate earlier, just keep in
mind the money we're saving.
Kentucky Dave (15:39):
Yes, that's right , although I am going to go out
and buy a lottery tickettomorrow and if I hit it, this
all changes.
You and I are retiring.
Mike (15:51):
Oh, thanks for including me.
Kentucky Dave (15:52):
Glad to help.
Mike (15:54):
You're going to be my driver.
Okay, that's fine, as long asyou meet my salary demands.
Kentucky Dave (15:59):
The salary is going to be awesome.
Mike (16:01):
And I can wear flip flops.
Kentucky Dave (16:03):
Yeah, absolutely.
Mike (16:05):
Absolutely Well, folks, we've talked to a lot of you
leading up to Amps and it wentright up to the bloody end and
even when we recorded the lastepisode we had in our minds, we
were still gone.
It just kind of all hit the fan.
Kentucky Dave (16:18):
Fate is a B word.
Mike (16:21):
That's right, it is.
Kentucky Dave (16:22):
And we didn't know what was, or at least I
didn't know what was waiting forme at work, and work's got to
come first, as much as I wish itdidn't Well, and the apple
basket got even more sour.
Mike (16:36):
on my end.
So it wasn't meant to be, Iguess.
But we got plans.
We'll figure something out.
We'll be out in front of folksagain before too long, we hope.
Kentucky Dave (16:44):
Yeah, you and I have already discussed a little
bit of planning.
Mike (16:48):
Yeah, we'll see how that works out.
Maybe we don't talk about ittoo much.
No, that's right.
Don't jinx.
It Carved in stone, that'sright.
Well, I hope everybody's havingfun either getting to AMPS or
coming home when you listen tothis or while you're there and
send us lots of pictures on thedojo.
Kentucky Dave (17:05):
Yes, absolutely, and we're sorry we're not
getting to see all those greatmodels, all those great vendors
and, most of all, all our greatfriends.
Mike (17:14):
So, folks, in the meantime , check out Kitmas If you build
aircraft, primarily a real timesaver.
Kentucky Dave (17:20):
Yes, it is, wouldn't build without them.
Mike (17:23):
Well, Dave, until episode 141,.
I guess I'll talk to you later.
Man, you got it.
Bye.
kev, tell everyone why you started kit
mask well, manually maskingcanopy sucks and somebody had to
step in to save those countlesskits from the shelf of doom and
now we've got over 400 sets andcounting.
Janelle (00:17):
We've got old kits, new kits, forgotten kits, you name
it yeah, and if we don't have it, just ask yeah, people don't
realize.
We take customer requests andwe even have a service that gets
you canopy masks for free.
Kentucky Dave (00:27):
We do.
Janelle (00:28):
Our masks are precision cut.
They fit well, they're easy toapply.
Kevin cuts and tests every set.
Kevin Hedrich (00:34):
Several times.
Janelle (00:35):
Yeah, precision is kind of his thing.
Kevin Hedrich (00:37):
And Janelle.
She does everything else.
She cares about each customerand is the heart of our business
.
Janelle (00:42):
If you ever reach out, you're talking directly to us.
Real people, real modelers.
Kevin Hedrich (00:47):
And if you don't love your masks, we'll refund or
replace them.
No questions asked.
Janelle (00:51):
Visit kitmaskcom, join the mailing list and treat
yourself to easier, cleanermasking.
Kevin Hedrich (00:57):
Kitmask made by a modeler for modelers.
Janelle (01:00):
Hey, what about me?
Kevin Hedrich (01:01):
You're not a modeler.
Mike (01:07):
Oh, all right, kentucky Dave.
I don't know what we're goingto call this one.
Kentucky Dave (01:16):
I don't know, mask Mania.
Mike (01:19):
Mask Mania.
We can call it Mask Mania.
There you go, we've come upshort on our model show
spotlight but we need to do avendor showcase to talk about
our latest sponsor that we'vealluded to.
