TRY MODELING OUTSIDE THE BOX

​By Dick Engar
Originally published as parts of two columns in July 2008 IPMS Journal
and in Jan. 2011 IPMS Journal

​What are your favorite modeling subjects?  1/35 scale armor?  1/25 scale automobiles?  1/48 scale aircraft with detailing to boot?  Many modelers are completely eclectic in their building and produce brilliant results no matter what the category of interest.  Others stick to one basic subject or class.
 
My particular weakness is 1/72 scale aircraft and the 1,000-plus subjects hidden away in my crawl-space.  Naturally, the vast majority of my nearly 150 built and displayed models are 1/72 scale, mostly military aircraft.  Brudder Bill has a corner on the 1/144 scale market and has built several excellent military subjects and airliners in that scale.  But he has also completed many contest-winning space and sci-fi subjects, too, and enjoys modeling outside the 1/44 scale box and not just out-of-the box.

Dick enjoys building large, multi-engine aircraft in 1/72 scale such as this Trumpeter Russian Bear bomber--most of the time

What do you have to gain by thinking and modeling outside the box?  For starters, you'll avoid becoming stale and will enter new horizons and new worlds.  Allow me to indulge in my own experience of model building since I finished Trumpeter’s 1/72 Tupolev Tu-95 Bear way back in 2004.  The Bear was a gratifying project that is fun to show to other modelers because it is so big and because not many of those Trumpeter kits have actually been built (at least I have not seen any others and I am only one of two persons I am aware of that have ever brought one to compete at IPMS Nationals).  ​

However, the scope of the build made it hard to handle an encore.  As a break, I converted an Airfix Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIc that I purchased in London, England during the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain to a Mk. I.  This was a relatively simple and fun project after the Bear.  Then, I finished a Unicraft resin kit of the Northrop Grumman X-47 Pegasus Navy UCAV.  After these projects, I needed a change of pace.  ​

​Leave it to Brudder Bill to provide the impetus.  For Christmas in 2004, he gave me the reissue of the Revell Ed Roth Super Fink kit which I started on 

Ed Roth's Super Fink by Revell.  Could you enter this in an automotive category at a contest since it has four wheels?

December 25 in his honor (although the honor was mine considering the subject).   I had a fun time dealing with figure modeling, an area where I have had scant experience (the original Rat Fink kit was finished by me years previously.)  

A very rare and unusual Airfix HDL Hovercraft.  We'd love to see this one released again!

​Another weird and rare kit also fell into my hands, the Airfix HDL Hovercraft kit, and progress was made on that model.  I was surprised when it landed in the ships category for judging!  This was a real, not imaginary subject actually built by the British Government and tested in 1960.  
 
Finishing these models in 2005 gave me some renewed vigor in a real chronic project, the old Monogram Li’l Coffin model car kit originally released in the 1960s and started by me in 1995.  

It was set aside due to frustration with a warped body.  Far from Nameless National Luminary, Mark Gustavson himself came to the rescue by providing me with an alternative kit sans the warpage so I had no excuse but to continue on in earnest with that project. ​

​Progress was made through early 2006 until Master Modeler John Tate of Albuquerque Scale Modelers had to provide a break in the eclectic action, though, when he sent me a brand new Airfix release, the coveted TSR-2.

Airfix's debut of their 1/72 TSR-2 kit was a "Limited Edition" meaning it was not made in sufficient numbers to meet demand by modelers.  It was very difficult to find in the USA because of this.

​This British Tactical Strike and Reconnaissance test prototype actually flew in Britain in the 1960s.  This amazing aircraft was scrapped after some of the most ridiculous and pathetic political nonsense in British history.  It arrived just in time for my birthday in April, and of course, everything had to be dropped to start that kit with the goal of finishing it in time for the 2006 IPMS/USA Nationals.

I had promised fellow IPMS Journal author Paul Bradley to produce something British for the big show and the TSR would be an ideal project.  Kit reviews vindicated the difficulty I encountered producing a contest-worthy subject.  The model competed in the same category that produced the overall Best Aircraft winner, but I reached my goal, an OOB (Best Out-of Box) award for the project and was happy to see the model grace the contest tables with several amazing entrants from throughout the country.  Try IPMS Nationals, you’ll like it!

With OOB plaque in hand it was time to once again step outside of the box and proceed with more non-aircraft.  Mark Gustavson taught me his amazing technique for producing beautiful gloss finishes and the Monogram 1/24 Li’l Coffin was finally completed and resplendent in its candy maroon finish.

