Shep Paine Passed - What does it mean ?

Cheesy - I think you are probably a bit young to appreciate Shep. Imagine race cars 50 years ago, no electronics, no abs brakes, no thinking differentials - just a huge motor, four wheels and sheer determination on the driver's part.

In that world, Shep was a Ferrari. Maybe not as fast as the super cars today, but until technology eventually helped everyone else to catch up, nothing could catch him. He was the pioneer that lead to most of the aftermarket suppliers that are around today.

RIP Shep and condolences to his family!!

What made him so great in most of our eyes is he was a pioneer. He scratch built before there were any aftermarket or PE and paved the way on weathering when most of us were building OOB and painting with brushes. The flyers of his creation's Monogram would include in the box made me dream of possabilities becides just slapping it together and putting it on the dresser or hanging them from the celing. There were other modlers doing similar, but Shep was the one highlighted most. I wish I still had those flyers.

I never heard of him. Just doing a quick google image search of his work and wow! His work is very inspiring. His technique and skill as a modeler are exceptional, as well as his knack for telling a story in plastic. A true artist. I can see why so many of you are inspired by his work. 

Hi John ;

 Aw , don't worry about being late .What's the old saw ." Better late than Never " . Men and Women who worked for the various companies never got their day in the sun .

 A good 95 % of what you saw in the hobby shop windows ( Company Display Pieces ) were built the many Women and Few men employed in those roles by REVELL , MONOGRAM and AMT , MPC and others . 

 They built those very Beautiful  ,apparently flawless models , on cardboard dio settings as sales tools for the shops .Well  ,here , this will help you sell the subject !

 Shep came along from Inside the company . Whether under contract or what ,  who Knows ? Who Cares ? He  , Like our first Astronaut and Mr Holland , and Mr Boeing ,  Blazed trails and never looked back.  

Awe man.... this happend during my time off of modeling, I didn't know.  I'm disheartened.  This coupled with Verlinden products no longer a thing... it's like hearing my favorite college professor died.  Great influence, I poured over those books over and over - before the days of the internet.  Man I'm bummed.  What a great and talented guy.

Man, oh man I'm bummed...  Sorry for the zombie thread, just had to put my thoughts down.

RIP master modeler.

I was truly saddened to read of his passing. He was such an inspiration to this young boy all those years ago. My best friend and I couldn't afford to buy all of the kits with our allowance so he would buy one and I'd buy a different kit so we could get our hands on those tip sheets. Try as we might, we never could replicate what we saw in those sheets. But Shep showed us what was possible. He inspired us to keep trying and for that I will always be greatfull. RIP sir....

Any one remember Eddie Waas!?

I always  encourage people who seem  so critical of others work to post some of their own.  So... Let's see it. 

I myself have only built one diorama which of course turned out nowhere near as terrific as Shep Paine's. I recently re-read one of his books.

Well said, Tanker Builder.

For me, Sheperd Paine exemplified the master modeler's craft.

To build, and do so in an age with no Internet, when research meant phone calls, trips to museums, libraries, military bases, and correspondence with archivists and historians. To create from scratch, when the kit component was inaccurate, or non-existent. To look at a household item, or broken appliance, and make history come alive using its innards. To bring color and action to life in three dimensions, with plastic, resin, paints, oils, washes, wood and scrap.

To tell a story, such as the last moments of the BonHomme Richard, fatally wounded in its battle with the Serapis, or the moment of discovery in a distant desert, of a long-lost Liberator, and the resolution of its crew's fate. Or taking us all back in history, to the gun deck of HMS Victory, at Trafalgar? Or to our own  ringside seat at the chart tables of the British Admiralty.

Whether a figure, a shadow box, or a super-diorama, Mr. Paine built with excellence, passion, and real fun. And couldn't have been a nicer guy about it.

And then to teach us how to do it. To do so with good humor, an eye for detail, and a willingness to share his experiences with us.

Baseball had Derek Jeter.  Hockey had Wayne Gretzky. Cooking had Julia Child. And we were fortunate enough-nay-blessed to have Sheperd Paine.

