Summer has officially arrived in the modeling world, and with it comes a fresh update from the Plastic Model Mojo team. This month's 12-Minute Model Sphere takes listeners through the bustling halls of Wonderfest, now bigger than ever before. Cars packed every available space around the convention hotel as record numbers of modelers and enthusiasts gathered to celebrate their craft.
The model room was nothing short of spectacular, featuring creations that Kentucky Dave describes as "stopping you dead in your tracks." Even for those without a particular interest in sci-fi modeling, the level of creativity and craftsmanship on display was undeniably impressive. The Gundam category showed remarkable growth this year, spanning multiple tables and attracting significant attention from attendees. Through conversations with listeners, industry representatives, and event organizers, it's clear that the modeling community continues to thrive and evolve.
Looking ahead, the hosts preview two exciting feature episodes coming this June. Episode 142 will continue the popular Shop Talk format, while Episode 143 welcomes guest Harvey Lowe, who recently returned from a modeling-focused expedition to Japan. Meanwhile, the Dojo modeling community has surpassed 5,300 members and remains highly active with over 20 posts daily. The hosts are launching a new initiative to formally recognize community members who assist fellow modelers, encouraging listeners to use the Dojo as a resource for technique advice, locating rare parts, or connecting with like-minded enthusiasts. Whether you're a veteran builder or just getting started, this episode highlights the supportive community that makes scale modeling such a rewarding hobby. Join us as we celebrate the people and events that keep our modeling passion alive!
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Episode Transcript
Kev, tell everyone why you started Kitmask
.
Kevin (Kitmasx) (00:07):
Well, manually masking canopies sucks, and
somebody had to step in to savethose countless kits from the
shelf of doom.
Janelle (Kitmasx) (00:15):
And now we've got over 400 sets and counting.
We've got old kits, new kits,forgotten kits, you name it.
Kevin (Kitmasx) (00:20):
Yeah, and if we don't have it, just ask.
Janelle (Kitmasx) (00:22):
Yeah, people don't realize.
We take customer requests andwe even have a service that gets
you canopy masks for free.
Kevin (Kitmasx) (00:26):
We do.
Janelle (Kitmasx) (00:27):
Our masks are precision cut.
They fit well, they're easy toapply.
Kevin cuts and tests every set.
Kevin (Kitmasx) (00:34):
Several times.
Janelle (Kitmasx) (00:35):
Yeah, precision is kind of his thing.
Kevin (Kitmasx) (00:37):
And Janelle.
She does everything else.
She cares about each customerand is the heart of our business
.
Janelle (Kitmasx) (00:45):
If you ever reach out, you're talking
directly to us.
Kevin (Kitmasx) (00:46):
Real people, real modelers, and if you don't
love your masks, we'll refund orreplace them.
No questions asked.
Janelle (Kitmasx) (00:51):
Visit kitmaskcom, join the mailing
list and treat yourself toeasier, cleaner masking.
Kevin (Kitmasx) (00:57):
Kitmask made by a modeler for modelers.
Janelle (Kitmasx) (00:59):
Hey, what about me?
Kevin (Kitmasx) (01:00):
You're not a modeler.
Mike (01:11):
Oh, all right, kentucky, dave June is here, summer's here
yes, it is.
Think it's going to stick thistime.
Kentucky Dave (01:19):
Well, look, today was 87 degrees, so it at least
looks like it's going to stick.
So you know, that's the kind ofweather we need in June.
Mike (01:35):
Well, folks, welcome to the June 12-Minute Model Sphere
brought to you by Kitmask, and Iwant to also mention that
please visit their site.
They're great folks and you'regoing to want to use that Mojo
15 for 15% off your first order.
Kentucky Dave (01:44):
And I can testify they have good product.
Mike (01:46):
I used it recently well yes, that was mentioned in the
last feature episode.
But, kevin and janelle, sorry,I've had some stuff going on.
I haven't got that little blurbadded to your, your ad, so
we'll get that taken care of,hopefully this time around this
month, month sometime.
That's the way it goes, dave.
I've been busy, a little bitbusy.
Kentucky Dave (02:07):
Well, you've been gallivanting in Florida.
Well, that's Catching fish andall.
Mike (02:13):
Well, that's how we normally start this thing.
Where have we been?
Well-, where have you been?
I've been to Wonderfest, well,good, I'm glad one of us made it
.
Kentucky Dave (02:23):
You've got to get back to Wonderfest.
I know you've had a little bitof a run, but I thought I was
there last year.
You were last year, you missedthe year before, but it just
depends on when your vacationfalls.
Every year I keep thinking thisshow cannot get bigger, and
every year it gets bigger.
But you're better organized,can't get much bigger.
(02:46):
I came on Saturday around noon.
When I got there there werecars parked in places I had
never seen them parked before,way, way away from the
convention hotel.
Now I happened to get luckydriving through the hotel
parking lot and caught somebodywho was leaving, but it was
(03:11):
unbelievably crowded.
I talked to the folks atregistration and they were
selling more than they ever hadas far as day tickets, weekend
tickets, ever had.
As far as day tickets, weekendtickets.
You know there's a limitedamount of space in that hotel,
but Dave Hodge and his groupreally have figured out a way to
(03:32):
use every single inch of it.
Vendors were fantastic.
