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
Year-End Mojo: Models, Moves, And Memories: Episode 154
A good year in modeling doesn’t happen by accident. It grows out of small bench wins, a few brave skill pushes, and the friends who show up at the right time. We wrap 2025 with a clear-eyed look at what worked, what changed, and how to carry that energy into 2026—plus a rich conversation with Australia’s own Paul Gloster on moving his entire modeling life across states without losing momentum.
We start with holiday check-ins, realistic bench talk, and the simple joy of a new tool that actually solves a problem. From there, we dig into the skills that moved the needle this year: sharper re-engraving, cleaner canopies, tighter scratchbuilding, and just enough 3D printing to expand what’s possible. Then we head into travel and community. Four days at the IPMS National Convention changes your modeling in ways a two-day show can’t—deeper seminars, patient conversations, and the kind of learning that sticks. It’s where “model friends” become friends, and where you can see a kit built before it lands in your shop.
Paul’s segment is a masterclass in keeping mojo alive during a move. He shows how to triage a stash, protect finished builds with foam and tubs, and assemble a small, reachable “twelve-kit shortlist” that keeps you building while the new bench comes together. He catalogs tools by role, keeps a “desert-island” core set handy, and ensures references are within reach so progress doesn’t stall. If you’re searching for how to move built models, how to store unbuilt kits long-term, or how to set up a temporary modeling bench, you’ll leave with a proven plan.
We also riff on the kit news that made 2025 pop: Fine Molds’ Zeros and F-104s, Tamiya’s 1/72 F-14, Rye Field’s JS-2, and Arma’s incoming 1/72 Me 262. More than eye candy, these releases give modelers fresh canvases—better engineering, great markings, and subjects that reward both clean builds and heavy weathering.
If you’re plotting your own 2026, here’s our take: set one or two honest goals, pick a some that stretch you, and build the bench you want to return to. The rest follows. Enjoy the episode, share it with a modeling friend, and help someone new find their groove.
If you had a favorite kit reveal or a skill breakthrough in 2025, tell us about it. And if this resonated, please follow, rate, and leave a short review—it helps more modelers find the show.
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Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.
Welcome to Plastic Model Mojo, a podcast dedicated to scale modeling as well as the news and events around the hobby. Let's join Mike and Kentucky Dave as they strive to be informative, entertaining, and help you keep your modeling mojo alive.
Mike:Let's do that. Let's join Mike in Kentucky, Dave.
Kentucky Dave:That sounds like a good idea.
Mike:For episode 154, Dave, our final episode of the 2025 year. God, where did it go?
Kentucky Dave:Where the heck did it go?
Mike:It went away. And it went away quickly. It did. Especially this last couple, well, the last quarter anyway, since October.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:It was a good year. It was a good year. And we'll get to that in the model sphere stuff a little bit. But I just hope everybody had a Merry Christmas and survive that. And please have a safe New Year going forward. That's right. It's going to be uh New Year's Eve when this drops. And uh keep it sane, people. Be safe and uh enjoy uh ringing in 2026. Some other way besides watching some crap and rocking New Year's Eve or something. Yeah, it's right. Well, Dave, what is up in your model sphere?
Kentucky Dave:Well, while I'm still in the dark time, so actual bench time hasn't been great. Christmas was nice. My future son-in-law got me some model organizing items for my modeling bench because he apparently went and listened to the podcast. Ah smart kid. Watch him start modeling. If I can hook him, man, I've got to find somebody to build this stash.
Mike:And I know how it'll go down. He'll like start kind of in the secret, and then your daughter will spill the beans. All right. That's my prediction for 2026, folks.
Kentucky Dave:Okay. Okay. Courtesy of Mark Copeland. I've got a beautiful art print signed by a bunch of the pilots and crew who flew the Ploesti raid. And I got that from Mark at the Nationals. Yeah. I remember that. My my lovely wife has agreed as my Christmas present to have it framed. And so as soon as the new year rolls around, I'm going to take it to a professional frame shop and get it get it framed and get it hung because something that nice needs to be up and out where it can be seen.
Mike:Well, how do those arrangements go down in your house? I mean, uh, did you get something else anyway?
Kentucky Dave:Oh yeah.
Mike:No, I those are always pretty good deals, I think.
Kentucky Dave:Yes. Yes, I did. I mean, uh both my my children gave my wife and I a wonderful gift. They in secret went to a photographer and had portraits of both of them done, both separately and together. Yes. Okay. And just fantastic. Could not have asked for a better present. And then I got clothes and all the the usual non-model related stuff. But yeah, it was a good Christmas. It's model related.
Mike:You can't go to the Nationals naked.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, well, it's true. That's true. But I I did have clothes already.
Mike:Or even down to scale reproductive.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, well, I don't know. There might be clothing, clothing optional days at scale reproduction. But no no real bench time building, but a lot of stuff around the holidays, some of which was hobby related.
Mike:How about you? Well, I forgot to announce it in the introduction, but folks, we said we were going to be casual in December, and we are for our final episode. We've pared this down to the bare bones to have a little fun tonight and uh not put too much of a burden on the editing side. So that said, there's not a bench top halftime report because A, you probably haven't done anything. Exactly. And B, I can talk about it here. My dark time's been not so dark. I've had a dim time. Okay. I've managed to get to the bench and get some stuff done between other stuff.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, one of us has been posting on the dojo at least.
Mike:I'm gonna push you a little harder next year.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, yeah. It's okay.
