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Plastic Model Mojo
Plastic Model Mojo, a podcast dedicated to scale modeling, as well as the news and events around the hobby
Plastic Model Mojo
PMM Twelve Minute Modelsphere: October 2025
A packed Louisville hall with 408 models, a day spent talking shop with listeners and friends, and the kind of low-pressure reconnect that sends you home eager to finish something you’ve been putting off.
Momentum keeps building as we look ahead to Cincinnati on October 18—a favorite for its friendly atmosphere, great location, and reliably good weather. We share why shows matter even if you don’t enter, how they recalibrate your eye, and how a simple ritual (hello, German dinner) makes the day feel like a celebration. Then we lay out October’s feature slate: a back-to-back shop talk with Jeff Groves as our third chair for episode 149, and a timely return from Dr. Paul Budzik as he resets his hobby space for retirement—downsizing the stash, tightening workflow, and reframing goals so the bench fits the life you want.
The community thread runs throughout. Our dojo on Facebook just crossed 5,475 members, with daily photo spreads, show albums from across the country, and bite-size tips that genuinely move projects forward. We talk about a practical, one‑week blitz build to harness a quieter schedule, why sharing progress publicly creates accountability, and how the right tools—especially canopy masks that actually fit—turn weeknights into satisfying wins. If you’re planning your fall modeling, want cleaner canopies, or need a nudge to post your work, this one’s for you.
If you enjoyed this conversation, follow the show, share it with a modeling friend, and drop a quick review so more builders can find us. And if you’re on Facebook, join the dojo—bring a friend, post your bench, and tell us which show you’re heading to next.
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Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.
Kev, tell everyone why you started Kit Mask.
Kevin_KitMasx:Well, manually masking canopies sucks, and somebody had to step in to save those countless kits from the shelf of Doom.
Janelle_KitMasx:And now we've got over 400 sets and counting. We've got old kits, new kits, forgotten kits, you name it.
Kevin_KitMasx:Yeah. And if we don't have it, just ask.
Janelle_KitMasx:Yeah, people don't realize we take custom requests and we even have a service that gets you canopy masks for free.
Kevin_KitMasx:We do.
Janelle_KitMasx:Our masks are precision cut, they fit well, they're easy to apply. Kevin cuts and tests every set.
Kevin_KitMasx:Several times.
Janelle_KitMasx:Yeah. Precision is kind of his thing.
Kevin_KitMasx:And Janelle, she does everything else. She cares about each customer and is the heart of our business.
Janelle_KitMasx:If you ever reach out, you're talking directly to us. Real people, real modelers.
Kevin_KitMasx:And if you don't love your masks, we'll refund or replace them. No questions asked.
Janelle_KitMasx:Visit kitmask.com, join the mailing list, and treat yourself to easier, cleaner masking.
Kevin_KitMasx:Kitmask, made by a modeler for modelers.
Janelle_KitMasx:Hey, what about me?
Kevin_KitMasx:You're not a modeler.
Mike:All right, Kentucky Dave, we are into October.
Kentucky_Dave:Yes, we are into October, and man, things are going well. I cannot complain.
Mike:They are going well. I appreciate all our listeners. Things have been on an uptick here of late, and that's been fun to watch, and hopefully we'll continue the trend into October.
Kentucky_Dave:Yes, yes, indeed. And plus we've uh we we've had some some modeling fun. We have. Let's start there, man. Where have we been? Well, the Louisville show was this past weekend. 408 models, well, well attended, including by many of the listeners who stopped by the table. Yeah. Um Skip and I were selling some stuff, and then we had a table next to Jeff Inchai Groves. I got the the Bear Cat out on the table. I got it entered and out on the table so people can can actually see. Yes, I did finish a model. It wasn't Photoshop and uh just had a great time. I mean, gosh, I I you know, a day like that where you're just sitting there and you know talking models and modeling and all the other stuff that uh comes up randomly, it's just fantastic.
Mike:Oh, I had a good time, man. I you know, we kind of took a a what would you call it? A chill day. We didn't really d generate any content there. We just kind of hung out and talked to our friends and the club members and our table neighbors and and all that.
Kentucky_Dave:Yep, got to reconnect with a lot of people, and and that's uh that's the important thing is the again, the social aspect of these shows is so important.
Mike:Well, we certainly got a lot of that in.
Kentucky_Dave:Yes. Yep, and then I had a lovely meal. Now you had to you and your son had to go run an errand in Louisville, but uh after after the show, Skippy and I and Inch and uh Warren Dickinson got to actually go over and have a nice state dinner, late lunch, early dinner, and uh had a grand old time. I again, if you're not going to model contest, even if you don't enter, go, you're gonna enjoy yourself.
Mike:Well, our next opportunity, Dave, is Cincinnati, if I'm not mistaken.
Kentucky_Dave:Yes, Cincinnati is October the 18th. I am looking forward to it. We're gonna see Inch there again. We're gonna have a table right next to him again. That's always such a great show, given the atmosphere, given where it's held. The weather seems to always be really good. It's not that far away. It's not that far away, so it's uh minimal, minimal household problems. So I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing all the Cincinnati guys too.
