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
From Listener Mail To 2026 Plans: A Scale Modeling Year In Review
A surprising theme ran through the last part of our year: when modelers stop chasing perfect and start building what they truly love, everything clicks. Your letters proved it. We heard from builders paring down stashes, organizing tools, and finally tackling “someday” subjects with less guilt and more momentum. That energy shaped our own workbenches too—methodical planning, smarter jigs, and reliable materials turned tricky steps into repeatable wins. Think KV-85 intake screens built with a custom jig, CA used with intention, Mr. Surfacer and thinner cleaning up seams before weathering could ruin them, and decals that go down right the first time.
We also talk practical stash strategy. New kits will always tempt us, so here’s what works: trade up when the upgrade arrives, and keep a short list of builds you can actually start. We’ve locked in a tight plan for 2026: an early jet like the Meteor F.1, a buddy build of the HE 162, a quirky Panzerwerfer 42 on the Maultier, and a focused approach to finishing what’s already close. Along the way we share community hacks you’ll use tomorrow—holographic craft vinyl for prismatic optics, ultra-thin PLA paper alternatives, and the magic of a simple paint inventory app that removes friction at decision time.
We wrestle with do-overs too. When is it worth rebuilding a past project, and when should the lesson travel to a new subject? The answer depends on joy. If a vignette still speaks to you, rebuild it with better kits and skills. If not, apply the learning forward and keep moving. That mindset powered our favorite listener stories this year, from club exhibition formats to seeing a dusty stash kit reborn by a friend. It’s the community at its best—sharing tips, swapping kits, and cheering each other to the finish line.
If you’re in a dark time, start small. Fifteen minutes on oil weathering, a single jigged subassembly, a quick decal session with a brand you trust. Momentum beats perfection every time. Subscribe, share with a modeling friend, and leave a review to help others find the show. Then tell us: what’s the first kit you’re starting in 2026?
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Model mode. Well, news and events around the public. Join Mike in the day is to be informed entertaining you modeling mojo.
Mike:Welcome to episode 153 of Plastic Model Mojo. I told you in the 12-minute model sphere it's gonna be a casual month, and here it is. It's already the 13th of the month, and we're just kicking out our first feature episode, Dave.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, well, it's December, man. It's between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's we're we're we're lucky if we find time.
Mike:The weather's been a little frosty for this time of year already.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:For us anyway.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah. Yep. Those guys up in Minnesota are used to this. It's this it should not be like this in Kentucky.
Mike:Well, it is. So uh given that fact, uh, what's up in your model sphere, Dave?
Kentucky Dave:Well, Christmas threw up all over my hobby. Um the the dark time has arrived, which means that I have been spending a lot of time with non-model related stuff, but I have managed to get to the bench a couple hours a week, not making the progress that I want. Now, with Christmas approaching, my family is, of course, asking me what I want for Christmas. So I have been able to suggest a few uh books and decal sheets and maybe a squadron gift card that would come in handy. So there is that. Plus, uh there's we both talked about how one of the great parts of doing this podcast is all the people and friends we've met. And one of the nice things is this time of year, everybody reaching out to exchange holiday greetings, etc. So I've gotten to exchange DMs and and phone calls and texts with a lot of our modeling friends, just connecting, reconnecting, wishing, wishing everybody holiday cheer. So it's my model sphere's okay. It could get better, it's gonna get better. I swear it, I'm gonna make it happen, but it's not awful. And I'd be I'd be ungrateful if I wasn't happy.
Mike:Well, you did pretty good last year, so yes, I did.
Kentucky Dave:I'm not sure I'm gonna do as good this year. We'll see.
Mike:Well, it's it's early. We're still at the front end of this dark period for you.
Kentucky Dave:Yes, we are. How are you?
Mike:Uh, I'm pretty good. I've been looking at all the listener mail coming in and just looking at a lot of stuff that's been related to the last three episodes we dropped. Yeah. And it's just really interesting. I I'd like to say we planned this out this way, but that would not be truthful. We did plan 150 with Paul Budzik. That topic was was selected, and we let his process get a little farther down the road before we actually brought him on the show to talk to him about it, and we did that, and then we hit some similar topics in our shop talk in 151 and 152. I think you know, Tim Nelson came on the show and and also had a lot to say that incidentally tied into all that.
Kentucky Dave:Yep, resonated with a lot of yeah, that's that's what well put.
Mike:It's resonated with a lot of people, and I just was really happily surprised by all that. We hit a home run there.
Kentucky Dave:Well, good. Yeah, we're closing out strong. We are we open we opened 2025 pretty strong, and uh we're closing it out strong.
Mike:Uh we are, so that's that's the good news. Yeah, other than that, I don't know, man. I just uh getting ready for the holidays like you and squeezing in what I can.
Kentucky Dave:Well, we'll talk about that in the bench top halftime report. Meanwhile, if we're recording, especially in the holiday season, I'm assuming you have a uh modeling fluid handy.
Mike:I do. I've got some Micter's uh straight bourbon whiskey.
Kentucky Dave:Nice choice. Nice choice.
Mike:We may have featured it a long time ago, but uh it's come it's come back around. Well, good. So I'm enjoying a little bit of that tonight, not too much.
Kentucky Dave:Well, the funny thing is, their home offices are like four blocks from my office. I I pass by their place all the time when I go when I go in downtown to work. So I've got Terminus Tangerine Kolsch from Yellowhammer Brewing in Huntsville, Alabama. Our friend Mr. Clark kindly supplied this to us at the Nationals, and I'm finally getting around to being able to have it.
Mike:Well, we got a lot, so you've had to chip away at the stack and make that one happen finally.
Kentucky Dave:Yes, I did. Yes, I did.
Mike:Well, good.
Kentucky Dave:All right, Mike, do we have any listener mail?
Mike:We have a ton of listener mail.
Kentucky Dave:That's always good.
Mike:It is. Some of it still, again, is related to the last two or three episodes, so we may just hit the very core of those, but we'll go through most of this. We've really gotten a lot, man. Yeah. Well, let's get into it. You got it. Up first is our friend Mark Doramis. Okay. Mark's got quite a bit to say about what their club does, so we're gonna save that part of his email for the the feature we're gonna do or the short we're gonna do on club activities.
Kentucky Dave:Gotcha.
Mike:But his two cents on episode 150, he says he remembers Paul Budzik's articles in Fine Scale Modeler. He says, Wow, the dental acrylic turning ball turrets on a mini lathe. I thought he was just a crazy old guy. Turns out he's only three years older than I am, so I guess he's not so old after all. He wishes Paul a happy retirement.
Kentucky Dave:I think a lot of us who've been in the hobby a while and who remember the when fine scale was at its peak. A lot of us associate the peak of fine scale with those articles.
Mike:Yeah.
Kentucky Dave:Because I I would argue that was the peak of fine scale.
Mike:You may be right. And uh certainly was a big influence on me. We've talked about that before. Next up, Dave, is Michael Lusi from Peoria, the Jack Wisley chapter, if I'm not mistaken.
Kentucky Dave:Yep.
Mike:And he mentioned the supermodelers quiz for for getting rid of old kits, I think the last time he wrote in.
SPEAKER_04:Uh-huh.
Mike:And he just wanted to write in and he sent a picture about the joy he gets seeing the kid he had that had been in his stash forever finally displayed built at a club meeting.
Kentucky Dave:That is a a good feeling. One that that you know that you've fallen out of love with and you passed it on to somebody who loved it and was inspired enough by it to build it. That is a really good feeling.
Mike:Well, his club member and friend John Lubers picked up his dusty stashed Forsaken Ravel 48 scale Doolittle Raider.
Kentucky Dave:Uh-huh.
Mike:And uh got it finished.
Kentucky Dave:All right.