Mike:Some of this is self-fulfilling prophecy, Dave.
Kentucky Dave:It is.
Mike:I grant I grant that. I've got some modeling done. I've done some research. I've poked around on CAD, thought about the podcast. Did I get anything modeling related for Christmas? No, I didn't, other than some uh well, I got uh I'm I'm rocking a new set of headphones tonight. Nice. I guess that counts.
Kentucky Dave:Yep. Well, you've been complaining about your headphones for a good six months.
Mike:Oh, probably longer than that. I don't care when that jack started not working properly.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:Though it was odd, it worked uh with the remote recorder at at the National Convention, so maybe that's my national. May I get a new pair of pads for it and that'll be the travel set.
Kentucky Dave:There you go.
Mike:Interesting. I wonder why that is. It's probably a power issue, a power threshold that's making one work and one not the other. But that's a that's a double E question that I can't answer. Other than that, man, I just I think we're about through the cookies that Hustad's wife and daughter made.
Kentucky Dave:Oh gosh.
Mike:Just about.
Kentucky Dave:I've got one or two pieces of fudge and an odd cookie or two, but that's about where we're at.
Mike:So Steve Hustad, thank you immensely for doing that again. Just I get a tracking number notice out of the blue without any other context. Yep. I'm like, oh yeah, oh no. They could go pro, I'm pretty sure.
Kentucky Dave:Oh yes, absolutely.
Mike:So my model spirit sphere has been a dim, a dim time. I'm not gonna say it's dark, but New Year's Day is coming around after that. I don't know. When's your official lifting of the of the the shade, Dave?
Kentucky Dave:Usually the right after New Year's Day. New Year's Day is a lot of football. Sometimes I get in modeling while watching football, but then normalcy returns after January 1st. So that should get me back to the bench and back to modeling and back to some productive efforts.
Mike:I was worried you're gonna say April 15th.
Kentucky Dave:No, no, no. Oh God. Let's not even talk about that. I don't want to I will think about that after January 1st.
Mike:Well, that's my model sphere. Lots of good stuff. I got some uh dojo posts out there, and yeah, I'll talk a little bit more about those projects in our in our interview segment, but it's going well. It's going well.
Kentucky Dave:We're good.
Mike:Looking forward to 2026, and we'll talk about that more here in a little bit.
Kentucky Dave:Well, this is the last episode of 2025. Do you have a modeling fluid?
Mike:Of course. Of course, I have a modeling fluid. Which is Chestnut Farms Kentucky Strait Bourbon Whiskey.
Kentucky Dave:I'm not familiar with that one.
Mike:I wasn't either, but it showed up on Christmas and uh we're trying it.
Kentucky Dave:Is it uh an independent distillery?
Mike:No, it's a it's a Barton's name plate. It's a Barton's.
Kentucky Dave:Oh okay. It's very old Barton's distillery.
Mike:Well, it's Barton's distillery. Very old Barton's is like their plastic jug. Yes, it is. This is a little up the ladder from that, but more at the end, more at the end. What about you?
Kentucky Dave:Well, I have the non-alcoholic my my non-alcoholic modeling fluid of choice, a McDonald's fountain coke. You know, obtained through the drive-thru.
Mike:You can't go wrong with that.
Kentucky Dave:I know, I know. And right now, you know, with all the holidays and all, there was plenty of adult beverages consumed. Taking a pause. And I'm I'm also looking at trying to drop about the about 15 pounds in the new year. So I'm taking a pause for the cause and giving myself a little a little break from the adult beverages, and don't worry, they will return by the next regular episode. Well, but tonight, McDonald's, fountain coke, there's nothing else that matches that.
Mike:Yeah, if they've got it dialed in where it's where it's supposed to be for them, it's it's pretty good Coke, honestly. It is. And uh that's pretty pretty regular Saturday morning, late Saturday morning ritual for me. I usually I can think up a chore to have to run out and go do something.
Kentucky Dave:That's exactly what I do.
Mike:Putting McDonald's between me and wherever I'm going, whether it makes sense or not.
Kentucky Dave:Yep. I'm exactly the same.
Mike:Well, good. You enjoy that coke. It's well deserved, Dave.
Kentucky Dave:Oh well.
Mike:Well, Dave, listener mail has been light. We're in the holiday season. It's understandable. We've got a few. I'm gonna I'm gonna camp on those for another couple of weeks here and save those up. There's a couple of good ones in there, but I'm I'm gonna wait.
Kentucky Dave:Yes.
Mike:But we are gonna issue the call to action. We would love to hear from all the folks who've already written in, but we'd love to hear some stuff from some new folks who haven't written into the show for whatever reason, or some new listeners, or some suggestions or whatever. If you would like to contact Plastic Model Mojo, you can do so by email, by email emailing us at plasticmodelmojo at gmail.com. Typically I handle the emails unless it's a topic specific to uh Dave's specialties. Or you can also reach us through the direct messaging system through uh Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and Dave usually takes those and runs with them. And the converse is if it's something up my alley, usually push put that off on me, which is is fine. We we love this segment. It chaps me a little to truncate it, but I think in the interest of uh what we're trying to do for the the final hours of uh 2025, that's just the way it's gonna be. So send us some emails, some Facebook messengers. There's also a feedback link, web link in the show notes of this episode. You can get to it there as well. Please, we want to hear from you folks in 2026. Hopefully more than we heard you heard from you in 2025, which was a lot. So uh maybe we'll even bank enough to do a listener mail only episode because we have we haven't done one of those in a long time.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, we we might consider doing an AMA.
