From Listener Mail To 2026 Plans: A Scale Modeling Year In Review: Ep 153

Episode Transcript
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The Voice of Bob (Bair) (00:12):
Model mode.
Well, news and events around thepublic.
Join Mike in the day is to beinformed entertaining you
modeling mojo.

Mike (00:41):
Welcome to episode 153 of Plastic Model Mojo.
I told you in the 12-minutemodel sphere it's gonna be a
casual month, and here it is.
It's already the 13th of themonth, and we're just kicking
out our first feature episode,Dave.

Kentucky Dave (00:52):
Yeah, well, it's December, man.
It's between Thanksgiving andChristmas.
It's we're we're we're lucky ifwe find time.

Mike (01:01):
The weather's been a little frosty for this time of
year already.

Yeah.

Mike (01:06):
For us anyway.

Yeah.
Yep.
Those guys up in Minnesota areused to this.
It's this it should not be likethis in Kentucky.

Mike (01:16):
Well, it is.
So uh given that fact, uh,what's up in your model sphere,
Dave?

Well, Christmas threw up all over my hobby.
Um the the dark time hasarrived, which means that I have
been spending a lot of time withnon-model related stuff, but I
have managed to get to the bencha couple hours a week, not
making the progress that I want.

(01:43):
Now, with Christmas approaching,my family is, of course, asking
me what I want for Christmas.
So I have been able to suggest afew uh books and decal sheets
and maybe a squadron gift cardthat would come in handy.

(02:04):
So there is that.
Plus, uh there's we both talkedabout how one of the great parts
of doing this podcast is all thepeople and friends we've met.
And one of the nice things isthis time of year, everybody
reaching out to exchange holidaygreetings, etc.

(02:25):
So I've gotten to exchange DMsand and phone calls and texts
with a lot of our modelingfriends, just connecting,
reconnecting, wishing, wishingeverybody holiday cheer.
So it's my model sphere's okay.
It could get better, it's gonnaget better.

(02:47):
I swear it, I'm gonna make ithappen, but it's not awful.
And I'd be I'd be ungrateful ifI wasn't happy.

Mike (02:57):
Well, you did pretty good last year, so yes, I did.

I'm not sure I'm gonna do as good this year.
We'll see.

Mike (03:03):
Well, it's it's early.
We're still at the front end ofthis dark period for you.

Yes, we are.
How are you?

Mike (03:08):
Uh, I'm pretty good.
I've been looking at all thelistener mail coming in and just
looking at a lot of stuff that'sbeen related to the last three
episodes we dropped.
Yeah.
And it's just reallyinteresting.
I I'd like to say we plannedthis out this way, but that
would not be truthful.

(03:31):
We did plan 150 with PaulBudzik.
That topic was was selected, andwe let his process get a little
farther down the road before weactually brought him on the show
to talk to him about it, and wedid that, and then we hit some
similar topics in our shop talkin 151 and 152.
I think you know, Tim Nelsoncame on the show and and also

(03:53):
had a lot to say thatincidentally tied into all that.

Yep, resonated with a lot of yeah, that's
that's what well put.

Mike (04:01):
It's resonated with a lot of people, and I just was really
happily surprised by all that.
We hit a home run there.

Well, good.
Yeah, we're closing out strong.
We are we open we opened 2025pretty strong, and uh we're
closing it out strong.

Mike (04:17):
Uh we are, so that's that's the good news.
Yeah, other than that, I don'tknow, man.
I just uh getting ready for theholidays like you and squeezing
in what I can.

Well, we'll talk about that in the bench top
halftime report.
Meanwhile, if we're recording,especially in the holiday
season, I'm assuming you have auh modeling fluid handy.

Mike (04:42):
I do.
I've got some Micter's uhstraight bourbon whiskey.

Nice choice.
Nice choice.

Mike (04:49):
We may have featured it a long time ago, but uh it's come
it's come back around.
Well, good.
So I'm enjoying a little bit ofthat tonight, not too much.

Well, the funny thing is, their home offices are
like four blocks from my office.
I I pass by their place all thetime when I go when I go in
downtown to work.
So I've got Terminus TangerineKolsch from Yellowhammer Brewing

(05:17):
in Huntsville, Alabama.
Our friend Mr.
Clark kindly supplied this to usat the Nationals, and I'm
finally getting around to beingable to have it.

Mike (05:30):
Well, we got a lot, so you've had to chip away at the
stack and make that one happenfinally.

Yes, I did.
Yes, I did.

Mike (05:39):
Well, good.

All right, Mike, do we have any listener mail?

Mike (05:43):
We have a ton of listener mail.

That's always good.

Mike (05:47):
It is.
Some of it still, again, isrelated to the last two or three
episodes, so we may just hit thevery core of those, but we'll go
through most of this.
We've really gotten a lot, man.
Yeah.
Well, let's get into it.
You got it.
Up first is our friend MarkDoramis.
Okay.
Mark's got quite a bit to sayabout what their club does, so

(06:09):
we're gonna save that part ofhis email for the the feature
we're gonna do or the shortwe're gonna do on club
activities.

Gotcha.

Mike (06:18):
But his two cents on episode 150, he says he
remembers Paul Budzik's articlesin Fine Scale Modeler.
He says, Wow, the dental acrylicturning ball turrets on a mini
lathe.
I thought he was just a crazyold guy.
Turns out he's only three yearsolder than I am, so I guess he's
not so old after all.
He wishes Paul a happyretirement.

I think a lot of us who've been in the hobby a
while and who remember the whenfine scale was at its peak.
A lot of us associate the peakof fine scale with those
articles.

Mike (06:54):
Yeah.

Because I I would argue that was the peak of fine
scale.

Mike (06:59):
You may be right.
And uh certainly was a biginfluence on me.
We've talked about that before.
Next up, Dave, is Michael Lusifrom Peoria, the Jack Wisley
chapter, if I'm not mistaken.

Yep.

Mike (07:11):
And he mentioned the supermodelers quiz for for
getting rid of old kits, I thinkthe last time he wrote in.

SPEAKER_04 (07:18):
Uh-huh.

Mike (07:19):
And he just wanted to write in and he sent a picture
about the joy he gets seeing thekid he had that had been in his
stash forever finally displayedbuilt at a club meeting.

That is a a good feeling.
One that that you know thatyou've fallen out of love with
and you passed it on to somebodywho loved it and was inspired
enough by it to build it.
That is a really good feeling.

Mike (07:45):
Well, his club member and friend John Lubers picked up his
dusty stashed Forsaken Ravel 48scale Doolittle Raider.

Uh-huh.

Mike (07:56):
And uh got it finished.

All right.

Mike (07:59):
Brought it to their club meeting.

So that's an older kit, too.
That's that's one you know, youknow, that's not only is that
one that you've fallen out oflove with, but that's a senior
status kit.
Those are always nice to seebuilt.

Mike (08:15):
It's kind of like adopting a dog.

Exactly.
You're right.
Go in there and adopt the olddog at the shelter, not the new
one.

Mike (08:24):
Larry Donovan from uh New Brighton, Minnesota, up in uh
Houston's neck of the woods, Ithink.

SPEAKER_04 (08:30):
Yeah.

Mike (08:32):
Just another one.
Episode 150 and 151 just reallyresonated with him.
He's 69 years young, he says,and he's all this is helped move
him toward getting rid of stuff,paring down to what he knows
he's gonna build and what hereally wants to build.
And he's taking a similarapproach with his tools and
stuff, and uh he's just workingon the disposition of this stuff

(08:55):
and tightening things up in hislater years so he can focus on
building and enjoying the hobbythe way he wants to instead of
feeling obligated to all this uhall this stuff he got stacked
around.

Yep.
I they it becomes a burden toyou at some point, and I think
that go doing a stash and hobbycolonic every once in a while is
is not a bad idea.

Mike (09:19):
From the UK, Dave, Addingham, West Yorkshire in the
UK.
Okay.
Uh Neil Godden, he says AlMurray is a modeler, and maybe
we need to talk about himgetting on the show.

I'll have to I it wouldn't hurt to reach out.
Didn't on the bench have him on,actually.
You know, they may have.
I don't know.

Mike (09:38):
A long time ago.

Good question.

Mike (09:40):
I don't know if they did or not, but uh I think they may
have.
Great suggestion.
Yeah.
Next we got Oliver Mochon fromMontreal in Quebec, up in
Canada.
Bet he's cold.

Yeah, I'll bet.