The skeleton looks like he's giving other drivers a piece of his mind

Shortly after I finished off the Coffin, I finally completed another vintage Airfix kit, the 1/144 scale Russian Vostok Soviet A-Type Launch Vehicle. With paint drying, it accompanied us on a Dem Brudders road trip to Modelzona 2006 in Mesa, Arizona to the delight of IPMS Chief Space model judge Mike Mackowski, who is always happy to see more real-space models on the tables.

This Airfix 1/144 scale kit from 1970 shows the versatility of the R-7 rocket.  Later versions of it are still flying today.

​Now, flashback a few more years for the rest of the story.  When our local Intermountain modeling event, "The Gathering," was in its heyday, I met some wonderful people from throughout the Western U.S. and beyond.  One of these was Tom Grossman from Colorado, our Make-n-Take guru and an excellent modeler of a wide range of eclectic subjects.  Tom told me I needed to do something radically different and announced that he was going to send me a model that would knock my socks off.   He challenged me to drop my airplane stuff and get to it!   So with eager anticipation I awaited the arrival of the surprise package, which turned out to be a resin anime kit.  

What is “anime,” you ask?  The answer is Japanese animation, which is responsible for a large number of very interesting humans and humanoids.

Remember Astro-Boy from the 1960s?  That is one well-known example, and Dragon even produces a model of this character (called Atom Boy now), but that is the subject of a future post. ​  
​
In any event, the subject Tom sent me was “Mew Zakuro,” a female character from a Japanese TV show and magazines called Tokyo Mew Mew that features girls of high school age that have their DNA combined with that of endangered species to endow them with super powers.  Mew Zakuro (which is also the Japanese word for pomegranate) is endowed with the abilities of a grey wolf and is also a fashion model in her "real" life, which means a beautiful girl/wolf should be the result. 

It's Resin to the Rescue for really unusual subjects that the large model kit companies won't consider releasing as injection-molded kits

The model also introduced me to the cottage industry, as the sculptor, George Robbert and the mold caster, Mark Krabbenhoft, produce these resin kits on their own and are not part of a bigger model consortium.  Each are excellent modelers in their own right and both were happy to help introduce me to the world of anime.
 
I have experience with resin kits but started out slowly and cautiously with this one.  I gained momentum as the model came together.  Painting was straightforward, although I learned to be careful masking resin as peeling paint is a nasty side effect.  ​My effort came to a halt, though, when it came time to do the face.  Modelers can get away with a lot, but everyone knows what eyes look like, especially on an attractive female.

I tried a few practice runs on paper and then a piece of plastic, and decided that the eyes were molded such that I would have to do them like a real person would have and not as an animation drawing.  I happened to have a calendar on hand featuring a beautiful Japanese model in amazing silk kimonos to use as a guide, etc. so I went for it.  The technique will be featured in a future post for this website but I was able to pull it off. 

Once the face was done, assembly was straightforward and it seemed that the finished model almost came to life as I felt a little bit like Geppetto building Pinocchio.

​​When I brought Mew Zakuro to my office, both my female employees were more interested in her than any of the other dozens of mostly aircraft models I have on display and challenged me to do additional similar projects.  One threw out several historic suggestions and dared me to try one.  So I retorted that she can go buy me any such kit and I would start on it immediately.  She then demanded a raise.  So you all have one more suggestion as to how to add to your collections in an inexpensive fashion (unless you are the one who signs your employee’s paychecks).

The eyes have it.  The boots were done with a glossy metallic paint technique that Dick uses for his car model finishes.

If you have seen the movie Night at the Museum, you know that Mew Zakuro will need some company soon.  So I finished Astro Boy, made a stand for him, and he now joins Mew Zakuro in resplendent glory in the same display case.

​Looking back at this period of time in my modeling journey, five of the last six projects I finished in that period included a ship, a car, a space model and two figures, and they have been a refreshing change of pace and have vastly improved my modeling skills and motivation.  The hobby became exciting and different for a while.  

Astro Boy brought anime to the USA in 1963.  Dragon Models brings the Atom Boy kit.

No, I had not given up aircraft as I started working on two small jet trainers after Astro Boy.  But the moral to the story and this doctor’s prescription for our loyal readers is that all of you should model outside the box every so often, even if you build strictly out-of-box.  Find new horizons and new worlds to enjoy, even if you don’t quite conquer!

Dick comes full circle back to airplane modeling with these 1/72 Fuji T-1A jet trainer aircraft.  Both were built from Hasegawa kits.