The model room was unbelievablyimpressive.
I mean you know I don't carewhether science fiction and all
of that stuff is your thing youcannot help but walk through
(03:54):
that contest area and befascinated by the entries.
I mean some of them will stopyou dead in your tracks.
By the way, the Gundam areaclearly a growth area this year.
Tables of Gundam.
I got to meet a lot of ourlisteners and I got to talk with
(04:19):
some guests and people that weknow in the modeling community.
Got to talk with Dave Hodge whoruns Wonderfest, got to visit
briefly with Round 2, withSquadron Absolutely a wonderful
time and I was telling severalmodelers who have little or no
(04:41):
interest in sci-fi you stillneed to come down and at least
experience Wonderfest one time,because you will see stuff that
is super impressive, that isjust really, really inventive
(05:03):
and I can't recommend it enough.
Well, glad you got to go.
Yes, I really did.
I was sorry you weren't there,I was sorry we couldn't sit down
at a table and record.
At least I got to go and afterhaving missed amps, it was nice
to actually go to get to a modelcontest.
Mike (05:23):
We might have a dry summer .
Dave, I don't know that we'regoing to get anywhere until the
national convention, so uh.
Kentucky Dave (05:29):
I don't think we are.
I mean as much as I'd like tohit one or two between now and
then.
Uh, just family obligations andand stuff like that are are
making it less and less likely.
But you do what you can and youdon't feel guilty about it.
It's a hobby, it comes afterour obligation.
Mike (05:53):
Well, dave, we got two feature episodes in June.
(06:14):
I am looking forward to both ofthese Episode 142 and 143.
I know we just had Shop Talkwith Evan in episode 141, but
episode 142 is going to beanother Shop Talk episode we're
going to.
You know, we've gotten in thehabit of doing one of our
feature episodes a month isgoing to be that format and it's
proven to be fairly popularwith the listeners, so we're
(06:36):
just going to keep doing it.
So, shop Talk for episode 142.
And it's partially due toscheduling for episode 143, our
guest we're going to havemodeler Harvey Lowe on the show.
Kentucky Dave (06:48):
Yes, I've wanted to get Harvey on for some time
and he's recently beenglobetrotting and I'm anxious to
hear about that experience.
Mike (06:58):
Yes, he's had a very model , hobby-centric trip to Japan
recently and is fresh back fromthat at the end of May and we've
got him coming on the show totalk about several aspects of
that trip and really lookingforward to having Harvey on the
show.
Kentucky Dave (07:12):
I am too.
Mike (07:18):
Well, Dave, the dojo continues to grow and it
continues to hop.
What's been going on on there,man?
Kentucky Dave (07:23):
Well, we're well above 5,300 members on our way
to 54.
It's been extremely active.
We are now generally over 20 to25 posts every single day.
Of course, contest season is infull swing, so we're getting
(07:45):
lots of posts from people whoare attending contests and
allowing us to attend virtuallyyeah, which is really great.
You see the models on thetables and man people are
getting really, really good atthis hobby.
It's impressive.
(08:05):
We've had a couple of occasionslately where modelers have
posted pleas for help orassistance, or we've had
modelers who brought othermodelers to the podcast and I've
seen a couple of those recentlyand sent out little recognition
.
Thank yous to some dojovianswho have either brought a
(08:31):
listener to our podcast and tothe dojo or who have assisted
somebody who posted a plea forhelp.
And I'm going to ask the dojomembers if you have something
where you need help, either youneed help in how to do a certain
(08:52):
technique, you need a certainmodel kit, you need a certain
part, a certain paint orwhatever, Please post it on the
dojo.
That's one of the things thedojo is for, and if a fellow
dojovian out there helps you out, do me a favor, because I might
(09:12):
not catch it all.
I'm trying to be on the dojo acouple of times every day, but
I'm also a practicing attorneyand it kind of gets in the way
sometimes.
So if somebody helps you out,please DM me and let me know so
I can reach out to that person.
And Mike and I want toformalize recognizing people who
(09:37):
are good citizen modelers inthe dojo.
It's one of the outgrowths thatwhen Mike and I started the
podcast we had no idea the thingwas going to even exist, much
less grow to the size of thecommunity that it is.
So please help me out.
(09:58):
If you need help, post it inthe dojo.
If somebody helps you outbecause of a post in the dojo,
please DM me and let me knowwhat they did for you so that we
can recognize those individuals.
Mike (10:16):
Well, if this was a written brief, we might have to
go back and edit that.
It was ambiguous as to whetherthe practicing attorney got in
the way of you being on the dojoor if the dojo got in the way
of you being a practicingattorney.
Kentucky Dave (10:29):
Let's keep that ambiguous for now.
Okay.
Mike (10:33):
Well, folks, sign up to the dojo.
If you're not on Facebook,recommend other modelers and
friends via the Facebook'sfunction allows you to do that
and we'll just keep watching itgrow and having a good time.
And in closing, dave, I'm goingto add a little bit of trivia.
Okay, in 141 episodes ofPlastic Model Mojo, episode 141
(10:54):
was the only one that we'veforgotten to close with our
tagline Dave.
So we're going to do it tonight.
Okay, dave, as we always say,so many kids, so little time,
dave.
And we'll see you guys in thefeature episodes in June.
Thank you.
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