Mike (09:55):
He's got a couple questions.
One of them's directed at you.
He's been back and modeling itfor about 10 years, primarily
military subjects, like many ofus.
He says he enjoys working manyscales in in many genres, but he
says he rarely builds 72ndaircraft and he never builds 48
scale armor.
He's just curious if you haven'tanswered this already on the

(10:16):
show, your proclivity for 70second scale.

Well, a couple of things.
One, it was the scale of myyouth when I first got into
modeling.
70 second scale was thepredominant scale.
This is back in the 70s.
In addition, one, and I've saidthis on a number of occasions.
Uh, you know, if you haven'tlistened to the entire back

(10:41):
catalog of our podcasts, if youhave, then you're gonna already
know what I'm gonna say.
One 72nd scale provides you thewidest possible set of subjects
to build.
I can build everything from a70-second scale World War II
fighter, a P-51, or a ME-109 ora Zero all the way up to one of

(11:10):
these hulking German six-engineexperimental transports or low
production transports, andeverything in between.
And not only that, displayingthem isn't hard because of the
fact that that they are stillcompact enough that you can

(11:31):
build a number of them andyou're not gonna run out of
display room anytime soon.

Mike (11:37):
Famous last words.
Yeah, right.
Well, that's better, that'sbetter than a joke about you not
run out of space because youdon't have any finished builds,
right?

That's right.
It and I've said this aboutgoing to the nationals or any
contest for that matter.
When you go to the 48-scalesingle-engine World War II
aircraft category, it is 109,109, 109, 190, Zero, P51, P47,

(12:08):
Corsair, Hellcat, Wildcat, andyou the repeat of the same
aircraft.
Whereas in the 72nd scale,because there is such a wider
variety of available good kits,you'll see people with, you

(12:29):
know, French Diwatines or Hawk75 to give a recent example, or
you know, stuff that you justdon't you're gonna see things in
70 seconds scale that you're notgonna see elsewhere.
And I'm a little bit of a scaleadherent in that I I've and

(12:51):
again I've said this before,I'll build anything, or I'll at
least purchase, hopefully, buildanything in 70 second scale,
from a Roman trireme to a GermanWorld War II mini-sub to
whatever.
I like the constant scale, theability to compare the size of

(13:14):
the item.
I know that in relation, a P-51in relation to a modern Japanese
deep sea diving vehicle, I canput the two things next to each
other.
And because it's a constantscale, I can see how they can
compare.
And for me, I like that.

(13:35):
So in a nutshell, that's thoseare the main reasons I I I'm a
72nd scale enthusiast.

Mike (13:45):
Well, makes sense to me.
Good.
Well, then he goes on, and hethought this would make a good
topic for a show.
It is a good question, I'll saythat.
It gets into you've pared downyour stash, and he did.
He cleaned up his stash, butthere's all these new kits
coming out.
Yes, and now after his cleanup,he's got more than when he

(14:09):
started the cleanup.
So his question is generally,how do you r resist the the
temptation to keep buying?
What is that's a tough one.

Yeah, and I'm not sure I'm gonna recommend that
you resist the temptation.
You kind of got a differentapproach because part of the joy
of oh, the the new Arma Hawk 75or the upcoming Arma ME262.
Even if I've got 500 other kitsin my stash, the acquisition of

(14:45):
those new kits, even if I'm notgoing to put them on the bench
right away, there there is someenjoyment in acquiring them and
examining them, etc., andknowing you have them in the
stash so that you can build it.
I I do want to recommend thatpeople pare down their stashes

(15:06):
and try and keep them reasonableand all, among other things, not
to be a burden to our familieswhen we're gone.
But it is undeniable that a partof the joy of this hobby is the
acquisition of a brand new modelthat we're really interested in.

(15:26):
And that's part of the hobby,and I don't particularly see a
problem with it.

Mike (15:33):
Well, personal finances aside, I guess I would agree.
I would agree.
But you've been like you'll buythis new hawk, right?
But you've probably got sevenold hawks in your kit in your
stash.

Yeah, probably about five, and I'm getting rid
of getting rid of those.
Yeah.

Mike (15:50):
So that's that's one way to that's a good trade.

You're right.
That's a good trade.

Mike (15:55):
So that's one approach.
And you know, another thing youmight consider if if if you can
get over the the impulse to buyit, most of the stuff from a
major manufacturer is gonna beout there to buy when you know
you're gonna build it.
Right.
So there's that too.
I don't know if these are goodanswers or not, Dave, but uh um

(16:19):
Well, there's no right answer.

There's no right answer.

Mike (16:21):
We we we j we buy kits and we sell kits and it ebbs and
flows, and i if it if it trendsdownward, that's a good thing.

No, I agree.

Mike (16:30):
Up next is James Mirando from well, he's from the wine
country of California.
And they've renamed their club,I think.
It was IP Mesh Santa Rosa.
Now it's wine country modelersor or something to that effect.

I like that.

Mike (16:45):
And they are they are gearing up for their next well,
this was Wine Country ModelExpo, and it's gonna be another
exhibition style format with anopen system.
This doesn't this isn'thappening until April, and we
talked to these guys last year.

SPEAKER_04 (16:59):
Right.

Mike (16:59):
Or earlier, I guess this year, back in the spring.
For their first for their firstshow in this kind of format.
And maybe we'll talk to themagain, but I was just glad to
hear from him again and to seethat it was enough of a success
that they're gonna expand onthis thing.

No, I agree.

Mike (17:16):
So stay tuned, folks.
We'll have more from the winecountry model expo when we get a
little closer, but that's nottill early spring, so it's gonna
be a little bit.
We got a lot of winter to getthrough.
We do.
Well, John McAvoy writes in,Dave, and he just wanted to
thank us and Tim for mentioninghim with regards to uh Fusion

(17:36):
360 and the design work he'sbeen helping Tim with and the 3D
printing stuff.
Yeah.
Well, that was no problem.
I mean, Tim Tim's the one thatmentions you really.

Well well, and that's a a wonderful example.
And again, you've heard me saythis before.
In general, the model one of thegreat things about modelers is
their willingness to shareinformation techniques,

(18:07):
something that they know thatyou don't, something they've got
experience with, you know,whether it being soldering photo
etch or CAD design, with rareexception.
Modelers are you you ask aquestion, hey, how do you do
this, or what did you do?

(18:28):
And you will get a just a wealthof information.
Because modelers are, in myexperience, really good folks.
And that applies to Johnparticularly.

Mike (18:41):
Well, he's noticed all our postings and comments about the
uh the interleaf sheet in the uhthe Aldi uh prosciutto.
Yes.
And he pointed out that uhTamiya actually sells, they call
it plastic paper or plow, PLApaper.
It's a five hundredths of amillimeter stock, so it's like

(19:02):
0.00.
It's like 15,000ths.
That's real, it's probably whatit is.
It's probably just interleaffilm.
But it's it's polystyrene.
He says he doesn't know if it'savailable in the U.S., but it is
it is available on eBay.
I've seen it.

SPEAKER_04 (19:14):
Okay.

Mike (19:15):
So you can get it that way too if you don't like
prosciutto.
Oh, I love prosciutto, man.
And the sheets aren't that muchbigger, really.
So you know, there's if you wantsomething really, really thin,
look up to me as plot paper, andif I can remember, I'll put it
in the show notes.
And it's certainly on eBay, itcan be had on eBay.

So But the nice thing about do it getting it in
the prosciutto packs is you canfeel good.
Not only do you get to enjoy theprosciutto, and who doesn't love
prosciutto, but you can feelgood about yourself that you are
not contributing to the wasteproblem that we have by taking.

(20:00):
Part of the packaging andrepurposing it.

Mike (20:04):
Yes, you can.

Yep.

Mike (20:06):
Again, related to uh the past three episodes, I think
particularly 152 with Tim, JohnRaymond writes in and says it's
really helped him getting pastmaking everything perfect.

That's good.
That is a constant struggle.
And I really do think a lot ofpeople who who end up never
finishing anything arestruggling many times with that
problem.
It's not perfect, so I can'tfinish it.

Mike (20:39):
That's right.
What did they say?
Perfection is a thief of joy.

That's right.
The the the the perfect is theenemy of the good.

Mike (20:49):
There you go, folks.
Well, we got a local Dave.
Okay.
Fellow Louisville, MikeHildebrand.
Is he in the club?
Yes.
Okay.
Well, he's written in.
He's been helping a friend withhis in-scale train layout, even
though he's a 35th scale armorguy.
So there is massive crossoverbetween trains and modeling.