Mike:Brought it to their club meeting.
Kentucky Dave:So that's an older kit, too. That's that's one you know, you know, that's not only is that one that you've fallen out of love with, but that's a senior status kit. Those are always nice to see built.
Mike:It's kind of like adopting a dog.
Kentucky Dave:Exactly. You're right. Go in there and adopt the old dog at the shelter, not the new one.
Mike:Larry Donovan from uh New Brighton, Minnesota, up in uh Houston's neck of the woods, I think.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
Mike:Just another one. Episode 150 and 151 just really resonated with him. He's 69 years young, he says, and he's all this is helped move him toward getting rid of stuff, paring down to what he knows he's gonna build and what he really wants to build. And he's taking a similar approach with his tools and stuff, and uh he's just working on the disposition of this stuff and tightening things up in his later years so he can focus on building and enjoying the hobby the way he wants to instead of feeling obligated to all this uh all this stuff he got stacked around.
Kentucky Dave:Yep. I they it becomes a burden to you at some point, and I think that go doing a stash and hobby colonic every once in a while is is not a bad idea.
Mike:From the UK, Dave, Addingham, West Yorkshire in the UK. Okay. Uh Neil Godden, he says Al Murray is a modeler, and maybe we need to talk about him getting on the show.
Kentucky Dave:I'll have to I it wouldn't hurt to reach out. Didn't on the bench have him on, actually. You know, they may have. I don't know.
Mike:A long time ago.
Kentucky Dave:Good question.
Mike:I don't know if they did or not, but uh I think they may have. Great suggestion. Yeah. Next we got Oliver Mochon from Montreal in Quebec, up in Canada. Bet he's cold.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, I'll bet.
Mike:He's got a couple questions. One of them's directed at you. He's been back and modeling it for about 10 years, primarily military subjects, like many of us. He says he enjoys working many scales in in many genres, but he says he rarely builds 72nd aircraft and he never builds 48 scale armor. He's just curious if you haven't answered this already on the show, your proclivity for 70 second scale.
Kentucky Dave:Well, a couple of things. One, it was the scale of my youth when I first got into modeling. 70 second scale was the predominant scale. This is back in the 70s. In addition, one, and I've said this on a number of occasions. Uh, you know, if you haven't listened to the entire back catalog of our podcasts, if you have, then you're gonna already know what I'm gonna say. One 72nd scale provides you the widest possible set of subjects to build. I can build everything from a 70-second scale World War II fighter, a P-51, or a ME-109 or a Zero all the way up to one of these hulking German six-engine experimental transports or low production transports, and everything in between. And not only that, displaying them isn't hard because of the fact that that they are still compact enough that you can build a number of them and you're not gonna run out of display room anytime soon.
Mike:Famous last words. Yeah, right. Well, that's better, that's better than a joke about you not run out of space because you don't have any finished builds, right?
Kentucky Dave:That's right. It and I've said this about going to the nationals or any contest for that matter. When you go to the 48-scale single-engine World War II aircraft category, it is 109, 109, 109, 190, Zero, P51, P47, Corsair, Hellcat, Wildcat, and you the repeat of the same aircraft. Whereas in the 72nd scale, because there is such a wider variety of available good kits, you'll see people with, you know, French Diwatines or Hawk 75 to give a recent example, or you know, stuff that you just don't you're gonna see things in 70 seconds scale that you're not gonna see elsewhere. And I'm a little bit of a scale adherent in that I I've and again I've said this before, I'll build anything, or I'll at least purchase, hopefully, build anything in 70 second scale, from a Roman trireme to a German World War II mini-sub to whatever. I like the constant scale, the ability to compare the size of the item. I know that in relation, a P-51 in relation to a modern Japanese deep sea diving vehicle, I can put the two things next to each other. And because it's a constant scale, I can see how they can compare. And for me, I like that. So in a nutshell, that's those are the main reasons I I I'm a 72nd scale enthusiast.
Mike:Well, makes sense to me. Good. Well, then he goes on, and he thought this would make a good topic for a show. It is a good question, I'll say that. It gets into you've pared down your stash, and he did. He cleaned up his stash, but there's all these new kits coming out. Yes, and now after his cleanup, he's got more than when he started the cleanup. So his question is generally, how do you r resist the the temptation to keep buying? What is that's a tough one.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, and I'm not sure I'm gonna recommend that you resist the temptation. You kind of got a different approach because part of the joy of oh, the the new Arma Hawk 75 or the upcoming Arma ME262. Even if I've got 500 other kits in my stash, the acquisition of those new kits, even if I'm not going to put them on the bench right away, there there is some enjoyment in acquiring them and examining them, etc., and knowing you have them in the stash so that you can build it. I I do want to recommend that people pare down their stashes and try and keep them reasonable and all, among other things, not to be a burden to our families when we're gone. But it is undeniable that a part of the joy of this hobby is the acquisition of a brand new model that we're really interested in. And that's part of the hobby, and I don't particularly see a problem with it.
Mike:Well, personal finances aside, I guess I would agree. I would agree. But you've been like you'll buy this new hawk, right? But you've probably got seven old hawks in your kit in your stash.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, probably about five, and I'm getting rid of getting rid of those. Yeah.
Mike:So that's that's one way to that's a good trade.
Kentucky Dave:You're right. That's a good trade.
Mike:So that's one approach. And you know, another thing you might consider if if if you can get over the the impulse to buy it, most of the stuff from a major manufacturer is gonna be out there to buy when you know you're gonna build it. Right. So there's that too. I don't know if these are good answers or not, Dave, but uh um Well, there's no right answer.
Kentucky Dave:There's no right answer.
Mike:We we we j we buy kits and we sell kits and it ebbs and flows, and i if it if it trends downward, that's a good thing.
Kentucky Dave:No, I agree.
Mike:Up next is James Mirando from well, he's from the wine country of California. And they've renamed their club, I think. It was IP Mesh Santa Rosa. Now it's wine country modelers or or something to that effect.
Kentucky Dave:I like that.
Mike:And they are they are gearing up for their next well, this was Wine Country Model Expo, and it's gonna be another exhibition style format with an open system. This doesn't this isn't happening until April, and we talked to these guys last year.
SPEAKER_04:Right.
Mike:Or earlier, I guess this year, back in the spring. For their first for their first show in this kind of format. And maybe we'll talk to them again, but I was just glad to hear from him again and to see that it was enough of a success that they're gonna expand on this thing.
Kentucky Dave:No, I agree.
Mike:So stay tuned, folks. We'll have more from the wine country model expo when we get a little closer, but that's not till early spring, so it's gonna be a little bit. We got a lot of winter to get through. We do. Well, John McAvoy writes in, Dave, and he just wanted to thank us and Tim for mentioning him with regards to uh Fusion 360 and the design work he's been helping Tim with and the 3D printing stuff. Yeah. Well, that was no problem. I mean, Tim Tim's the one that mentions you really.
Kentucky Dave:Well well, and that's a a wonderful example. And again, you've heard me say this before. In general, the model one of the great things about modelers is their willingness to share information techniques, something that they know that you don't, something they've got experience with, you know, whether it being soldering photo etch or CAD design, with rare exception. Modelers are you you ask a question, hey, how do you do this, or what did you do? And you will get a just a wealth of information. Because modelers are, in my experience, really good folks. And that applies to John particularly.
Mike:Well, he's noticed all our postings and comments about the uh the interleaf sheet in the uh the Aldi uh prosciutto. Yes. And he pointed out that uh Tamiya actually sells, they call it plastic paper or plow, PLA paper. It's a five hundredths of a millimeter stock, so it's like 0.00. It's like 15,000ths. That's real, it's probably what it is. It's probably just interleaf film. But it's it's polystyrene. He says he doesn't know if it's available in the U.S., but it is it is available on eBay. I've seen it.