Thanks, good sir, for all the history you've shown us, the techniques you taught us, and the creative spark you inspired in us that make this hobby great.

 

Rest easy, Shep- and well done.

If you go to Chicago, where Mr. Paine was from, visit the Art Institute Of Chicago, and look for the Thome Miniature Rooms. One can surmise that the Thome Collection had a lot of influence on Mr. Paines advocation. Man kind has been making models since the Egyptions, and even as far back as 10,000 years ago! We have quite a long lineage!

While I have heard the name Shep Paine in passing before, and certainly have seen many of the Monogram dioramas, I never correlated the two until reading this thread. My favorite work of his is easily the derelict B-25H.

For those unfamiliar with the Monogram sheets:

http://www.studium.com/interviews/painefotos.html

 

For thos who would like to see all of his work:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764329294?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00&tag=viglink20318-20

Well said...

Stik's comments about, "Nobody is saying there is not such work out there today. But somebody blazed that trail. I bet there were other modelers out there with such skill or more when Mr Paine was in his heyday. But they did not have his exposure," are right on. If you want to call modelling an art, as I think it is, then we can compare it to music. For example, playing in Hollywood bands in the hair metal heydays of the '80s, I saw many, MANY, guitarists that were phenomenal players. These guys were technically better than Hendrix, who did his thing in the late 60's. Paige in the 70's, Van Halen in the late 70's and 80's. There were better players but a lot of these guys went unsigned and unknown. But, as Stik says, "They blazed that trail." And yes, everyone has "idols" or people that inspire them. And those that blaze trails make it easier for the people behind them, in my opinion. It takes away the mental barrier of thinking something just isn't possible. People's work on this site inspires me, and because I see them making great models it gives me confidence that I can do it too. There's no shame in looking up to a person's abilities and wanting to emulate them. That, to me, is not idolizing someone. It's just that someone set a standard and you strive to exceed it. I also would bet that if Shepard had access to all the stuff we do now that he'd have used it too. Just like musicians today take advantage of all the technology available to them. Does it make us (or them) worse at their craft because of that? No. It's just that times change. Plus, if it weren't for Shep, I wouldn't have that awesome quote at the end of my posts. ;)

I'm fairly new to modeling and had never heard his name before and didn't know what he achieved but I do know one thing...that B-17 dio is one of the coolest things I have ever seen! Now I want to get out there and do a dio myself. I will definitely being researching more of his work! Thanks for showing me another side of this great hobby guys!

Aha !

    You see where this has gone , don't you Mr. Cheesy !

 Now here's one for you  Shep and his dioramas got me interested enough that I tried and did fairly well on my first Ship Dio . Yes , It did win awards ,Yes it placed in a few contests .Why ? Well I figured if he could do that to planes and armor , I could do it to a ship .

      Now he was never worshiped by anybody .He was respected for his talents .I have many ship models all over the country and have done one Museum grade resto .Does that make me the likes of Mr.Paine ? With ships maybe . I never published anything or worked with any Model company . But as a youngster I saw what was possible because of folks like him .
 When I pass , I am 72 now , very few folks will remember me and that's the way I like it .But , if someone looks at one of my ships and says " I wish I could do it like he did " That's a very fine eulogy for me .

    I have taught classes and garnered gold at the National Veterans Creative Arts contest .Because I wanted to ?  Heck no , My students pressured my supervisor to enter a Bare metal F-100 I built for class , without me knowing it . I had built it to show them ( my students ) what they could achieve out of the box . Mr .Paine lit that match and I applied it to my torch .Which , by the way I would pass to anyone who rated it even if they used A.M. to achieve it .            Tanker -Builder

stikpusher

 

 

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

 

 

Real G

When I saw that B-17 diorama, I knew I could not replicate it, but until then I never imagined such a thing could be done. That is what Shep Paine was about - getting modelers to think beyond the box, to use one's imagination, perchance to dream.  At least that is the effect it had on one 4th grader.

My all time favorite was the P-61 diorama, and it prompted me to build the engine hoist crane, my first scratchbuilt project!

