Luke Easter
Montgomery, Texas
Yet another submarine from the author of the April 2017 FineScale Modeler feature “The death of I-171”: This time, it’s the HobbyBoss 1/350 scale USS Los Angeles (SSN-688). After painting the upper hull flat black and the lower hull with a mixture of Testors British crimson and flat red, Luke applied artist’s oils for a dot filter and a raw umber wash. He dry-brushed the sub with Testors Model Master rust. Waves were formed with modeling clay and Liquitex phthalocyanine blue acrylic and dry-brushed with Model Master gloss white. For foam, he stippled DAP bright white caulk with a stiff brush and painted with Model Master gloss white and a lightened shade of Testors dark blue gloss. Water at the bow was replicated by applying Woodlands Water Effects in narrow strips and dragging it down the sides of the hull with a wide brush. When he’s not building submarines, Luke, a U.S. Air Force vet with hours on the OV-10, F-4E, and F-15E, is a captain for Southwest Airlines.