SPEAKER_04:Okay.
Mike:So you can get it that way too if you don't like prosciutto. Oh, I love prosciutto, man. And the sheets aren't that much bigger, really. So you know, there's if you want something really, really thin, look up to me as plot paper, and if I can remember, I'll put it in the show notes. And it's certainly on eBay, it can be had on eBay.
Kentucky Dave:So But the nice thing about do it getting it in the prosciutto packs is you can feel good. Not only do you get to enjoy the prosciutto, and who doesn't love prosciutto, but you can feel good about yourself that you are not contributing to the waste problem that we have by taking. Part of the packaging and repurposing it.
Mike:Yes, you can.
Kentucky Dave:Yep.
Mike:Again, related to uh the past three episodes, I think particularly 152 with Tim, John Raymond writes in and says it's really helped him getting past making everything perfect.
Kentucky Dave:That's good. That is a constant struggle. And I really do think a lot of people who who end up never finishing anything are struggling many times with that problem. It's not perfect, so I can't finish it.
Mike:That's right. What did they say? Perfection is a thief of joy.
Kentucky Dave:That's right. The the the the perfect is the enemy of the good.
Mike:There you go, folks. Well, we got a local Dave. Okay. Fellow Louisville, Mike Hildebrand. Is he in the club? Yes. Okay. Well, he's written in. He's been helping a friend with his in-scale train layout, even though he's a 35th scale armor guy. So there is massive crossover between trains and modeling. Trains and armor, particularly. I think he's figured that out and is enjoying that. He's got an interview suggestion that we are gonna take under advisement, and he's got some. I guess these are podcasts. I'll send you these. Okay. And they're just uh well, what is this here? Max Miller.
Kentucky Dave:Oh, yes. Tasting history.
Mike:Peaches and chartreuse jelly.
Kentucky Dave:Oh, one of his better ones.
Mike:Yeah, he says that's a good one.
Kentucky Dave:Max Miller Max Miller runs a YouTube channel called Tasting History.
Mike:Okay.
Kentucky Dave:Where he does recipes throughout history. I think I may have mentioned him before.
Mike:Well, you did last episode.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah. Just awesome stuff. Awesome stuff. In fact, our friend Dr. Geldmacher just for Thanksgiving made one of his recipes. Hope it turned out. It did. He said his wife didn't like it. It was the Indian pudding representative.
Mike:Oh, yeah, that's the one you mentioned.
Kentucky Dave:And and Dr. Geldmacher tried it. He said he enjoyed it, but his wife did not like it.
Mike:So it gets mixed results. We'll get scratched from next year's menu.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, exactly.
Mike:And Tom Carron again from Cairns, Utah. And again, Tim Nelson interview and the other two also resonated with him. I think he wrote in after 50 and 51 as well. The time is now to tackle those kits he's been putting off.
Kentucky Dave:Yes, it is.
Mike:It's like I talked about in the in the What's Up in Your Model Sphere segment at the front end of the episode. I just it's really been surprising. Maybe it shouldn't be surprising. It's really been nice that that those three episodes hit home with so many people. It really is. Actually, Paul Buzzick did send us a thank you note for that, and he was really appreciative, appreciative of uh the fact that you know his the episode he was in had resonated, but then we went on for the next two, and then they have as well. And you know, it it does mesh with the demographic of the hobby. So really, really interested a lot of people, and it's it's been just been great to see it.
Kentucky Dave:And and guys, it it's nice for Mike and I to know when we've done a particular episode that's hit home for you, that's that's been not just your average episode, but one of particular interest. So we really appreciate you DMing or emailing to let us know that.
Mike:I had another one from the Peoria area, our friend Tom Choi. Uh he may have posted this on the dojo, but he he wrote in as well. There was a a listener had written in about how to do the the prismatic glass in modern AFEs.
Kentucky Dave:Yep.
Mike:And we had some suggestions, but Tom Tom sent this in. I guess at some of the craft stores like Michael's and Hobby Lobby, there's this uh holographic vinyl sheet. Yep. It's a blue-green sheet and a red-gold sheet, and he says they're pretty much the exact colors of the real thing, and the sheets are really cheap, and there's enough on a sheet for just as many tanks as you're probably ever going to build.
Kentucky Dave:And you know what? I constantly find myself when I'm sh out shopping in an area, you know, the wife's at Target or whatever, walking over and walking into a hobby lobby or Michael's and just walking up and down the aisles and going, hmm, I might be able to use that for this. It it is amazing how much non-modeling focused stuff you can find just walking around Michael's and and Hobby Lobby and places like that.
Mike:Oh, yeah. It's easy to do.
Kentucky Dave:Same goes with our same goes with hardware stores.
Mike:I don't do too much at the hardware stores.
Kentucky Dave:Well, the hardware stores are a disappearing breed.
Mike:Well, Dave, that's all I've got for email. That's not folks suggesting topics or guests or things like that. So uh what's the direct message scene looked like?
Kentucky Dave:Not bad. Got a number of direct messages. If you'll remember last episode we did Faves and Yawns, and I mentioned the company First to Fight was releasing a Polish river patrol boat called a KM12.
Mike:Yeah, I went and looked it up. It looked like a pretty cool subject.
Kentucky Dave:Well, inch high went you won better. And of course, Inch has enough reference on everything that you can't mention something naval without getting a ton of information. Well, Inch sent me information and a link to a Facebook post with more information about what the KM12 was, that it was a riverine patrol craft on a particular river in Poland, and it was used a lot for communication on the river, and just more information than you would ever want or need about the thing. And I'll tell you what, after reading what he sent me, I'm even more interested in this kit. Of course. So and that that's what Inch does. He pushes, man. He'll get you hooked hard.
Mike:So have you got one yet?
Kentucky Dave:Not yet. I don't know if they're out yet. I have not looked to see if they're out yet, but they're they're coming soon.
Mike:I'm sure Jeff will let you know when it's available.
Kentucky Dave:I'm sure, I'm sure he will. Where to get it. Uh or he's placing an order. Do you want me to throw one on for you?
Mike:Yeah, that's probably more likely.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah. Our friend Mark Copeland is just back from seven weeks in Europe, where he's been doing tours for the Mighty Eighth Museum, and he's already planning the 2026 tours, but he's back in the States now, and he managed to come up with a photo of the new box art for the new Arma Emmy 262, and he sent it to me knowing that I was interested. And man, am I interested? I just I just love the 262, and every current kit out there has issues. I mean, some of them not that big a deal, but to see a new kit by a manufacturer like Arma and this box art is awesome. So thank you, Mark. You definitely fed the beast. I'm going to be picking up one as soon as they're out. Next, I mentioned previously that a number of our listeners, when they encounter a new beer, will send me a DM just to let me know. So, you know, hey, I've got this and I enjoyed it or I didn't or whatever. Brian Bennett sent me a photo uh that was a combo. One, he was just about to start the old Tamiya SAS Jeep kit. You remember that one? Yep. And he had paired it with a juicy Oasis IPA, which A, first of all, really liked the fact that he got Oasis and a and an SAS Jeep together. B, he he said that it reminded him a little bit of a creamsickle, which led me to mention that Country Boy Brewing in Lexington has a dreamsickle beer.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
Kentucky Dave:And then just led into a whole discussion about that. He said it was surprisingly good. So I may have to find that beer. But it was just nice for him to reach out and uh to mention a beer that he was trying, particularly pairing it with a modeling, a new modeling project. So it was just enjoy an enjoyable little exchange. Next, numerous listeners DM'd me. As you'll remember, the beer that we feature that I featured in the last episode, which it turns out was courtesy of Michael Grisabian, was Suffolk Pride. And I said Suffolk Pride, and numerous listeners, mostly those in the UK, DM'd me to let me know that it's not Suffolk, but Suffolk. And in fact, uh a couple of members actually sent audio clips from news reports or whatever, where native British speakers are are saying Suffolk. So I have learned, and from now on, if I'm referring to it, it's Suffolk.
