Sunday, December 31, 2017

The scale model haul from Japan

We fly home to Australia in 48 hours time. I’m starting to consolidate my model haul.


We need another suitcase!

Various bits laid out on the floor to work out how big a suitcase we will need.
My wife has also bought some fabric, so I’m sharing half a new suitcase.
I love Japan.


Happy new year to you all, best wishes for 2018!

Cheers,

Dave

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Merry Christmas from Tokyo!

The place we are staying in Tokyo is literally three minutes walk from the Tamiya Plamodel Factory shop. Coincidence? Tonight is Christmas Eve, and I recorded a special video for you  all from outside the Tamiya shop.






Thank you all for your support this year people. It’s been amazing. Have a great festive season, and see you all in 2018!

Video link: Christmas Eve outside the Tamiya Plamodel Factory shop in Tokyo.

Cheers,

Dave

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

An amazing model store in Kyoto: Super Kids Land

I randomly found this place the other day. It was freezing cold, and we were looking for an indoor playground for my daughter, saw the sign “Super Kids Land” and went in. Instead, it was a playground for me.


It’s part of an electronics department store chain named Joshin. The range and prices just blew me away, it outshines anything we have in Australia and here it is just a section of a suburban department store!



Video link: The scale model range at Super Kids Land.

Cheers from Japan,

Dave

Thursday, December 14, 2017

New video from Japan: Visiting Tamiya Plastic Model Corporation Headquarters

Konichiwa! Hello from Shizuoka, Japan, the plastic model capital of the world! Yesterday I visited the corporate headquarters of Tamiya Plastic Model Corporation, which for me is model nerd nirvana. It did not disappoint. I was the only person in there for two and a half hours, and I loved every moment of it.


Shizuoka is rather a nice city. I expected a sleepy regional city, something like Wollongong or Geelong in Australia. Instead, it is a bustling metropolis, it is massive! It also has incredible views of Mount Fuji - the view from our hotel room is something I could never get tired of. I’m sitting here right now watching bullet trains whizz past with Mount Fuji in the distance. It is slightly off the tourist track: in three days here I have only seen one other Westerner (for me, this is a bonus!).

Me, fanboying it up.


I recorded a video of my visit to Tamiya HQ. This is something I’ve dreamed of since about 1983 (if you have seen my previous video about my ancient 1980s Tamiya catalogue you would already know that I am a long-term Tamiya fanboy). I got to visit the company archive, which I found utterly fascinating. Seeing all those original models which have been featured in every Tamiya catalogue since the 1970s was a real buzz. Plus there are original Shep Paine dioramas, which I did not expect! It is also incredible to see where the company, and indeed the entire hobby, developed from.

I also saw their museum of historical vehicles, a room full of their current products, and visited the Tamiya shop.





Apart from some slightly unimpressive lighting in the archive room (which I get, it is probably a conservation measure) and the fact that there was so much more there I would love to see (there are eight floors of manufacturing, offices, tribute rooms and research departments, how interesting would all that be to see?!?!) I was utterly impressed with my visit. If you’re ever able to visit this part of the world, I totally recommend checking out Tamiya head office.

Two points to note about the video:

  1. Sound quality isn’t the greatest as Japanese offices aren’t the sort of place you can rudely and loudly record video commentary - I’ve done what I can to bump it up, but apologies in advance.
  2. I had to split the video into two 15 minute videos due to upload constraints, and my new iPad thinking that 15 minutes is the maximum limit you can upload to YouTube.

Video link:
A visit To Tamiya Plastic Model Corporation Headquarters In Shizuoka, Japan.

Sayonara!

Dave

Sunday, December 10, 2017

New video: Scale model science-fiction scratchbuild - Part 3

It's a bit of a quick and dirty video update, but I wanted to make sure I didn't leave without a video for you this week. So here is my update on the progress of "The Seahorse" (previous videos are Part 1 and Part 2).




It's essentially a video version of my last blog post.

Keeping it quick today - I've got packing to do!

Video is embedded below, but in case it doesn't work here is the link:
New video: Progress on my scratch build Sci-Fi 1/35 scale model - Part 3.

Cheers,

Dave




Thursday, December 7, 2017

Bloody slow progress on the hull of "The Seahorse"

With all the preparations for my trip to Japan, I've not done a great deal of work on The Seahorse. But the hull is almost complete now. It has been a fiddly process adding various pipes and bolts and bits and pieces to make it look suitably rough and jerry-rigged.