Mike:We could.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
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Kentucky Dave:I want to thank Dr. Miller who sent uh you and I a small Christmas gift each, and it was very kind of him to be thinking of us at this time of year.
Mike:It is. I gave mine a test drive.
Kentucky Dave:Well, good. I'm gonna have can't wait to hear a full report.
Mike:Well, 2025, I got this wrong in the outline. It says 2026, doesn't it? I knew what you meant. Final thoughts for the year. Dave, 2025 has been a really good year for us. Yes. This just gets to be more and more fun. Yes, it does. I don't know what my threshold for being able to stand it is, honestly. That's a little hyperbolic, but you know what I mean. I'll tell you what, I'm willing to be tested. I am too. But for 2025, what is your best memory or best memories in the model sphere for 2025?
Kentucky Dave:I gotta start with the Nats. I know, yeah, cliche, yeah, but this year's Nats was fantastic. Thanks to our good friend Mark Copeland. He arranged the uh lodgings for us. We got to see our friend Paul Gloster come in from Australia, and it was just five days of non-stop fun. And every minute of it was fantastic. So that was probably my top highlight. Close behind it was Heritage Con. Again, our friend Chris Wallace made an amazing set of uh kind of accommodations for us, and we just had we just had a great time. You and I added on this this year a little side trip through Detroit on our way. Yeah. And and we got to see our friend John Vitkus.
Mike:And Steve Ruey was tagging along on that trip. Steve Rui was tagging along. Another listener of ours who we hadn't met until we got to Detroit.
Kentucky Dave:Exactly. And so we got a a nice state dinner, and then the next morning, half a day in Detroit at uh hobby shops, and we're gonna do that again, hopefully, this month.
Mike:Yeah, hopefully, weathering weather permits for the Minnesota twins. Yes. And uh we'll have we'll do it all over again.
Kentucky Dave:Another best memory was Murfreesboro, hadn't been down there in a while, got to go down, got to see Bill Moore, got to hook up with Dr. Geldmacher and get him my contribution to the Septemberist collection this year. So my other probably best memory is the podcast. And it's not one particular thing, it's just how good it was this last year. And I'm not patting myself on the back or us on the back. I'm talking about the dojo interactions, yeah, the guests we had.
Mike:It's not a content.
Kentucky Dave:Right.
Mike:It's not a content statement.
Kentucky Dave:Exactly. It just the the we managed to get the peripheral a lot of really good interaction, be it interviews, be it dojo interactions, be it DMs or emails. That just made modeling in 2025 so much better. It really did. I've uh and I've mentioned this a couple of times. There is nothing that perks my day up more when I'm slogging through at work and I get a DM from a listener, just you know, it could be just anything, a modeling fluid thing, a question, just an interaction or reaction to podcast, and you know, it just it brightens my whole day. And you know, that may sound a little silly, but it's true. It brightens my whole day, makes makes the the stuff that I've gotta do for a living a whole lot a whole lot better. So the podcast in 2025 has really was really a highlight for me.
Mike:How about you? Well, I think our our show attendance for for me, it's the same two. It's the National Convention and it's it's Heritage Gone, and we got to see Mark and Steve at both of those. Yeah. We are financially committed to the Nationals working out with those guys. So are they. But you know, weather permitting, coming across the northern plains in the United States, and the in the northern Midwest could be dicey, and those guys are never certain for HeritageCon. But uh hopefully, hopefully things work out and we can we can do a repeat there. Because that that was just so much fun.
Kentucky Dave:It was. And and and again, kudos to Chris Wallace for getting us an Airbnb that was if the weather had been warmer, we would have walked to the museum.
Mike:Or we'll be we'd be uh sleeping on stretchers inside the Dakota.
Kentucky Dave:Exactly. That's about that's the only way we could get closer.
Mike:Yeah, and you know, all this this show stuff, it's it it makes this so much more fun. I mean we're all modelers. The the modeling is is the foundation that uh brings us all together. But but just these friends and man, we have such a good time. And it's it's juxtapositioned against the the solitude of when we're actually enjoying the the physical part of scale modeling hobby.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:And it's just been so much fun. I'm just so thankful for for all those folks as as friends and looking forward to 2026 and you know, HeritageCon's not that far away. And I know then the Nats will it'll all be here. It'll go by in a blinding flash just like 2025 did.
Kentucky Dave:It will, but I'll tell you what, it I'm hanging between now and and HeritageCon, I'm gonna be hanging on through the winter. And that the looking forward to HeritageCon is what's gonna get me through.
Mike:Well, I'm gonna circle back and I'll well, I'll give you a chance to circle back on this question. There's one more thing, and it's it is gets to that the actual hobby we participate in. Finishing that stinking E16 was a good memory for 2025. I'm glad that's a memory now and not a uh a current knowledge thing. I'm so satisfied, other than with the stupid prop thing that happened after I got it done. But, you know, whatever. So satisfied with that model. Yep. And just man, when I got that thing done, I just sat back and was looking at it. I was like, man, I can't I'm really, really happy with that.
Kentucky Dave:At the end of the day, you enjoyed all of the stuff you were doing, even at those times you were overcoming struggles or challenges. Sure. And at the and at the end of the day, you're very pleased with the result. I mean, you can't ask for much more out of the out of the actual construction and painting side of this hobby. You finished a few. That had to feel good. Yes, yes, I did. Not as many as I wanted. Had I finished finished two, and I've got two very close to completion, so more than two is certainly on the on the radar for 2026, but we'll see.