(21:10):
Trains and armor, particularly.
I think he's figured that outand is enjoying that.
He's got an interview suggestionthat we are gonna take under
advisement, and he's got some.
I guess these are podcasts.
I'll send you these.
Okay.
And they're just uh well, whatis this here?
Max Miller.

Oh, yes.
Tasting history.

Mike (21:31):
Peaches and chartreuse jelly.

Oh, one of his better ones.

Mike (21:35):
Yeah, he says that's a good one.

Max Miller Max Miller runs a YouTube channel
called Tasting History.

Mike (21:43):
Okay.

Where he does recipes throughout history.
I think I may have mentioned himbefore.

Mike (21:49):
Well, you did last episode.

Yeah.
Just awesome stuff.
Awesome stuff.
In fact, our friend Dr.
Geldmacher just for Thanksgivingmade one of his recipes.
Hope it turned out.
It did.
He said his wife didn't like it.
It was the Indian puddingrepresentative.

Mike (22:10):
Oh, yeah, that's the one you mentioned.

And and Dr.
Geldmacher tried it.
He said he enjoyed it, but hiswife did not like it.

Mike (22:19):
So it gets mixed results.
We'll get scratched from nextyear's menu.

Yeah, exactly.

Mike (22:24):
And Tom Carron again from Cairns, Utah.
And again, Tim Nelson interviewand the other two also resonated
with him.
I think he wrote in after 50 and51 as well.
The time is now to tackle thosekits he's been putting off.

Yes, it is.

Mike (22:42):
It's like I talked about in the in the What's Up in Your
Model Sphere segment at thefront end of the episode.
I just it's really beensurprising.
Maybe it shouldn't besurprising.
It's really been nice that thatthose three episodes hit home
with so many people.
It really is.
Actually, Paul Buzzick did sendus a thank you note for that,
and he was really appreciative,appreciative of uh the fact that

(23:02):
you know his the episode he wasin had resonated, but then we
went on for the next two, andthen they have as well.
And you know, it it does meshwith the demographic of the
hobby.
So really, really interested alot of people, and it's it's
been just been great to see it.

And and guys, it it's nice for Mike and I to know
when we've done a particularepisode that's hit home for you,
that's that's been not just youraverage episode, but one of
particular interest.
So we really appreciate youDMing or emailing to let us know

(23:40):
that.

Mike (23:41):
I had another one from the Peoria area, our friend Tom
Choi.
Uh he may have posted this onthe dojo, but he he wrote in as
well.
There was a a listener hadwritten in about how to do the
the prismatic glass in modernAFEs.

Yep.

Mike (24:00):
And we had some suggestions, but Tom Tom sent
this in.
I guess at some of the craftstores like Michael's and Hobby
Lobby, there's this uhholographic vinyl sheet.
Yep.
It's a blue-green sheet and ared-gold sheet, and he says
they're pretty much the exactcolors of the real thing, and
the sheets are really cheap, andthere's enough on a sheet for

(24:23):
just as many tanks as you'reprobably ever going to build.

And you know what?
I constantly find myself whenI'm sh out shopping in an area,
you know, the wife's at Targetor whatever, walking over and
walking into a hobby lobby orMichael's and just walking up
and down the aisles and going,hmm, I might be able to use that

(24:49):
for this.
It it is amazing how muchnon-modeling focused stuff you
can find just walking aroundMichael's and and Hobby Lobby
and places like that.

Mike (25:04):
Oh, yeah.
It's easy to do.

Same goes with our same goes with hardware
stores.

Mike (25:10):
I don't do too much at the hardware stores.

Well, the hardware stores are a
disappearing breed.

Mike (25:16):
Well, Dave, that's all I've got for email.
That's not folks suggestingtopics or guests or things like
that.
So uh what's the direct messagescene looked like?

Not bad.
Got a number of direct messages.
If you'll remember last episodewe did Faves and Yawns, and I
mentioned the company First toFight was releasing a Polish
river patrol boat called a KM12.

Mike (25:49):
Yeah, I went and looked it up.
It looked like a pretty coolsubject.

Well, inch high went you won better.
And of course, Inch has enoughreference on everything that you
can't mention something navalwithout getting a ton of
information.
Well, Inch sent me informationand a link to a Facebook post
with more information about whatthe KM12 was, that it was a

(26:19):
riverine patrol craft on aparticular river in Poland, and
it was used a lot forcommunication on the river, and
just more information than youwould ever want or need about
the thing.
And I'll tell you what, afterreading what he sent me, I'm

(26:41):
even more interested in thiskit.
Of course.
So and that that's what Inchdoes.
He pushes, man.
He'll get you hooked hard.

Mike (26:52):
So have you got one yet?

Not yet.
I don't know if they're out yet.
I have not looked to see ifthey're out yet, but they're
they're coming soon.

Mike (27:00):
I'm sure Jeff will let you know when it's available.

I'm sure, I'm sure he will.
Where to get it.
Uh or he's placing an order.
Do you want me to throw one onfor you?

Mike (27:09):
Yeah, that's probably more likely.

Yeah.
Our friend Mark Copeland is justback from seven weeks in Europe,
where he's been doing tours forthe Mighty Eighth Museum, and
he's already planning the 2026tours, but he's back in the

(27:32):
States now, and he managed tocome up with a photo of the new
box art for the new Arma Emmy262, and he sent it to me
knowing that I was interested.
And man, am I interested?
I just I just love the 262, andevery current kit out there has

(27:58):
issues.
I mean, some of them not thatbig a deal, but to see a new kit
by a manufacturer like Arma andthis box art is awesome.
So thank you, Mark.
You definitely fed the beast.
I'm going to be picking up oneas soon as they're out.
Next, I mentioned previouslythat a number of our listeners,

(28:22):
when they encounter a new beer,will send me a DM just to let me
know.
So, you know, hey, I've got thisand I enjoyed it or I didn't or
whatever.
Brian Bennett sent me a photo uhthat was a combo.
One, he was just about to startthe old Tamiya SAS Jeep kit.

(28:46):
You remember that one?
Yep.
And he had paired it with ajuicy Oasis IPA, which A, first
of all, really liked the factthat he got Oasis and a and an
SAS Jeep together.
B, he he said that it remindedhim a little bit of a

(29:09):
creamsickle, which led me tomention that Country Boy Brewing
in Lexington has a dreamsicklebeer.

SPEAKER_02 (29:19):
Yeah.

And then just led into a whole discussion about
that.
He said it was surprisinglygood.
So I may have to find that beer.
But it was just nice for him toreach out and uh to mention a
beer that he was trying,particularly pairing it with a
modeling, a new modelingproject.

(29:40):
So it was just enjoy anenjoyable little exchange.
Next, numerous listeners DM'dme.
As you'll remember, the beerthat we feature that I featured
in the last episode, which itturns out was courtesy of
Michael Grisabian, was SuffolkPride.

(30:05):
And I said Suffolk Pride, andnumerous listeners, mostly those
in the UK, DM'd me to let meknow that it's not Suffolk, but
Suffolk.
And in fact, uh a couple ofmembers actually sent audio

(30:26):
clips from news reports orwhatever, where native British
speakers are are saying Suffolk.
So I have learned, and from nowon, if I'm referring to it, it's
Suffolk.

Mike (30:42):
Always learning.

Always learning.
Hey, you got Guelph down.
You know, there's hope for usall.

Mike (30:48):
I did.

A DM I got from a Facebook listener, Keller
Modeler, is what the Facebooklistener, the Facebook entity
goes by is Keller Modeler.
And he had a guest suggestion,and I'm not going to mention it
because it's uh I will it's agood suggestion, or I'm gonna
reach out and we'll go fromthere.

(31:11):
But I do want to bring it uponly to mention that we really
do appreciate when listenerssay, Hey, I I have a suggestion
for you for a topic or a lit aguest or uh something to do
differently in the show.

(31:32):
And Mike and I really do wantthat kind of input.
So I appreciate this personreaching out.
I really like his particularsuggestion.
And for those of you out therelistening, please do make those
suggestions.
Listener Bill McCullough hadheard me talking about uh

(31:55):
repeatedly about myorganizational mess that is my
model bench and all.
And he sent in a suggestion fora product.
It's an organizer by a companycalled Bucasso, B-U-C-A-S-S-O,
for a hobby desk organizer item.

(32:18):
And I really appreciate that.
Again, when people hear metalking about struggles, if
you've got suggestions fordealing with the struggles I'm
dealing with, I really, reallyappreciate that.
So thank you.
And finally, listener Ron Smithheard you and myself and Tim uh

(32:41):
Nelson talking about Dazzlecamouflage.

