Year-End Mojo: Models, Moves, And Memories: Episode 154

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
The Voice of Bob (Bair) (00:11):
Welcome to Plastic Model Mojo, a
podcast dedicated to scalemodeling as well as the news and
events around the hobby.
Let's join Mike and KentuckyDave as they strive to be
informative, entertaining, andhelp you keep your modeling mojo
alive.

Mike (00:40):
Let's do that.
Let's join Mike in Kentucky,Dave.

Kentucky Dave (00:44):
That sounds like a good idea.

Mike (00:46):
For episode 154, Dave, our final episode of the 2025 year.
God, where did it go?

Where the heck did it go?

Mike (00:57):
It went away.
And it went away quickly.
It did.
Especially this last couple,well, the last quarter anyway,
since October.

Yeah.

Mike (01:07):
It was a good year.
It was a good year.
And we'll get to that in themodel sphere stuff a little bit.
But I just hope everybody had aMerry Christmas and survive
that.
And please have a safe New Yeargoing forward.
That's right.
It's going to be uh New Year'sEve when this drops.
And uh keep it sane, people.
Be safe and uh enjoy uh ringingin 2026.

(01:27):
Some other way besides watchingsome crap and rocking New
Year's Eve or something.
Yeah, it's right.
Well, Dave, what is up in yourmodel sphere?

Well, while I'm still in the dark time, so
actual bench time hasn't beengreat.
Christmas was nice.
My future son-in-law got mesome model organizing items for
my modeling bench because heapparently went and listened to

(01:58):
the podcast.
Ah smart kid.
Watch him start modeling.
If I can hook him, man, I'vegot to find somebody to build
this stash.

Mike (02:08):
And I know how it'll go down.
He'll like start kind of in thesecret, and then your daughter
will spill the beans.
All right.
That's my prediction for 2026,folks.

Okay.
Okay.
Courtesy of Mark Copeland.
I've got a beautiful art printsigned by a bunch of the pilots
and crew who flew the Ploestiraid.
And I got that from Mark at theNationals.
Yeah.
I remember that.
My my lovely wife has agreed asmy Christmas present to have it

(02:41):
framed.
And so as soon as the new yearrolls around, I'm going to take
it to a professional frame shopand get it get it framed and get
it hung because something thatnice needs to be up and out
where it can be seen.

Mike (02:57):
Well, how do those arrangements go down in your
house?
I mean, uh, did you getsomething else anyway?

Oh yeah.

Mike (03:03):
No, I those are always pretty good deals, I think.

Yes.
Yes, I did.
I mean, uh both my my childrengave my wife and I a wonderful
gift.
They in secret went to aphotographer and had portraits
of both of them done, bothseparately and together.
Yes.
Okay.
And just fantastic.

(03:28):
Could not have asked for abetter present.
And then I got clothes and allthe the usual non-model related
stuff.
But yeah, it was a goodChristmas.
It's model related.

Mike (03:40):
You can't go to the Nationals naked.

Yeah, well, it's true.
That's true.
But I I did have clothesalready.

Mike (03:48):
Or even down to scale reproductive.

Yeah, well, I don't know.
There might be clothing,clothing optional days at scale
reproduction.
But no no real bench timebuilding, but a lot of stuff
around the holidays, some ofwhich was hobby related.

Mike (04:08):
How about you?
Well, I forgot to announce itin the introduction, but folks,
we said we were going to becasual in December, and we are
for our final episode.
We've pared this down to thebare bones to have a little fun
tonight and uh not put too muchof a burden on the editing side.
So that said, there's not abench top halftime report
because A, you probably haven'tdone anything.
Exactly.

(04:29):
And B, I can talk about ithere.
My dark time's been not sodark.
I've had a dim time.
Okay.
I've managed to get to thebench and get some stuff done
between other stuff.

Yeah, one of us has been posting on the dojo at
least.

Mike (04:44):
I'm gonna push you a little harder next year.

Yeah, yeah.
It's okay.

Mike (04:48):
Some of this is self-fulfilling prophecy, Dave.

It is.

Mike (04:52):
I grant I grant that.
I've got some modeling done.
I've done some research.
I've poked around on CAD,thought about the podcast.
Did I get anything modelingrelated for Christmas?
No, I didn't, other than someuh well, I got uh I'm I'm
rocking a new set of headphonestonight.
Nice.
I guess that counts.

Yep.
Well, you've been complainingabout your headphones for a good
six months.

Mike (05:16):
Oh, probably longer than that.
I don't care when that jackstarted not working properly.

Yeah.

Mike (05:21):
Though it was odd, it worked uh with the remote
recorder at at the NationalConvention, so maybe that's my
national.
May I get a new pair of padsfor it and that'll be the travel
set.

There you go.

Mike (05:31):
Interesting.
I wonder why that is.
It's probably a power issue, apower threshold that's making
one work and one not the other.
But that's a that's a double Equestion that I can't answer.
Other than that, man, I just Ithink we're about through the
cookies that Hustad's wife anddaughter made.

Oh gosh.

Mike (05:49):
Just about.

I've got one or two pieces of fudge and an odd
cookie or two, but that's aboutwhere we're at.

Mike (05:57):
So Steve Hustad, thank you immensely for doing that again.
Just I get a tracking numbernotice out of the blue without
any other context.
Yep.
I'm like, oh yeah, oh no.
They could go pro, I'm prettysure.

Oh yes, absolutely.

Mike (06:15):
So my model spirit sphere has been a dim, a dim time.
I'm not gonna say it's dark,but New Year's Day is coming
around after that.
I don't know.
When's your official lifting ofthe of the the shade, Dave?

Usually the right after New Year's Day.
New Year's Day is a lot offootball.
Sometimes I get in modelingwhile watching football, but
then normalcy returns afterJanuary 1st.
So that should get me back tothe bench and back to modeling
and back to some productiveefforts.

Mike (06:52):
I was worried you're gonna say April 15th.

No, no, no.
Oh God.
Let's not even talk about that.
I don't want to I will thinkabout that after January 1st.

Mike (07:02):
Well, that's my model sphere.
Lots of good stuff.
I got some uh dojo posts outthere, and yeah, I'll talk a
little bit more about thoseprojects in our in our interview
segment, but it's going well.
It's going well.

We're good.

Mike (07:17):
Looking forward to 2026, and we'll talk about that more
here in a little bit.

Well, this is the last episode of 2025.
Do you have a modeling fluid?

Mike (07:28):
Of course.
Of course, I have a modelingfluid.
Which is Chestnut FarmsKentucky Strait Bourbon Whiskey.

I'm not familiar with that one.

Mike (07:37):
I wasn't either, but it showed up on Christmas and uh
we're trying it.

Is it uh an independent distillery?

Mike (07:44):
No, it's a it's a Barton's name plate.
It's a Barton's.

Oh okay.
It's very old Barton'sdistillery.

Mike (07:52):
Well, it's Barton's distillery.
Very old Barton's is like theirplastic jug.
Yes, it is.
This is a little up the ladderfrom that, but more at the end,
more at the end.
What about you?

Well, I have the non-alcoholic my my
non-alcoholic modeling fluid ofchoice, a McDonald's fountain
coke.
You know, obtained through thedrive-thru.

Mike (08:15):
You can't go wrong with that.

I know, I know.
And right now, you know, withall the holidays and all, there
was plenty of adult beveragesconsumed.
Taking a pause.
And I'm I'm also looking attrying to drop about the about
15 pounds in the new year.
So I'm taking a pause for thecause and giving myself a little

(08:42):
a little break from the adultbeverages, and don't worry, they
will return by the next regularepisode.
Well, but tonight, McDonald's,fountain coke, there's nothing
else that matches that.

Mike (08:58):
Yeah, if they've got it dialed in where it's where it's
supposed to be for them, it'sit's pretty good Coke, honestly.
It is.
And uh that's pretty prettyregular Saturday morning, late
Saturday morning ritual for me.
I usually I can think up achore to have to run out and go
do something.

That's exactly what I do.

Mike (09:16):
Putting McDonald's between me and wherever I'm going,
whether it makes sense or not.

Yep.
I'm exactly the same.

Mike (09:23):
Well, good.
You enjoy that coke.
It's well deserved, Dave.

Oh well.

Mike (09:29):
Well, Dave, listener mail has been light.
We're in the holiday season.
It's understandable.
We've got a few.
I'm gonna I'm gonna camp onthose for another couple of
weeks here and save those up.
There's a couple of good onesin there, but I'm I'm gonna
wait.

Yes.

Mike (09:41):
But we are gonna issue the call to action.
We would love to hear from allthe folks who've already written
in, but we'd love to hear somestuff from some new folks who
haven't written into the showfor whatever reason, or some new
listeners, or some suggestionsor whatever.
If you would like to contactPlastic Model Mojo, you can do
so by email, by email emailingus at plasticmodelmojo at

(10:04):
gmail.com.
Typically I handle the emailsunless it's a topic specific to
uh Dave's specialties.
Or you can also reach usthrough the direct messaging
system through uh Facebook,Facebook Messenger, and Dave
usually takes those and runswith them.
And the converse is if it'ssomething up my alley, usually
push put that off on me, whichis is fine.
We we love this segment.

(10:25):
It chaps me a little totruncate it, but I think in the
interest of uh what we're tryingto do for the the final hours
of uh 2025, that's just the wayit's gonna be.
So send us some emails, someFacebook messengers.
There's also a feedback link,web link in the show notes of
this episode.
You can get to it there aswell.
Please, we want to hear fromyou folks in 2026.

(10:45):
Hopefully more than we heardyou heard from you in 2025,
which was a lot.
So uh maybe we'll even bankenough to do a listener mail
only episode because we have wehaven't done one of those in a
long time.

Yeah, we we might consider doing an AMA.

Mike (11:00):
We could.

Yeah.

The Voice of Bob (Bair) (11:03):
Plastic Model Mojo is brought to you by
Model Paint Solutions, yoursource for harder and steambeck
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Check them out atwww.modelpaint solutions.com.

I want to thank Dr.
Miller who sent uh you and I asmall Christmas gift each, and
it was very kind of him to bethinking of us at this time of
year.

Mike (11:38):
It is.
I gave mine a test drive.

Well, good.
I'm gonna have can't wait tohear a full report.

Mike (11:45):
Well, 2025, I got this wrong in the outline.
It says 2026, doesn't it?
I knew what you meant.
Final thoughts for the year.
Dave, 2025 has been a reallygood year for us.
Yes.
This just gets to be more andmore fun.
Yes, it does.
I don't know what my thresholdfor being able to stand it is,

(12:07):
honestly.
That's a little hyperbolic, butyou know what I mean.
I'll tell you what, I'm willingto be tested.
I am too.
But for 2025, what is your bestmemory or best memories in the
model sphere for 2025?