Mike:Of the ones you finished, is there anything that you're like, man, that was that was all right.
Kentucky Dave:Well, I'll tell you what, the the the F8F, the bear cat, I really enjoy. It's not a perfect model, but I got to use after or homemade decals, decals that were actually ordered from a a uh cottage decal maker here in the States through Dr. Gelbacher. And those turned out way better than I thought they would. While it it like I said, it's not a perfect model, it's a good model, particularly for as part of a collection. And it just felt really good to have it and look at it as part of the collection that a bunch of guys all contributed to. I r I r I really I felt good about that.
Mike:Well I I y you should be because I think I've seen this that's the third one I've been witness to at this point. You guys did the D Day thing last year and the time before that it was oh what was it? What I remember is that the the final product the models on the display that was created for this for 2025 was really a sharp looking thing.
Kentucky Dave:It really was. And and Dr. Gelbacher always does a really nice design for the base. And when you combine a collection of really nice looking models with that very well done base, it just presents really well. I gotta say, I'm proud to be part of it.
Mike:Well, I think he needs to be in the third chair sometime in 2026.
Kentucky Dave:Yes, we definitely will will we'll get Dr. Gelmacher in the in the third chair.
Mike:Well, that's our you know our best memories for 2025. Is there any skill or technique tried or learned in 2025 that stands out for you?
Kentucky Dave:Yes. You want to know what it is? Of course I do.
Mike:And so does everybody else listening.
Kentucky Dave:I and if you go back and listen to the beginning of 2025, I stated a couple of times that one of the focuses that I wanted to focus on in my modeling was doing a better job of engravingslash re-engraving panel lines. And so on the SAM and the Hellcat that are all almost done, and on the Bearcat to a lesser extent, well, and to the little German mini sub as well, I concentrated on that technique, and frankly, I feel I got better at it. I like the results, I learned some things, tried different tools, different techniques, etc. And I really think that improved. And for 2026, the skill I'm going to work on is canopies. What separates a really good model from an average model in the is how well the canopy's done. And I let my models down on canopies all the time. And so for 2026, I am going to concentrate on getting those canopies right. How about you?
Mike:I I don't know if it's new, but I think I've with the KV85, especially in the second half of this year, I've resharpened and honed my scratch and fab techniques.
Kentucky Dave:Well, and you added to them with the with the 3D printing.
Mike:I did. There's a little bit of that in there. So that that project's got a lot of things in it. The the 3D print, there's a little bit of 3D print in there. There's just was it I don't know if it was the last episode or the or the episode before that, but I I I talked about a little bit that I w I felt like I'd gotten back to the the style of of modeling for lack of better words. I don't know if it's a style, it's you can't see it once it's painted, right?
Kentucky Dave:Right.
Mike:But the craftsmanship side of the things, uh I felt like that it atrophied to some degree. But I think with the KV-85 project, I've kind of reawakened some of those skills. Yeah. And I'm I'm I'm anxious to it's giving me confidence to to start some things that uh are on the list.
Kentucky Dave:Well, I can't wait to see what you start in 2026.
Mike:And in all that to to just blow past the E16 collectively, I think I've demonstrated that I can build an aircraft model to a degree that I'm satisfied with.
Kentucky Dave:Absolutely. I mean, considering that's your first aircraft model in forever, it's fantastic.
Mike:And I I think what facilitated that was at the front end there was no expectations. But 70% in, there's this the those expectations started to to to uh to gel and coagulate a little bit just because I could s I could see where this was gonna come together, and I just like, man, maybe I need to I need to be careful and I need to think about what I'm doing and and maybe apply some of my other normal modeling habits to just to see that thing to the end. And man, I'm I'm just really satisfied with it and and first aircraft in 30 some years. I mean it looks good. There's plenty of skills that were developed during that one because I I haven't I can't say my skills were developed with the last airplane I built because I didn't care. I did there's a lot of stuff I did on this one I didn't even care about then, you know, filling seams and all that stuff. Gosh, I I think that the last model airplane I built before that one was a 70 second scale A-10 Warthog painted just good enough to look good on the war game table, coming across the war game table on a bent wire stand made out of an old coat hanger. That was the last airplane model ever built.
Kentucky Dave:So well, this one was definitely an and I want to see you start another aircraft in 2026.
Mike:Well, we'll see what happens, man.
Kentucky Dave:We gotta get you going. We got to get that KV-85 in the paint booth and then get you building something.
Mike:Well, that's a good segue. What are you most looking forward to in 2026?
Kentucky Dave:I can tell you, in 2026, the man from down under, the pod father, Dave Goldfinch, will be flying into Louisville and coming and staying at my house again like he did two years ago. And we're gonna take some side trips like we did last time, and then he's gonna hang out at the pool, and we're gonna feed him fried chicken and uh uh hamburgers and gotta make some of them jerk chicken legs or wings, man. Exactly. That's what I had tonight for dinner, by the way. Oh man. Um, and then we're gonna take him to Fort White, and I cannot wait. It's been too long. The Aussies are some of my favorite people in the world, and uh we had such a good time when when Goldfinch was here last time that I I just can't wait to have him back and sit around drinking modeling fluids by the pool or floating in the pool, as a matter of fact.
