Your Favorite FineScale Modeler Articles?

Sprue-ce Goose

Member since
September 2005
From: Illinois: Hive of Scum and Villany

Your Favorite FineScale Modeler Articles?

Posted by Sprue-ce Goose on Monday, May 30, 2011 9:35 AM

I recently retrieved a pair of Revell 1/32 Fw-190 D kits from storage as well as an article by Mark Waki

( Finescale Modeler May / June 1984 ) about scratch building details for the kit.

The style of scratch building using a minimum number of aftermarket accessories reminded me of the Bob Steinbruner articles about detailing Monogram kits.

Of all the articles I've seen in the Fine Scale Modeler magazine, the Bob Steinbrun articles are my favorites because of the amount scratch building compared to the current reliance upon aftermarket parts.

Please don't misunderstand, I'm not criticizing the use of aftermarket details; they're a big help and reduce the amount of work and time required to produce a detailed miniature.

I admire the skill needed to create the fantastic added details utilizing just the kit and raw materials.

Anyone else have favorite Fine Scale Modeler articles and why?

Tags: Bob Steinbruner

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Jim Barton

Member since
February 2003

Posted by Jim Barton on Monday, May 30, 2011 12:32 PM

I have an old copy of Scale Modeling Tips and Techniques (that book came out nearly 20 years ago; Kalmbach Publications really should get on the ball and publish a new, updated edition!) and in it, I taped a few sheets of blank paper and if I see a really good article, I'll jot down the title and date on the paper.

"Whaddya mean 'Who's flying the plane?!' Nobody's flying the plane!"

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stikpusher

Member since
July 2004
From: Sonora Desert

Posted by stikpusher on Monday, May 30, 2011 12:48 PM

One article that stands out in my mind is one from the 90s. It was about updating a 1/48 MiG-23 from an early model to a later model variant. It had all the appropriate line drawings for modifications: chaff/flare dispensers; alteration of vertical stabilizer, Infra Red Search Tracker, etc. One day I plan on tackling the MiG-23 that is in my stash using that article as a guide for the modifications. No brass or resin required, just strip and sheet styrene. Although I do plan on replacing the kit's seat with a nice resin one... Wink

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

- Plankton

LSM

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spadx111

Member since
April 2015

Posted by spadx111 on Monday, May 30, 2011 1:41 PM

like them all .

Ron

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BaBill212

Member since
February 2003
From: Allentown, PA

Posted by BaBill212 on Monday, May 30, 2011 1:53 PM

I would have a hard time picking one or two articles. For the most part, I enjoy them all.

I do recall one from the 80's about producing a "take off" effect which included a Bf 163 Komet lifting off. I incorporated the same principle on a Katyusha.... turned out pretty good too.

Enjoy the ride!

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krow113

Member since
October 2009
From: SURREY ,B.C.

Posted by krow113 on Monday, May 30, 2011 3:57 PM

Readers Gallery for me. The first pages I go to in the mag. Actual models built by hobbyists rather than 'pros'.

Thank you ,Krow113

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Hans von Hammer

Member since
June 2008
From: Iowa

Posted by Hans von Hammer on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 12:54 AM

Frankly, the list of useless articles is far longer than the useful ones, but I keep subscribing anyway, in hopes they get back to FINE scale modeling...

It's not my favorite article, but it's certainly the one I've gotten the most use out of... Greg Kolasa's September 1991 article, "Detailing a 1966 Shelby GT350H"... While I couldn't care less about car models, two things stuck with me...

In it, he detailed how he built a jig for making seatbelt hardware for the car, and I've used a variation of it for the last 20 years to make my own aircraft seat-harness hardware jigs...

He also detailed how he cast super-detailed parts using a container that used centrifugal force to force the resin into RTV molds' tiniest nooks & crannies... Basically, spinning it around on a string like a bolo...