Faust

When I started modelling, I was only into fast, modern jets. As I have gone on in the hobby, though, I’ve broadened my horizons considerably, expanding to WWII and Vietnam subjects as well. One era, though, that I’ve only recently found I enjoy is the early years of the jet age. Those awkward years in the ‘50s when things weren’t quite understood yet. There were some pretty weird designs then, and it seems that the British had a lot of them. One plane that I always wanted a nice kit of was the Supermarine Swift. How the company that gave us the Spitfire had such a hard time designi

Yeah, that's a fair assessment! As for "ripoffery", I'm sure it's a word. I mean Shakespeare made up words all the time, and we use all of his. No reason we modellers have to play second fiddle to some dead poet guy! :)

One thing I’ve noticed as I continue in this great hobby, is that the longer I build, the more varied the subject matter I’m attracted to becomes. When I started, it was fast Vietnam-era or newer jets only. Then there was some WWII, then Gundams came along, then any weird plane, then cars, submarines and most recently tanks. However, one thing I’ve never been, and doubted I ever would be, interested in was surface ships. This is nothing against surface ship kits; I know there are many excellent ones. However, I just don’t like ships much, and I don’t find them too interesting on a

Well it’s finally done! The Revell 1964 Chevy Fleetside is the first pickup truck kit that I’ve ever built, although I do have many others in the stash. It was similar to a car, which was nice, but it was also a nice break, with some distinct differences in build order and challenges. I was originally attracted to this kit because it was something different from what I normally build, and I figured it would give me a chance to paint something in nice, ‘60s colours and with some chrome on it. I’m not that used to chrome, since so much of my stuff is 80’s-era, wherein all trim was b

Yeah, there's a lot of "compensation" going on there... Can't really say for sure why though... oh, wait. :) Nothing any more macabre about a Nazi diorama than one of Stalin, or Chairman Mao, though. Not the best club to be a member of, mind out. I still think Hitler had them all beat on cool wheels! I really get charge out of finding and bringing weird stuff to the forums. I mean, I have SOME normal stuff, but I figure "If it was me, would I want to know about this weird thing?" and usually, the answer is "Heck yeah!" Thanks for noticing, and enjoying it!

My love of the odd and eclectic doesn’t just confine itself to building loser cars and weird airplanes. No, it goes much further than that, and is increasingly finding an outlet in terms of die cast replicas. Now, I know that there are all kinds of impressive large-scale cars out there, but not only are they big, they’re also expensive and rarely weird. No, I’m more into things like Hot Wheels J2000s and Yatming Vegas to bother with the normal stuff. One thing, I’ve found, though, is that the Russians make darned good, almost impeccably good, 1/43 die cast cars. These are right on

Isn't math great? :) I figured not too many people would know the Schwalg. It's a shame, it was a fun kit; a bit of work, but nothing that wasn't worthwhile! Thanks for the compliment!

I proudly admit that I am a child of the ‘80s, and that growing up my favourite things were giant robots. It didn’t matter to me if they were Transformers, GoBots or piloted mecha from cool shows like Robotech or Voltron. Big robots = awesome. That’s true math. Since growing up kinda sucks, I think I decided not to bother, and I still love robots today! However, there’s something about ‘80s robots and ‘80s mech anime that just grab me and won’t let go. The art style, the character designs and the slightly looser constraints on what was allowed in terms of mech design really combine

One of my favourite parts of a car kit is the interior. Since this is where most of us spend the our time with our cars, I like to make it as authentic as possible within the confines of what the kit gives me. Usuall, car interiors aren’t bad. However, the interior on the ’64 Chev Fleetside I’m working on is, well, a bit confused. The problem is that it has features of both the standard and the “Custom” cab, so getting everything sorted out took a bit of work! Thankfully, I was able to mostly get it looking like it should, and now the Fleetside at least has an “office” to work with

Yeah, that undercarriage is something else, eh? There's so much wrong with it that it's hard to know what part is actually the worst. However, one thing that is ironic; the way it's drawn on the box, at least, makes more engineering sense than the real X-Wing. The X Fighter's engines don't move, only the wings do. That's a lot easier to pull off that moving the entire mass of the engine, which would also change your thrust axes, meaning you'd need to trim the fighter simultaneously. Sure, I'm overthinking it, but that's what I do. :)

It’s only human nature to jump onto the bandwagon. When that bandwagon is being pulled by a successful franchise like Star Wars, it should come as no surprise that everybody wants in on the action. However, in the rush to cash in on a name, some companies take short cuts. This is where the wonderful world of “bootleg” or “non-licenced” toys, models and other goods takes centre stage. I’m not here to encourage bootleggs, but when I come across one that’s interesting, I can’t help but show it off. Just in time for The Last Jedi, then, (See how I hopped on that bandwagon? ) I would li

I really think that Round 2 wasn't expecting people to care about the stock tires. I'm surprised myself that anyone but me cares, but that does seem to be the case. Maybe they can have a service where you can get another two tires for free? Like a mail in thing? I doubt it, but it would certainly make this a better kit! As for the headlights, paint them light grey. I mean really light grey, like Model Master Acrylic light grey, or even white. Over the chrome, it'll work surprisingly well. I've done it on some of my kits, and it's very effective. If a bit of the chrome

Some kits you just never expect to be rare. Some, especially those by MPC, got issued, reissued and re-reissued and reworked so many times that it makes sense to think they’d be around forever. However, history has shown that’s almost never the case for the more mundane vehicles, like Pacers, Fieros and Pintos. That same fate applies to the MPC 1975 Datsun 620 pickup model as well. Despite numerous warmovers, customs and reworkings, the 620 hasn’t been largely seen around for years and years. When the Monster Tow Truck version was repopped by Round 2, I don’t think too many of us e

Oh God... That in 1/48... it doesn't bear thinking about! Yeah, the Potez 540 is similar, as is the Bloch 200. At least the Bloch 210 has retractable gear! Actually, of those the MB 200 is the only one I DON'T have!