 

 

 

 

 

I remember that one too! I even had that same kit as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh yeah... That's the one stik! Fond memories indeed...

I recently downloaded a scan of that sheet, with the dream of trying to recreate it.  And I wouldn't be ashamed to enlist the help of the aftermarket to reach that goal.  But the Monogram kit HAS to be used, for nostalgia's sake.  I got two in the stash.

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

 

 

Real G

When I saw that B-17 diorama, I knew I could not replicate it, but until then I never imagined such a thing could be done. That is what Shep Paine was about - getting modelers to think beyond the box, to use one's imagination, perchance to dream.  At least that is the effect it had on one 4th grader.

My all time favorite was the P-61 diorama, and it prompted me to build the engine hoist crane, my first scratchbuilt project!

 

 

 

 

 

I remember that one too! I even had that same kit as well.

 

Real G

When I saw that B-17 diorama, I knew I could not replicate it, but until then I never imagined such a thing could be done. That is what Shep Paine was about - getting modelers to think beyond the box, to use one's imagination, perchance to dream.  At least that is the effect it had on one 4th grader.

My all time favorite was the P-61 diorama, and it prompted me to build the engine hoist crane, my first scratchbuilt project!

 

 

I remember that one too! I even had that same kit as well.

When I saw that B-17 diorama, I knew I could not replicate it, but until then I never imagined such a thing could be done. That is what Shep Paine was about - getting modelers to think beyond the box, to use one's imagination, perchance to dream.  At least that is the effect it had on one 4th grader.

My all time favorite was the P-61 diorama, and it prompted me to build the engine hoist crane, my first scratchbuilt project!

modelcrazy

 

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

I tried to mimic the exact dio but failed. LOL!

 

 

I think a lot of us tried that diorama and failed. 

 

 

Count me in on that!  I had that flier with my B-17 kit.

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

I tried to mimic the exact dio but failed. LOL!

I think a lot of us tried that diorama and failed. 

Thanks, stikpusher! That's the one. I must've been 6 years old, or so, and got a magazine back then from ( I believe) revell or airfix? They had a modelling club you could subscribe too. That diorama was in it. I'd just stare at it. Fascinating, and still is, four decades on. 

stikpusher

 

panzerpilot

 Incidentally, was he the one who did that famous B-17 diorama in the mid-1970's? The one that was crash landed?

 

 

 

 

 

I vividly remember seeing that diorama back in the 70s and 80s. I tried to mimic the exact dio but failed. LOL! In fact, if my memory is right, wasn't it featured in a flyer of the Monogram B-17 kit?

Mr. Sheperd Paine was/is a legend. I've never met him or seen his work live. I've only bought and read his books long ago; How to build Dioramas (1 & 2) which I copy-built the diorama on pg 77 with those Germans jumping out of the halftrack, and Modeling Tanks and Military Vehicles. I built the flak onto the back of the Opel maultier conversion described within.  

I remember asking my parents to buy cigarettes for me so I can create dust/smoke effects. They totally flipped out and I think my older brothers got in trouble for it because they thought they had something to do with it.

Borrowing from what others have already said here like 'he created the Path'. This is true. Model building today is the path he started. Like all popular gaming today is RPG which Gary Gygax and his D&D realm gave birth to. And like someone else mentioned 'Shep was one of a kind, like Jordan to basketball, Bruce Lee to martial arts cinema etc' Yes, like *** Dale to the surf guitar and Ennio Marricone to western movie audio. 

 

 edit: lol, the auto censor/edit blocked Dale's first name  

panzerpilot

 Incidentally, was he the one who did that famous B-17 diorama in the mid-1970's? The one that was crash landed?

 

 

Cheesey, it's not so much your disagreement with the "hive mentality" as you call it, but more I would say as a manner of your delivery. The Digital Cowboy fellow referred to earlier was somebody who did the same sort of thing.

Everybody is free to express their opinions here for the most part (there are limits on this site- no religion, politics, etc.), but we all have to mind our manners while doing so.