I gotta start with the Nats.
I know, yeah, cliche, yeah, butthis year's Nats was fantastic.
Thanks to our good friend MarkCopeland.
He arranged the uh lodgings forus.
We got to see our friend PaulGloster come in from Australia,
and it was just five days ofnon-stop fun.

(12:48):
And every minute of it wasfantastic.
So that was probably my tophighlight.
Close behind it was HeritageCon.
Again, our friend Chris Wallacemade an amazing set of uh kind
of accommodations for us, and wejust had we just had a great

(13:11):
time.
You and I added on this thisyear a little side trip through
Detroit on our way.
Yeah.
And and we got to see ourfriend John Vitkus.

Mike (13:23):
And Steve Ruey was tagging along on that trip.
Steve Rui was tagging along.
Another listener of ours who wehadn't met until we got to
Detroit.

Exactly.
And so we got a a nice statedinner, and then the next
morning, half a day in Detroitat uh hobby shops, and we're
gonna do that again, hopefully,this month.

Mike (13:42):
Yeah, hopefully, weathering weather permits for
the Minnesota twins.
Yes.
And uh we'll have we'll do itall over again.

Another best memory was Murfreesboro, hadn't
been down there in a while, gotto go down, got to see Bill
Moore, got to hook up with Dr.
Geldmacher and get him mycontribution to the Septemberist
collection this year.
So my other probably bestmemory is the podcast.

(14:12):
And it's not one particularthing, it's just how good it was
this last year.
And I'm not patting myself onthe back or us on the back.
I'm talking about the dojointeractions, yeah, the guests
we had.

Mike (14:27):
It's not a content.

Right.

Mike (14:29):
It's not a content statement.

Exactly.
It just the the we managed toget the peripheral a lot of
really good interaction, be itinterviews, be it dojo
interactions, be it DMs oremails.
That just made modeling in 2025so much better.
It really did.

(14:52):
I've uh and I've mentioned thisa couple of times.
There is nothing that perks myday up more when I'm slogging
through at work and I get a DMfrom a listener, just you know,
it could be just anything, amodeling fluid thing, a
question, just an interaction orreaction to podcast, and you

(15:18):
know, it just it brightens mywhole day.
And you know, that may sound alittle silly, but it's true.
It brightens my whole day,makes makes the the stuff that
I've gotta do for a living awhole lot a whole lot better.
So the podcast in 2025 hasreally was really a highlight

(15:43):
for me.

Mike (15:43):
How about you?
Well, I think our our showattendance for for me, it's the
same two.
It's the National Conventionand it's it's Heritage Gone, and
we got to see Mark and Steve atboth of those.
Yeah.
We are financially committed tothe Nationals working out with
those guys.
So are they.
But you know, weatherpermitting, coming across the

(16:07):
northern plains in the UnitedStates, and the in the northern
Midwest could be dicey, andthose guys are never certain for
HeritageCon.
But uh hopefully, hopefullythings work out and we can we
can do a repeat there.
Because that that was just somuch fun.

It was.
And and and again, kudos toChris Wallace for getting us an
Airbnb that was if the weatherhad been warmer, we would have
walked to the museum.

Mike (16:35):
Or we'll be we'd be uh sleeping on stretchers inside
the Dakota.

Exactly.
That's about that's the onlyway we could get closer.

Mike (16:44):
Yeah, and you know, all this this show stuff, it's it it
makes this so much more fun.
I mean we're all modelers.
The the modeling is is thefoundation that uh brings us all
together.
But but just these friends andman, we have such a good time.
And it's it's juxtapositionedagainst the the solitude of when

(17:05):
we're actually enjoying the thephysical part of scale modeling
hobby.

Yeah.

Mike (17:10):
And it's just been so much fun.
I'm just so thankful for forall those folks as as friends
and looking forward to 2026 andyou know, HeritageCon's not that
far away.
And I know then the Nats willit'll all be here.
It'll go by in a blinding flashjust like 2025 did.

It will, but I'll tell you what, it I'm hanging
between now and and HeritageCon,I'm gonna be hanging on through
the winter.
And that the looking forward toHeritageCon is what's gonna get
me through.

Mike (17:41):
Well, I'm gonna circle back and I'll well, I'll give
you a chance to circle back onthis question.
There's one more thing, andit's it is gets to that the
actual hobby we participate in.
Finishing that stinking E16 wasa good memory for 2025.
I'm glad that's a memory nowand not a uh a current knowledge

(18:02):
thing.
I'm so satisfied, other thanwith the stupid prop thing that
happened after I got it done.
But, you know, whatever.
So satisfied with that model.
Yep.
And just man, when I got thatthing done, I just sat back and
was looking at it.
I was like, man, I can't I'mreally, really happy with that.

At the end of the day, you enjoyed all of the
stuff you were doing, even atthose times you were overcoming
struggles or challenges.
Sure.
And at the and at the end ofthe day, you're very pleased
with the result.
I mean, you can't ask for muchmore out of the out of the
actual construction and paintingside of this hobby.

(18:44):
You finished a few.
That had to feel good.
Yes, yes, I did.
Not as many as I wanted.
Had I finished finished two,and I've got two very close to
completion, so more than two iscertainly on the on the radar
for 2026, but we'll see.

Mike (19:05):
Of the ones you finished, is there anything that you're
like, man, that was that was allright.

Well, I'll tell you what, the the the F8F, the
bear cat, I really enjoy.
It's not a perfect model, but Igot to use after or homemade
decals, decals that wereactually ordered from a a uh
cottage decal maker here in theStates through Dr.

(19:31):
Gelbacher.
And those turned out way betterthan I thought they would.
While it it like I said, it'snot a perfect model, it's a good
model, particularly for as partof a collection.
And it just felt really good tohave it and look at it as part

(19:54):
of the collection that a bunchof guys all contributed to.
I r I r I really I felt goodabout that.

Mike (20:03):
Well I I y you should be because I think I've seen this
that's the third one I've beenwitness to at this point.
You guys did the D Day thinglast year and the time before
that it was oh what was it?
What I remember is that the thefinal product the models on the
display that was created forthis for 2025 was really a sharp

(20:28):
looking thing.

It really was.
And and Dr.
Gelbacher always does a reallynice design for the base.
And when you combine acollection of really nice
looking models with that verywell done base, it just presents
really well.
I gotta say, I'm proud to bepart of it.

Mike (20:49):
Well, I think he needs to be in the third chair sometime
in 2026.

Yes, we definitely will will we'll get
Dr.
Gelmacher in the in the thirdchair.

Mike (20:59):
Well, that's our you know our best memories for 2025.
Is there any skill or techniquetried or learned in 2025 that
stands out for you?

Yes.
You want to know what it is?
Of course I do.

Mike (21:14):
And so does everybody else listening.

I and if you go back and listen to the beginning
of 2025, I stated a couple oftimes that one of the focuses
that I wanted to focus on in mymodeling was doing a better job
of engravingslash re-engravingpanel lines.
And so on the SAM and theHellcat that are all almost

(21:43):
done, and on the Bearcat to alesser extent, well, and to the
little German mini sub as well,I concentrated on that
technique, and frankly, I feel Igot better at it.
I like the results, I learnedsome things, tried different

(22:05):
tools, different techniques,etc.
And I really think thatimproved.
And for 2026, the skill I'mgoing to work on is canopies.
What separates a really goodmodel from an average model in
the is how well the canopy'sdone.
And I let my models down oncanopies all the time.

(22:30):
And so for 2026, I am going toconcentrate on getting those
canopies right.
How about you?

Mike (22:41):
I I don't know if it's new, but I think I've with the
KV85, especially in the secondhalf of this year, I've
resharpened and honed my scratchand fab techniques.

Well, and you added to them with the with the
3D printing.

Mike (22:59):
I did.
There's a little bit of that inthere.
So that that project's got alot of things in it.
The the 3D print, there's alittle bit of 3D print in there.
There's just was it I don'tknow if it was the last episode
or the or the episode beforethat, but I I I talked about a
little bit that I w I felt likeI'd gotten back to the the style
of of modeling for lack ofbetter words.

(23:22):
I don't know if it's a style,it's you can't see it once it's
painted, right?

Right.

Mike (23:28):
But the craftsmanship side of the things, uh I felt like
that it atrophied to somedegree.
But I think with the KV-85project, I've kind of reawakened
some of those skills.
Yeah.
And I'm I'm I'm anxious to it'sgiving me confidence to to
start some things that uh are onthe list.

Well, I can't wait to see what you start in
2026.

Mike (23:52):
And in all that to to just blow past the E16 collectively,
I think I've demonstrated thatI can build an aircraft model to
a degree that I'm satisfiedwith.

Absolutely.
I mean, considering that's yourfirst aircraft model in
forever, it's fantastic.

Mike (24:11):
And I I think what facilitated that was at the
front end there was noexpectations.
But 70% in, there's this thethose expectations started to to
to uh to gel and coagulate alittle bit just because I could
s I could see where this wasgonna come together, and I just
like, man, maybe I need to Ineed to be careful and I need to

(24:35):
think about what I'm doing andand maybe apply some of my other
normal modeling habits to justto see that thing to the end.
And man, I'm I'm just reallysatisfied with it and and first
aircraft in 30 some years.
I mean it looks good.
There's plenty of skills thatwere developed during that one
because I I haven't I can't saymy skills were developed with

(24:57):
the last airplane I builtbecause I didn't care.
I did there's a lot of stuff Idid on this one I didn't even
care about then, you know,filling seams and all that
stuff.
Gosh, I I think that the lastmodel airplane I built before
that one was a 70 second scaleA-10 Warthog painted just good
enough to look good on the wargame table, coming across the

(25:18):
war game table on a bent wirestand made out of an old coat
hanger.
That was the last airplanemodel ever built.

So well, this one was definitely an and I want to
see you start another aircraftin 2026.

Mike (25:35):
Well, we'll see what happens, man.

We gotta get you going.
We got to get that KV-85 in thepaint booth and then get you
building something.

Mike (25:43):
Well, that's a good segue.
What are you most lookingforward to in 2026?