Mike:That's right. And that was fun.
Kentucky Dave:That was that was way fun. And just and just talking about everything. Not just modeling, but everything.
Mike:Well, I hope there I hope there's enough buffer in his schedule this time because man, I would really like him to come by the house, and I'd really like an opportunity to take him through our main office at work.
Kentucky Dave:Space Tango. Space Tango. I think he would love that.
Mike:I think he would like that. So could all all that can happen in the same day. So not so long a drive, and guys could come hang out for a little while.
Kentucky Dave:And then we can take him to jalapenos.
Mike:We could. It'd be a long drive home.
Kentucky Dave:That's right, man.
Mike:How about you? I'm looking forward to getting this KV-85 done. I want to get that done this year because I want to start something else. Gotta get the Moos Roo Cup done. That's gotta be done in a couple months.
Kentucky Dave:Yep.
Mike:Gotta get cracking on that. You know, I'm really looking forward to the national convention. Because me too. We we got a lot cooked up for that. We got a lot cooked up with that with our friends, we got a lot cooked up with that with our sponsor squadron, and it's it promises to be a really good time.
Kentucky Dave:It this one has the potential to be a fantastic convention. I know the a lot of the people who are handling it, and they are really going all out to make it as good as the previous ones, but even better by adding different things on. And I'm really kind of looking forward to the award ceremony in that old-timey theater. It just promises to be a really, really good time.
Mike:Well, those guys are putting in the miles like the Las Vegas team did back in 2021 to to make this thing something. I mean, they they were at our show, they were at another show we were at. Where were they? I can well, they're at the Nationals pumping their nationals, and they were at our show, had a table at our show, and we saw them somewhere else.
Kentucky Dave:You're right, we did, and I can't it was no, it wasn't Cincinnati. I wasn't at Cincinnati. Yeah, I know. But in any event, they're they're really they're promoting the show. Louisville, our club, is one of the sponsors of the show, and we're going to be many of our members are going to be working the show. So I I'm really, really looking forward to it. And then with the combination of Goldfinch coming over, Gloucester and uh Dr. Geldbacher coming up, it just promises to be such a good time.
Mike:Well, I hope it lives up to our expectations.
Kentucky Dave:It will. I have no doubt.
Mike:I think it will too. And it's you know, and I look forward to whatever I can get done at the bench, too.
Kentucky Dave:Yep.
Mike:I think uh me both. I I've I've had a little bit of an epiphany over the last six, seven months, and you know, I found my mojo, man.
Kentucky Dave:That's great.
Mike:I don't think it took six years. It's been it's been flashes here and there, but I don't know. I feel like I've been on a sustained kind of mental state regarding the actual working at the bench over the last several months. So looking forward to seeing that continue in 2026. And uh man, I I don't know. I we'll see what I get done.
Kentucky Dave:Looking forward to the future's so bright you gotta wear shades, man.
Mike:Man, the musical references are my man. That's my thing, man.
Kentucky Dave:I I I wanted to work one in.
Mike:Well, Dave, we mentioned earlier in the episode Mr. Paul Gloster, our well, one of our several Australian friends at this point. Yep. It's amazing looking at some of the the pod metrics and stuff, you know, listener locations and stuff. I mean, we it's expected to be the you know the English speaking world primarily. Sure. Not exclusively, but primarily. And man, we've got a bunch in Australia and we've made some good friends down there between the the guys that uh on the bench.
Kentucky Dave:Just uh Australian listener base. They're just great guys, one and all, they're great guys.
Mike:Our guest tonight is no exception, Mr. Paul Gloster, who we've got to spend some time with at the National Convention last well, this year. I keep wanting to say last year, but it's still this year.
Kentucky Dave:It might be last year by the time people listen to this.
Mike:That's right. 2025, we certainly spent some time with him and and a and a couple other places along our journey here in the last few years. Yep. Uh just a real pleasure to talk to Paul and uh get his insight on things. And he's experienced something here of late that some folks might get some value out of. So uh that'll be part of this conversation. Dave, the year is rapidly coming to a close, and I thought tonight we'd catch up with one of our Aussie friends who we see at Showtime in the United States, uh, Paul Gloucester. How are you doing, Paul?
Paul Gloster:Hey, I'm very good, Mark. Hi, Dave.
Kentucky Dave:Hey, I appreciate you sending us that warm weather for Christmas. That was very kind of you.
Paul Gloster:Just a little bit. We could afford to lose a little bit of our warm weather to send it up to you.
Mike:Yeah, well, it's gone now. It went from about 71 Fahrenheit yesterday to oh, we're about 10 degrees below freezing right now. Yeah.
Paul Gloster:So uh we're still at a balmy, a balmy 90, you know, 30 degrees. The weather whiplash.
Mike:Yeah. Well, Paul, I know you were busy in 2025. We saw you at the National Convention and had a lot of fun. What else is going on with you on in the model sphere uh from 2025? Did you go anywhere else at outside of Australia?
Paul Gloster:It's been a year where I haven't traveled as much, Mike, as what I have previously, but I still managed to get to four model shows in person and I attended another in proxy. Thank you to Steve Houston, who uh put one of my uh one of my models into Nauticon. Um, that was nice. Four and a four and a bit is probably the answer.
Mike:Well, that's about how many I got to, but they're all within the well, no, I went to HairGiscon, so they weren't all in the United States, but didn't involve any international or air travel. Well, where did you go in Australia this year?