I have to say, I have enjoyed the scratch building of the hull a lot less than I expected. Scratch building the engine module was heaps of fun, I loved putting all those disparate pieces together. But for some reason, the hull exterior has been a bit of an uphill slog...

exterior hull of scratch built sci-fi scale model "The Seahorse"

exterior hull of scratch built sci-fi scale model "The Seahorse"

exterior hull of scratch built sci-fi scale model "The Seahorse"

exterior hull of scratch built sci-fi scale model "The Seahorse"


Partly I think it because the plastic of the bottle I used is a bastard to work with. It is a little "greasy" - plastic does not want to bind to it easily. normal plastic cement does nothing to hold styrene to the bottle surface, so all items have been glued using CA glue, but even then some pieces have come off over time. As you can imagine, this makes me a little nervous - I don't want bits falling off once I have painted and weathered this bad boy...

Also, the curve of the surface has made sticking hull plates on a lot more problematic than I expected. Items running vertically up the hull are fairly okay, but anything that is remotely wide and runs horizontally around the hull is a lot trickier to get right. That has been a bit of a bugger to deal with.

Anyway, after all that I feel it's at the stage of being ready for primer. Once that is on, we will see just how many currently invisible defects are revealed by the paint!

I am also ready to paint the engine module, and start some weathering - now that will be fun compared to the hull.

I also feel pretty confident that scratch building the upper cabin will be more fun, and I'm really looking forward to adding all the various finer details: hanging chains, pipes, ropes, etc will be great fun and hopefully will really bring this to life.

So I might get a chance to prime and move on a little this weekend. But I'm also meant to be packing for Monday's flight to Japan - let's see what gets my priority attention!

Cheers,

Dave

Monday, December 4, 2017

Dave's Model Workshop is visiting Japan!

I'm admittedly a bit of a Japanophile. Their food is incredible. Their beer is really, really good. The people are polite and on my last trip back in 2012 I found them to be incredibly friendly and helpful. Plus, Japan has given the world incredible models: I present to you Exhibit A, a life size Gundam model, and Exhibit B, "Girls und Panzer" model tanks. Oh, did I mention I also love how weird Japan is?




Life size Gundam mecha model in Japan
Exhibit A.

Exhibit B.


And so, in a rather exciting piece of news: I'm visiting Japan in a week! This time next week my plane will be touching down in Tokyo!

Dave's Model Workshop scale model pilgrimage to Japan


It's a combined family holiday with my partner and 5 year old daughter, and also a model nerd pilgrimage for me to visit the headquarters of a couple of Japanese model manufacturers in Shizuoka (hello, Tamiya!) and also check out all the amazing hobby shops in Tokyo and Kyoto.

Watch the video to get more of an idea of my itinerary, but if you have any suggestions for model-related places I should visit, or any scale model scene stuff you'd like me to try to report back on, do please let me know in the comments below.

Video is embedded below, but in case it doesn't work, here is the link:
The hobby and scale model scene in Japan - any recommendations?

Cheers,

Dave

P.S. I'll be travelling for three weeks, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to upload much in the way of videos or blog posts while I'm roaming. I'll try my best, but if the Workshop gets a bit quiet between now and new years, I promise I'll have heaps to share on my return! Thanks you lot - Dave



Saturday, November 25, 2017

What hooked you on building scale models?

What got you interested in building scale models? Can you remember that first kit you fell in love with, that you just had to buy and build? That first old-school hobby shop, with built models in showcases? Or was it a toy shop with a couple of Airfix plastic bags at pocket money prices? What got you hooked?




I recently purchased a Tamiya 1/35 88mm Flak 36/37 model kit. It's a kit that was first released in 1972, and I've wanted to build it since the early 1980s. There are some areas where it most definitely shows its age, but it's going to be a fun build and it only cost $29.99. I started thinking "Why have I waited so long to buy this?", which got me thinking about the early kits that I longed for when I first started scale modelling.

I'll admit it: I am a massive Tamiya fanboy. There, I've said it. All my favourite kits from my formative years as a modeller are from the Tamiya Military Miniatures series. I still have a bucket full of my early builds in the shed, built to a godawfully bad standard, but the important thing is that they still spark my imagination when I hold them thirtysomething years later.