I can tell you, in 2026, the man from down
under, the pod father, DaveGoldfinch, will be flying into
Louisville and coming andstaying at my house again like
he did two years ago.
And we're gonna take some sidetrips like we did last time, and

(26:10):
then he's gonna hang out at thepool, and we're gonna feed him
fried chicken and uh uhhamburgers and gotta make some
of them jerk chicken legs orwings, man.
Exactly.
That's what I had tonight fordinner, by the way.
Oh man.
Um, and then we're gonna takehim to Fort White, and I cannot

(26:32):
wait.
It's been too long.
The Aussies are some of myfavorite people in the world,
and uh we had such a good timewhen when Goldfinch was here
last time that I I just can'twait to have him back and sit
around drinking modeling fluidsby the pool or floating in the

(26:56):
pool, as a matter of fact.

Mike (26:57):
That's right.
And that was fun.

That was that was way fun.
And just and just talking abouteverything.
Not just modeling, buteverything.

Mike (27:08):
Well, I hope there I hope there's enough buffer in his
schedule this time because man,I would really like him to come
by the house, and I'd reallylike an opportunity to take him
through our main office at work.

Space Tango.
Space Tango.
I think he would love that.

Mike (27:22):
I think he would like that.
So could all all that canhappen in the same day.
So not so long a drive, andguys could come hang out for a
little while.

And then we can take him to jalapenos.

Mike (27:34):
We could.
It'd be a long drive home.

That's right, man.

Mike (27:38):
How about you?
I'm looking forward to gettingthis KV-85 done.
I want to get that done thisyear because I want to start
something else.
Gotta get the Moos Roo Cupdone.
That's gotta be done in acouple months.

Yep.

Mike (27:51):
Gotta get cracking on that.
You know, I'm really lookingforward to the national
convention.
Because me too.
We we got a lot cooked up forthat.
We got a lot cooked up withthat with our friends, we got a
lot cooked up with that with oursponsor squadron, and it's it
promises to be a really goodtime.

It this one has the potential to be a fantastic
convention.
I know the a lot of the peoplewho are handling it, and they
are really going all out to makeit as good as the previous
ones, but even better by addingdifferent things on.

(28:31):
And I'm really kind of lookingforward to the award ceremony in
that old-timey theater.
It just promises to be areally, really good time.

Mike (28:43):
Well, those guys are putting in the miles like the
Las Vegas team did back in 2021to to make this thing something.
I mean, they they were at ourshow, they were at another show
we were at.
Where were they?
I can well, they're at theNationals pumping their
nationals, and they were at ourshow, had a table at our show,
and we saw them somewhere else.

You're right, we did, and I can't it was no, it
wasn't Cincinnati.
I wasn't at Cincinnati.
Yeah, I know.
But in any event, they'rethey're really they're promoting
the show.
Louisville, our club, is one ofthe sponsors of the show, and
we're going to be many of ourmembers are going to be working

(29:22):
the show.
So I I'm really, really lookingforward to it.
And then with the combinationof Goldfinch coming over,
Gloucester and uh Dr.
Geldbacher coming up, it justpromises to be such a good time.

Mike (29:38):
Well, I hope it lives up to our expectations.

It will.
I have no doubt.

Mike (29:44):
I think it will too.
And it's you know, and I lookforward to whatever I can get
done at the bench, too.

Yep.

Mike (29:50):
I think uh me both.
I I've I've had a little bit ofan epiphany over the last six,
seven months, and you know, Ifound my mojo, man.

That's great.

Mike (30:00):
I don't think it took six years.
It's been it's been flasheshere and there, but I don't
know.
I feel like I've been on asustained kind of mental state
regarding the actual working atthe bench over the last several
months.
So looking forward to seeingthat continue in 2026.
And uh man, I I don't know.
I we'll see what I get done.

Looking forward to the future's so bright you
gotta wear shades, man.

Mike (30:25):
Man, the musical references are my man.
That's my thing, man.

I I I wanted to work one in.

Mike (30:50):
Well, Dave, we mentioned earlier in the episode Mr.
Paul Gloster, our well, one ofour several Australian friends
at this point.
Yep.
It's amazing looking at some ofthe the pod metrics and stuff,
you know, listener locations andstuff.
I mean, we it's expected to bethe you know the English
speaking world primarily.
Sure.
Not exclusively, but primarily.

(31:12):
And man, we've got a bunch inAustralia and we've made some
good friends down there betweenthe the guys that uh on the
bench.

Just uh Australian listener base.
They're just great guys, oneand all, they're great guys.

Mike (31:25):
Our guest tonight is no exception, Mr.
Paul Gloster, who we've got tospend some time with at the
National Convention last well,this year.
I keep wanting to say lastyear, but it's still this year.

It might be last year by the time people listen
to this.

Mike (31:38):
That's right.
2025, we certainly spent sometime with him and and a and a
couple other places along ourjourney here in the last few
years.
Yep.
Uh just a real pleasure to talkto Paul and uh get his insight
on things.
And he's experienced somethinghere of late that some folks
might get some value out of.
So uh that'll be part of thisconversation.
Dave, the year is rapidlycoming to a close, and I thought

(32:07):
tonight we'd catch up with oneof our Aussie friends who we see
at Showtime in the UnitedStates, uh, Paul Gloucester.
How are you doing, Paul?

Paul Gloster (32:13):
Hey, I'm very good, Mark.
Hi, Dave.

Hey, I appreciate you sending us that warm
weather for Christmas.
That was very kind of you.

Just a little bit.
We could afford to lose alittle bit of our warm weather
to send it up to you.

Mike (32:26):
Yeah, well, it's gone now.
It went from about 71Fahrenheit yesterday to oh,
we're about 10 degrees belowfreezing right now.
Yeah.

So uh we're still at a balmy, a balmy 90, you
know, 30 degrees.
The weather whiplash.

Mike (32:44):
Yeah.
Well, Paul, I know you werebusy in 2025.
We saw you at the NationalConvention and had a lot of fun.
What else is going on with youon in the model sphere uh from
2025?
Did you go anywhere else atoutside of Australia?

It's been a year where I haven't traveled as
much, Mike, as what I havepreviously, but I still managed
to get to four model shows inperson and I attended another in
proxy.
Thank you to Steve Houston, whouh put one of my uh one of my
models into Nauticon.
Um, that was nice.
Four and a four and a bit isprobably the answer.

Mike (33:21):
Well, that's about how many I got to, but they're all
within the well, no, I went toHairGiscon, so they weren't all
in the United States, but didn'tinvolve any international or
air travel.
Well, where did you go inAustralia this year?

Well, there's some really good competitions
starting to emerge and evolve inAustralia beyond the I guess
the Marquee show, which is theAustralian Model Expo, which is
in Melbourne in June.
So that was pretty much thefirst model show that I got to
go to this year.
And then the Nats after that,where I was with the both of you

(33:53):
in the dojo.
And then straight after that,the Queensland Model and Hobby
Expo, which is whole held out uhWest Brisbane.
And then the most recent one Ijust got to go to, which was
Scale ACT in Canberra, which wasrun in November, and yeah, got
to go and participate in that.
And uh all very differentshows, but all excellent and

(34:17):
fantastic quality at all ofthem.
It's amazing the quality that'sat model shows these days, and
it was so that was a good yearfor me, I think.

Have you have you started planning 2026 as far as
model shows go?

I I guess I've put my anchor shows in, so probably
the Model Expo in Melbourne andthe Nats, so that's June and
August, and then I think I'llwork around those naturally with
the ones that I can get to andthe ones that uh you know I I'll

(34:52):
be able to attend.
But look, everyone keepstelling me about some other
model shows that I haven't beento here in Australia.
I would love to get to the IPMSuh New Zealand Nationals in
Auckland.
I believe they're in the middleof the year, so I might see if
I can get across to that.
But we'll we'll wait and see.
I think get the marquee kind oftent pole events locked in and

(35:17):
then go from there.
I don't think it will be a yearof being able to get to Telford
or SMC again, but if theopportunity comes up, who knows?
Who knows?

That's right.
Always keep your options open.

Exactly.
That's what that's whatfrequent flyer points are for.

Now, if you flew to New Zealand, about how long a
trip is that?

Uh it's two hours, two and a bit hours.

Oh, that's not bad.

Yeah, and three hours on the way back just
because of headwinds, but umyeah, it's a it's quite a quite
a good trip, and there's lots offlights, the airfares aren't
super expensive, and Auckland isa great city, and I know that
the modeling community overthere is fantastic as well.

Mike (36:01):
So now we saw what you brought to the United States,
and I know I know you've beeninvolved in a move here.
Uh what was the 2025 outputlike on your end, especially
after your trip over to theUnited States?

Yeah, it was better than I expected, Mike, to
be honest.
Oh, that's good.
Yeah, I I got 12 finished uhthrough the year.
So about one a month, eventhough they didn't quite fall
one a month.
And I I got a bit of diversityin there.
So continuing my philosophy ofbuilding up my range, I got uh

(36:36):
naturally some 70 second scaleaircraft, which is the the
cornerstone of what I build, butalso got a 70-second scale
Centurion tank, some Star Warsin there, and a couple of 43rd
scale cars as well.

Yeah, those cars are beautiful.
Absolutely lovely.

Yeah, thank you, Dave.
They're a bit of fun.

Mike (36:58):
That's kind of building on the last time we had you on the
show, I believe we were talkingabout uh that suite of varied
subjects you were working on aspart of an experiment.
Yeah, that's right.
So like has this stuck for you?
Is this is this your yourcurrent philosophy, as you just
said?

I think so.
It's hard to say.
I've been a little bit moreflexible in terms of what I've
been picking as my subjects, andit's opened up my modelling, I
think, quite a lot.
Just because it's given me anopportunity to play with things
that I don't normally get toplay with if I'm just limiting
myself to building 70-secondscale aircraft.

(37:36):
So, you know, the armor opensup a whole world of weathering,
and if you think of it as a as acanvas, you get ten times the
amount of canvas to play with ina 70-second scale piece of
armour as what you do doingwheels and wheel wells on an
aircraft, for instance.
And then the cars give you awhole nother level of precision

(37:58):
and cleanliness and smoothfinishes, and it allows then
those things that you're I foundthat I've been practicing to be
able to then come back and putback into my 72nd scale aircraft
and start to improve aspects ofthose that I really hadn't had
that much experience in doing.
So yeah, it has continued thisyear, and even as I I don't

(38:21):
know, chart out, I'm I guess weall kind of sit there and think
about what's in the build listfor next year, what are we going
to work on?
I've actually made sure thatI've included a couple of more
diverse subjects in there justto keep pushing the boundaries,
I guess.

Are you doing something for 26 that's
completely new to you,subject-wise?