In the last episode we broughtKit Mask on board.
They had shown some interest insupporting Plastic Model Mojo
(01:39):
and we sure liked those folksyes absolutely.
We took them up on it and we hadkevin back for a little
conversation about that and kitmass and heritage con and all
the things around.
What's been going on with that,and well, let's just hear it
from the horse's mouth, dave,well, dave, I'd hope to drop
(02:02):
some of this content afterHeritageCon, but when we
recorded the session up there Ihad a lot of crosstalk from our
adjacent podcast buddies overthere on all our recorded
channels and I really couldn'tdo much with the audio yeah.
That's the downside of recordinglive Well tonight with us is Mr
Kevin Hedrick from Kit Mask.
(02:22):
Kevin, how are you doing?
Kevin Hedrich (02:24):
I'm great.
How are you guys?
Mike (02:26):
We're real good and we just were thrilled to meet you
and Janelle up at HeritageCon inOttawa at the Canadian Warplane
Heritage Museum.
It was just a lot of fun atHeritageCon and it was just a
blast seeing you guys set uptalking your talk to all the
folks that were at the show.
Kevin Hedrich (02:41):
Yeah, we had a really good time up there as
well.
Kentucky Dave (02:43):
So now, that was your first time at HeritageCon.
It was Now I know you weredoing it mostly to try and
become more visible and all, butit seemed like your table was
fairly darn active.
Kevin Hedrich (02:58):
We were pretty busy from the morning to the
early afternoon and theneverything just sort of tapered
off.
Sure, but we had a really goodmorning.
Kentucky Dave (03:07):
It was great, and luckily, with your product, you
can transport it a whole loteasier than a lot of vendors can
.
Kevin Hedrich (03:14):
It's very easy.
We don't have to worry aboutairplane-holding jigs or
anything like that, just a box,yeah.
Mike (03:23):
Well, for the uninformed or the folks not paying
attention in the past, how abouta quick rundown of exactly what
Kit Mask does?
Kevin Hedrich (03:30):
We do canopy masks and marking masks for
scale model airplanes.
We do do some requests forarmor and sci-fi, although
mostly we've been focusing onairplanes.
Mike (03:43):
Well, your products are really good and I know the folks
I know who've seen them andtried them are really pleased
with them.
So that brings me to the nextpoint.
Because of that, because ofyour style of business and your
way of doing business andinterfacing with the public,
we're just really pleased tohave you guys come on board as
another sponsor for PlasticModel Mojo.
Kevin Hedrich (04:02):
Yeah, it's our honor.
We're really looking forward tothe collaboration with you guys
.
Well, it's been great so far.
Mike (04:07):
We've got a box of swag from you guys a couple three
days ago, oh good, and lookingfor our next opportunity to hand
out some info cards and somestickers.
Kentucky Dave (04:18):
Well, and count me as one of your satisfied
customers.
Of your satisfied customers.
I got the F8F Bearcat canopymasks up at Heritage Con and
just started using those andI'll post some photos in the
dojo shortly.
But really, really pleased withthem, thanks.
Kevin Hedrich (04:39):
That's great.
Yeah, that's going to make yourlife easier, especially when
you're doing a batch build.
Yeah, I told you.
Kentucky Dave (04:44):
I am really to the point that I will not do an
aircraft model without canopymasks.
I don't blame you.
It's so much of a time saverand you get such a better result
With aircraft.
Canopies are the first thingthat you notice and if the lines
(05:07):
aren't clean, it detracts fromthe whole model.
Kevin Hedrich (05:11):
You tend to look at the canopy and if it's not
clean, you sort of dismiss therest of the airplane.
Kentucky Dave (05:17):
That's absolutely true.
That's absolutely true.
So, like I said, I'll post somephotos on the dojo.
What's your latest stuff?
Have you been focusing on anyparticular scale, any particular
company, or I mean what's inthe pipeline for you all right
(05:37):
now?