SPEAKER_04 (32:45):
Yeah.

And this is apparently a subject that Mr.
Smith is A very passionate aboutand B knows a ton about.
And so he sent in a multi-partDM regarding Dazzle camouflage
and the fact that there weredifferent, it wasn't all black

(33:09):
and white, that there weredifferent color palettes, and
and he's actually working withSquadron to try and to get them
to release the colors that wereused for these dazzle
camouflages.
And I've asked him to post totake what he sent in the DM and
turn it into a post on the dojo,and he says he's gonna do that,

(33:33):
and I really appreciate that.
Anytime we discuss somethingthat you have a particular
knowledge of, please share that.
And the dojo is a great place todo that, so that, you know, and
I don't mind somebody saying,hey, you said this, but it
actually turns out that.

(34:07):
So I appreciate Mr.
Smith reaching out and Iappreciate him agreeing to post
that on a dojo on the dojo.
So hopefully by the time thisepisode's out, you'll be able to
go look on the dojo and find it.

Mike (34:21):
That's your last one?

That's my last one.

Mike (34:24):
Oh man, we've had a lot.

I know, I know.

Mike (34:29):
Well, folks, we appreciate it.
And I think we've had less thanthat before, and I've actually
used it for an entire episode oflistener mail way back in 20 or
21.

unknown (34:42):
Yep.

Mike (34:42):
Might have to consider that again, Dave.
Yep, I agree.
Well, while we're making thatdecision, please keep the email
coming and the direct messages.
You can send email toplasticmodelmojo at gmail.com or
you can direct messages throughthe Facebook uh messenger
system.
We love the feedback.
And there's also a feedback linkin the show notes of this
episode and on the website.

(35:03):
Uh, you can send a message thatway as well.
So always looking forward to it.
Maybe we'll get off this uh 150,151, 152 bubble we've been on,
but uh really appreciate all thefeedback from those three
episodes.
It's been really it's beenreally interesting, to be
honest.

Yes, it has.

(35:43):
Yes, we are.

Mike (35:44):
And given this episode is just you and I, it's gonna be a
shop talk kind of thing, butjust kind of the year in review.
We've done this in the past andwe've got a few bullets here to
to work through.
But well, first off, I can'tbelieve we're about to put the
bow on our sixth year doingthis.

Yeah, I know.

Mike (36:05):
It's a long time, man.

I know.
And it doesn't does it seem likewe've been doing it for six
years?
No, it doesn't to me.
It does not, it really doesn't.
And this this year went by soquick.
I mean, it really, really did.

Mike (36:21):
Well, there's more at play there than a podcast that's
making that yes, that's true.

That's true.
And and folks, everything youhear is true.
The older you get, the fasterthe years pass.
Absolutely 100%.

Mike (36:38):
I'm sure the way it seems on my end, man.

Oh, it's getting oh, wait till you get to my age,
brother.
Blink of an eye.

Mike (36:45):
Yeah.
Well, 2025, you know, outside ofthe hobby for me, has been a
dumpster fire.
But this has kept me groundedand giving me a place to escape
to and people to talk to or whoweren't involved with all my
other issues.

SPEAKER_04 (37:02):
Yeah.

Mike (37:02):
So I wanted to talk to them.
What do you think, man?
How was 2025?
I mean, for the show, we wedidn't quite get to nearly as
many places as 20.

Although we, although we, although we did not
do bad.
Uh now keep in mind I got someto shows to some shows you
didn't get to.
Right.
But overall, we did better thanI think we thought we might at
the beginning of the year.

Mike (37:30):
Yeah, I think so.
We did pretty good.
We got around a little bit.
We went to the big ones, exceptamps.
I didn't we didn't get to amps.

We did not get to amps.
It just uh it just didn't workfor us.
But on the upside, amps iscoming to us the in 2026.

Mike (37:47):
More or less, you're right.

So and I can't I can't tell you how much I'm
looking forward to it.
I really enjoyed 2024's AmpsNational, and this year prom
2026 promises to be bigger andbetter.

Mike (38:04):
Well, we've accomplished a lot with the show this this
year.
We got we got the websitelaunched.
We got the website launched.
Didn't quite get as far as wewanted to with it, but uh give
us something to do in 2026, Iguess.

That's that's right.
And it's getting more we cantell from the back-end metrics,
it's getting more and moreutilization, and we want to add
more and more functionality toit.
So that just costs time andmoney, and both of those things
are in short supply.

Mike (38:36):
And I think we've uh we've weathered all the the hiccups
that not just scale not just us,not just scale modeling
podcasts, but podcasting ingeneral have weathered over the
last year, year to 18 months,and and I think the the fog has
lifted on that, you know, theall the Apple shenanigans, I

(38:56):
guess, on the way they theymeasure things and the way they
changed it, and then the demiseof Google Podcasts and having to
make things up on the on theYouTube side, which is kind of a
crappy platform for audiopodcasts, but uh the ship has
been rided and is it's we'repointing in the right direction,
and we look I'm looking forwardto 2026.

I am looking forward to 2026.
There's so it's so bright ahorizon.
Now, hopefully it's not theheadlight of an oncoming train,
but there's so many positives in2026, be it Amps in South Bend
or the Nationals in Fort Wayne,March and and HeritageCon's not

(39:40):
that far away.
There are a bunch of new kitscoming out.
While my modeling did not turnout to be quite as productive as
I wanted, it was I'd say moreproductive than 2024.
And so it's moving in the rightdirection.
And I can see a bright futurefor 2026.

(40:00):
So hopefully that isn't theheadlight of an oncoming train.
And hopefully it's going to turnout to be what I think it's
going to be, which is a the bestyear yet.

Mike (40:11):
Well, I certainly hope so.
And something you said there isa good transition over to what
we did get done this year.
You've had you've had a goodyear.

Yes, I did.
I've got two completions, theGerman Sea Hund and the F-8F.

Mike (40:28):
But you got to you're dang close on at least one more,
maybe two.

Well, two more.
The Sam and the Hellcat are bothin deep painting decals, and
they just need to be finishedoff.
I doubt, given the timeline thatthat I'm gonna finish either one
in December, but January is apossibility for one or both.
And it it's a nice springboardinto 2026 where there's plenty

(40:56):
of stuff out there.
There's all these new kitscoming out.
Having clear one of the thingsabout clearing out your stash or
going through your stash andparing it down is it kind of
focuses the mind on what youwant to build.
And Tim Nelson was right intalking about building models

(41:18):
that you really want to build,not putting them off till you
get better.
And one of my mottos of 2026 isgoing to be to do that.
So I am optimistic.
Now, maybe, maybe it's crazy tobe optimistic, but nevertheless,
I'm optimistic about 2026.

Mike (41:40):
Well, you did better than me.

Well, it's not better.
We don't judge it that way.
Well, that's true.
You had fun mobbing.

Mike (41:49):
I I did, I had a lot of fun.
I got I got the E16 donefinally.

Yes.
And it looks beautiful.

Mike (41:56):
I'm very happy with it.
I I learned a lot of stuff doingthat project.
You know, it once it got moving,the I was, I guess a surprise
would be once I really startedpainting it.

Mm-hmm.

Mike (42:11):
It it really didn't take that long.

Yep.

Mike (42:14):
I mean, maybe it took longer than some of the some of
our listeners out there or somefine modelers, but uh I it kept
moving, I kept it moving becauseI want to get it done, and I I I
got it done, and I'm really,really happy with it.
And man, did I I can't I can't Ican't overstate it.

(42:34):
Just because I hadn't built anaircraft in so long.
I was gonna say.
And because I picked somethingthat was probably not wise for
my first one after having notbuilt one for so long.
At least it wasn't a riggedunderframe float plane.

Yeah, true enough.
I mean that that and it was alsosomething you were enthused
about, and that really did allowyou to finish the project.
So you yeah, maybe it wasn't themaybe it wasn't the simplest
choice for your first aircraftin forever, but it was something
you were interested in.

Mike (43:09):
And I've traveled a little bit and I've I've shown it to
the folks that I most wanted tosee it.
So it's uh it's for me to admirenow.

Well, you and you took it to the nationals and had
it at our table.
A lot of people got to stop byand see it.

Mike (43:25):
That's right.

And you got a a lot of very nice comments about
it.
And one of the neat things isyou learned a lot.
I mean, you started this wholething started because you wanted
to make a set, you wanted to doa set of photo edge, homebrew
photo edge, and then it justgrew out of there.