I haven't gone that far yet.
I think that I will stick tothe ones that I've done.
So the 72nd scale armor, whichI've been tinkering with, the
43rd scale cars.
I've been loving doing the StarWars Bandai kits.
They're so much fun.
Practice techniques, you know,if you get something wrong, it's

(39:03):
like, well, you know, it was inspace, it got hit by an
asteroid.
Um so but I haven't, but it's agood challenge, Dave.
I I think I might have to havea bit more of a think about
that.
I did a submarine last yearthat did the Japanese midget
sub, which was the firstsubmarine I had ever built.
So I'll have to have a thinkabout it.

(39:24):
But maybe maybe I'll look atdoing something a little bit
extra this year as well.

Mike (39:28):
We'll be curious to see what you bring to the United
States.

I don't think my output will be as high this
year.
I think I'm sure everybody hasreally strong ears and you know,
kind of weaker years, andcircumstances at the moment
probably mean that I won't bedoing as much modeling as what
I've done in twenty five, butstill looking at bringing a few
across when I come over.

Mike (39:51):
Well, we can just segue over to that.
Now I just mentioned it.
You're in the process ofmoving.
I am and uh won't you tell uswhat you're willing to talk
about there?
What's what's going on withthat and how it's affecting you?
Well, I'm sure it's putting a athrottle on your output right
now, but uh the future's bright.

Yeah, uh look, I I've never stopped modeling ever
since I was seven years of age.
So, you know, girls and carscame along, but I was still
building models.
So I've always had it assomething that I've always done.
So it's hard for me not to finda way.
But I guess modelling, I mean,you you you talk about it, the

(40:29):
both of you, all the time.
You know, modelling can be issuch a flow, you know, you've
got to get in that groove,you've got to be in the mood,
you've got to have things atyour fingertips at the bench,
and all of that's been quitedisrupted.
So that's where I need to startto pull things back together to
give myself at least asemblance of a a flow that I can

(40:51):
get into to be able to just sitdown and and model.
But it's been a it's been areally long process when I go
back and think about the move,physically moving state.
So from Queensland to Victoria,it's been quite a long process
when I go back and think aboutthe steps I had to put in place

(41:12):
in order to make that move.

So now the move's been completed.

The move has been completed.

Do you have a hobby bench set up at your new
at the new apartment?
Or well, not new apartment, butyour apartment?

Not yet.
In work in progress.
I've got a couple of otherthings.
The good the good news is isthat um all the model retailers
have safely delivered parcels tome at the new address, so so
that's important.
Um where to find you.
They know they know where tofind me.

Um despite your wife's best efforts to to hide
the address.

Well, you know, when you move house, there's a
couple of key things you have todo.
Things like, you know, set upthe electricity, set up the
water, get the internet going.
And we didn't have internet fora few days because we were
waiting on a modem to arrive,and I got a little notification
that there was a parcel over atthe post office for and pickup.
So I said, right, I'm gonna goover.

(42:14):
I'm gonna pick up the modem sowe'll have the internet up and
running.
And of course I come back andit's a it's a Hannitz parcel, no
modem.
So uh But not as not asdisappointed as you might have
been.
That's right.
Luckily the modem came the nextday, otherwise I might have
been in a lot of trouble.

So did you get the internet set up before you
opened the Hannitz package, ordid you open the Hannitz package
first?

You don't need the in you don't need the web to
look what's in it in a Hannitzpacket, so no, I was straight
into it in a in a quiteinconspicuous place too, mind
you, not in full sight.

Mike (42:52):
I'm sure you had a fairly large number of completed builds
you had to move.

Yeah, it was uh I think I got to 80 when I counted
them.
I lost a few along the way thatI thought, okay, you've had
your time, time for you to moveon to the great retired sprue in
the sky.
So I I did throw out a few ofmy older builds.
Like an example was I had builta Raval 72nd scale Lancaster

(43:22):
Dambuster, and I was just kindanever happy with it.
So it's a good opportunity nowto go, oh, I need to build a
72nd scale dambuster.
So I did lose some.
So I guess the approach that Itook was I looked at the my
models that are either deeplypart of my collection or the

(43:44):
ones that I really like lookingat the most, and I I've got a
cabinet that I'll have them in,and the rest of them I've put
into storage, all packed up,layered.
But the ones that I am going toput in the cabinet, I actually
packed like I would pack totravel overseas with.
So they're in individual boxeswith the foam cut out so that

(44:09):
they're you know safe inmovement in all directions.
So I had minimal rebuild onthose ones when I pull them out.
Whereas the rest of them, whichwas about 65 in the other lot,
they'll they'll definitelyrequire some remodeling, some
rebuilding, which will be a funexercise in itself.

(44:29):
But the ones that I I really amkind of closest to me, I wanted
to make sure that they survivedas unscathed as possible.
And we we drove them down aswell in the car.
So I had a a car that was fullof models and paint, so the
fumes were fantastic.
And Tanya had all Tanya had allof the pot plants in her car,

(44:53):
so every now and then I'd go andstop and sit in her car and
just smell basil rather thanlike a paint fumes.

Mike (45:01):
That sounds like a lot of work, and hopefully there's no
nasty surprises when you getinto that second lot of the 60
or so.

Yeah, there may be.
So it's been a reallyinteresting exercise, though.
I like I said earlier, Iprobably started a good six
months ago thinking about whatwhat am I going to move, what I
what do I really want.
And if you recall, at the timeI had a big de I called it a
de-theming, so I'd collected alot of stuff that I thought, am

(45:30):
I really going to build that orbuild that theme, for instance?
And so I got rid of a lot ofthose, and that reduced the
amount of unbuilt models that Ihad to move.
I consolidated my books, Iconsolidated my tools, I got got
it to kind of the point whereit was movable, and then what

(45:51):
I've done is as I said, put someinto storage, moved some that
are ready to go into a cabinetwhen I get that.
I've bought a selection ofbooks, and I've got a selection
of models with me.
I've had to almost think aboutwhat I might like to build, and
then I've only built I've onlybought about a dozen kits, and

(46:16):
then everything else is instorage, but it's storage that I
can access if I need to.
So I can go out there and iffor instance all of a sudden I
want to build uh I don't know, auh a blackburn, blackburn vac
form, I know that I've got oneand I know where it is and I
know I can access it, but it'snot in the 12 that are close

(46:37):
close by at hand.

I want to see a blackburn, blackburn built.

I'd like to see one built too.
Yeah.
That's why I've got it, but I'mnot brave enough to do it yet.

I understand.
Think it'd be fun.
So now when I moved the lasttime I moved, I moved all of my
hobby stuff myself.
I did not let the movers moveanything, not unbuilt kits, not
hobby supplies, not books.
I did that all myself.

(47:09):
Now, of course, the move wasonly like four miles.
So, you know, I could make twoor three runs in an evening.
Did you let the movers handleany of your hobby stuff?

Yeah, the the unbuilt stash that I didn't want
to have like immediate accessto.
I had put all of those intoplastic tubs so they were
self-contained.
So they didn't actually pick upboxes and put boxes into boxes,
they just had to pick up aplastic tub that had them in

(47:43):
there already.
Uh, and then I moved the paintsmyself, and then I've got a
small box that I built, which isalmost like a little traveling
box, which has got all of myhardcore tools in it, the the
tools that you would take to adesert island.
So when I when I lived in theUS and when I moved over, it's

(48:05):
the same set of tools that Itook over to San Diego and used
them.
It's like, well, okay, theseare my must-have modelling
tools.
Uh, and so I used them.
So I brought those down in thecar with with me, and then
everything else I've numbered.
And so I've got all myairbrushes in a box, in a
plastic box, I've got all myairbrush accessories in a

(48:27):
plastic box, I've got files,saws, you know, almost kind of
broken up into the role thatthey perform.
But what I've what I've Iprobably will do now is go and
cherry pick a couple of corethings out of those that become
what I use day to day when Iwhen I am eventually modeling
again.

So, how long do you think it's going to take you
to get a bench set up and whereyou're sitting at it and
sanding or filing or filling orwhatever again?

Yeah, I I think it's just dictated by the other
things that have to be donearound the place.
So I'd say that it'll be youknow within a month or so.
Already I was saying to Mikethat you know, I I got the new
Edward Spitfire, and all Iwanted to do was start clipping
off the uh fuse large, and Icould not find a set of nippers
anywhere.

(49:20):
So even in my little holy grailbox, for some reason I hadn't
put a set of nippers in there.
So despite the fact that I'vegot plenty, I just they're just
not at hand at the moment.
So I got myself a new set ofnippers.
So I'll still I'll still beclipping bits of plastic off,
and I got myself a little thingof Gun's liquid cement as well,
and a fresh one, and uh I'lljust sit there still putting

(49:42):
things together, uh, even if I'mjust doing it in the uh in the
box top.

Yeah, I was talking to Jim today about that
kit, and he he he is extremelyimpressed by it.

Yeah, no, I am too.
I I wish I could launchstraight into it.
I've got a couple of otherthings I want to do first,
especially you know, fresh afterthe IBG kit, but yes, I am
very, very impressed with it aswell.

Mike (50:07):
Well, how long do you think you'll be in the
apartment?

Yeah, we'll stay here.
I mean, we'll have thisapartment now.
This will be our our place thatwe come and go from.
But the plan is, you know,we've always lived by the water.
We had you know a long timeclose to the beach.
So I think the plan is we'llend up.
I keep saying I'm going tobuild a model room with the
required number of bedroomsaround it down the beach.

(50:30):
So not going down too well, butit's we'll I'll I'll re get an
opportunity to rebuild somethinguh and and get it pretty much
tailored to what I think my next10, 15, 20 years of modeling
will look like.

Do you already have a piece of land picked out
or in the process at the momentthough?

So yeah, we're yeah, we're working our way
through that.
I I guess it's uh you know,both of the kids have finished
college, university, Laura, mydaughter just finished.
So yeah, we're looking at whatwe do for the next you know
period of time.
And I think that having adedicated space which has
probably incorporated maybe someof the learnings I've had over

(51:13):
the last 10-15 years of whatworks and what doesn't work in a
modeling space.
I'll try to incorporate thatinto whatever we end up with in
the next place.
But you know, I'm I'm alwaysfiddling, I'm always sticking
bits of things together orplanning something.
So whatever happens, I'll endup trying to, you know, build
something here that allows me tobe a little bit flexible.

(51:35):
It's the I guess the challengeof anyone who's modelling on the
move is you know, how do youhow do you kind of get that
balance between having somethinga bit more permanent and
something that's a little bitmore flexible?

Mike (51:47):
In the meanwhile, though, you've managed to plug back into
a a modelling community thatyou were not part of for a long
time.