Tamiya was also a game-changer for me in that their builds went together well - they were well engineered compared to some other kits I built (I'm looking at you Revell and Airfix aircraft and AMT hotrods and Matchbox 1/32 Lysander). Tamiya looked "right" as well, they were scale representations, not just "toys". And Tamiya's box art was always incredible - those evocative paintings on plain white backgrounds! I think Airfix had more inspiring box art, but Tamiya's were more iconic.

I'll also admit, I had more than a few "Calvin and Hobbes" moments in my early builds:

Calvin and Hobbes building model airplane
Yep. Plus firecrackers also accounted for some.
Source.


Calvin and Hobbes building model airplane
I still wonder about the eyebrows sometimes.
Source.


Anyways, enough of me rambling. I want to know what got everyone else into this hobby. I've produced a video about "What got you hooked on building scale models?" and I really do want to hear from you lot. So either comment below in this blog post, or comment in the Youtube comments section - I'm fascinated to see if there are trends, certain kits or manufacturers who really stand out as the first of many builds! What are the gateway drugs to this hobby people?

Video is embedded below, but in case that doesn't work here is the link:
What got you hooked on building scale models?

Cheers,

Dave





P.S. If you're interested in picking up the Tamiya 88mm Flak gun yourself, here's the best price I could find on Amazon. If you purchase using this link, I get a little kickback from Amazon and it doesn't cost you a cent more to purchase - stick it to the Amazon man, brother! ;)


Thursday, November 23, 2017

I finally purchased a 1/35 scale Tamiya German 88mm

About a fortnight ago on 11 November I purchased a 1/35 scale Tamiya German 88mm Flak 36/37 from a visit to Metro Hobbies. It's a 55km round trip for me to visit their store in Box Hill now, but for that model at $29.99 it was worth it.


I'm in the process of editing a video all about just what this kit means to me, but in the meantime here is a shot of what I came home with that day.




Jeez, I love hobby shops.

Cheers,

Dave

Monday, November 20, 2017

New video: Comparing 3 x paint chipping techniques - hairspray vs Vallejo vs AK Interactive

Chipping paint is one of the absolute best weapons in a model maker's arsenal - well-chipped paint adds an incredible air of realism to weathered armour, vehicles and aircraft alike. But it can be tricky to achieve, and there are a number of competing claims as to the best way to chip paint in scale. So I've just released my latest video,in which I compare three paint chipping methods for scale paint chips:
  1. The hairspray method
  2. AK Interactive Heavy Chipping Fluid
  3. Vallejo Chipping Medium

Comparing paint chipping methods for scale models


I've had previous experience with hairspray and also with AK Interactive. Using the Vallejo product was a new experience for me.

I tried my best to keep it scientific and controlled, and for each of the three media I tested different amounts of product: for each there was a Heavy coating, a Medium coating, and a Light coating of chipping medium.

I used plastic spoons as my test base, but I also wanted to have a little skin in the game, so I also worked with some of the sub-assemblies of my current scratchbuild project. Who cares if you stuff up painting a plastic spoon test? But I would have been rather miffed if I had ruined one of the carefully-built sections of The Seahorse. A little incentive to get the best results, shall we say?


Comparing paint chipping methods for scale models


I came away with two main lessons from this experiment. I'll share the first with you here: When chipping paint, it's much, much better to apply 2 or 3 thin coats of chipping medium and paint, rather than trying to get it all done in one thick coat of chipping medium followed by one thick coat of paint.

As for the second lesson I learnt? you'll just have to watch the video to find out.

Video is embedded below, but in case that doesn't work here is the link:
Comparing 3 x paint chipping methods for scale models: Hairspray vs Vallejo vs AK Interactive

Finally, here is a link to a similar video that my friend Panzermeister36 also recently did about comparing chipping methods. Great minds think alike!  You can see Panzermeister36's video "Hairspray vs. AK Heavy Chipping Fluid" by clicking this link. We're looking into doing another collaboration video soon, but it's fascinating to see how his results compare to mine.

Cheers,

Dave





P.S. Below are links for purchasing Vallejo Chipping Medium or AK Interactive Heavy Chipping Fluid, if you're tempted to give either a try after watching my video. If you purchase using this link, I get a little kickback from Amazon, while it costs you nothing extra. Everyone's a winner, and it's a small way to help out with the costs of Dave's Model Workshop - what's not to love about that situation? ;)


             


P.P.S. Bloody hell, I've been slack with videos lately - apart from this latest one, I think I've only uploaded one new video in the last five weeks. I set myself a goal of a new video every week for you guys, so this isn't a great result lately. I've had stuff on, blah blah blah, you lot don 't want to hear my excuses, but I'll be back into a regular routine from now on. Thanks for bearing with me.