Mike (43:44):
There had to be more to it than that.
I mean, that certainly is partof it, but that in itself
wouldn't make me pick a70-second scale float plane.

Yeah.
I could have well.
I gotta photo etched a lot ofstuff.
I'd I'd like to think that I wasat least part of it.

Mike (44:00):
You probably were, and there's all there's also, you
know, I had a probably a a longtime, but what to say, deeply
repressed interest in that kindof a subject from you know my
youth.

Yeah.
So well I want and you clear youclearly have a thing for float
planes uh well and catapults.

Mike (44:23):
I do, I like it.
I think they're really cool.
I like I've always liked when Iwas building aircraft as a kid,
it was always naval related.
The carrier planes, you know, Iwas watching the Pacific War
mostly.
It really was.
So it it kind of got me back toto that again.
So there's a little nostalgiathere as well.

SPEAKER_04 (44:44):
Mm-hmm.

Mike (44:45):
I don't know what the next float plane will be.
We'll talk about lists here in alittle bit, but there's not one
on it.
That's okay.
You know, the other things, uhthe the the little paper pans
I've been working on, I uhthat's some of the major
assemblies are in primer now,and I kind of pushed that to the
back burner until I I I reallywant to get the KV-85 in paint

(45:07):
before I pick anything up inconstruction again, other than
this moose root cup thing I'mworking on.
And it's and it's not thattough, really.
It just doesn't have that manyparts.
So, you know, I've got the E16done.
KV85 is we'll talk about it moreat the bench top after report,
but it's it's it's lurchingforward.
And the other one's just kind ofin a holding pattern until I get

(45:29):
something done.
Because I think for for me,three's probably too many.

Well, can you can you think of in 2025?
Can you think of stuff youlearned?
Oh, yeah.
Or or things that you absolutelythat that you well, one of the
things that I can think of is Igot I'm experiencing my second
experience with decals byFurball Aero Design.

SPEAKER_04 (45:56):
Yeah.

And I'm I'm here to tell you that both of the
experiences have been fantastic,and it's really nice to learn
that okay, I can count on if Ibuy one of these decal sheets or
I go to use one on a project,I'm not gonna have a problem.

Mike (46:18):
So we can trust the Model Geek sponsors.

We can trust the Model Geek sponsors.

Mike (46:23):
I knew we could.

Number two is in 2025, one of the things I wanted
to concentrate on was scribing,rescribing, and re-engraving.
And I made great progress indoing that, and I feel like I
got better at it, which, youknow, that's one of the things

(46:47):
as far as my hobby.
I want to try and get better atat techniques.
And so if I feel like I madeprogress, I learned something, I
got better, I count that as asuccess.
So for tw for 2025, I I reallyfelt like I made progress in

(47:08):
that respect.
Additionally, I I have made somesteps to organizing and getting
my stash paired down and gettingmy hobby life a little better
organized.
And and finally, that I will saythat in 2025, the impact of of

(47:30):
helping Jeff Groves, inch high,with that widow up in
Indianapolis and her latehusband's books made a profound
effect on me as far as coming toterms with my eventual mortality
and not wanting to leave myhobby as a burden for my family.

(47:57):
I learned a lot of things in2025.
I I really did.
I I actually, those are thingsthat I count as positive
additions to what I know aboutthe hobby.
Did you experience any of that?

Mike (48:13):
I did, maybe not so much on that line as you did, but I
probably would be wise to dothat.

But did you learn new skills?
Did you try?
I know that you were talkingabout very recently about making
jigs to make parts of a projecteasier.

Mike (48:32):
I I think in the last half of the year on the KV85 project,
and we'll talk about more uh,you know, in detail about what
I've done over the last coupleweeks in the bench top halftime
report, but just getting back tomodeling the way I I have in the
past, not not, you know, to somestagnant stagnant point in my

(48:56):
skill set, but that's not what Imean.
I mean the detail and the metthe methodical nature of of
doing things, and and it reallygets back to, you know, those
old fine scales and and havingPaul being such a part of our
show uh over the last coupleyears.

(49:16):
And the airplane was a adiversion that I I applied a
little bit of that stuff to it,but the thing was just so fresh
and new again because I hadn'tdone it so long that um I was a
lot have I was having to relearna lot of things, so I didn't get
to apply my old methodologies tothat project as much.
So I think maybe the nextaircraft will be more along

(49:38):
those lines.
But certainly this KV-85, it'sjust I'm comfortable in it.
Now and that's a good thing.
And I'm I'm comfortable to apoint that I don't mean comfort
zone.
Right.
I I mean that I I I'm being verymethodical.
I'm I knowing I know what I needto do.
I think it through.
If it needs something set up acertain way to do it, I take the

(50:01):
time to do that first.
I'm not taking many chances onconstruction problems.
I'm thinking those through upfront.
And I just historically, youknow this.
That's just the way I've I'vedone things.
Right.
And it's probably the biggestinfluence on my build pace is
anything, because you you youyou you do things that way, and

(50:23):
then you have two kids are incollege and got a job, and you
know, just it just bringseverything to a screeching halt.
Almost.

You're shooting stuff into space, and you know I
could see how that would get inthe way of a hobby.

Mike (50:40):
Because kind of backed in that mindset, that gets me to
the the happy place at myworkbench that I want to be.

Could it be the synonym for confidence?

Mike (50:50):
Yeah, I think so.
Um I've gotten very confidentagain, particularly in the last
six months or so.
Just things are coming back.
You know, it's weird.
Things come back that you didn'tknow were missing.

SPEAKER_04 (51:02):
Yeah.

Mike (51:02):
But you you know, you you botched up something or you
know, mucked something up, andyou're like, dude, just slow
down.
Just do it this way.
You need to do it the way youused to do it.

You know how you know how to do this.
You've done it before.
Yep.
Familiar with that.

Mike (51:19):
That's kind of in pretty the last half of 2025.
That's that's where I've been.
It's it's I'm looking forward toapplying it to the next one.
So I'm looking forward to movingforward.
Well, good.
Well, in the past, Dave, we'vewe've made lists.
Yes, we have.
Um Delusions of Grandeur comesto mind.

SPEAKER_04 (51:41):
Mm-hmm.

Mike (51:42):
Uh list of ten things.
I wanted to change that thisyear.
Okay.
Um, I think I told you beforethree.
Gonna limit it to three, and Icheated already.
Yeah, I get cheated because Iwanted I wanted two armor
subjects and two aircraft on thelist.
So I'm at four.
I don't have how bad youcheated.
I cheated by seven.

(52:03):
I cheated by one.
You cheated by by four.

Yeah, I cheated by four.

Mike (52:08):
All right.
So, folks, the the idea here isis to have something that we
have a snowball's chance in hellof actually pulling off.

Finishing.
Or at least starting, even.
Right.
And this doesn't includeanything we've got currently in
process.

Mike (52:25):
And then the plan is that when we get to the new place
where we can actually initiate anew project, it has to come off
this list.
Exactly.
So I think I'm okay with that.
Yep, I am too.
All right.
Well, who who wants to do thefirst one?

Well, let's let's let you start.

Mike (52:46):
I'll the the yeah, I've got two armor subjects in there.
The same two that have beenaround a while since we started
the podcast, Dave.
I want to do this BM13 Kachushaon the Zis three truck.

Yeah, that's a big project.

Mike (53:01):
It is, but I've man, I've already got a lot of a lot of
mental modeling into that onealready.
So that that's one, you know,it's a it's a multi-kit,
cross-kitten kind of thing.

There's some Yeah, there's at least three
kits.

Mike (53:14):
Three kits, there's some some aftermarket, not a lot
though.
And there's some 3D print stuffthat I've already done.

Yeah.

Mike (53:23):
It's a subject I've long wanted to do, but I've never
wanted to do it on a Lindlee'struck.

Yeah.

Mike (53:29):
So, and that and that's that's where I'm at.
So that's that's kind of my ofmy two top armor 35th scale
contenders.
That's that's the first one.

Well, and and you mentioned something that we need
to make a note for a futureepisode, mental modeling.
I think that there's a lot toexplore with mental modeling.
So maybe make a note, we'll havea whole episode on that or at
least a bench top or a shop talksubject on that.

Mike (53:58):
I think that'll work.

All right.
My first one is something thatyou and I and certain other
modelers have been planning forthe first of the year, is
building the special hobbyHE162, which you and I both
picked that kit up in was itMadison or did we pick it up in

(54:21):
Hampton?
Madison.
Uh Hampton.