Paul Gloster:Well, there's some really good competitions starting to emerge and evolve in Australia beyond the I guess the Marquee show, which is the Australian Model Expo, which is in Melbourne in June. So that was pretty much the first model show that I got to go to this year. And then the Nats after that, where I was with the both of you in the dojo. And then straight after that, the Queensland Model and Hobby Expo, which is whole held out uh West Brisbane. And then the most recent one I just got to go to, which was Scale ACT in Canberra, which was run in November, and yeah, got to go and participate in that. And uh all very different shows, but all excellent and fantastic quality at all of them. It's amazing the quality that's at model shows these days, and it was so that was a good year for me, I think.
Kentucky Dave:Have you have you started planning 2026 as far as model shows go?
Paul Gloster:I I guess I've put my anchor shows in, so probably the Model Expo in Melbourne and the Nats, so that's June and August, and then I think I'll work around those naturally with the ones that I can get to and the ones that uh you know I I'll be able to attend. But look, everyone keeps telling me about some other model shows that I haven't been to here in Australia. I would love to get to the IPMS uh New Zealand Nationals in Auckland. I believe they're in the middle of the year, so I might see if I can get across to that. But we'll we'll wait and see. I think get the marquee kind of tent pole events locked in and then go from there. I don't think it will be a year of being able to get to Telford or SMC again, but if the opportunity comes up, who knows? Who knows?
Kentucky Dave:That's right. Always keep your options open.
Paul Gloster:Exactly. That's what that's what frequent flyer points are for.
Kentucky Dave:Now, if you flew to New Zealand, about how long a trip is that?
Paul Gloster:Uh it's two hours, two and a bit hours.
Kentucky Dave:Oh, that's not bad.
Paul Gloster:Yeah, and three hours on the way back just because of headwinds, but um yeah, it's a it's quite a quite a good trip, and there's lots of flights, the airfares aren't super expensive, and Auckland is a great city, and I know that the modeling community over there is fantastic as well.
Mike:So now we saw what you brought to the United States, and I know I know you've been involved in a move here. Uh what was the 2025 output like on your end, especially after your trip over to the United States?
Paul Gloster:Yeah, it was better than I expected, Mike, to be honest. Oh, that's good. Yeah, I I got 12 finished uh through the year. So about one a month, even though they didn't quite fall one a month. And I I got a bit of diversity in there. So continuing my philosophy of building up my range, I got uh naturally some 70 second scale aircraft, which is the the cornerstone of what I build, but also got a 70-second scale Centurion tank, some Star Wars in there, and a couple of 43rd scale cars as well.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, those cars are beautiful. Absolutely lovely.
Paul Gloster:Yeah, thank you, Dave. They're a bit of fun.
Mike:That's kind of building on the last time we had you on the show, I believe we were talking about uh that suite of varied subjects you were working on as part of an experiment. Yeah, that's right. So like has this stuck for you? Is this is this your your current philosophy, as you just said?
Paul Gloster:I think so. It's hard to say. I've been a little bit more flexible in terms of what I've been picking as my subjects, and it's opened up my modelling, I think, quite a lot. Just because it's given me an opportunity to play with things that I don't normally get to play with if I'm just limiting myself to building 70-second scale aircraft. So, you know, the armor opens up a whole world of weathering, and if you think of it as a as a canvas, you get ten times the amount of canvas to play with in a 70-second scale piece of armour as what you do doing wheels and wheel wells on an aircraft, for instance. And then the cars give you a whole nother level of precision and cleanliness and smooth finishes, and it allows then those things that you're I found that I've been practicing to be able to then come back and put back into my 72nd scale aircraft and start to improve aspects of those that I really hadn't had that much experience in doing. So yeah, it has continued this year, and even as I I don't know, chart out, I'm I guess we all kind of sit there and think about what's in the build list for next year, what are we going to work on? I've actually made sure that I've included a couple of more diverse subjects in there just to keep pushing the boundaries, I guess.
Kentucky Dave:Are you doing something for 26 that's completely new to you, subject-wise?
Paul Gloster:I haven't gone that far yet. I think that I will stick to the ones that I've done. So the 72nd scale armor, which I've been tinkering with, the 43rd scale cars. I've been loving doing the Star Wars Bandai kits. They're so much fun. Practice techniques, you know, if you get something wrong, it's like, well, you know, it was in space, it got hit by an asteroid. Um so but I haven't, but it's a good challenge, Dave. I I think I might have to have a bit more of a think about that. I did a submarine last year that did the Japanese midget sub, which was the first submarine I had ever built. So I'll have to have a think about it. But maybe maybe I'll look at doing something a little bit extra this year as well.
Mike:We'll be curious to see what you bring to the United States.
Paul Gloster:I don't think my output will be as high this year. I think I'm sure everybody has really strong ears and you know, kind of weaker years, and circumstances at the moment probably mean that I won't be doing as much modeling as what I've done in twenty five, but still looking at bringing a few across when I come over.
Mike:Well, we can just segue over to that. Now I just mentioned it. You're in the process of moving. I am and uh won't you tell us what you're willing to talk about there? What's what's going on with that and how it's affecting you? Well, I'm sure it's putting a a throttle on your output right now, but uh the future's bright.