Yeah, no, that's true.
And I think you know, Melbourneis a really strong modelling
community, and I that thatremains, there's no doubt about
that.
I I was asked to breakfast fora club that I've been a part of
for a long time, but onlyvirtually because I lived two
states away, and that is theSunbury Area Modelling Group.
And the first Sunday I washere, I got asked out for

(52:17):
breakfast with them, and thenthey went and did a model shop
crawl, and I got to see wellfour new model shops that
weren't even here after I leftMelbourne 18 years ago.
So that was a real eye-openerfor me.
But uh I'm really lookingforward to having a lot more
time with uh modeling communityand people that I've known since

(52:39):
I was a teenager and have onlygot to see once or twice a year
people who I've met morerecently that you know I talk to
all the time.
It's going to be good to be alittle bit closer to them as
well.

Mike (52:50):
Well, certainly ease the transition and help uh pass the
time while you're waiting onyour your new dream workshop.

Yeah, well I ha well I hatched that plan.
Yeah, it's it's a it is amazingthough that you know it's like
going to a model show overseas.
You talk to people that you'vemet, you talk to people that
you've known for a long time.
Again, such a great communityof of modelers and uh and
modelers within the community.

Did your move teach you anything that you
would pass on to folks who arefinding themselves in the same
situation that they they have tomove their model stash and
their hobby room and all theirbuilt kits?
Were there any pieces of wisdomyou gleaned from doing it

(53:38):
yourself?

I'd say I'd probably just summarize, Dave,
maybe some of the things I spokeabout, about you know,
planning, about what what youneed for where you're going is
really important.
And because I didn't want, I'mnot going to be in the apartment
forever, which would be a verydifferent scenario to what I'm

(54:00):
actually planning is to be ableto still have a model room, you
know, that that that I canactually hold kits, hold tools,
have a spray booth, all of thosethings.
So planning for whatever you'removing to, I think is really
important in terms of the firstplace to start, and then
everything flows from there, youknow, what you need to keep,

(54:22):
what you need to get rid of,getting rid of it in a timely
manner.
You know, I started selling mykits in June of 25 of this year,
so you know it's a six-monthkind of process because you
can't just get rid of a lot ofkits really quickly in all
circumstances.
So I timed it to get alignedwith some of the swap and sells
that were in place, uh, and thenI guess going through the

(54:44):
actual process of well, what'simportant to me, what's not
important to me, and then how amI going to put these models in
a way that they'll survive thetrip?
Um, and survive the tripsurvive the trip means yeah, I'm
going to need to put some propson and put some undercarriage
back on, or no, these thingshave to remain absolutely a

(55:08):
hundred percent undamaged as asthey move.
So that was something that wasunique to me in terms of the
outcome that I wanted.
And then the other thing is I'dsay to someone, if you're going
to move and you are restrictedin what you can do from a
modelling perspective for time,just you know, plan that out as
well.
I've got 12 kits, I've got allthe reference that I need, every

(55:32):
piece of reference that I hadall now with me, so I'm not
having to go out to the storageunit and dig through to find
that one set of aviation newsplans from 1981 that I know I've
got there somewhere.
I've got everything with methat I think I'll need, and then

(55:53):
it sets me up as well and allowfor a little bit of distraction
as well, because I I I I mightsee something that interests me
that I that I do actually needto go out and grab that set of
plans from 1981.
So I've allowed it so that Ican access the things that uh
that I need to get to if I needto get to them.

Now, did you find that the Tupperware containers
were the best way to long-termstore your unbuilt kits?

Yes, yeah.
So the way I pack my modelswhen I take them overseas, and
I'm lucky that I build 70seconds, so you know that works
really well for a 70 secondsingle-engine fighter.
It works for twins, be harderfor a much bigger kit.
But that's how I've packed upthe ones that I I want to keep

(56:46):
close at hand and I want to havethem in the cabinet here.
So uh I know that no matterwhich way they get shaken upside
down, worst comes to worse, Iknow that they're very well
protected in that in that foamand the little tubware
container.

Mike (57:00):
Well, Paul, what are you working on now?
What are what are the ones thatuh made the short list?

Well, I've got a couple of mosquitoes, a couple
of Tamiya mosquitoes that I'veput aside that I'm working on.
I've got a Edward 190 A model,and I've also got a D that I've
put aside.
And then I've got some armourthat I'm looking at doing, a
couple of 43rd scale cars inthere as well.
So I'm not expecting Mike toget them all finished.

(57:29):
It's just it's just these arethe things that I think I might
build.
And they're there and they'reclose at hand.
I can go and I can go and grabthem.
But you know, I unpacked,helped unpack the container that
had my all my stash in it.
And in that Hannett's parcelthat arrived was this absolutely

(57:50):
beautiful metallic details 3Dprinted Bristol Jupiter.
And I thought, oh, I should Ishould build a Bristol Bulldog.
So as they're unpack as they'reas they're unpacking, I'm
trying to find all the BristolBulldogs and pulling them out.
And then a moment of sanitykind of arrived at the end, and
I thought, no, don't do it,don't start day one by by

(58:15):
building something else.
So I've put the BristolBulldogs back, I'll put the
Bristol Jupiters with them andI'll leave them.
But probably hopefully fingerscrossed, Airfix release it in 70
seconds girl in the meantime,anyway.

So from your lips to God's to airfix's ear.

I have uh I you know how it works.
As soon as you start buildingit, the the modern guards
release it.

I'm still waiting for those Avro the new Avro 504
kit.

Yes, yeah.
I might have to build anotherone.

Mike (58:47):
Well, Paul, we're looking forward to seeing you this
summer.

I'm very much looking forward to coming across
to Fort Wayne and being withyou both in the dojo and Steve
and Mark as well.
So I'm very much lookingforward to that.
But as I said earlier, that'sthe tent pole around, which I'll
try to plan some other littleadventures this year, and aim to
make it to as many of the showsand see as many people as I can

(59:14):
because you get such a buzz outof being there and seeing
everyone and uh seeing whateveryone's working on and what
they're doing, and also seeingwhat everyone's building as
well.

Mike (59:23):
Well, that's not an that's not a short trip.
So I gotta ask, um I suspectit's a lot of things we talk
about on the show a lot, butwhat what makes that one
worthwhile for you?

I love the socialness of it more than
anything.
It's first of all, you know, itgoes for four days and five
days when you stretch it outwith a you know, bit a bit at
the start and a bit at the end.
So you get a really highquality period of time with
people that you don't get tospend time with normally.

(59:55):
And that is uh absolutelyfantastic.
It's there's You know, none ofthe other model shows around the
world actually do that.
You know, they're two days orthey're you know a weekend or a
day, and and and you're kind ofin and out, and the good thing
about the Mats is you actuallyget to spend some really qu good
quality time with people.
And because everybody is thereas well, you get to actually see

(01:00:20):
so many people that you wouldlove to have a really in-depth
conversation with and spend somequality time and talk to them,
pick their brains, talk abouttheir models, see what they're
working on, how they did things.
So for me, that's what I lovemost about it.
Something that I got out ofthis year with workshops too, I
hadn't really attended a lot ofthe forums.

(01:00:42):
I went to Lynn Ritgers on the109, which was absolutely
amazing.
So the it the educationalaspect of it as well, I think is
a really a real highlight ofthe Nats as well.
And plus it's a greatadventure.
I mean, when I came across, youknow, I was up in Minnesota
with Stephen Mark for a fewdays.

(01:01:02):
We did a road trip, did a roadtrip back.
So it's uh it's more than justthe model show as such, it's
actually more about spendingtime with people that you really
want to spend time with andvalue value time with them.

Kentucky Dave (01:01:18):
I agree.
I I will tell you that nowHeritageCon, because it's a much
shorter show, you don't getquite the amount of
socialization in.
But the Nats is the one placethat you know that you're going
to see, I don't want to sayeverybody, but you're gonna see

(01:01:38):
lots and lots of modelers, lotsof modelers that you know, lots
of modelers that you want topick their brain.
And uh I've been a hugeadvocate for the seminars at the
Nationals.
And yeah, Lynn Ritgers wasfantastic, and Dana Bells was
great.
Um, you know, anytime that'sone of the first things I do

(01:02:03):
when I get to the Nats is grabthe grab the seminar schedule
and start looking at whatseminars are being given when,
which ones are one time only,and which ones are going to be
repeated and and plan kind ofplan my day around that.

Paul Gloster (01:02:22):
Yeah, and the scale of the show allows an hour
of the show to be dedicated toan expert talking about a very
specific topic.
You know, whereas a lot of theother shows are so short that
they're probably more aiming theseminars at new new modellers
or beginners or showing somebasic techniques rather than

(01:02:44):
aimed at, you know, I guess themore advanced modeler or
somebody who is looking forsomething a little bit more
specific.
So I really love that aspect ofit.
And you know, don't get mewrong, you know, Telford's
really social, but in a reallydifferent way, it tends to be
standing around the tablestalking to everybody who are
running the SIGs and got theirlittle lollies or whatever

(01:03:05):
they're doing out the front.
Um SMCs also as well, but ittends to be at the bar at the
conference centre.
So every model show has aspectsof sociability and so forth,
but it's maybe one night at themost.
And the beauty of the Nats isthat you get it you know for
four or five nights plus gettingthere and getting home, and it

(01:03:28):
it it it really is an immersiveexperience, and then sitting in
a dojo having a few drinks withyou fellas and talking about not
just modeling, talking aboutthe world and other things is is
fantastic as well.
So you're not just limited tobeing that person on Facebook
who gives a thumbs up toeverybody's model, you're
actually talking to someone alittle bit more in a deeper

(01:03:49):
sense, which is great, buildingthat community.

Yeah.
Well, it is amazing in the dojowhen we're sitting there
talking and you find yourselfwandering from conversations
about music to food to beers towhatever.
And that's right, you know, itstarts off modeling and
occasionally gets back tomodeling, but there's a whole

(01:04:12):
lot.
There's a whole lot of stuff inbetween.

Yeah, it moves from being model friends to
being friends.

Mike (01:04:17):
Yes.
I'd never really thought aboutthe the four-day aspect of that.
And and it it's it's it'sinteresting because in my
military collecting hobby, uh,there's a show that just happens
to be in Louisville, Kentucky,and it's it's one of the largest
military collectors' shows inthe world.
Now, there's another showthat's actually physically
bigger in Belgium every year.

(01:04:37):
But it's but it's only it'sonly one day.
So there's a whole peripheralexperience around something when
there's more than one day, morethan two days, more than three
days that you can really sinkyour teeth into just about
anything you want to to a muchdeeper level than you could just
for a shorter show.
Even a little a lot of thoseother shows are are are

(01:04:59):
fantastic, but uh interestingpoint.
Yeah, look at that.
I didn't think about that.