SPEAKER_02 (54:24):
Madison.
Madison.
I've had mine a year.

Okay, Madison.
And you and I talked aboutbuddybuilding that, and I would
like to buddybuild that with youalong with a couple of our
friends, and I think it would bea pretty, a pretty good and not
too difficult build.

(54:47):
So I have a thing, while I'm nota huge Luftwaffe guy generally,
I do have a particular interestin the end-of-the-war
technological weapons, yeah,jets, rockets, etc., mini-subs,
uh, whatever.
And that fits right into that inthat particular collection

(55:12):
sub-genre.
So the HE162 is probably top ofmy list for 2026.

Mike (55:21):
Okay.
I I guess for me that one wasgonna be I'd thought that
further out, and and there'ssomething I want to do on the
website with that.
Okay.
With that one.
Okay.
But it doesn't have to be that.

You and I will talk.

Mike (55:36):
It's still on the list.
It's still on the list.

Yes.

Mike (55:39):
So my next one, shall I do my my next my second armor one
or do my first aircraft one?

Either one.
It's up to you.

Mike (55:47):
Let's jump to an aircraft.

There are no there are no rules here, buddy.

Mike (55:51):
Maybe there should be.

Maybe there should be, right?

Mike (55:55):
I want to build a Gloucester Meteor F1.
And thanks to Paul Gloucester,you can do that.
I can.
Or a three.
He got me both of them thisyear.

Yes, I know.
It was kind of him.

Mike (56:06):
I I want to do a jet, an early jet like that really
interests me.
Like you just mentioned the endof war techno technology.
Yeah.
That's another one.
It kind of falls into thatcategory for the RF.
And it's, you know, the thelines are pretty simple, like
most of the early jets.
Yep.
And it just I thought it wouldbe a good one to to do.

(56:28):
And and the history of theairplane interests me as well.
So for my for my aircraft 70second scale meteor F1, it's
probably my my primary choiceright now.

Well, I've got an already built V1 that you can
pair with it to do a littledogfight double.

Mike (56:46):
What do you got next?

Next is a AirFix C47, which I have wanted to
build ever since the kit cameout about five, seven years ago,
whatever.
We had needed a new C47, andAirFix answered the call with a
really nice kit.
And this year's September groupbuild or group entry for the

(57:13):
Nationals, this will fit rightinto that.
And so it's again another top ofthe list project to start soon,
as soon as I get the two currentones that are almost done,
finished off.
That C-47's going to jump up andhit the bench hard.

(57:33):
I wouldn't think that'd be toobad.
It's not.
It is a very nice kit.
The only downside is its size.
For a twin-engined aircraft,it's a particularly large kit.

Mike (57:48):
Well, it can't be larger than all these B-24s you want to
build.

Yeah, well, that's true, too.
Let's let's not go.

Mike (57:55):
So what's going to be the Indiana the step up on that one?
What are you going to do?

I've got some aftermarket for it that I'm
going to do, or at least I'mconsidering doing.
There's some decals from anaftermarket manufacturer that I
want to use.
And thanks to Dr.
Gelmacher, I've got a lot ofinformation about a particular
aircraft that was flown by anindividual who supplied a lot of

(58:27):
the information for the build.
So it'll kind of be a nicemini-tribute build to this
person's father who actuallyflew the aircraft.

Mike (58:38):
What context did he fly it?

He flew it with the Indiana Air National Guard.

Mike (58:43):
Okay.
So no D-Day bird, no, no.

In fact, it's going to be a really attractive
silver and white.

Mike (58:52):
Okay.
Like a cargo plane?

Yeah.
It's uh most of the air guardunits in the 40s, late 40s, 50s,
and early 60s always had acouple of C-47s attached simply
to move squadron materialsaround or to act as a hack or a

(59:16):
transport.
And it's going to be a reallypretty airplane.

Mike (59:21):
All right.

It's kind of outside your uh it's it's a
little outside the normal, butI've been wanting to do this for
quite a while.

Mike (59:29):
All right.

So what's your next one?

Mike (59:33):
Well, my number two armor subject would be Panzerworth for
42 on the Mall tier.

Okay.

Mike (59:39):
Uh, I've got a lot of parts from a lot of kits to make
what I want.
There's a lot of aftermarket,just a big pile of stuff, and
that sucker's ripe to get redoneby somebody any at any minute.
It could happen before we finishrecording this podcast.

Yeah.
Or it could happen when you'rehalfway through the project,
which is the more likely thing.

Mike (01:00:00):
But I've just a very quirky kind of vehicle that I've
always wanted to do and and Idon't know why I've never done
it.
Probably waiting for some dumbreason.

Kentucky Dave (01:00:12):
No no waiting around to get better.
Build it build it.
If you want to build it, buildit now.

Mike (01:00:17):
So it's like a nittillary kit from nineteen ninety-four or
five or something like that.

SPEAKER_02 (01:00:22):
Yep.

Mike (01:00:23):
And I think the Multier chassis that it's on is even
older than that.
So I've kind of got this crosskit thing using a a a newer
dragon chassis and running gear.
Right.
I can make that fit, which Ithink shouldn't be too bad if
everything's scaled close.
And then I've got I've got a lotof information for it.

(01:00:45):
Because there's a survivingvehicle in France.
I just think it's a would be aninteresting one to do.
I've got, you know, just God,I've got so much stuff for that
thing.
It's all in the box, too.
So the box weighs like threepounds.
And I just hate to see it allget obsoleted.

Yeah.
At least after, not until youget at least into the project.

Mike (01:01:07):
That's right.
So that's my second armor one.
What you got next?

My next one is a Ayoshima N1K2J Japanese late war
fighter.
It it's a really nice kit of areally attractive airplane.
And I've got a ton ofaftermarket.
And this is one of those modelsthat I have been planning for

(01:01:32):
years as Magnum Opus build.
And I'm turning 65 in 2026.
If I'm going to build a MagnumOpus build, I better get the
hell on with it.
And I really like the way my SAMis turning out, and this will be
a nice companion to it.

Mike (01:01:51):
What are you going to do to it?

I've got an aftermarket engine.
I've got a whole bunch ofinterior stuff.
I've got photo etch flaps.
There's there's just a ton.
I mean, you could really openthis sucker up.
It also just, I mean, late warJapanese screams for weathering.

(01:02:15):
And like I said, with the waythe SAM has come along, it it
really, in fact, it will make anice companion to both the Sam
and to the Hellcat.
Yeah.
Because these things fought theHellcats in 44 and 45.
So it's it's one of those modelsthat I'm not gonna wait to get

(01:02:37):
better.
I need to get ahead and go onand build it.
So I'm gonna do it.
And I just I need to I need tomodel faster.
We we know I need to modelfaster.

Mike (01:02:50):
Well, I guess my other plane's gonna be HE 162.

Okay, good.
I'm glad to hear that.
I don't want to be out here allalone.

Mike (01:02:59):
So we'll have to think that one through a little bit.

Yes.
Yeah, we'll have to talk aboutexactly how we're gonna do that.

Mike (01:03:06):
A good idea, at least a buddy build, but uh we've had
got some plans to make it evenmore than that.
So uh if this one percolates thetop, folks, you'll hear about it
and you'll get to follow along.
Well, I'm done.

So what are the your others that were that made
the the uh uh short I gotrecently the Great Wall Hobby
MiG 29, uh the humpback, andman, that kit is a marvel of
engineering.
I hope it goes together as wellas it looks in the box, but it

(01:03:44):
is just really, reallyattractive.
And it's one of those modelswhen you open it up and you look
in it and you look at the detailand all of the slide molding and
everything else they've done.
You're like, yeah, I need to dothis.
So it moved, I it goes fromcoming in a month two months ago

(01:04:05):
to high up on the build list.
I want to build an Edward 109G.
Our friend Steve Hustad gave mea set of Hungarian decals for
the 109.
And from him singing the praisesof that Edward 109G kit, I've

(01:04:26):
got to say it's inspired me todo it.
And then I would like to also,not that I'm gonna be able to
fit all this in, I'd like tobuild a B24, and I'd like to
build another to me a zero.
But that's my eyes aredefinitely bigger than my
stomach on all of that.

(01:04:46):
But, you know, a man's reach hasto exceed his grasp, or what's
the use of dreaming?

Mike (01:04:54):
So true, Dave.
Yep.
Well, folks, that's our list.
So we'll see.
Maybe, hopefully, we'll announcewhat we're gonna start next.
Maybe not too soon.
Or maybe sooner than than later,I should say.
I don't know.
We'll see.
I'll uh if I get to KV to primerstage, I'm I'm starting
something new.
Yep.
I agree.
That's where we'll be.