Paul Gloster:Yeah, uh look, I I've never stopped modeling ever since I was seven years of age. So, you know, girls and cars came along, but I was still building models. So I've always had it as something that I've always done. So it's hard for me not to find a way. But I guess modelling, I mean, you you you talk about it, the both of you, all the time. You know, modelling can be is such a flow, you know, you've got to get in that groove, you've got to be in the mood, you've got to have things at your fingertips at the bench, and all of that's been quite disrupted. So that's where I need to start to pull things back together to give myself at least a semblance of a a flow that I can get into to be able to just sit down and and model. But it's been a it's been a really long process when I go back and think about the move, physically moving state. So from Queensland to Victoria, it's been quite a long process when I go back and think about the steps I had to put in place in order to make that move.
Kentucky Dave:So now the move's been completed.
Paul Gloster:The move has been completed.
Kentucky Dave:Do you have a hobby bench set up at your new at the new apartment? Or well, not new apartment, but your apartment?
Paul Gloster:Not yet. In work in progress. I've got a couple of other things. The good the good news is is that um all the model retailers have safely delivered parcels to me at the new address, so so that's important. Um where to find you. They know they know where to find me.
Kentucky Dave:Um despite your wife's best efforts to to hide the address.
Paul Gloster:Well, you know, when you move house, there's a couple of key things you have to do. Things like, you know, set up the electricity, set up the water, get the internet going. And we didn't have internet for a few days because we were waiting on a modem to arrive, and I got a little notification that there was a parcel over at the post office for and pickup. So I said, right, I'm gonna go over. I'm gonna pick up the modem so we'll have the internet up and running. And of course I come back and it's a it's a Hannitz parcel, no modem. So uh But not as not as disappointed as you might have been. That's right. Luckily the modem came the next day, otherwise I might have been in a lot of trouble.
Kentucky Dave:So did you get the internet set up before you opened the Hannitz package, or did you open the Hannitz package first?
Paul Gloster:You don't need the in you don't need the web to look what's in it in a Hannitz packet, so no, I was straight into it in a in a quite inconspicuous place too, mind you, not in full sight.
Mike:I'm sure you had a fairly large number of completed builds you had to move.
Paul Gloster:Yeah, it was uh I think I got to 80 when I counted them. I lost a few along the way that I thought, okay, you've had your time, time for you to move on to the great retired sprue in the sky. So I I did throw out a few of my older builds. Like an example was I had built a Raval 72nd scale Lancaster Dambuster, and I was just kinda never happy with it. So it's a good opportunity now to go, oh, I need to build a 72nd scale dambuster. So I did lose some. So I guess the approach that I took was I looked at the my models that are either deeply part of my collection or the ones that I really like looking at the most, and I I've got a cabinet that I'll have them in, and the rest of them I've put into storage, all packed up, layered. But the ones that I am going to put in the cabinet, I actually packed like I would pack to travel overseas with. So they're in individual boxes with the foam cut out so that they're you know safe in movement in all directions. So I had minimal rebuild on those ones when I pull them out. Whereas the rest of them, which was about 65 in the other lot, they'll they'll definitely require some remodeling, some rebuilding, which will be a fun exercise in itself. But the ones that I I really am kind of closest to me, I wanted to make sure that they survived as unscathed as possible. And we we drove them down as well in the car. So I had a a car that was full of models and paint, so the fumes were fantastic. And Tanya had all Tanya had all of the pot plants in her car, so every now and then I'd go and stop and sit in her car and just smell basil rather than like a paint fumes.
Mike:That sounds like a lot of work, and hopefully there's no nasty surprises when you get into that second lot of the 60 or so.
Paul Gloster:Yeah, there may be. So it's been a really interesting exercise, though. I like I said earlier, I probably started a good six months ago thinking about what what am I going to move, what I what do I really want. And if you recall, at the time I had a big de I called it a de-theming, so I'd collected a lot of stuff that I thought, am I really going to build that or build that theme, for instance? And so I got rid of a lot of those, and that reduced the amount of unbuilt models that I had to move. I consolidated my books, I consolidated my tools, I got got it to kind of the point where it was movable, and then what I've done is as I said, put some into storage, moved some that are ready to go into a cabinet when I get that. I've bought a selection of books, and I've got a selection of models with me. I've had to almost think about what I might like to build, and then I've only built I've only bought about a dozen kits, and then everything else is in storage, but it's storage that I can access if I need to. So I can go out there and if for instance all of a sudden I want to build uh I don't know, a uh a blackburn, blackburn vac form, I know that I've got one and I know where it is and I know I can access it, but it's not in the 12 that are close close by at hand.
Kentucky Dave:I want to see a blackburn, blackburn built.
Paul Gloster:I'd like to see one built too. Yeah. That's why I've got it, but I'm not brave enough to do it yet.
Kentucky Dave:I understand. Think it'd be fun. So now when I moved the last time I moved, I moved all of my hobby stuff myself. I did not let the movers move anything, not unbuilt kits, not hobby supplies, not books. I did that all myself. Now, of course, the move was only like four miles. So, you know, I could make two or three runs in an evening. Did you let the movers handle any of your hobby stuff?