Mike:Always learning.
Kentucky Dave:Always learning. Hey, you got Guelph down. You know, there's hope for us all.
Mike:I did.
Kentucky Dave:A DM I got from a Facebook listener, Keller Modeler, is what the Facebook listener, the Facebook entity goes by is Keller Modeler. And he had a guest suggestion, and I'm not going to mention it because it's uh I will it's a good suggestion, or I'm gonna reach out and we'll go from there. But I do want to bring it up only to mention that we really do appreciate when listeners say, Hey, I I have a suggestion for you for a topic or a lit a guest or uh something to do differently in the show. And Mike and I really do want that kind of input. So I appreciate this person reaching out. I really like his particular suggestion. And for those of you out there listening, please do make those suggestions. Listener Bill McCullough had heard me talking about uh repeatedly about my organizational mess that is my model bench and all. And he sent in a suggestion for a product. It's an organizer by a company called Bucasso, B-U-C-A-S-S-O, for a hobby desk organizer item. And I really appreciate that. Again, when people hear me talking about struggles, if you've got suggestions for dealing with the struggles I'm dealing with, I really, really appreciate that. So thank you. And finally, listener Ron Smith heard you and myself and Tim uh Nelson talking about Dazzle camouflage.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
Kentucky Dave:And this is apparently a subject that Mr. Smith is A very passionate about and B knows a ton about. And so he sent in a multi-part DM regarding Dazzle camouflage and the fact that there were different, it wasn't all black and white, that there were different color palettes, and and he's actually working with Squadron to try and to get them to release the colors that were used for these dazzle camouflages. And I've asked him to post to take what he sent in the DM and turn it into a post on the dojo, and he says he's gonna do that, and I really appreciate that. Anytime we discuss something that you have a particular knowledge of, please share that. And the dojo is a great place to do that, so that, you know, and I don't mind somebody saying, hey, you said this, but it actually turns out that. So I appreciate Mr. Smith reaching out and I appreciate him agreeing to post that on a dojo on the dojo. So hopefully by the time this episode's out, you'll be able to go look on the dojo and find it.
Mike:That's your last one?
Kentucky Dave:That's my last one.
Mike:Oh man, we've had a lot.
Kentucky Dave:I know, I know.
Mike:Well, folks, we appreciate it. And I think we've had less than that before, and I've actually used it for an entire episode of listener mail way back in 20 or 21.
unknown:Yep.
Mike:Might have to consider that again, Dave. Yep, I agree. Well, while we're making that decision, please keep the email coming and the direct messages. You can send email to plasticmodelmojo at gmail.com or you can direct messages through the Facebook uh messenger system. We love the feedback. And there's also a feedback link in the show notes of this episode and on the website. Uh, you can send a message that way as well. So always looking forward to it. Maybe we'll get off this uh 150, 151, 152 bubble we've been on, but uh really appreciate all the feedback from those three episodes. It's been really it's been really interesting, to be honest.
Kentucky Dave:Yes, it has. Yes, we are.
Mike:And given this episode is just you and I, it's gonna be a shop talk kind of thing, but just kind of the year in review. We've done this in the past and we've got a few bullets here to to work through. But well, first off, I can't believe we're about to put the bow on our sixth year doing this.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, I know.
Mike:It's a long time, man.
Kentucky Dave:I know. And it doesn't does it seem like we've been doing it for six years? No, it doesn't to me. It does not, it really doesn't. And this this year went by so quick. I mean, it really, really did.
Mike:Well, there's more at play there than a podcast that's making that yes, that's true.
Kentucky Dave:That's true. And and folks, everything you hear is true. The older you get, the faster the years pass. Absolutely 100%.
Mike:I'm sure the way it seems on my end, man.
Kentucky Dave:Oh, it's getting oh, wait till you get to my age, brother. Blink of an eye.
Mike:Yeah. Well, 2025, you know, outside of the hobby for me, has been a dumpster fire. But this has kept me grounded and giving me a place to escape to and people to talk to or who weren't involved with all my other issues.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
Mike:So I wanted to talk to them. What do you think, man? How was 2025? I mean, for the show, we we didn't quite get to nearly as many places as 20.
Kentucky Dave:Although we, although we, although we did not do bad. Uh now keep in mind I got some to shows to some shows you didn't get to. Right. But overall, we did better than I think we thought we might at the beginning of the year.
Mike:Yeah, I think so. We did pretty good. We got around a little bit. We went to the big ones, except amps. I didn't we didn't get to amps.
Kentucky Dave:We did not get to amps. It just uh it just didn't work for us. But on the upside, amps is coming to us the in 2026.
Mike:More or less, you're right.
Kentucky Dave:So and I can't I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it. I really enjoyed 2024's Amps National, and this year prom 2026 promises to be bigger and better.
Mike:Well, we've accomplished a lot with the show this this year. We got we got the website launched. We got the website launched. Didn't quite get as far as we wanted to with it, but uh give us something to do in 2026, I guess.
Kentucky Dave:That's that's right. And it's getting more we can tell from the back-end metrics, it's getting more and more utilization, and we want to add more and more functionality to it. So that just costs time and money, and both of those things are in short supply.
Mike:And I think we've uh we've weathered all the the hiccups that not just scale not just us, not just scale modeling podcasts, but podcasting in general have weathered over the last year, year to 18 months, and and I think the the fog has lifted on that, you know, the all the Apple shenanigans, I guess, on the way they they measure things and the way they changed it, and then the demise of Google Podcasts and having to make things up on the on the YouTube side, which is kind of a crappy platform for audio podcasts, but uh the ship has been rided and is it's we're pointing in the right direction, and we look I'm looking forward to 2026.
Kentucky Dave:I am looking forward to 2026. There's so it's so bright a horizon. Now, hopefully it's not the headlight of an oncoming train, but there's so many positives in 2026, be it Amps in South Bend or the Nationals in Fort Wayne, March and and HeritageCon's not that far away. There are a bunch of new kits coming out. While my modeling did not turn out to be quite as productive as I wanted, it was I'd say more productive than 2024. And so it's moving in the right direction. And I can see a bright future for 2026. So hopefully that isn't the headlight of an oncoming train. And hopefully it's going to turn out to be what I think it's going to be, which is a the best year yet.
Mike:Well, I certainly hope so. And something you said there is a good transition over to what we did get done this year. You've had you've had a good year.
Kentucky Dave:Yes, I did. I've got two completions, the German Sea Hund and the F-8F.
Mike:But you got to you're dang close on at least one more, maybe two.
Kentucky Dave:Well, two more. The Sam and the Hellcat are both in deep painting decals, and they just need to be finished off. I doubt, given the timeline that that I'm gonna finish either one in December, but January is a possibility for one or both. And it it's a nice springboard into 2026 where there's plenty of stuff out there. There's all these new kits coming out. Having clear one of the things about clearing out your stash or going through your stash and paring it down is it kind of focuses the mind on what you want to build. And Tim Nelson was right in talking about building models that you really want to build, not putting them off till you get better. And one of my mottos of 2026 is going to be to do that. So I am optimistic. Now, maybe, maybe it's crazy to be optimistic, but nevertheless, I'm optimistic about 2026.
Mike:Well, you did better than me.
Kentucky Dave:Well, it's not better. We don't judge it that way. Well, that's true. You had fun mobbing.
Mike:I I did, I had a lot of fun. I got I got the E16 done finally.
Kentucky Dave:Yes. And it looks beautiful.