Now THAT is a colourful way of describing it! I'm guessing they were out of slide rules and wind tunnels and common sense when they designed it. That has to be the case, right?

Was it as bad as it looks? In a way, I'm pretty excited to have a kit of that thing!

Just in time for American Thanksgiving, we have many things to be thankful for and they’re all related to a turkey! Of course, I’m talking not about that most sleep-inducing of oven-roasted fowl, but something large, semi-flight capable and definitely more than a little foul. I speak, perhaps unexpectedly, of the Heller 1/72 Amiot 143! I came across this kit a few years ago, and my excitement was only equalled by my revulsion. I knew of the plane, and to see its horrors manifested in such unforgivingly mediocre plastic was the culmination of a dream of sorts. Well, a fe

Apparently, there are two versions, someone was telling me. One has the motor (like this one) and the other doesn't. I'd like to get a less pristine example so I could get the figures for my 1/35 ICM G4; I want to do a Hitler parade car, not just have some dumb officers hanging around it.

I’m only relatively new to the world of armour modelling, and most of what I’ve got is old Matchbox and Fujimi 1/76 kits. These are fun little gems that largely build well, fast and simply. I am not into the armour for the superdetailing of it all; I just pick designs that are cool-looking, unusual or funky (or a Matchbox). I don’t really care if it’s a truck, tank, SP gun or command/recon car, if it arouses my interest, I’ll give it a shot. That’s why I surprised myself when I picked up my newest armour acquisition, the old Hasegawa 1/72 Isuzu TX-40 fuel truck. I mean, it’s not a

If there’s one thing that Build Fighters has taught us, it’s that it’s cool to customize Gundam kits. Of course, many of us knew that already. For a good number of us, the more generic types of MS kits (like Zakus, Doms and GMs) are sometimes even more attractive as canvases for our imaginations than the more famous mecha in the Gundam universe. A perfect example is the GM series from both the original Gundam, and it’s barely-upgraded Z Gundam follow on, the GM II. I was surprised when Bandai bothered to make a GM II, and I was even more surprised when I bought it. I don’t really

If there’s one thing that Build Fighters has taught us, it’s that it’s cool to customize Gundam kits. Of course, many of us knew that already. For a good number of us, the more generic types of MS kits (like Zakus, Doms and GMs) are sometimes even more attractive as canvases for our imaginations than the more famous mecha in the Gundam universe. A perfect example is the GM series from both the original Gundam, and it’s barely-upgraded Z Gundam follow on, the GM II. I was surprised when Bandai bothered to make a GM II, and I was even more surprised when I bought it. I don’t really

When I was learning about WWII planes, a long time ago, I was fascinated with several aircraft that just seemed strange compared to what I’d seen before. One, of course, was the Boulton Paul Defiant; it was a part-Hurricane/part-Spitfire concoction WITH A TURRET!! I grew up with the 80’s GI Joes, so I had a Rattler, which was a VTOL A-10 ripoff with a turret on it. So it didn’t look out of place because I wasn’t used to turrets, it looked out of place because I didn’t realize anyone had ever done that! I, of course, wanted a kit of it, but the only kit at the time was the old Airf

You know when you’re going through a hobby shop, and you find something so weird, you have to buy it? It’s a bit like wanting to rescue the runt of the litter, I guess, and it happens to me all the time. Well, this time I’ve come across something that seems to be fairly uncommon. In fact, I can find almost nothing about it on the internet! It’s a Palmer 1970 Corvette, and I think it’s 1/32. It doesn’t actually say. Anyway, I’d like to know anything you can tell me about this kit, as well as your opinions as to what I should do with it! Check it out at the link below, and let m

It had a whole lot of stuff to keep things working well under all conditions! The 301T is one of the most mechanically advanced engines of its time, especially in North America. To put a turbo on a carburetor-equipped, heavily-vacuum-dependent engine was no mean feat! Here's more detail on the Turbo T/A's mill: Faust's 301T It may seem quaint or old fashioned now, but it's the automotive equivalent to the mighty Wasp Major: Technically complex (maybe a bit overly-so) but the best you could get of its type!

Normally, I can be found gushing over the latest loser car or automotive oddball that comes into my collection. However, even I have an appreciation for cool cars; it’s just that there aren’t that many I’d like to model. That, mind you, does NOT apply to Trans Ams. Being a fiercely proud T/A owner, I love Poncho’s fire-breathing ‘Bird in most of its guises. Of course, it’s no surprise that my favourite is the black sheep of the family; the 1980-81 Turbo Trans Am! Now, it’s not because that’s the kind of car I own (well, okay, it IS, at least partially) but also because the Turbo T/