A few years ago, I found a screaming deal on a gently used Iwata CM-B Custom Micron. Did I need it? Not really. But I’d been hearing Custom Microns talked about in reverent tones and was curious if the hype was real. Was it ever. I’m something of an airbrush whore, so I’ve sprayed a…
Category: Techniques
Airbrushing – Cleaning the Damn Thing
After my deep dive on airbrushing, I’ve received several requests asking for me to discuss my cleaning process. I get it. Cleaning sucks and it seems like it’s probably one of the top three stories people throw out about why they don’t like airbrushing. So what the hell. Let’s talk about cleaning. First, a story…
Airbrushing – A Deep Dive
UPDATED – AUGUST 2018 This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for a long time. After all, airbrushing is probably my favorite single aspect of modeling. And, with all the airbrushing talk that’s been swirling about the interwebs lately, it seems like the time is right. So what is this? It’s a deep…
Slow Down, Speed Racer
Want to step up your modeling game? Here’s an idea – slow the fuck down. What’s brought this about? Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen a spate of builds that have gone by in the blink of an eye. One of them began with the proud purchase of a rather marginal kit this past…
Bare Metal Variance
These days, we modelers face an embarrassment of riches when it comes to quality metallic finishes. But as good as many of them are, none of them seem up to the challenge of capturing the worn patina found on so many late World War II and Cold War-era bare metal aircraft. I’m not talking about…
Test Drive: Mr. Paint
Recently, I was testing out a few new metallics, trying to sort out what exactly I want to use on the F-104. In that test, I came away rather impressed with Mr. Paint’s Super Fine Silver. This little revelation stirred conversation about the brand itself, how it paints etc…especially since many people have never heard…
Bench Video: Finding a Rig
Let’s talk about video. If there’s one request I get more than any other, it’s for more video content. And I always dodge, because, well, video is pretty work-intensive. Photos by comparison are easy. Stupid easy if I’m just shooting bench progress shots with the phone. Still pretty easy if I’m doing photo table shots…
Panel Lines: Do They Even Exist?
My recent rant against egregious panel line shading has drawn quite a hefty response. Plenty of voices of support…and of butthurt and defensiveness. A few who have mistaken the entire thing as some kind of condemnation of all pre-shading. And then there’s Tom, who left this comment earlier today. Good grief. Black basing, pre-shading, post-shading, it’s all…
The Problem with Panel Line Shading
So this is the post where I get to shit all over other people’s builds! Not really. Or at least, that is not my intent. My intent is to talk about shading panel lines (mainly pre-shading, but also post-shading), and why – if you’re pursuing a realistic or verisimilitudinous finish, it’s a terrible technique that should…
Out with the Old
Labor Day weekend. The family out of town. The house to myself. The heat of summer starting to (kind of) relinquish its grip. The perfect time, in other words, to give the bench a good, deep cleaning. Because over the past few months, it’s become an absolute mess. In the process of my cleaning, in…
Doogs Models 