Mike:I'm very happy with it. I I learned a lot of stuff doing that project. You know, it once it got moving, the I was, I guess a surprise would be once I really started painting it.
Kentucky Dave:Mm-hmm.
Mike:It it really didn't take that long.
Kentucky Dave:Yep.
Mike:I mean, maybe it took longer than some of the some of our listeners out there or some fine modelers, but uh I it kept moving, I kept it moving because I want to get it done, and I I I got it done, and I'm really, really happy with it. And man, did I I can't I can't I can't overstate it. Just because I hadn't built an aircraft in so long. I was gonna say. And because I picked something that was probably not wise for my first one after having not built one for so long. At least it wasn't a rigged underframe float plane.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, true enough. I mean that that and it was also something you were enthused about, and that really did allow you to finish the project. So you yeah, maybe it wasn't the maybe it wasn't the simplest choice for your first aircraft in forever, but it was something you were interested in.
Mike:And I've traveled a little bit and I've I've shown it to the folks that I most wanted to see it. So it's uh it's for me to admire now.
Kentucky Dave:Well, you and you took it to the nationals and had it at our table. A lot of people got to stop by and see it.
Mike:That's right.
Kentucky Dave:And you got a a lot of very nice comments about it. And one of the neat things is you learned a lot. I mean, you started this whole thing started because you wanted to make a set, you wanted to do a set of photo edge, homebrew photo edge, and then it just grew out of there.
Mike:There had to be more to it than that. I mean, that certainly is part of it, but that in itself wouldn't make me pick a 70-second scale float plane.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah. I could have well. I gotta photo etched a lot of stuff. I'd I'd like to think that I was at least part of it.
Mike:You probably were, and there's all there's also, you know, I had a probably a a long time, but what to say, deeply repressed interest in that kind of a subject from you know my youth.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah. So well I want and you clear you clearly have a thing for float planes uh well and catapults.
Mike:I do, I like it. I think they're really cool. I like I've always liked when I was building aircraft as a kid, it was always naval related. The carrier planes, you know, I was watching the Pacific War mostly. It really was. So it it kind of got me back to to that again. So there's a little nostalgia there as well.
SPEAKER_04:Mm-hmm.
Mike:I don't know what the next float plane will be. We'll talk about lists here in a little bit, but there's not one on it. That's okay. You know, the other things, uh the the the little paper pans I've been working on, I uh that's some of the major assemblies are in primer now, and I kind of pushed that to the back burner until I I I really want to get the KV-85 in paint before I pick anything up in construction again, other than this moose root cup thing I'm working on. And it's and it's not that tough, really. It just doesn't have that many parts. So, you know, I've got the E16 done. KV85 is we'll talk about it more at the bench top after report, but it's it's it's lurching forward. And the other one's just kind of in a holding pattern until I get something done. Because I think for for me, three's probably too many.
Kentucky Dave:Well, can you can you think of in 2025? Can you think of stuff you learned? Oh, yeah. Or or things that you absolutely that that you well, one of the things that I can think of is I got I'm experiencing my second experience with decals by Furball Aero Design.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
Kentucky Dave:And I'm I'm here to tell you that both of the experiences have been fantastic, and it's really nice to learn that okay, I can count on if I buy one of these decal sheets or I go to use one on a project, I'm not gonna have a problem.
Mike:So we can trust the Model Geek sponsors.
Kentucky Dave:We can trust the Model Geek sponsors.
Mike:I knew we could.
Kentucky Dave:Number two is in 2025, one of the things I wanted to concentrate on was scribing, rescribing, and re-engraving. And I made great progress in doing that, and I feel like I got better at it, which, you know, that's one of the things as far as my hobby. I want to try and get better at at techniques. And so if I feel like I made progress, I learned something, I got better, I count that as a success. So for tw for 2025, I I really felt like I made progress in that respect. Additionally, I I have made some steps to organizing and getting my stash paired down and getting my hobby life a little better organized. And and finally, that I will say that in 2025, the impact of of helping Jeff Groves, inch high, with that widow up in Indianapolis and her late husband's books made a profound effect on me as far as coming to terms with my eventual mortality and not wanting to leave my hobby as a burden for my family. I learned a lot of things in 2025. I I really did. I I actually, those are things that I count as positive additions to what I know about the hobby. Did you experience any of that?
Mike:I did, maybe not so much on that line as you did, but I probably would be wise to do that.
Kentucky Dave:But did you learn new skills? Did you try? I know that you were talking about very recently about making jigs to make parts of a project easier.
Mike:I I think in the last half of the year on the KV85 project, and we'll talk about more uh, you know, in detail about what I've done over the last couple weeks in the bench top halftime report, but just getting back to modeling the way I I have in the past, not not, you know, to some stagnant stagnant point in my skill set, but that's not what I mean. I mean the detail and the met the methodical nature of of doing things, and and it really gets back to, you know, those old fine scales and and having Paul being such a part of our show uh over the last couple years. And the airplane was a a diversion that I I applied a little bit of that stuff to it, but the thing was just so fresh and new again because I hadn't done it so long that um I was a lot have I was having to relearn a lot of things, so I didn't get to apply my old methodologies to that project as much. So I think maybe the next aircraft will be more along those lines. But certainly this KV-85, it's just I'm comfortable in it. Now and that's a good thing. And I'm I'm comfortable to a point that I don't mean comfort zone. Right. I I mean that I I I'm being very methodical. I'm I knowing I know what I need to do. I think it through. If it needs something set up a certain way to do it, I take the time to do that first. I'm not taking many chances on construction problems. I'm thinking those through up front. And I just historically, you know this. That's just the way I've I've done things. Right. And it's probably the biggest influence on my build pace is anything, because you you you you you do things that way, and then you have two kids are in college and got a job, and you know, just it just brings everything to a screeching halt. Almost.
Kentucky Dave:You're shooting stuff into space, and you know I could see how that would get in the way of a hobby.
Mike:Because kind of backed in that mindset, that gets me to the the happy place at my workbench that I want to be.
Kentucky Dave:Could it be the synonym for confidence?
Mike:Yeah, I think so. Um I've gotten very confident again, particularly in the last six months or so. Just things are coming back. You know, it's weird. Things come back that you didn't know were missing.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
Mike:But you you know, you you botched up something or you know, mucked something up, and you're like, dude, just slow down. Just do it this way. You need to do it the way you used to do it.
Kentucky Dave:You know how you know how to do this. You've done it before. Yep. Familiar with that.
Mike:That's kind of in pretty the last half of 2025. That's that's where I've been. It's it's I'm looking forward to applying it to the next one. So I'm looking forward to moving forward. Well, good. Well, in the past, Dave, we've we've made lists. Yes, we have. Um Delusions of Grandeur comes to mind.
SPEAKER_04:Mm-hmm.
Mike:Uh list of ten things. I wanted to change that this year. Okay. Um, I think I told you before three. Gonna limit it to three, and I cheated already. Yeah, I get cheated because I wanted I wanted two armor subjects and two aircraft on the list. So I'm at four. I don't have how bad you cheated. I cheated by seven. I cheated by one. You cheated by by four.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, I cheated by four.
Mike:All right. So, folks, the the idea here is is to have something that we have a snowball's chance in hell of actually pulling off.
Kentucky Dave:Finishing. Or at least starting, even. Right. And this doesn't include anything we've got currently in process.
Mike:And then the plan is that when we get to the new place where we can actually initiate a new project, it has to come off this list. Exactly. So I think I'm okay with that. Yep, I am too. All right. Well, who who wants to do the first one?
Kentucky Dave:Well, let's let's let you start.
Mike:I'll the the yeah, I've got two armor subjects in there. The same two that have been around a while since we started the podcast, Dave. I want to do this BM13 Kachusha on the Zis three truck.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, that's a big project.