I mean Heritage Hun is a great social show.
Uh and uh, you know, youeveryone's at the sports bar or
going out for drinks, and ofcourse the you know the Toronto
modelers are fantastic in termsof uh embracing you and inviting
you out, but it's only onenight.
So that's why I think the theNats is a really good experience

(01:05:23):
that anybody should attend it.
And it's a it's a trueconvention in the sense of it as
well, in that it is actuallyfor an extended period and quite
immersive.

Mike (01:05:32):
Well, and the way we all got together this year, this
past summer, just went off sowell that we were we're way
ahead in our planning this year.

Yeah.

Mike (01:05:41):
Yeah for uh for for 2026.
And uh well, uh are you are youcoming over early again, or are
you just gonna meet us all inFort Wayne?
What what are you gonna do thisyear?

I I think I'm I'm with the Minnesota Twins again,
is the plan um to do the roadtrip with those with uh Mark and
Steve again.
So, you know, even well, yeah,just the opportunity to sit down
with Steve for a couple of daysis just fantastic as well.
You know, that's not part ofthe Nats, but it's part of the
Nats experience is just beingable to talk to him and see what

(01:06:14):
he's working on and talk aboutwhat he's thinking about
building.
And yeah, it's it's it's a it'sa great opportunity to do that
as well.
So yeah, if they'll have meback, I'll definitely try to try
to do that again.

According to Steve, you are his wife's
favorite person.
So uh, you know, obviouslyyou've made a good a good
impression, so I I suspectyou'll be welcome.

I I I hope so.
I I probably drank a few toomany martinis when I was there,
but nonetheless.

Man, his martinis are great.
They are just fantastic.

Mike (01:06:48):
On the on the modeling front, we'll hit one more topic
here.
What are you hoping toaccomplish in 2026?
It doesn't necessarily have tobe all be it be subjects, but
just kind of on a high plane,what's your 2026 modeling gonna
look like given your yourlimitations?

Yeah, uh I think if I finish one to two kits,
I'll be relatively happy.
If I finish more than that,I'll be very, very happy.
I as I was saying before,modeling is such a flow, and
this is you know, for anybody,it's a major disruption to the

(01:07:27):
flow when you're kind of happy,happy place is no more, and
you've got to recreate a newhappy place somewhere else, and
that's going to be different andnot quite the same, and that
you know, riveter that youalways use is just not where you
thought it was anymore.
So I think setting if I setmyself up and I can finish one

(01:07:49):
to two models and be happy withthem, that they're at the kind
of standard that I like to buildthat I I set myself, I'll be
very, very happy with that.
But I think maybe this year isprobably going to be a little
bit less about the model outputand more about a little bit more
about the modeling input.
So spending time with friends,talking a little bit more.

(01:08:12):
I'd love to.
I used to when I was you know18, you know, through to about
26, I used to write a lot ofarticles for magazines, so maybe
I'll dip my finger back intothat a little bit more this
year.
Maybe I'll I'll build somethinga little bit different, as Dave
was saying before, and and thatmight just throw my brain in a

(01:08:34):
different direction.
But I think yeah, if I end upwith one to two kits finished by
the end of the year or more,I'll be I think I'll I'll be
able to say 26 was as good ayear as as 25, even though I I
managed to knock over 12 thisyear.

Mike (01:08:53):
It took me a long time to knock over 12.

Yeah, I'm telling you what, and and and it's not
like he just slapped together 12kits.
We saw those at the Nationals.
That that was some amazingmodeling.
The Red Bull air air racer isjust every time I look at it, I
cannot believe that you wereable to pull that off.

Yeah, thank you.

Mike (01:09:14):
You enjoyed it so much, you painted it four times.

Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, yeah.
It I it it it it visited thestrip the the the paint stripper
quite often that one.

Mike (01:09:28):
Well, they were all fag fabulous, and we look forward to
seeing what you bring over thisyear.

Yeah.
What about you guys?
What about the both of you?
What do you you know hope toachieve in 26?
What what does 26 a good 26look like for the both of you?

Mike (01:09:41):
If I could get two done, Musuru Cup built excluded, which
would be three, uh I'd beecstatic with that.
That would be fabulous.
So I'm you know, I've got acouple on deck that are
certainly finishable.
The the KV-85 is is I'm rapidlyrunning out of things to do on
it construction-wise, so it'sgonna be final assembly, all the

(01:10:03):
bits and bobs here soon, thenit's gonna be ready for primer.
I've got a little paper panzerI was working on that I kind of
stopped to just stopped becauseit was it was becoming a
distraction for the KV-85.
Yeah.
Um I I can only manage two,maybe threes to stretch.
I got I gotta do some uh sometraining to uh to get more more

(01:10:23):
than two on my bench to moveforward.
I just don't get enough time init to do that.
But uh those two, and you know,there's a lot of a lot of stuff
with the podcast we're tryingto do, which uh you mentioned
writing a little bit, so we'lltalk about that a little more
offline.
But for me, yeah, if I couldget counting the moose through,
if I could get three done,that'd be great.

(01:10:44):
Dave?

I I finished two this year, and I've got two
really close.
There is no reason I shouldn'tfinish four or five, but it
always looks that way at thebeginning.
Every new year, the the slateis clean in front of you, and
you're like, this year I'mgonna, and then life intervenes,

(01:11:06):
and it's gonna happen.
So I'm just going to be happywith what I finish, no matter
what it is, or how many thereare.
But I do want to push myself tobuild faster, build better, and
try and and make 2026 memorablein my mind from a modeling

(01:11:32):
improvement standpoint.

And you were only a coup, what, two bearcats short
of hitting that number as well.

That's right.
Yeah.
Hey, I got one bear cat done.
That's it's in the collection.
It's uh it's I got to deliverit to Dr.
Geldmacher, and uh uh thatwould that one uh I consider
that one an accomplishment.

Yeah.
It's a great point you make,though, because at this stage of
the year when everyone'sposting what they've built, you
know, their what their outputhas been, what their class of 25
has been, you know, there is alittle bit of how many did you
get done this year?
Whereas I think to your earlierpoint, it's about are you happy

(01:12:17):
with what you've built thisyear?
You know, are they better thanthe ones that you built last
year?
Have you learned more and beenable to put it into practice?
And yeah, it's definitely theway I'm thinking as well this
year.

Yeah.

Mike (01:12:33):
Well, and then we've also talked a lot, especially with
Paul Budzik, about are youenjoying it while you're doing
it?
Because once you get really getyour head around that part of
it, getting it done becomesbecomes less important.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's that thing that takes youto that happy place because
you're there and you're doingsomething and and it's a it it's
a hobby, you know, rather thana chore.
And and that's uh less outputfocused and more kind of
quality.

Mike (01:13:08):
So But we we all like to have something, some fruits of
our labor to to show and and uhtalk about.
So uh the finishes are good.
I don't want to diminish them,but uh I guess overall I want to
have fun in 2026 seeing seeingmy friends and uh getting out to
the shows and and gettingfinished what I can manage to
get finished along the way.

Yeah, yeah.
And we're so lucky that I thinknow that you know your
modelling sphere used to belimited to who geographically
was in modelling clubs you knownearby you, whereas now
everyone's modelling sphere isthe whole globe, and you've got
so many great quality modellersand so many people that you meet

(01:13:49):
and talk to, and you say, Howlong have you been modeling?
It's like, oh, four years, andyou're looking at their work,
like, how did you get so good soquickly?
I've been working on this for30, 40 years, and I'm only just
getting there now, so that'sit's it's great to see that
because you know we're exposedto that a whole lot more now.

(01:14:10):
And like I said, going to theshows like the Nats and
attending as many model shows aswhat you possibly can and
talking to as many people justcontinues to build on that as
well.

Yeah, and you make a good point about the the
model sphere being so soexpanded.
I was marveling to my wife theother day that I have three
close friends in Ottawa, Canada.

Yeah.

That that wouldn't have happened even
eight, nine years ago.
And a couple of close friendsin Minneapolis, and it just it's
it's amazing how the all thistechnology has allowed us to
expand our modeling family somuch.

That's right.
Yeah, people are rapidlylearning things that previously
took generations to learn andpass on.
And you know, I go back to someof the mentors that I had when
I was just a little juniorburger modeler and IPMS, and you
know, some of the some of thosethings I use day to day, but
you know, there's so many thingsthat you know blow me away when

(01:15:18):
I see them.
And also, look, just you know,the new Tamiya Tomcat has come
out, and I was on YouTubeyesterday and someone's already
built it, already done a videoof it.
It's like, well, I haven't evenseen it yet.
I haven't even seen it in theshops.
It I didn't even know it wasout, and it's built so I can
know everything I need to knowabout the kit long before I even

(01:15:39):
get to have the joy of takingthe plastic off the box and have
such a head start on buildingit as well.

Beats pictures of today.

Oh yeah, it does look gorgeous, absolutely
gorgeous.
I would I wouldn't have thoughtthat I'd jump into a F-14, but
just having a look at it, youknow, there's kits that you
build because you love thesubject, and sometimes there's
kits you build just because youthey're they're great kits to
build, and that looks like agreat kit to build.
And plus there's plenty ofpeople who love Tomcats, there's

(01:16:09):
so many good schemes as well.

Mike (01:16:11):
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
Well, Paul, it's been real goodtalking to you again, and we
look forward to seeing you in uhFort Wayne this summer.
That's gonna be a big time.
Likewise.
Speaking about about uhexpanded model sphere.
I mean, we're we're leasing aAirbnb house with a bunch of
guys we didn't even know not allthat long ago.

(01:16:32):
Yeah.
So we've come up the friendshipcurve pretty quick, and it's
always a a joy to hang out withyou and uh really looking
forward to this this nationalconvention this year.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

This is gonna be a great one.
The model fluid will be flyingas well.
Yes, it will.

And and and send us some more warm weather if you
would.

Oh, yes, yes, it is getting a bit warm here at
the moment, actually, to behonest.

And I've left the heat, so you poor thing, it's
20 degrees.
It's it's cold as heck here.

Mike (01:17:01):
All right, Paul.
We'll see you.
See you in in the summer.
Yeah, our summer.

Absolutely, Mark.
Thanks, Dave.
Thanks again.

Mike (01:17:07):
You take it easy.

Thank you, cheers.

Mike (01:17:15):
Man, I know one thing is not on my list to do in the
future, and that's move.

Oh gosh, no.
I told my wife when we movedinto our present house six years
ago, I told her I was leavinghorizontally and room
temperature.
I am not, I am not goingthrough a move again.
I and that was like I said,when we were talking, my last
move was like four and a halfmiles.