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Progress on The Seahorse

I've had another quiet week - sorry punters... I've been busy writing an article to appear in the next ModelArt magazine, and filming an accompanying video. I can't release the text of my article for a while, but I can tell you that the process resulted in me painting and weathering some elements of The Seahorse, my current scratch build project.


Here is a photo of what I've been working on and documenting this last week. I've been focussing on realistic paint chipping, and I'm pretty chuffed with the results.

Weathered scale chipping of paint on scale model


It feels very strange to build and paint finalised components of an overall model, while 90% of the actual build is still to be done - previous similarly completed bits are here and here. Building piecemeal isn't too crazy a departure for me, but painting and weathering bits before most of it is built is distinctly strange. But it has just worked out that way - if I want to produce videos showing the techniques on small pieces, that's just how it is, otherwise we'd all be waiting six months until the whole thing is ready for painting and weathering!

But the good news is that with the article completed, I'm free to make a lot more progress on The Seahorse and not procrastinate so much!

Cheers,

Dave

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Scale models on Instagram - Incredible weathering by Eddie Putera

I don't know if any of you lot are on Instagram - certainly the model making community on Instagram is ridiculously tiny compared to say Youtube, Facebook, or even Pinterest. But there are one or two really impressive scale model Instagrammers, and today I found one post in particular which I just had to share.


It is by a Malaysian artist named Eddie Putera (his Instagram feed can be found here).

Weathered and rusted steel door - scale model
Impressive stuff indeed.

Weathered and rusted steel door - scale model
Construction.

Weathered and rusted steel door - scale model
Adding texture for the rust.

Weathered and rusted steel door - scale model
Colour modulation!

Weathered and rusted steel door - scale model
I love that green shade.

Weathered and rusted steel door - scale model
The finished result. Amazing tonal variation and realistic rust.


This weathered steel door is just sublime. The colour is great, the modulation is perfect, and the rust texture is spot on.

I saw it, I loved it, and I just had to share it.

If you're not checking out Instagram, it's worth a look every now and then. Jump in and search for interesting hashtags: I find the most commonly used one for my interests is #scalemodel, but others such as #diorama or #modeltank sometimes deliver. Just don't search for #model or you will be inundated with pouting lips selfies of every wannabee fashion model in the known universe. I wouldn't say Instagram is an essential reference for scale modellers, but it sometimes delivers a little nugget of gold like this. By the way, my Instagram account can be found here. I don't post regularly, but if I get a lot of upswing I might use it more.

Cheers,

Dave

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

The family that airbrushes together...

We have a public holiday here in Melbourne today for the Melbourne Cup. It's a horse race. Yes, we get a public holiday for a horse race. Insane, I know. But the good news is that I had some time to airbrush outside.


I also had a chance to inculcate the next generation of modeller.

airbrushing with children scale model making


I try to keep her away from airbrush paint particles as much as possible, young lungs and all that, but it's good to involve her and show her how it works.

Now I just need to work on her double-trigger action.

Cheers,

Dave

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Video tutorial: How to make a scale model WW2 Pacific Jungle diorama

My latest video is an in-depth look at how I created the Pacific jungle scenery and groundwork for my Japanese Kurogane diorama (there's an index of all previous blog posts about it here). Pacific WW2 dioramas are significantly different to European theatre dioramas, and successfully building one requires a different mindset and preparation.


There are still some elements of my diorama that I'm not 100% satisfied with, but overall I feel it is a great little piece: it tells a vivid story, and the diorama groundwork is an essential part of that.

1/35 scale model WW2 Pacific jungle diorama

1/35 scale model WW2 Pacific jungle diorama



In my video I go into detail such as the colour of volcanic soil, the found objects I used, and which brands I used for elements like static grass and moss. It's diorama nerd-tastic!

Video is embedded below, but in case that doesn't work, here is the link:
How to make a scale model WW2 Pacific jungle diorama

Cheers,

Dave


Thursday, October 26, 2017

Guest post: A Star Wars Millennium Falcon model remastered

My good friend Ian Gittins has come up with another impressive model I'd love to share with you. It's an incredible reworking of a Star Wars toy.