Mike:It is, but I've man, I've already got a lot of a lot of mental modeling into that one already. So that that's one, you know, it's a it's a multi-kit, cross-kitten kind of thing.
Kentucky Dave:There's some Yeah, there's at least three kits.
Mike:Three kits, there's some some aftermarket, not a lot though. And there's some 3D print stuff that I've already done.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:It's a subject I've long wanted to do, but I've never wanted to do it on a Lindlee's truck.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:So, and that and that's that's where I'm at. So that's that's kind of my of my two top armor 35th scale contenders. That's that's the first one.
Kentucky Dave:Well, and and you mentioned something that we need to make a note for a future episode, mental modeling. I think that there's a lot to explore with mental modeling. So maybe make a note, we'll have a whole episode on that or at least a bench top or a shop talk subject on that.
Mike:I think that'll work.
Kentucky Dave:All right. My first one is something that you and I and certain other modelers have been planning for the first of the year, is building the special hobby HE162, which you and I both picked that kit up in was it Madison or did we pick it up in Hampton? Madison. Uh Hampton.
SPEAKER_02:Madison. Madison. I've had mine a year.
Kentucky Dave:Okay, Madison. And you and I talked about buddybuilding that, and I would like to buddybuild that with you along with a couple of our friends, and I think it would be a pretty, a pretty good and not too difficult build. So I have a thing, while I'm not a huge Luftwaffe guy generally, I do have a particular interest in the end-of-the-war technological weapons, yeah, jets, rockets, etc., mini-subs, uh, whatever. And that fits right into that in that particular collection sub-genre. So the HE162 is probably top of my list for 2026.
Mike:Okay. I I guess for me that one was gonna be I'd thought that further out, and and there's something I want to do on the website with that. Okay. With that one. Okay. But it doesn't have to be that.
Kentucky Dave:You and I will talk.
Mike:It's still on the list. It's still on the list.
Kentucky Dave:Yes.
Mike:So my next one, shall I do my my next my second armor one or do my first aircraft one?
Kentucky Dave:Either one. It's up to you.
Mike:Let's jump to an aircraft.
Kentucky Dave:There are no there are no rules here, buddy.
Mike:Maybe there should be.
Kentucky Dave:Maybe there should be, right?
Mike:I want to build a Gloucester Meteor F1. And thanks to Paul Gloucester, you can do that. I can. Or a three. He got me both of them this year.
Kentucky Dave:Yes, I know. It was kind of him.
Mike:I I want to do a jet, an early jet like that really interests me. Like you just mentioned the end of war techno technology. Yeah. That's another one. It kind of falls into that category for the RF. And it's, you know, the the lines are pretty simple, like most of the early jets. Yep. And it just I thought it would be a good one to to do. And and the history of the airplane interests me as well. So for my for my aircraft 70 second scale meteor F1, it's probably my my primary choice right now.
Kentucky Dave:Well, I've got an already built V1 that you can pair with it to do a little dogfight double.
Mike:What do you got next?
Kentucky Dave:Next is a AirFix C47, which I have wanted to build ever since the kit came out about five, seven years ago, whatever. We had needed a new C47, and AirFix answered the call with a really nice kit. And this year's September group build or group entry for the Nationals, this will fit right into that. And so it's again another top of the list project to start soon, as soon as I get the two current ones that are almost done, finished off. That C-47's going to jump up and hit the bench hard. I wouldn't think that'd be too bad. It's not. It is a very nice kit. The only downside is its size. For a twin-engined aircraft, it's a particularly large kit.
Mike:Well, it can't be larger than all these B-24s you want to build.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, well, that's true, too. Let's let's not go.
Mike:So what's going to be the Indiana the step up on that one? What are you going to do?
Kentucky Dave:I've got some aftermarket for it that I'm going to do, or at least I'm considering doing. There's some decals from an aftermarket manufacturer that I want to use. And thanks to Dr. Gelmacher, I've got a lot of information about a particular aircraft that was flown by an individual who supplied a lot of the information for the build. So it'll kind of be a nice mini-tribute build to this person's father who actually flew the aircraft.
Mike:What context did he fly it?
Kentucky Dave:He flew it with the Indiana Air National Guard.
Mike:Okay. So no D-Day bird, no, no.
Kentucky Dave:In fact, it's going to be a really attractive silver and white.
Mike:Okay. Like a cargo plane?
Kentucky Dave:Yeah. It's uh most of the air guard units in the 40s, late 40s, 50s, and early 60s always had a couple of C-47s attached simply to move squadron materials around or to act as a hack or a transport. And it's going to be a really pretty airplane.
Mike:All right.
Kentucky Dave:It's kind of outside your uh it's it's a little outside the normal, but I've been wanting to do this for quite a while.
Mike:All right.
Kentucky Dave:So what's your next one?
Mike:Well, my number two armor subject would be Panzerworth for 42 on the Mall tier.
Kentucky Dave:Okay.
Mike:Uh, I've got a lot of parts from a lot of kits to make what I want. There's a lot of aftermarket, just a big pile of stuff, and that sucker's ripe to get redone by somebody any at any minute. It could happen before we finish recording this podcast.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah. Or it could happen when you're halfway through the project, which is the more likely thing.
Mike:But I've just a very quirky kind of vehicle that I've always wanted to do and and I don't know why I've never done it. Probably waiting for some dumb reason.
Kentucky Dave:No no waiting around to get better. Build it build it. If you want to build it, build it now.
Mike:So it's like a nittillary kit from nineteen ninety-four or five or something like that.
SPEAKER_02:Yep.
Mike:And I think the Multier chassis that it's on is even older than that. So I've kind of got this cross kit thing using a a a newer dragon chassis and running gear. Right. I can make that fit, which I think shouldn't be too bad if everything's scaled close. And then I've got I've got a lot of information for it. Because there's a surviving vehicle in France. I just think it's a would be an interesting one to do. I've got, you know, just God, I've got so much stuff for that thing. It's all in the box, too. So the box weighs like three pounds. And I just hate to see it all get obsoleted.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah. At least after, not until you get at least into the project.
Mike:That's right. So that's my second armor one. What you got next?
Kentucky Dave:My next one is a Ayoshima N1K2J Japanese late war fighter. It it's a really nice kit of a really attractive airplane. And I've got a ton of aftermarket. And this is one of those models that I have been planning for years as Magnum Opus build. And I'm turning 65 in 2026. If I'm going to build a Magnum Opus build, I better get the hell on with it. And I really like the way my SAM is turning out, and this will be a nice companion to it.
Mike:What are you going to do to it?
Kentucky Dave:I've got an aftermarket engine. I've got a whole bunch of interior stuff. I've got photo etch flaps. There's there's just a ton. I mean, you could really open this sucker up. It also just, I mean, late war Japanese screams for weathering. And like I said, with the way the SAM has come along, it it really, in fact, it will make a nice companion to both the Sam and to the Hellcat. Yeah. Because these things fought the Hellcats in 44 and 45. So it's it's one of those models that I'm not gonna wait to get better. I need to get ahead and go on and build it. So I'm gonna do it. And I just I need to I need to model faster. We we know I need to model faster.
Mike:Well, I guess my other plane's gonna be HE 162.
Kentucky Dave:Okay, good. I'm glad to hear that. I don't want to be out here all alone.
Mike:So we'll have to think that one through a little bit.
Kentucky Dave:Yes. Yeah, we'll have to talk about exactly how we're gonna do that.
Mike:A good idea, at least a buddy build, but uh we've had got some plans to make it even more than that. So uh if this one percolates the top, folks, you'll hear about it and you'll get to follow along. Well, I'm done.