Kevin Hedrich (05:44):
right now, basically, right now, it's just
what people have sent us.
There's a multitude of 72nd and48.
We have some of the HK modelsparts coming in, so hopefully we
can jump on that bandwagon.
Kentucky Dave (05:53):
Gotcha.
Kevin Hedrich (05:53):
And just catching up on everything that's been
sent to us.
There's no rhyme or reason asto what is coming out.
It's just what we get, and thenthat's what we make.
Kentucky Dave (06:05):
And that's why your business is a little bit
different than maybe some othercanopy mask manufacturers out
there.
You'll see the latest kit comeout and then the manufacturers
will announce a set for that kit, where you all tend to be.
(06:25):
I mean, you may do some stufffor some very recent kits, but
then you do a lot of canopystuff, canopy masks for kits
that have been out 15, 20 years,that may not have a mask set.
Kevin Hedrich (06:39):
Yeah, most of our stuff is old, discontinued kits
and just kits have been maskset.
Yeah, most of our stuff is old,discontinued kits and just kits
have been neglected mostly.
We'd love to get some new kits.
I'm going to try to get hold ofsome manufacturers and maybe I
can work with them a little bit,but I don't know if there's
much I would have to contributeto them Right, whereas it would
(07:01):
be definitely a benefit to meand not so much them.
So we're going to have to comeup with some creative ways to
work on that.
Kentucky Dave (07:08):
Well, I'll tell you, what gives me a little bit
of hope and encouragement is thefact that you are getting all
these requests for theseslightly older kids.
That tells me that there'sstill a lot of people out there
who are building them, eventhough they may not be the
(07:28):
latest and greatest kit off theassembly line.
Kevin Hedrich (07:32):
Yeah, there's a lot of old kits that people are
building.
It's kind of it's surprising inone way, because there are a
lot of the subjects.
Kentucky Dave (07:40):
There's better kits out there, but I think a
lot of people like the oldnostalgia builds so they keep
those kits around and now thatthey have masks they can tackle
them mike did a nostalgia buildwith the little airfix armor
piece and it is amazing how mucha nostalgia build can kind of
(08:01):
bring back the fun of modeling,so that, like I said, I find
that really encouraging.
Kevin Hedrich (08:09):
Yeah, it's nice to see.
Those old kits need some lovetoo.
Kentucky Dave (08:13):
Yep absolutely.
Mike (08:15):
Well, you say a lot of what you got going on is what
people have sent.
So is this the backlog ofcustom jobs?
Kevin Hedrich (08:22):
Yeah, there's a lot of backlog still.
I'm still not caught up.
We were setting it up so that Icould have a little bit of time
off in the summer, but not somuch.
There's just not enough time inthe day.
Mike (08:36):
Oh sure Is that something you're still pursuing, the
custom stuff You're still addingto the pile, and if so, let
folks know how that works again.
Kevin Hedrich (08:43):
Yeah, what we originally started was I had my
stash, I made a few off that andthen I realized quickly that my
interests were kind ofone-dimensional.
So we decided to offer peoplefree canopy masks if they sent
us their parts and that sort ofbasically launched everything.
(09:05):
We just took off after that andpeople just keep asking to send
parts and make masks for andit's mostly old stuff that
nobody makes masks for anymore.
And we did have to pause itlate last year and we're going
to open it up again in thisSeptember.
I'm still just working througheverything from last year still.
Kentucky Dave (09:25):
Well, that's the sign of a successful business.
You obviously have touched anerve when you get that kind of
demand.
Kevin Hedrich (09:33):
Yeah, I think so.
Like most of the biggermanufacturers, they tend to do
runs and stuff, so some of thatstuff that may have had mass
before, I mean, you can't findthat stuff anymore.
So I kind of stepped in andfilled a hole, which is nice.
Kentucky Dave (09:49):
Now, are you having any problem with material
supply?
I mean, the material is theOramask 810, isn't it?