Mike:Well, we've just featured them in last month's model show Spotlight. So if you need the information, you can go back and listen to that again and or just dive into the episode online and find it through the show notes. But hopefully I can get to go to that one, man.
Kentucky_Dave:Yes, yes, you you you must go to that show. We gotta hang out and then we gotta go have good German dinner.
Mike:So the Hofbrow house is in on the on the uh schedule.
Kentucky_Dave:It's always on the schedule. You're lucky I don't drag you to Jungle Jim's first.
Mike:No, you're not getting me there. We got two feature episodes coming up in uh October. We're gonna do another back-to-back shop talk, and you mentioned Jeff Groves, Jeff's gonna come on the show and the third chair for episode 149. I think that's right.
Kentucky_Dave:Yep.
Mike:149 for uh our shop talk format for the first feature episode. Then a little later in the month, we got uh Dr. Paul Budset coming back on the show. He's getting his retirement ducks in a row, and he's doing a reset on his hobby space and his whole outlook on the way he's been doing things and downsizing a little bit in that regard. And we just thought it would be a good conversation for other listeners who are in that same situation or about to be or looking to change their mindset about things.
Kentucky_Dave:Yeah, and that reminds me before we have him on, I want to go back and watch several of his videos again. Just every time I watch them, I think of at least one or two things I want to ask him. And then, of course, I forget over time. So I'm gonna have to go back and look at him again to refresh myself so I remember what those questions were.
Mike:Well, in addition to that, Dave, that's not gonna be it. We got a couple other things we're gonna try to squeeze in. One's gonna be another model show spotlight because we're really in the thick of the season now, so we're gonna pick up two, possibly three to feature this month. Uh that will that will be shows coming up in the month of November. Yep. To give folks plenty of runway to get those on their schedule. And then if we can get it scheduled, uh, we're gonna have a vendor spotlight, and I'm not gonna say a whole lot about that. Just say it's gonna be for a genre of aircraft modeling we haven't really delved into just yet.
Kentucky_Dave:So yeah, yeah, but one that's very interesting and very popular. Yes.
Mike:Well, we look forward to getting all that out to you folks and appreciate you taking it all in. I know the dojo's been hopping because I've been adding people right and left over the last couple of weeks.
Kentucky_Dave:Yes. We are currently at 5,475 members, so we're about 25 members away from 5,500. So if there's somebody you hit know who's a model, you're friends with on Facebook who you haven't invited to join the dojo, please do. Yeah, there's a lot of great stuff. We are we're in show the fall show season right now, and we've been getting a lot of content where people are going to these shows and posting photo spreads from the tables and and the facilities, etc. And it's really great to see. Like, I mean, the odds that I'm gonna get out to the show in Oregon sometime are probably pretty low. But the fact that it gets posted, uh Jim Bates did a real went down and did a real nice job posting photos to the dojo of that show, and having talked to the guys running the show, it was really kind of neat to see what they had envisioned coming together and what the show was like. And and you know, you get to experience it a little bit vicariously. And there's I always love looking at pictures of cool models, things that that you haven't seen before, that you probably wouldn't see because they're not modelers in this region, so they're not going to be at a show you're likely to be at, but you get to experience it nonetheless.
Mike:Well, and we've both been trying to keep our projects up there.
Kentucky_Dave:Yes, the the Bear Cat is finished, and before I return to the SAM, because my wife and daughter are on an extended holiday, I am doing a modified blitz build where I'm instead of trying to finish something in 48 hours, I'm trying to finish it in the space of about a week because, you know, while I still have to go to work, or at least my bosses tell me I do. You know, I come home in the evenings and I don't have as many of the family obligations. So I'm using that time and the I'm posting progress photos. It's in decent shape. I'd like to be a little further along than I am, but I'm not in bad shape. And when we get done recording this tonight, I'm gonna hit it hard. And if you all go look at the dojo, you should see pictures of where I currently am.
Mike:And we can talk about the up and down in it on episode 149's uh benchtop halftime report because this you made pretty good progress.
Kentucky_Dave:Yep, yep, it's moving along.
Mike:Well, folks, keep posting to the dojo. And if you haven't joined there and you're on Facebook, go ahead and send us a request and we'll get you in there. Or if you got some friends who aren't there that you know who might enjoy it, sign them up. Yep, give them an invite. It's easy to do. That's gonna be it for October, Dave.
Kentucky_Dave:Yes, it is. I'm telling you what, the the fall modeling season is every bit as exciting. It's the spring modeling season, and I can't wait for Cincinnati and looking forward to it, and I hope you get to make it up there with us.
Mike:Well, I'm planning on giving it my best effort, Dave. Good, good. Well, folks, please join us for all we're putting out in in October, and we thank you for being a listener, and we'll catch you in episode 149. So, Dave, as we always say, so many kits, so little time.