Kentucky Dave:So what are the your others that were that made the the uh uh short I got recently the Great Wall Hobby MiG 29, uh the humpback, and man, that kit is a marvel of engineering. I hope it goes together as well as it looks in the box, but it is just really, really attractive. And it's one of those models when you open it up and you look in it and you look at the detail and all of the slide molding and everything else they've done. You're like, yeah, I need to do this. So it moved, I it goes from coming in a month two months ago to high up on the build list. I want to build an Edward 109G. Our friend Steve Hustad gave me a set of Hungarian decals for the 109. And from him singing the praises of that Edward 109G kit, I've got to say it's inspired me to do it. And then I would like to also, not that I'm gonna be able to fit all this in, I'd like to build a B24, and I'd like to build another to me a zero. But that's my eyes are definitely bigger than my stomach on all of that. But, you know, a man's reach has to exceed his grasp, or what's the use of dreaming?
Mike:So true, Dave. Yep. Well, folks, that's our list. So we'll see. Maybe, hopefully, we'll announce what we're gonna start next. Maybe not too soon. Or maybe sooner than than later, I should say. I don't know. We'll see. I'll uh if I get to KV to primer stage, I'm I'm starting something new. Yep. I agree. That's where we'll be. Yep, you gotta at least get it to primer. That's right. Well, Dave, for the final bit of shop talk tonight, we're gonna do our last item from Steve Anderson's book, A Guided Journal for Modelers. And it's one that we've talked a little bit about in the past, kind of on the fringe, but what build is worthy of a do-over that we've already done?
Kentucky Dave:That's a great question. And I've got well, I've got a couple answers. To me, a zero. I've already built a couple of them. I want to build many more, so that's not exactly a do-over. No, that's not exactly a do-over. You know, last year in 2024, I built the LCM3 kit.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
Kentucky Dave:I've gotta say, I'd like to do that again. I think I could do it much better. And it's an attractive subject that I learned a lot about, and I didn't put everything I learned about into the model itself. So I can see myself wanting to do that as a do-over. How about you? What do you have something you want to do over?
Mike:There are points on the E16 I wished I could have started over, knowing how to do new things, but that's I don't think that's in the spirit here. I there's there's there's two ways to look at it. It could be something recent that I've you know had some disappointment in.
Kentucky Dave:Right.
Mike:And the thing where where what I mentioned, we had talked about this kind of on the fringe, is really rolling back the tape and building something either that I've I've built as a quote unquote serious model or that's still in my display case, even if it's 30 years old, uh, or some nostalgia thing I built and mucked up as a kid that I still have. I don't have any of those, so we can't pick that one. I've I've mentioned I've got a little diorama of a SDKFZ 222 in in Poland in 1939. Yep. And if time were not an issue, I would like to consider taking a new kit, because that's the old Tamiya kit from the early 70s. Right. There's there's new kits of that vehicle, there's new figures, etc. And build what is essentially the exact same vignette or diorama, but showcase better models and hopefully better talent. And just see how they're different. Yeah. If I could snap my fingers and have it, that'd be a really cool comparison. But there's a lot of work to get to that one. So I don't I don't know if it's something I would actually do. I think I think our last guest, Tim, would really poo-poo on this idea. Okay. Because I think it's straight ahead forward. Maybe. Maybe you wouldn't. I don't know. I I could I I think uh it going back and doing something a second time could be construed as well, I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't I don't even I won't even finish that thought. I I don't know. I I don't think uh if I really like the subject, it would make sense, but just to do it just to do it over, to do it over, I think I'd rather do something different. I would like to do something. I I would like to apply what I learned on a different subject and just take take my lumps on that one.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
Mike:I think that's where I'd be at. Anything else you'll talk about for Shop Talk, Dave?
Kentucky Dave:No, nope. I think that's it.
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Mike:Well, now we can talk a little bit more in detail about what we've been doing, Dave, instead of hitting about it. Okay. Benchtop halftime report. All right. It's dark time. I don't I don't have high expectations from you, but hopefully you can lay something on the table.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, yes. I have I'm in the middle of decaling the F6F, the Edward kit that I bought in 2012 with the intention of building it immediately. The Furballero design decals are, as I mentioned earlier in the episode, really, really good. So far, the decaling process has been fairly painless. My real challenge is that, you know, I in this dark time that I get very limited modeling available to me. And so I'm only in fact, I did a calculation. Probably the last three weeks, I probably have not gotten more than two hours a week in modeling or bench time for actual modeling. And so that's why things are moving as slow as they are. But I'm making progress, also making a little progress on the SAM with the uh oil weathering. That kit is is so close to being done, it's not finished or it's not it's not funny.
Mike:But if you take that one a section at a time, that's something you can go down there and work on 15, 20 minutes at a time.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, yeah. I need about a half an hour at least minimum time to do that. But yes, you're right. The problem is the temptation there is that it's it's close to done, but there's a lot of things I want to do with it to really push the weathering effects and the stuff that I'm learning. So I don't want to just finish it. I want to resist the temptation to simply just finish it to be able to call it finished. I did manage to get all of my Mr. Color paints in the paint rack app on my phone. So I now have a complete inventory of the Mr. Color paints, which have become my go-to paints, and also gives me an opportunity to see what I need to buy to round out my collection. That app is very useful and it's it's helping me get organized, and getting organized is one of the things I want to do. Other than that, there are actually cobwebs here in the hobby room up in the corners because I'm not here, I'm not getting down here enough, and I need to get down here more. So hopefully the dark time won't completely close me off between now and and the end of the year or now and the beginning of the year, but we'll see. Expect some progress, man. Come on. Yep, I'm I'm working on it, man. Same with you. What's up?
Mike:Uh the fuel drum straps still elude me. So I was like, just all right, let's not think about that. Let's do something else. So over the last week or so, I've been putting together the the topside intake screens for the KV-85.
Kentucky Dave:Yes, you posted a couple of times on the dojo.
Mike:That was one of those deals where I spent a lot of time thinking about it, figured out what kind of jig I needed to make it to increase my chance of success. And folks who've seen it on the dojo, they came out pretty stinking good. I'm pretty, pretty pleased with them.
Kentucky Dave:Good. So your your jig plan, all that worked out.
Mike:Yep. You know, we talked about being confident again. I still uh one area that I have confidence well, less confidence than I would like is using CA adhesives.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
Mike:I just I don't know why those things it's it's a handling issue, I think. Yep. I just have a an aversion for them. You know, but they're if that's what you need, that's what you need.
Kentucky Dave:Exactly.
Mike:There's no way around it, really. And I I guess I came up the confidence curve a little bit with with the CAs this time, but uh the the jigs were certainly my friend, and and those really helped things get aligned and made it easy to put the things together. It really, really went really smoothly. I was really, really happy the way this turned out. So now those get to sit around while I finish the rest of the tank and start painting because they're not even going to get attached to the model until most at least the base coating's done.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:Other than that, a little on the Moosuru, not much. I really need to get that a big bunch of parts into the paint booth and finish those up. Spend mostly of the intake screens on the on the KV-85. I I did do some seam filling today. Those saddles for the fuel tanks I just mentioned, there are some gaps where they're glued onto the fenders. That if I didn't fill them, if I start the weathering process, any wash I put on is just gonna get sucked under them and and disappear. So I've done the the heavy application of Mr. Surfacer 500, let it dry, then take Mr. Cut or a leveling thinner on a on a pointed cotton bud and brush all that out. And you know, there's some places I gotta go back and add a second application to because there's some pinholes and stuff in it, but uh it's just a solid technique that usually fixes stuff like that. And uh, you know it didn't let me down. Well, good. So hopefully I have I think I've got a a compromise position I can live with on the straps for those fuel drums. So I I gotta to build one for real and and see if that's gonna work like I think it is. And if I can get that moving forward, man, this thing should should close pretty quick. There's some grab irons that for the tank-mounted infantry to use that need to go on the on the back of the tank. Those are those are easy to fab up. Yeah, I was gonna say I I just need to do it. Really? After that, there's not much left. Well, good. So that's great news. So that's that's where I'm at on the on the on the bench top, Dave.