Mike (01:17:44):
So mine was about the same.
It doesn't matter whetheryou're going a mile or a
thousand, you still have to packeverything up and vacate the
old space.

Yep.
Well and real and realize howmuch crap you've got.

Mike (01:18:01):
Well, from my vantage point in front of my microphone,
I can look over slightly to theleft across the room in the far
corner, and there are threeboxes sitting over there.
Then I bet the bottom one'sstuck to the floor at this
point.
Yeah, it's been we we movedhere when Wes was five and now
he's 21.
And that box hadn't moved sincethen.

Yeah.

Mike (01:18:24):
Yeah, I might need to unpack that or throw it out.

Throw it, throw it out at this point.
Don't even look to see what'sin it.
Just throw it out.

Mike (01:18:32):
Well, always fun talking to Paul, and be curious to see
what he gets done with hisabbreviated modeling space at
present time.

Well, I'm I'm looking forward to to seeing how
how all of that develops.
But uh, whenever you talk toPaul, you find yourself
involuntarily just grinning fromear to ear, because he's always
such a great person to talk to,just really a great outlook on

(01:19:01):
life, doesn't let things get himdown, faces the challenges and
and makes the best of them, andall with that happy warrior
attitude.
And I have no doubt that he'sgoing to, in a temporary space,
end up producing models thatthat'll that'll just stun me

(01:19:23):
when I see him in person, likethe ones I saw at Hampton.

Mike (01:19:28):
And when he gets his new digs finalized, you know, might
have to go to Australia.

Yeah, there's a tons of spider videos, man.
They freak me out.

The Voice of Bob (Bair) (01:19:42):
Plastic Model Mojo is brought to you by
Squadron.
Head on over to squadron.comfor the latest in kits and
accessories, all at a greatprice and with great service.
Squadron, adding to the stacksince 1968.

Mike (01:20:00):
We've had a few faves and yawns over the year, and there's
a lot of faves.

Yeah.

Mike (01:20:04):
But if we were to rank those top to bottom, they're not
all at the top.

Nope.

Mike (01:20:10):
So in 2025, and we can go back and forth, we can alternate
like we do during normal favesand yawns segment.
But uh, what is what was yourfavorite release or
announcement?
Now, when I say announcement,it could be an announcement in
2025, but not hard copy yet.
So um that's allowed.
So what is your favoriterelease or announcement from the

(01:20:33):
from the from this past year?

70 second scale, fine mold zeros, the early and
mid production model 52s,completely unexpected, out of
the blue.
I have yet to get my hands onthem.
And David wants just, I mean, Iwant to build them because

(01:20:57):
they're a different version thanthe Tamiya 50 model 52, so uh I
it's gonna help me build outthe collection.

Mike (01:21:06):
I bet it will, and that's like classic fine mold style,
just stuff kind of kind of showsup.

Yep.
You're like, all right.
It's exactly right, out of theblue.

Mike (01:21:16):
Out of the blue.
How about you?
From Gecko models and 135thscale, the Matilda Mark I, I
think is gonna be my favorite uhannouncement.
I don't I've not seen aphysical kit yet.

Yeah.

Mike (01:21:30):
So I don't know if it's out there or not, but I've got a
3D printed one I paid a decentpenny for and broke part of it
just trying to fix somethingthat was wrong with it.

And it's like it's such a goofy looking thing
that you can't help but want tobuild one.

Mike (01:21:47):
And I want to build a British Expeditionary Force one
in France, France in 1939 and40.
So I know what I want to do.
Yep.
A plastic kit, it's just it'sjust better.
Right.
Even if all the details notquite there, it's just gonna be
a better experience, I think,than a 3D kit at current

(01:22:09):
technology state.

Gotcha.

Mike (01:22:11):
I just I broke that part and that thing is like, oh man.
I I knew it was gonna break.

Yeah.

Mike (01:22:18):
But anyway, I'm I'm excited about this one.
Definitely gonna get it.
Maybe we'll see it soon in thecoming year.
If it's already out there and Idon't know, that's could
completely possible.
I don't know.
Somebody let me know.
Where can I get this thing?
Gecko models, Matilda Mark I.
You got another one, Dave?
Yes, I do.

Tomia F-14.
Utterly unexpected.
People, as soon as the to me asTomia released their larger
scale F-14, all the 72nd scalemodelers were like, oh, come on,
please shrink this down.

(01:22:56):
Come on, please, you can do,you know.
And out of the blue, finally,after god, 10 years, they did
it.
And the F-14 is one of thoseairplanes that A is attractive
as heck, B has so many greatmarkings combos.

(01:23:19):
You could build you could buildF-14s from now until you till
you kick off and have just sucha great collection of different
markings and and you know, youweather the heck out of them, or
you can do them clean.
It just it's it's great.

(01:23:40):
And uh Jim Bates, I was talkingto him the other day, he
already picked one up, and Ihaven't seen one yet, but when I
see one, I will be picking itup.

Mike (01:23:52):
It's gonna get in the way, man.

I know, I know.
I've there's so many great kitsI want to build.
I need to I need to pick up thepace, brother.

Mike (01:24:01):
Well, maybe you need to to focus.

Yeah, well, both.

Mike (01:24:06):
I mean, you got all these Pleiasti Raiders you want to do,
and you this is like the secondmodern big jet you've squawked
about in recent episodes, so uhI know.

I don't know.
I am aware of the ironies.
How about you?
Another one?

Mike (01:24:21):
Uh I've got two more.
This is another armor kit.
Ryefield's the JS2.

Okay.

Mike (01:24:27):
Is that right?
Is it Rye Field?

I think it's Ryefield.

Mike (01:24:30):
And man, their other stuff's really good.
Uh wasn't expecting this.
You know, I just bought aTamiya JS2, thinking I was gonna
cabbage parts out of it for theKV-85 and then change my mind.
So I've got it.
It's a good kit.
It's a good kit.
Will this one be better?
Probably.
But it's the it's thefollow-ons, it's the ISU, JSU

(01:24:51):
152 and 122 that I don't havefrom Tamiya yet that I'll
probably give the skip if theydo end up doing those.
So I'm real curious whatthey're gonna do with this this
platform.
Uh I'll probably get this onebecause I know it's I know it's
gonna be stellar.
And there's also the what'scalled the broken nose JS2, the

(01:25:12):
the other hull front style.
If they do one of those, that'dbe great as well.
So looking forward to seeingwhat that one's all about.
It's not uh not muchinformation out there yet, but
that's exciting.
That's an exciting one.
That's a big, big, big tank.

Yep.

Mike (01:25:29):
What you got?

I got two more.
One, we're gonna go back tofine molds.

Mike (01:25:33):
Okay.

Because again, out of the blue, fine molds
announces uh the F-104 family.

Mike (01:25:42):
Oh man.

The Japanese used the 104 and painted it in all
sorts of really great schemes.
In addition, Fine Molds hasapparently manufactured this
thing in the way that they cando the Canadian C F-104, the US
F-104C.

(01:26:03):
I I think they may eveneventually do the German and
Italian 104s as well.
Again, it's another one ofthose aircraft aircraft that's
just so cool looking, it's notfunny.
And there's such a greatcollection of markings that
that's one I'm definitely gonnapick up.

Mike (01:26:26):
You know, I've got a do I still have the book?
If I dig through my books, Imay still have the book.
It was probably the firstaircraft book I ever got.
Nobody else will can relate tothis, even you, but I remember
the bookstore it came from inthe mall, and it was before the
mall in my hometown wasexpanded, and the bookstore

(01:26:47):
moved upstairs to the secondarea, the news part of the mall.
So it was like in the stinkingmid mid to late 70s.
I got this book.
It's like Combat Aircraft ofthe World.
One of those coffee tablebooks.
Yeah, I've got the book.
And there's a picture in thatbook of a German F-104 on some
kind of VTAL platform.

Yes, the zero, the ZLL, zero length launch.

Mike (01:27:14):
Okay.
Yep.
That'd be cool.

Yep.

Mike (01:27:18):
Maybe somebody'll do that.

And and I think there's actually a a conversion
for the old Hasagala kit outthere to do that.
So I would there shouldn't beany reason that that that
wouldn't fit the the new finemolds kit.
But yeah, that was a coollittle experiment that the
that's a deep dive for me.

Mike (01:27:39):
Now I'm wondering if I have that book anymore.

I've got it.
If you don't, I'll give it toyou.

Mike (01:27:44):
It was kind of big format and not very thick.

Yep.
I've got it.

Mike (01:27:48):
About a half inch thick.

Yep.

Mike (01:27:50):
All right.

I have the book.

Mike (01:27:52):
Well, shoot me a pick of that pick and let me know what's
up.
You got it.
Well, I've moved to aircraftnow of sorts.
I'm I'm glad to finally havethat Northrop F2M M2F3 lifting
body from uh AMP out of theUkraine in in my hands.
Not cheap.
Not cheap.
Cool little kit.

(01:28:12):
Man, that's almost a buyer'sremorse price on that kit.
But uh so far, no.
If I if I gaff it up, then I'llbe really kicking myself.
Right.
That's a cool kit, and it'sit's a really nice little kit,
too.

And that is one of those kits that proves we are
living in the golden age ofmodeling.
Because by no rights would youhave ever expected to see that
injection molded, particularlyby a fairly major manufacturer.
Even if it's not to me aquality or Arma quality or fine

(01:28:50):
molds quality, it still givesyou the good place to start from
that's better than somevacuform or resin or you know,
something like that.

Mike (01:29:00):
It's pretty nice.
I'd it's it's up, you know,maybe the fits for crap, but uh
I don't know.
I I need to build it.

So maybe we'll start it in 2026.
That that would be a good oneto start because I'd like to see
that.

Mike (01:29:13):
It's a fave for 2025 for sure.

Okay.
My last one for 2025 beenannounced.
It was supposed to be outeither at the end of 2025 or the
beginning of 2026.
Our friends over at Arma haveannounced a 72nd scale ME262.
There are a number of 262 kitsout there, and many of them are

(01:29:42):
decent, but they're littlethings to complain about with
everyone.
And to have Arma do it, I knowthat or I'm pretty sure that I'm
not going to have any of thosecomplaints.

Mike (01:30:01):
Now or you might have all of them.

Well, it's possible.
But now I know they're not uhdoing some things I may like to
have seen them do, like theslats and the flaps separate and
all that, but I'm sure the 3Dprinter guys are gonna
aftermarket the heck out of thiskit.
So, you know, if Arma choosesnot to do that in their

(01:30:25):
manufacturing of it, that's finewith me.
As long as I get a really niceArma level kit of an ME262,
because I like that airplane.