(01:05:15):
Yep, you gotta at least get itto primer.
That's right.
Well, Dave, for the final bit ofshop talk tonight, we're gonna
do our last item from SteveAnderson's book, A Guided
Journal for Modelers.
And it's one that we've talked alittle bit about in the past,
kind of on the fringe, but whatbuild is worthy of a do-over

(01:05:39):
that we've already done?

That's a great question.
And I've got well, I've got acouple answers.
To me, a zero.
I've already built a couple ofthem.
I want to build many more, sothat's not exactly a do-over.
No, that's not exactly ado-over.
You know, last year in 2024, Ibuilt the LCM3 kit.

SPEAKER_02 (01:06:03):
Yeah.

I've gotta say, I'd like to do that again.
I think I could do it muchbetter.
And it's an attractive subjectthat I learned a lot about, and
I didn't put everything Ilearned about into the model
itself.

(01:06:25):
So I can see myself wanting todo that as a do-over.
How about you?
What do you have something youwant to do over?

Mike (01:06:33):
There are points on the E16 I wished I could have
started over, knowing how to donew things, but that's I don't
think that's in the spirit here.
I there's there's there's twoways to look at it.
It could be something recentthat I've you know had some
disappointment in.

Right.

Mike (01:06:51):
And the thing where where what I mentioned, we had talked
about this kind of on thefringe, is really rolling back
the tape and building somethingeither that I've I've built as a
quote unquote serious model orthat's still in my display case,
even if it's 30 years old, uh,or some nostalgia thing I built

(01:07:12):
and mucked up as a kid that Istill have.
I don't have any of those, so wecan't pick that one.
I've I've mentioned I've got alittle diorama of a SDKFZ 222 in
in Poland in 1939.
Yep.
And if time were not an issue, Iwould like to consider taking a

(01:07:33):
new kit, because that's the oldTamiya kit from the early 70s.
Right.
There's there's new kits of thatvehicle, there's new figures,
etc.
And build what is essentiallythe exact same vignette or
diorama, but showcase bettermodels and hopefully better
talent.
And just see how they'redifferent.

(01:07:55):
Yeah.
If I could snap my fingers andhave it, that'd be a really cool
comparison.
But there's a lot of work to getto that one.
So I don't I don't know if it'ssomething I would actually do.
I think I think our last guest,Tim, would really poo-poo on
this idea.
Okay.
Because I think it's straightahead forward.
Maybe.
Maybe you wouldn't.

(01:08:15):
I don't know.
I I could I I think uh it goingback and doing something a
second time could be construedas well, I don't know.
Maybe I'm wrong.
I don't I don't even I won'teven finish that thought.
I I don't know.
I I don't think uh if I reallylike the subject, it would make
sense, but just to do it just todo it over, to do it over, I

(01:08:38):
think I'd rather do somethingdifferent.
I would like to do something.
I I would like to apply what Ilearned on a different subject
and just take take my lumps onthat one.

SPEAKER_02 (01:08:46):
Right.

Mike (01:08:46):
I think that's where I'd be at.
Anything else you'll talk aboutfor Shop Talk, Dave?

No, nope.
I think that's it.

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Mike (01:09:56):
Well, now we can talk a little bit more in detail about
what we've been doing, Dave,instead of hitting about it.
Okay.
Benchtop halftime report.
All right.
It's dark time.
I don't I don't have highexpectations from you, but
hopefully you can lay somethingon the table.

Yeah, yes.
I have I'm in the middle ofdecaling the F6F, the Edward kit
that I bought in 2012 with theintention of building it
immediately.
The Furballero design decalsare, as I mentioned earlier in
the episode, really, reallygood.

(01:10:32):
So far, the decaling process hasbeen fairly painless.
My real challenge is that, youknow, I in this dark time that I
get very limited modelingavailable to me.
And so I'm only in fact, I did acalculation.

(01:10:54):
Probably the last three weeks, Iprobably have not gotten more
than two hours a week inmodeling or bench time for
actual modeling.
And so that's why things aremoving as slow as they are.
But I'm making progress, alsomaking a little progress on the
SAM with the uh oil weathering.

(01:11:17):
That kit is is so close to beingdone, it's not finished or it's
not it's not funny.

Mike (01:11:25):
But if you take that one a section at a time, that's
something you can go down thereand work on 15, 20 minutes at a
time.

Yeah, yeah.
I need about a half an hour atleast minimum time to do that.
But yes, you're right.
The problem is the temptationthere is that it's it's close to
done, but there's a lot ofthings I want to do with it to
really push the weatheringeffects and the stuff that I'm

(01:11:51):
learning.
So I don't want to just finishit.
I want to resist the temptationto simply just finish it to be
able to call it finished.
I did manage to get all of myMr.
Color paints in the paint rackapp on my phone.

(01:12:12):
So I now have a completeinventory of the Mr.
Color paints, which have becomemy go-to paints, and also gives
me an opportunity to see what Ineed to buy to round out my
collection.
That app is very useful and it'sit's helping me get organized,

(01:12:37):
and getting organized is one ofthe things I want to do.
Other than that, there areactually cobwebs here in the
hobby room up in the cornersbecause I'm not here, I'm not
getting down here enough, and Ineed to get down here more.
So hopefully the dark time won'tcompletely close me off between

(01:12:57):
now and and the end of the yearor now and the beginning of the
year, but we'll see.
Expect some progress, man.
Come on.
Yep, I'm I'm working on it, man.
Same with you.
What's up?

Mike (01:13:09):
Uh the fuel drum straps still elude me.
So I was like, just all right,let's not think about that.
Let's do something else.
So over the last week or so,I've been putting together the
the topside intake screens forthe KV-85.

Yes, you posted a couple of times on the dojo.

Mike (01:13:29):
That was one of those deals where I spent a lot of
time thinking about it, figuredout what kind of jig I needed to
make it to increase my chance ofsuccess.
And folks who've seen it on thedojo, they came out pretty
stinking good.
I'm pretty, pretty pleased withthem.

Good.
So your your jig plan, all thatworked out.

Mike (01:13:50):
Yep.
You know, we talked about beingconfident again.
I still uh one area that I haveconfidence well, less confidence
than I would like is using CAadhesives.

SPEAKER_04 (01:14:02):
Yeah.

Mike (01:14:03):
I just I don't know why those things it's it's a
handling issue, I think.
Yep.
I just have a an aversion forthem.
You know, but they're if that'swhat you need, that's what you
need.

Exactly.

Mike (01:14:14):
There's no way around it, really.
And I I guess I came up theconfidence curve a little bit
with with the CAs this time, butuh the the jigs were certainly
my friend, and and those reallyhelped things get aligned and
made it easy to put the thingstogether.
It really, really went reallysmoothly.
I was really, really happy theway this turned out.

(01:14:34):
So now those get to sit aroundwhile I finish the rest of the
tank and start painting becausethey're not even going to get
attached to the model until mostat least the base coating's
done.

Yeah.

Mike (01:14:45):
Other than that, a little on the Moosuru, not much.
I really need to get that a bigbunch of parts into the paint
booth and finish those up.
Spend mostly of the intakescreens on the on the KV-85.
I I did do some seam fillingtoday.
Those saddles for the fuel tanksI just mentioned, there are some
gaps where they're glued ontothe fenders.
That if I didn't fill them, if Istart the weathering process,

(01:15:07):
any wash I put on is just gonnaget sucked under them and and
disappear.
So I've done the the heavyapplication of Mr.
Surfacer 500, let it dry, thentake Mr.
Cut or a leveling thinner on aon a pointed cotton bud and
brush all that out.
And you know, there's someplaces I gotta go back and add a

(01:15:28):
second application to becausethere's some pinholes and stuff
in it, but uh it's just a solidtechnique that usually fixes
stuff like that.
And uh, you know it didn't letme down.
Well, good.
So hopefully I have I think I'vegot a a compromise position I
can live with on the straps forthose fuel drums.
So I I gotta to build one forreal and and see if that's gonna

(01:15:51):
work like I think it is.
And if I can get that movingforward, man, this thing should
should close pretty quick.
There's some grab irons that forthe tank-mounted infantry to use
that need to go on the on theback of the tank.
Those are those are easy to fabup.
Yeah, I was gonna say I I justneed to do it.
Really?
After that, there's not muchleft.
Well, good.

(01:16:12):
So that's great news.
So that's that's where I'm at onthe on the on the bench top,
Dave.