Kevin Hedrich (09:58):
We use Oramask 810.
That's really easy to get holdof.
I mean, every everybody usesthat stuff right.
But we use tamiya tape rightsheets right, because we can't
really find a bulk supplier ofof any other kind of kabuki tape
like that right, plus thetamiya is.
(10:18):
You know, everybody knowstamiya tape is really nice.
So every every few months wehave a supplier hiccup where
we're running dangerously closeto being out of it, and then
we're on a big scrambleworldwide to find a supply.
Kentucky Dave (10:34):
Well, at least so far you've been able to keep
finding it.
I hope that keeps up.
Kevin Hedrich (10:40):
Yeah, we just got hooked up with a wholesaler in
Canada and it sounds likethey're going to be able to help
us out.
Oh nice, so that's a bit of astress relief there.
Kentucky Dave (10:51):
Well, good, that's good news.
Now what's the next show youall are attending?
Kevin Hedrich (10:56):
We were supposed to go to Seattle for their show
that they just had RightEverything was packed up ready
to go.
We had all our stuff.
Grab our passports.
I opened mine up and it hasexpired in February.
Yeah, that can be a problem.
That was a huge problem.
That was basically oh my Lord,we're not going anywhere.
Mike (11:19):
We've got some friends who had to pull the ripcord on a
Bahaman vacation.
Oh no, that's even worseBecause of an expired passport.
Kevin Hedrich (11:28):
Yeah, it was nice when we used to be able to
cross the border with just ourdriver's licenses, but it's been
a while since that was the case.
Kentucky Dave (11:38):
Well, my passport expired the month after
HeritageCon, so I now have toget a new passport if I'm going
to get to HeritageCon next year.
Kevin Hedrich (11:47):
Our next show that we're going to be at is in
Vancouver.
Oh, okay, when is that?
That's Canadian Thanksgivingweekend in October, gotcha, I
think it's right around the 8th,9th or 10th somewhere around
there.
Mike (12:01):
Okay, okay, we're glad you're getting around there.
Okay, yeah, well, glad you'regetting out to another one.
Kevin Hedrich (12:05):
Yeah, I mean Seattle, Vancouver and hopefully
Heritage Con yearly are kind ofthe only ones we've been able
to get to so far, but I reallywould like to go to the
Nationals next year.
Kentucky Dave (12:19):
Well, the Nationals are very close to us
next year.
So, yeah, we're going to be inVirginia or Hampton this year
and then next year it's up inwhat is it?
Fort Wayne, fort Wayne, indiana, yeah, fort Wayne Indiana.
So that's super close to us.
So, yeah, you'll have to comedown.
We'll have a good timeExcellent.
Mike (12:41):
That sounds like a plan.
Well, kevin, to wrap this up,why don't you tell folks where
they can find Kitmas and thenexplain a little bit how you got
a family operation going onthere, because your website's
really nice.
I'd like to know who's helpedyou out with that, and then
we'll let you go.
Kevin Hedrich (12:54):
So the website has been done.
Everything has been done by mywife, Janelle.
She is very talented.
She's a stickler for detail,she loves talking to all our
customers and she makes surethat everybody is looked after
and responded to right away.
So you can thank her for thatand you can find us at
(13:18):
kitmaskcom, K-I-T-M-A-S-K.
And for everybody listening,there is a discount code that
you can apply to get a 15%discount and the code is MOJO15,
M-O-J-O 15.
Kentucky Dave (13:34):
Well, I will say, having met your lovely bride at
HeritageCon, she is definitelyan asset to your operation.
She was absolutely the star ofthe show, talking to pretty much
everybody who was there.
It was amazing.
She has a real greatpersonality.
Kevin Hedrich (13:55):
Yeah, she's awesome.
I mean I lucked out there.
I was punching way above myweight class.
Kentucky Dave (14:00):
There you go.
You only got to get lucky onceman.
Yeah, that's right.