​Now, part 2 of this saga continues as I had told several people that I had never built any type of armor.  This means I had never tried to build a main battle tank, soft-skin subject or even a Jeep!  Why not?  No one ever gave me a tank model as a youth, when I would still build anything, and I never felt the desire to build armor in my older age.  That is not to say I did not admire well-executed tanks or artillery pieces built by others, but I just never tried to build one myself.  Until Fall 2009!
 
One real advantage of IPMS membership is the opportunity to meet excellent modelers from all over the country and make some good friends.  One of these friends is the always energetic and almost ebullient Mike Mummey, a former U.S. Marine (Semper Fi!) with the haircut and moxie to prove it.  Mike is an IPMS Nationals award winning armor builder and I have always admired his excellent subjects. 
 
Mike is from nearby New Mexico so Dem Brudders had the chance to visit with him at the Region X Convention in Fall 2009 in Colorado Springs.  I was taking in his armor models and complimented him for his skill and attention to detail.  I added that I have personally never built an armor piece.  
 
“Why not?” he exclaimed.  
 
“I don’t know, really.  No good reason,” I answered.
 
“Well,” he countered, “I send you a kit will you build it in time for Phoenix?”
 
“Sure,” I said, somewhat incredulous that he would actually follow through and do it.
 
Well, less than a month later, I received a package in the mail from Mike Mummey.  It contained a Hobby Boss Danish Leopard 2A5DK tank in 1/35 scale.  Of course I knew nothing about the subject but was intrigued and even excited to learn that it is a contemporary tank and modern in appearance.

Hobby Boss released its Denmark Leopard 2 A5DK in 2006

Although I received it in the fall, I was almost afraid to start on it for lack of confidence or something but finally on December 27 in the midst of the holiday season, I clipped off parts and started working on it.  Mike gave me some helpful suggestions as far as web sites to check out for photographs and I also checked with another long-time Master Modeler from New Mexico, John Tate, for suggestions.  
 
I think both guys roared with laughter a few times due to some of my questions about basics.  I had no idea, for example, that tanks have wheels with rubber tires, for example, or that you do not fill the large space in the wheels where the center prongs on the treads are supposed to go, but I persevered.  I decided to keep things relatively simple by sticking to an out-of-box build with no additions.  

As it was, the kit came with photo-etch parts and acetate windows so it would not be totally mundane, but I was comfortable with each having used both in prior projects.

​​As you armor builders already know, I found out that tanks have a lot of parts, and if you do individual track links, the treads can really be a project.  I decided as stated previously to simply use the vinyl continuous tread that came with the kit.  I made fairly rapid progress until I bogged down a little bit dealing with very poor fitting storage access doors on the main turret.  A bit of Acryl-Blue body putty and patience in scribing solved that problem.

The model was painted using Tamiya acrylic paint and masked with Parafilm.

I decided to be brave and for the first time used acrylic paint in lieu of my usual enamel paints and found that Tamiya acrylic paint used with their new lacquer thinner worked very well.  For the first time I also used Parafilm I bought from Tom Grossman to mask the NATO camouflage scheme and liked that material as well.  I found out that tanks have headlights and taillights and used silver paint, white paint, clear glue and Tamiya Clear red to handle these little details.  I used some chrome Bare Metal Foil to go with the rear view mirrors.  I did a little bit of weathering, although I was not quite sure how to go about it properly, but the tank was finished the night before Dem Brudders drove to Phoenix for the IPMS/USA 2010 Nationals.
 

​For the competition table, I put the tank on a base with some real dirt (volcanic ash from Mt. St. Helens) and I thought it looked pretty spiffy with the ash mixed in with the tread.  Mike Mummey was genuinely pleased to see that I had finished the tank as promised and several other modelers told me they liked it.  I saw a few people taking pictures of it and even FineScale Modeler magazine wanted a picture of it!

Dick's first tank model on display at a contest.  Stay tuned for more armor models from Dem Brudders!

​As I looked at the several other models in the category I quickly noticed that I had left my Leopard looking a little bit too pristine and should have done a bit more weathering.  I also noticed some shiny spots left by sloppy clean-up after enhancing the many windows with Future.  The worst faux pas was leaving some masking tape over some major windows, something I did not even notice until I was putting the tank away Saturday night after the contest.  Oops!  Of course the tank won zippo awards, not even the Premier award for its category (back in the day when they had that award for rookies in a particular class), but in the end that really didn’t matter.
 
Was it worth it to step out of my comfort zone and try something totally different?  Yes, for sure.  Thanks to Mike!  Will I build another tank some day?  Maybe, if someone gives another one to me!  Do I recommend that our Dem Brudders readers also try something new?  By all means.  And don’t be afraid to bring the finished subjects to your various club meetings and contests!