Mike (01:30:38):
Oh, I do too.
And that's you gave me a promodeler kit.

Yep, which isn't a bad kit, by the way.

Mike (01:30:44):
I could end up getting this one too.
Is that all you got?
I'm done.
I'm done too, man.
Well, folks, let us know whatyour favorites were in 2025.
We'd love to hear about it.

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Mike, we're almost at the end of this
truncated episode.
And my my modeling fluid, myCoke, is almost at the end.
And it was, as always, anexcellent, excellent Coke.
Delicious.
And uh, you know, if you if youif you're having a non-adult

(01:32:19):
modeling fluid, you can't gowrong with uh with a McDonald's
fountain coke.

Mike (01:32:25):
When everything's dialed in.
Exactly.
Because they can they can messit up every now and then.

I'll be honest with you, here in Louisville,
that's pretty rare, because Iget my McDonald's Cokes from
three different stores, andevery one of them is dialed in
just perfect.

Mike (01:32:43):
And if it wasn't, would you let them know?

Oh god, yes.
Yes, absolutely.
That is that is their raisond'tra.

Mike (01:32:54):
You're like, you guys are putting too much seltzer water
in this, man.
The balance is all wrong.
You need you need to fix that.

Check the tubes, see if they need to be cleaned.

Mike (01:33:04):
Yeah.
You don't want to go there.
So how suburban?
The chestnut farms is is good.
It is probably by my palate, itis high rye.
Okay.
It's a little spicy.
It's man, it's a little tinglystill, even after 1.5.

(01:33:26):
It's it's good.
It is good.
It's it's not it's not quite asspicy as the as the bullet, but
it's it's it's leaning thatway.
It's it's certainly not awheated bourbon like a like a
weller.

Yeah.

Mike (01:33:40):
It's not like that at all.
But it's good.
I'd do it again.
Chestnut Farms, if you'relooking for something to try,
would I recommend it above myRussell's Reserve tenure?
Probably not.
Definitely not, definitely not.
But hey, I haven't had anythingnew on the show in a long time,
and this is this is a new one,and it's actually not not bad.

So uh And when Santa shows up with a with a
bourbon, you can't complain.

Mike (01:34:06):
No, you cannot complain.
And I got a bottle of Russell'sreserve tenure too from
somebody else.
So nice.
You know, I can have my comfortand I can experiment.

There you go.

Mike (01:34:16):
So it's all good.

Well, we are now truly at the end of the episode,
and we need to do someshout-outs of the month or year
or all the above.
I'll start.
Go ahead.
First, I want to shout out allof the listeners.
Did you get my edited outline?
No.
Well, yeah, no, I well, yes, Idid.

Mike (01:34:45):
No, you got the outline, but I went in and did my
homework.
And listeners is the top of myshout-out list.
But go ahead, Dave.
Go for it.

Okay, well, we do think kind of alike.

Mike (01:34:56):
We do.

All the listeners, particularly all the
listeners in the last year whohave joined IPMS USA.
I this is my last term asretention and recruitment
secretary.
I on the regular get DMs fromlisteners telling me they've
joined or rejoined.

(01:35:19):
And it's it's very, veryflattering and satisfying to me
that people do that.
And I hope those that join willget out of the society uh the
value that I see in it.
And so I want to thank all ofthe listeners, particularly

(01:35:40):
those who have messaged me tolet me know that they are back
in the IPMS USA fold.

Mike (01:35:47):
How about you?
Likewise, Dave.
We got great listeners.
We do.
And we get a lot of feedbackfrom them.
I really appreciate that.
And I just want to shout out toeverybody who's takes the time
to take in our show each andevery episode, that we we really
appreciate it and you make itall worthwhile.

Yeah.

Mike (01:36:08):
Now you you shout out the ones who joined IPMS, which is
understandable.
I I want to extend an extrashout out to those who've
contributed or supported theshow.

Yes.

Mike (01:36:20):
All the contributions folks have made, all the
listeners who have chosen tocontribute to the show and
support the show financiallyhave really helped us uh expand
our reach.
They've helped get the websitegoing.
Absolutely, they've beeninstrumental in getting the
website going, and we hope thatcontinues.
So we encourage folks if youwant to support the show.
You know, we've got a lot ofavenues to do that.
You can find them on thewebsite at www.plastic model

(01:36:43):
mojo.com.
We got some big plans for 2026,and a lot of it depends on the
the level of support we get.
So thank you so much for all ofthat.
We really appreciate it and welove to see it.
Thank you very much.

Yes, thank you.
And I'm not sure that we couldcontinue to do this without your
all support.
It's been really vital.
My next shout out is to theOttawa gang.
I came to the realization a fewweeks ago that I have more
friends in Ottawa, Canada than Ido probably in any other

(01:37:20):
location in North America otherthan Louisville.

Mike (01:37:24):
Likewise, likewise.

That's really weird because I've been to
Ottawa once in my life, and theinteractions that you and I have
with the guys from Ottawa arejust fantastic.
And they have really made doingthis podcast and going to
HeritageCon and all of that somuch more fun.

(01:37:49):
And so I want to shout them outand thank them for being who
they are.

Mike (01:37:56):
I second that.
And it gets into the wholetopic of all these people we
didn't know until we did thisthing.

Yep.

Mike (01:38:05):
And it's just it's really been incredible.

So it has been.

Mike (01:38:09):
Love you guys, man.
Look forward to seeing it atHairdressCon.

Yep.

Mike (01:38:13):
You're next.
It's gonna be our sponsors,Dave.
Okay.
Always good.
Always good.
Model Paint Solutions, JohnMiller, Dr.
Sprange Strange Brush, is astalwart supporter of the show.
We've had him as a guestnumerous times.
We get a lot of good feedbackfrom his interactions with the
listeners outside of PlasticModel Mojo, so that's always

(01:38:33):
good.

And all of the listeners who tell us they've
interacted with John do nothingbut sing the praises of how
helpful he has been to them.

Mike (01:38:44):
And we got Bases by Bill, who've we run their ad.
We're glad to do it becausethey've helped us along the way,
particularly with some swagitems we've been doing, and and
they've they've done our kind ofour peer award things, you
know, the poker chips and stufffolks do.
We've got a little plaque wewe've been putting down at some
shows, and they they did didthat for us.
And some bourbon glasses, andthat's kind of was the kind of

(01:39:07):
prototype phase, and wehopefully uh going into next
year we'll uh we'll keep thatgoing and look forward to
working with uh Bases by Billbecause they're such a great
bunch of guys.

They are.

Mike (01:39:18):
And Squadron.
We'd be remiss to not mentionsquadron.
Squadron has just become such amajor sponsor for us, and
Brandon and company have havedone some great things to help
us get our message out.
We've been on Squadron TV atime.
Yep.
And really looking forward tothe National Convention because
the connection between Squadronand Plastic Model Mojo is gonna

(01:39:40):
get a little bit tighter duringthat because we've got some
things planned for uh theNational Convention as far as
squadron's concerned.
And love those guys.
Man, I it it's the nostalgia.
It absolutely is the nostalgia,Dave.
Um those flyers coming in themail every month and ordering
stuff, and they're such a such afundamental part of my early

(01:40:01):
modeling.
Me too.
Just so happy to to see thoseguys succeeding and to run them
with the the new company and tobe a part of it the way we are
is just a privilege.
It is.

It absolutely is.

Mike (01:40:17):
And finally kit masks.
Kevin and Janelle are such fun,terrific people and their
product is so great and theyhe's filling such a a niche for
for old kits and stuff you'dnever thought you'd ever get a
canopy mask for.
And we got that kicked off andthen this this tariff crap
started and they had to had torein it in a little bit and we

(01:40:41):
didn't know what was going on.
And then Janelle just crushedit and figured out a way to do
it and now they're back inbusiness selling to the United
States again.
And I couldn't be happierbecause it man that made me so
mad that we had this thingstarted and we had to pull the
plug and we did really didn'tknow what to do.

Yeah.

Mike (01:40:59):
But we're rolling again.
I hope folks out there havetaken advantage of their
December discount code and orderfrom those folks because they
got a great product and they'regoing to be at HarrisCon.
I'm looking forward to hangingout with them a little bit and
see what we can do for thosefolks next man because they're
such a fun company to to workwith yes they are.

Every interaction is nothing but pleasant.
You got another one?
I've got one final one and thatis a shout out to our guest
tonight, Paul Gloster and hisMinnesota twin companions Steve
Hustad and Mark Copeland.
I mentioned earlier in theepisode that Mark was

(01:41:39):
instrumental in arranging ourlodgings in Hampton and he's
done the same thing in FortWayne.
They're great modeling friends.
And great and great modelers.
Great modelers too and Imaintain that modelers as a
group are above average in beinggood people and you could find

(01:42:03):
no finer examples of that frontthan uh Paul Gloster, Steve
Hewsted and and Mark Copeland.
So shout out to the Minnesotaboys and their Aussie adopted
love child.
Well my final one is you Davenow you're making me feel bad.

Mike (01:42:20):
No, you don't need to feel bad.
We are about to launch theseventh year of plastic model
mojo.
Never would have thought Inever would have thought either
but man you're you're hereenthusiastic every other week
well every week because we'vewe've got these shorts we're
doing now so we're putting out alot of stuff and you seem to be

(01:42:42):
on board with it.
Oh I'm having a time I'm outwhich I appreciate and it's it's
a lot of fun and man I lookforward to 2026 and what we're
gonna pump out in the comingyear as far as episodes and
shorts and uh I don't know maybesomething new will come up who
knows maybe some surprises maybesome surprises thinking I am

(01:43:03):
too man but I appreciate it.
I appreciate it our friendshipand all that and it's a lot of
fun and I look forward to thetimes we get to record some
stuff.
Yep I'm looking forward to 2026man well man we're gonna cut
this one short so folks can godrop the ball with Ryan Seacrest

(01:43:23):
and Jimmy McCarthy and allthose no go go put on a good war
movie or documentary sit atyour bench and model.
I saw a post the other day thatif you start Star Wars uh a new
hope at a certain time that theDeath Star blows up at the same
time at midnight right atmidnight.

(01:43:44):
And it's the Lord of the Ringones too so folks just like in
modeling get creative and dosomething fun for New Year's and
don't hurt yourself.

Yeah and with that Dave so many kits so little
time Mike see you in the newyear.

Mike (01:44:00):
We will see you all through 2026 and folks thank you
for everything thanks foranother great year and looking
forward to the new year.

Yep absolutely

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Episode Transcript

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Year-End Mojo: Models, Moves, And Memories: Episode 154

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