All right.
Well, hopefully we'll have moreto report in two weeks.

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So, Mike, have you bought anything modeling
related in the last couple ofweeks?

Mike (01:16:47):
I don't think so, Dave.
I really don't.
I don't think I have.
I think uh I already mentionedthe mesh I got in for the
screens, which I've used now toa good effect.
That worked out.
No kits.
The last kits I got were the TIEfighter and that stuff.
We already talked about that.
So I think I've been a good boy,Dave.
I don't think I've spent muchmoney other than what I go buy.

(01:17:10):
I went to Hobbytown, USA, and Ibought spray primer.
That's it.
Spray primer.

Okay.

Mike (01:17:17):
Not much, man.
What about you?

I've actually been a good boy too.
I have not acquired any kits,nor have I acquired any books.
I I did, at the suggestion ofseveral of the listeners, go out
and pick up some of the 3Mpost-it note tape in a couple of
different widths to use on somevery quick panel panel masking

(01:17:44):
and stuff.
Well, you didn't talk about thatany.
No, I I I didn't, but uh, Ithink I talked about it
previously.
Well, maybe I didn't, I don'tknow.
But I had used to me a tape, andsomebody had suggested, you
know, this 3M.
I've used post-it notes beforeto do quick masking.
And a couple of the difflisteners have have suggested

(01:18:06):
that 3M tape.
So I picked some of that up.
Other than that, I have not, Ihaven't bought a model, haven't
bought a book.
Other than the 3M tape, I don'tthink I bought any supplies.

Mike (01:18:22):
Um have to come up with a different segment.

I've been a I've been a good boy too.

Mike (01:18:27):
Well, I've put some like you, you put a gift certificate
on your wish list.
I've put some eBay gift cards onmine.
So uh maybe after the holidays,this segment will be worth
listening to, folks.

I'm anticipating that there will be purchases
after Christmas.

Mike (01:18:43):
Well, we'll we'll have to wait and see, man.
I know what I didn't buy thisseason.

What?

Mike (01:18:48):
Christmas lights.

Well, that's good because usually they don't uh
you get them out from theprevious year and half of them
are dead.

Mike (01:18:55):
Not this year.

Really?

That's great.
Plastic Model Mojo is brought toyou by Model Paint Solutions,
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Folks, at this point in the podcast, we would
ask you when you're donelistening to please rate the
podcast in whatever podcastingapp you're listening to.
Give us the highest rating.
It helps drive visibility to thepodcast, helps us grow.
In addition, the best way for usto grow is to have a current

(01:19:46):
listener tell somebody who's notcurrently listening about the
podcast.
We would appreciate it if youwould reach out to your modeling
friends and let them know aboutPlastic Model Mojo.
And recommend to them that theylisten.

Mike (01:20:03):
In addition to that, folks, please check out the
other podcasts in the modelsphere.
You can do that by going towww.modelpodcasts.com.
That's model podcastplural.com.
It's a consortium website set upby Stuart Clark, the host of the
Scale Model Podcast up inCanada.
Hopefully he comes off hiatushere soon.
And we'd like to hear some morefrom Stu.
He's aggregated the uh bannerlinks to all the current

(01:20:25):
podcasts in the model sphere,and you can go there as a
one-stop shop and check them allout.
In addition, we got a lot ofblog and YouTube friends in the
model sphere.
Mentioned Jeff Groves quite abit, Inchai Guy.
He's got a great 170 secondscale blog.
Paul Buzzick for sure, scalemodel workshop on YouTube and
Patreon.
In fact, I just pointed somebodyto his Patreon page last week.

(01:20:46):
So hopefully he's seeing sometraction there.
Chris Wallace, model airplanemaker, has got a great blog and
a great YouTube channel for youaircraft guys.
Stephen Lee, Spree Pie withFritz, a great long and short
form blog, some modelrailroading stuff, and uh a lot
of 70-second scale modeling ofquite a lot of genres, actually.
Yep.
And finally, Evan McCallum,Panzermeister 36, who just today

(01:21:10):
or yesterday dropped anothervideo.

Yes, he did.

Mike (01:21:13):
And folks need to go check that out.
So please support our friends inthe community and uh check out
all the great content.

Finally, if you're not a member of IPMS USA,
I'd ask you to join.
I'm the recruitment andretention secretary of IPMS USA.
This will be my last term, and Iwould like to go out on a high
note.
So if you're not a member,please join.
Also, if you're not a member ofyour your national IPMS

(01:21:41):
organization in the country inwhich you live, please consider
joining.
In addition, the Armor ModelingPreservation Society is
dedicated to armor modeling andpost-1900 figures modeling.
Please consider joining.
They're a great group of guyswho really are passionate about

(01:22:02):
advancing the art of armormodeling.
Go ahead and join if you can.

Mike (01:22:08):
There's been some chatter online about them trying to add,
or not trying, but consideringadding another skill level
category between AMS Master andAdvanced.

I think that it's advisable for them to revamp
their system.
It's been in place for a longtime.
And I think it probably couldbenefit from just from a
refresh.

Mike (01:22:30):
Well, we'll see how it goes.
Hopefully they'll figure figuresomething out that works for
everybody.
But uh at least they'reconsidering it.

Mike, we are almost at the end of the
episode.
Uh my modeling fluid is empty.
I assume yours is or it's closeto it.
Yeah, mine's empty.

Mike (01:22:51):
So how was the Micter's?
It's it's good.
It's uh it's a high rye.
So it's kind of like the bullet.
I maybe even a little spicier.

Yep.

Mike (01:23:00):
So it's it's a little hot, I think.
I like it, but it's kind of it'spretty, it's at my limit,
probably for uh a little spiceand heat, unless you go to a
full-blown rye.
Which I which I I don't drink alot of those, so yeah, I'm the
same one.
It's good.
I've had it before, I'll have itagain, but it's it's not one I
grab very often.

Gotcha.

Mike (01:23:20):
Well, how's the beer?

Well, Mr.
Clark did a fine job.
The tangerine culch from YellowHammer Brewing.
Alcohol by volume is 5%, so it'sa classic middle of the road
beer.
As far as alcohol content,basically the equivalent of any
mass market American beer you'dyou'd buy.

(01:23:42):
It's very smooth.
You can taste the tangerine, butit's obnoxiously forward.
You can tell it's a culch, ithas those notes in it.
A good beer, definitelysomething that I'd sit down at a
at a microbrewery and drinkagain.

(01:24:05):
Mike, we're now at the end ofthe episode.
And do you have any shout-outsbefore we get out of here?

Mike (01:24:12):
Well, as always, I want to shout out the folks who've
chosen to support Plastic Modelat Mojo through their
generosity.
We've had a lot of support over2025 and it's greatly
appreciated.
It helped us get the at leastthe phase one of the website
launched, and we're going to betrying to get phase two, I
guess, launched in 2026.
That would be a good goal forus.
So if folks have cons have beenconsidering that and haven't

(01:24:34):
done it yet, but like to help usout with these kind of things,
we'd appreciate the support.
The avenues of support are alloutlined on the website, and in
the show notes of this episode,there's a support the show link
on our webpage,www.plasticmodelmojo.com.
So, folks, it's just been greatthat the amount of support we've
got, and we look forward to itcontinuing in 2026, and
hopefully we can bring you evenmore.

Um, my shout out of the episode is to all of the
listeners.
This is our 2025 wrap-up show,and I want to thank everybody
who has listened, who continuesto listen listen, to all of the
new listeners.
We're glad you found us.

(01:25:16):
You're a great group of guys,and it's a community that I
didn't know I needed, and I nowcouldn't live without.
And I really appreciatesincerely each and every one of
you, particularly those of youwho take the time to reach out
to Mike and I and to provide uswith your feedback, with

(01:25:40):
information, with affirmation.
We we really appreciate it.
Also, we appreciate everybody'sparticipation in the dojo.
That has become just the place Igo every day when I want to,
when I need a little happiness,uh, when I need a little boost,

(01:26:02):
I know that I can go to the dojoand see what's been posted
lately, and it's gonna bring alittle joy into my life no
matter what else is going on.
So thank you to you, thelisteners.

Mike (01:26:15):
Well, Dave, we're getting close to being done with 2025,
but we're not quite there yet.

I know.

Mike (01:26:20):
So until then, Dave, as we always say, so many kits.
So little time, my friend, andwe'll see you four years out.

Yep.

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From Listener Mail To 2026 Plans: A Scale Modeling Year In Review: Ep 153

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