Mike (14:05):
Well, Kevin, we are really thrilled to be working with you
folks on the sponsorship sideof things Likewise, and look
forward to the next time we seeyou at a show.
I assume it's probably going tobe Heritage Con next year, so a
lot of water under the bridgebefore we get there, but we hope
it works out.
But I'm sure we'll be in touchfairly regularly.
Until then.
Folks check them out.
Kevin and Janelle are great.
They have a great business andit's really going to help you
(14:27):
out having some kit masks forthose kits you didn't think you
could find one for.
Kevin Hedrich (14:31):
It was great talking to you guys again and,
like I said, we're definitelygoing to try to make Heritage
Con next year and we do havesome loose plans in the works to
visit more model shows as timeallows.
Mike (14:42):
All right, loose plans in the works to visit more model
shows, as as time allows.
Good, all right, we'll talk toyou next time, kevin.
Kevin Hedrich (14:47):
Take it easy you betcha, you guys have a great
weekend, thank you.
Mike (14:55):
You too, dave.
It's going to be fun handingout the new swag from kit mass
and plastic model mojo andlooking forward to our next
opportunity to do that, becauseunfortunately it wasn't an AMPS
this week.
Kentucky Dave (15:06):
Yes, our consolation prize for not being
at AMPS is sitting here tonightrecording.
Yeah not great, but lifehappens.
You know, you and I both arestill employed, still working.
We got teenage kids andsometimes life comes first.
Mike (15:28):
Life comes first and work comes first and all that stuff.
So you know, like I told you inprivate earlier, just keep in
mind the money we're saving.
Kentucky Dave (15:39):
Yes, that's right , although I am going to go out
and buy a lottery tickettomorrow and if I hit it, this
all changes.
You and I are retiring.
Mike (15:51):
Oh, thanks for including me.
Kentucky Dave (15:52):
Glad to help.
Mike (15:54):
You're going to be my driver.
Okay, that's fine, as long asyou meet my salary demands.
Kentucky Dave (15:59):
The salary is going to be awesome.
Mike (16:01):
And I can wear flip flops.
Kentucky Dave (16:03):
Yeah, absolutely.
Mike (16:05):
Absolutely Well, folks, we've talked to a lot of you
leading up to Amps and it wentright up to the bloody end and
even when we recorded the lastepisode we had in our minds, we
were still gone.
It just kind of all hit the fan.
Kentucky Dave (16:18):
Fate is a B word.
Mike (16:21):
That's right, it is.
Kentucky Dave (16:22):
And we didn't know what was, or at least I
didn't know what was waiting forme at work, and work's got to
come first, as much as I wish itdidn't Well, and the apple
basket got even more sour.
Mike (16:36):
on my end.
So it wasn't meant to be, Iguess.
But we got plans.
We'll figure something out.
We'll be out in front of folksagain before too long, we hope.
Kentucky Dave (16:44):
Yeah, you and I have already discussed a little
bit of planning.
Mike (16:48):
Yeah, we'll see how that works out.
Maybe we don't talk about ittoo much.
No, that's right.
Don't jinx.
It Carved in stone, that'sright.
Well, I hope everybody's havingfun either getting to AMPS or
coming home when you listen tothis or while you're there and
send us lots of pictures on thedojo.
Kentucky Dave (17:05):
Yes, absolutely, and we're sorry we're not
getting to see all those greatmodels, all those great vendors
and, most of all, all our greatfriends.
Mike (17:14):
So, folks, in the meantime , check out Kitmas If you build
aircraft, primarily a real timesaver.
Kentucky Dave (17:20):
Yes, it is, wouldn't build without them.
Mike (17:23):
Well, Dave, until episode 141,.
I guess I'll talk to you later.
Man, you got it.
Bye.
Popular Podcasts
United States of Kennedy
United States of Kennedy is a podcast about our cultural fascination with the Kennedy dynasty. Every week, hosts Lyra Smith and George Civeris go into one aspect of the Kennedy story.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.