In Ian's words:
"My son asked me to make his Millennium Falcon look like the one in the movie, so I jumped at the chance. I got a bit carried away with the whole process and added some extra parts along the sides of the ship, most of which you'll be familiar with.

Scale model of Star Wars Millennium Falcon
The original toy without any extra additions.

Scale model of Star Wars Millennium Falcon

Scale model of Star Wars Millennium Falcon
A couple of bits and pieces added by Ian. Panther bits? Or Tiger bits?


Overall it's taken me about a month to complete.

I didn't go all out for movie accuracy, I just went with what felt right and I tried to do as much as possible whilst we had the warm weather because spray painting a model that size had to be done outside.

Scale model of Star Wars Millennium Falcon

Scale model of Star Wars Millennium Falcon
Lots of pre-shading to vary the final paint finish.


The diameter of the Falcon is a whopping 52cm and the length is 74cm ... I think I used about a litre of paint on it too!

With any luck I'll get a call from Lucasfilm with a job offer to work on the next Star Wars movie!"

Scale model of Star Wars Millennium Falcon

Scale model of Star Wars Millennium Falcon

Scale model of Star Wars Millennium Falcon

Scale model of Star Wars Millennium Falcon

Scale model of Star Wars Millennium Falcon
The finished result. Superb.


I love the effort that went into this. It's gone past just an exercise in practising weathering techniques, to becoming a full re-working of an existing build into something much, much more than what it started as. I like how Ian has realised the limitations of the "toy" he was working with, improved that where he can by adding scratch built detail, and then elevated the whole thing with some great painting and weathering.

Now the big question: is your son still allowed to play with it Ian? ;)

Source.


Cheers,

Dave


Wednesday, October 25, 2017

A quiet week

I've been a bit quiet lately - it's been more than a week since my last YouTube video, and I try to get those out regularly once a week, while I haven't done any model making at all in that time. It was my daughter's birthday on the weekend, which was totally over the top, and I've got a freelance graphic design job at the moment which I'm working on at nights.


All I can offer you guys as my own modelling work is a photo of the cake I made for my daughter's party.

It's a My Little Pony princess castle, don'tcha know.



Some modelling skills came in handy. I was all set to start weathering it, but decided that five year olds probably would prefer bright colours to muddy and damp!

Cheers,

Dave

Friday, October 20, 2017

I've finally come up with a name for my sci-fi anti-gravity ship: HMS Seahorse

I'm not quite sure yet if I will go with the Seahorse or HMS Seahorse.


But I'm thinking a cool hand painted seahorse on the side of the hull, painted by the crew - similar to the famous swordfish emblem which was on a U-Boat during WW2.



I've done a preliminary sketch:




It feels good to have finally nailed down a name!

What do you lot think?

Cheers,

Dave

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Reader's Build: 1/35 Tamiya Sherman tank by Brendan Jordan

Today I've got a special feature highlighting the work of a reader of this blog, Brendan Jordan from Brisbane, Queensland. Brendan has only just recently taken up modelling, and after two aircraft he decided to tackle his first tank.


It's a 1/35 scale Tamiya M4A3 Sherman, which is a great tank to start out on.

Early photos of the near-completed build showed a Sherman with some pretty good dirt and dust on the rolling gear, but it ended rather abruptly - there was no mud or dust on the sides or upper surfaces of the tank, and it had an overall slight gloss that Brendan was quick to rectify.

Tamiya 1/35 scale model Sherman tank

Tamiya 1/35 scale model Sherman tank

Tamiya 1/35 scale model Sherman tank

Tamiya 1/35 scale model Sherman tank

Tamiya 1/35 scale model Sherman tank


The finished result


Then, with some further weathering, the Sherman was transformed. Dust, oil stains, more dust, fading, and more dust! I love what a change this made from the earlier shots. This Sherm has obviously had a tough, dirty war, and I love it.

Tamiya 1/35 scale model Sherman tank

Tamiya 1/35 scale model Sherman tank


Tamiya 1/35 scale model Sherman tank


Brendan plans to still add a tarp on the stowage and some figures.

I love this build. It's ambitious for a first-time armour modeller, and Brendan has obviously taken on some techniques that are far from beginner level. I totally respect the thought that has gone into this, and I like the level of realism achieved.

Thanks for sharing it with me Brendan, and for allowing me to share it with a wider audience. I look forward to seeing the final result, and your next build my friend.

Cheers,

Dave