Kentucky Dave:All right. Well, hopefully we'll have more to report in two weeks.
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Kentucky Dave:So, Mike, have you bought anything modeling related in the last couple of weeks?
Mike:I don't think so, Dave. I really don't. I don't think I have. I think uh I already mentioned the mesh I got in for the screens, which I've used now to a good effect. That worked out. No kits. The last kits I got were the TIE fighter and that stuff. We already talked about that. So I think I've been a good boy, Dave. I don't think I've spent much money other than what I go buy. I went to Hobbytown, USA, and I bought spray primer. That's it. Spray primer.
Kentucky Dave:Okay.
Mike:Not much, man. What about you?
Kentucky Dave:I've actually been a good boy too. I have not acquired any kits, nor have I acquired any books. I I did, at the suggestion of several of the listeners, go out and pick up some of the 3M post-it note tape in a couple of different widths to use on some very quick panel panel masking and stuff. Well, you didn't talk about that any. No, I I I didn't, but uh, I think I talked about it previously. Well, maybe I didn't, I don't know. But I had used to me a tape, and somebody had suggested, you know, this 3M. I've used post-it notes before to do quick masking. And a couple of the diff listeners have have suggested that 3M tape. So I picked some of that up. Other than that, I have not, I haven't bought a model, haven't bought a book. Other than the 3M tape, I don't think I bought any supplies.
Mike:Um have to come up with a different segment.
Kentucky Dave:I've been a I've been a good boy too.
Mike:Well, I've put some like you, you put a gift certificate on your wish list. I've put some eBay gift cards on mine. So uh maybe after the holidays, this segment will be worth listening to, folks.
Kentucky Dave:I'm anticipating that there will be purchases after Christmas.
Mike:Well, we'll we'll have to wait and see, man. I know what I didn't buy this season.
Kentucky Dave:What?
Mike:Christmas lights.
Kentucky Dave:Well, that's good because usually they don't uh you get them out from the previous year and half of them are dead.
Mike:Not this year.
Kentucky Dave:Really?
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Kentucky Dave:Folks, at this point in the podcast, we would ask you when you're done listening to please rate the podcast in whatever podcasting app you're listening to. Give us the highest rating. It helps drive visibility to the podcast, helps us grow. In addition, the best way for us to grow is to have a current listener tell somebody who's not currently listening about the podcast. We would appreciate it if you would reach out to your modeling friends and let them know about Plastic Model Mojo. And recommend to them that they listen.
Mike:In addition to that, folks, please check out the other podcasts in the model sphere. You can do that by going to www.modelpodcasts.com. That's model podcastplural.com. It's a consortium website set up by Stuart Clark, the host of the Scale Model Podcast up in Canada. Hopefully he comes off hiatus here soon. And we'd like to hear some more from Stu. He's aggregated the uh banner links to all the current podcasts in the model sphere, and you can go there as a one-stop shop and check them all out. In addition, we got a lot of blog and YouTube friends in the model sphere. Mentioned Jeff Groves quite a bit, Inchai Guy. He's got a great 170 second scale blog. Paul Buzzick for sure, scale model workshop on YouTube and Patreon. In fact, I just pointed somebody to his Patreon page last week. So hopefully he's seeing some traction there. Chris Wallace, model airplane maker, has got a great blog and a great YouTube channel for you aircraft guys. Stephen Lee, Spree Pie with Fritz, a great long and short form blog, some model railroading stuff, and uh a lot of 70-second scale modeling of quite a lot of genres, actually. Yep. And finally, Evan McCallum, Panzermeister 36, who just today or yesterday dropped another video.
Kentucky Dave:Yes, he did.
Mike:And folks need to go check that out. So please support our friends in the community and uh check out all the great content.
Kentucky Dave:Finally, if you're not a member of IPMS USA, I'd ask you to join. I'm the recruitment and retention secretary of IPMS USA. This will be my last term, and I would like to go out on a high note. So if you're not a member, please join. Also, if you're not a member of your your national IPMS organization in the country in which you live, please consider joining. In addition, the Armor Modeling Preservation Society is dedicated to armor modeling and post-1900 figures modeling. Please consider joining. They're a great group of guys who really are passionate about advancing the art of armor modeling. Go ahead and join if you can.
Mike:There's been some chatter online about them trying to add, or not trying, but considering adding another skill level category between AMS Master and Advanced.
Kentucky Dave:I think that it's advisable for them to revamp their system. It's been in place for a long time. And I think it probably could benefit from just from a refresh.
Mike:Well, we'll see how it goes. Hopefully they'll figure figure something out that works for everybody. But uh at least they're considering it.
Kentucky Dave:Mike, we are almost at the end of the episode. Uh my modeling fluid is empty. I assume yours is or it's close to it. Yeah, mine's empty.
Mike:So how was the Micter's? It's it's good. It's uh it's a high rye. So it's kind of like the bullet. I maybe even a little spicier.
Kentucky Dave:Yep.
Mike:So it's it's a little hot, I think. I like it, but it's kind of it's pretty, it's at my limit, probably for uh a little spice and heat, unless you go to a full-blown rye. Which I which I I don't drink a lot of those, so yeah, I'm the same one. It's good. I've had it before, I'll have it again, but it's it's not one I grab very often.
Kentucky Dave:Gotcha.
Mike:Well, how's the beer?
Kentucky Dave:Well, Mr. Clark did a fine job. The tangerine culch from Yellow Hammer Brewing. Alcohol by volume is 5%, so it's a classic middle of the road beer. As far as alcohol content, basically the equivalent of any mass market American beer you'd you'd buy. It's very smooth. You can taste the tangerine, but it's obnoxiously forward. You can tell it's a culch, it has those notes in it. A good beer, definitely something that I'd sit down at a at a microbrewery and drink again. Mike, we're now at the end of the episode. And do you have any shout-outs before we get out of here?
Mike:Well, as always, I want to shout out the folks who've chosen to support Plastic Model at Mojo through their generosity. We've had a lot of support over 2025 and it's greatly appreciated. It helped us get the at least the phase one of the website launched, and we're going to be trying to get phase two, I guess, launched in 2026. That would be a good goal for us. So if folks have cons have been considering that and haven't done it yet, but like to help us out with these kind of things, we'd appreciate the support. The avenues of support are all outlined on the website, and in the show notes of this episode, there's a support the show link on our webpage, www.plasticmodelmojo.com. So, folks, it's just been great that the amount of support we've got, and we look forward to it continuing in 2026, and hopefully we can bring you even more.
Kentucky Dave:Um, my shout out of the episode is to all of the listeners. This is our 2025 wrap-up show, and I want to thank everybody who has listened, who continues to listen listen, to all of the new listeners. We're glad you found us. You're a great group of guys, and it's a community that I didn't know I needed, and I now couldn't live without. And I really appreciate sincerely each and every one of you, particularly those of you who take the time to reach out to Mike and I and to provide us with your feedback, with information, with affirmation. We we really appreciate it. Also, we appreciate everybody's participation in the dojo. That has become just the place I go every day when I want to, when I need a little happiness, uh, when I need a little boost, I know that I can go to the dojo and see what's been posted lately, and it's gonna bring a little joy into my life no matter what else is going on. So thank you to you, the listeners.
Mike:Well, Dave, we're getting close to being done with 2025, but we're not quite there yet.
Kentucky Dave:I know.
Mike:So until then, Dave, as we always say, so many kits. So little time, my friend, and we'll see you four years out.
Kentucky Dave:Yep.