Paul Gloster:Yeah, the the unbuilt stash that I didn't want to have like immediate access to. I had put all of those into plastic tubs so they were self-contained. So they didn't actually pick up boxes and put boxes into boxes, they just had to pick up a plastic tub that had them in there already. Uh, and then I moved the paints myself, and then I've got a small box that I built, which is almost like a little traveling box, which has got all of my hardcore tools in it, the the tools that you would take to a desert island. So when I when I lived in the US and when I moved over, it's the same set of tools that I took over to San Diego and used them. It's like, well, okay, these are my must-have modelling tools. Uh, and so I used them. So I brought those down in the car with with me, and then everything else I've numbered. And so I've got all my airbrushes in a box, in a plastic box, I've got all my airbrush accessories in a plastic box, I've got files, saws, you know, almost kind of broken up into the role that they perform. But what I've what I've I probably will do now is go and cherry pick a couple of core things out of those that become what I use day to day when I when I am eventually modeling again.
Kentucky Dave:So, how long do you think it's going to take you to get a bench set up and where you're sitting at it and sanding or filing or filling or whatever again?
Paul Gloster:Yeah, I I think it's just dictated by the other things that have to be done around the place. So I'd say that it'll be you know within a month or so. Already I was saying to Mike that you know, I I got the new Edward Spitfire, and all I wanted to do was start clipping off the uh fuse large, and I could not find a set of nippers anywhere. So even in my little holy grail box, for some reason I hadn't put a set of nippers in there. So despite the fact that I've got plenty, I just they're just not at hand at the moment. So I got myself a new set of nippers. So I'll still I'll still be clipping bits of plastic off, and I got myself a little thing of Gun's liquid cement as well, and a fresh one, and uh I'll just sit there still putting things together, uh, even if I'm just doing it in the uh in the box top.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, I was talking to Jim today about that kit, and he he he is extremely impressed by it.
Paul Gloster:Yeah, no, I am too. I I wish I could launch straight into it. I've got a couple of other things I want to do first, especially you know, fresh after the IBG kit, but yes, I am very, very impressed with it as well.
Mike:Well, how long do you think you'll be in the apartment?
Paul Gloster:Yeah, we'll stay here. I mean, we'll have this apartment now. This will be our our place that we come and go from. But the plan is, you know, we've always lived by the water. We had you know a long time close to the beach. So I think the plan is we'll end up. I keep saying I'm going to build a model room with the required number of bedrooms around it down the beach. So not going down too well, but it's we'll I'll I'll re get an opportunity to rebuild something uh and and get it pretty much tailored to what I think my next 10, 15, 20 years of modeling will look like.
Kentucky Dave:Do you already have a piece of land picked out or in the process at the moment though?
Paul Gloster:So yeah, we're yeah, we're working our way through that. I I guess it's uh you know, both of the kids have finished college, university, Laura, my daughter just finished. So yeah, we're looking at what we do for the next you know period of time. And I think that having a dedicated space which has probably incorporated maybe some of the learnings I've had over the last 10-15 years of what works and what doesn't work in a modeling space. I'll try to incorporate that into whatever we end up with in the next place. But you know, I'm I'm always fiddling, I'm always sticking bits of things together or planning something. So whatever happens, I'll end up trying to, you know, build something here that allows me to be a little bit flexible. It's the I guess the challenge of anyone who's modelling on the move is you know, how do you how do you kind of get that balance between having something a bit more permanent and something that's a little bit more flexible?
Mike:In the meanwhile, though, you've managed to plug back into a a modelling community that you were not part of for a long time.
Paul Gloster:Yeah, no, that's true. And I think you know, Melbourne is a really strong modelling community, and I that that remains, there's no doubt about that. I I was asked to breakfast for a club that I've been a part of for a long time, but only virtually because I lived two states away, and that is the Sunbury Area Modelling Group. And the first Sunday I was here, I got asked out for breakfast with them, and then they went and did a model shop crawl, and I got to see well four new model shops that weren't even here after I left Melbourne 18 years ago. So that was a real eye-opener for me. But uh I'm really looking forward to having a lot more time with uh modeling community and people that I've known since I was a teenager and have only got to see once or twice a year people who I've met more recently that you know I talk to all the time. It's going to be good to be a little bit closer to them as well.
Mike:Well, certainly ease the transition and help uh pass the time while you're waiting on your your new dream workshop.
Paul Gloster:Yeah, well I ha well I hatched that plan. Yeah, it's it's a it is amazing though that you know it's like going to a model show overseas. You talk to people that you've met, you talk to people that you've known for a long time. Again, such a great community of of modelers and uh and modelers within the community.
Kentucky Dave:Did your move teach you anything that you would pass on to folks who are finding themselves in the same situation that they they have to move their model stash and their hobby room and all their built kits? Were there any pieces of wisdom you gleaned from doing it yourself?
Paul Gloster:I'd say I'd probably just summarize, Dave, maybe some of the things I spoke about, about you know, planning, about what what you need for where you're going is really important. And because I didn't want, I'm not going to be in the apartment forever, which would be a very different scenario to what I'm actually planning is to be able to still have a model room, you know, that that that I can actually hold kits, hold tools, have a spray booth, all of those things. So planning for whatever you're moving to, I think is really important in terms of the first place to start, and then everything flows from there, you know, what you need to keep, what you need to get rid of, getting rid of it in a timely manner. You know, I started selling my kits in June of 25 of this year, so you know it's a six-month kind of process because you can't just get rid of a lot of kits really quickly in all circumstances. So I timed it to get aligned with some of the swap and sells that were in place, uh, and then I guess going through the actual process of well, what's important to me, what's not important to me, and then how am I going to put these models in a way that they'll survive the trip? Um, and survive the trip survive the trip means yeah, I'm going to need to put some props on and put some undercarriage back on, or no, these things have to remain absolutely a hundred percent undamaged as as they move. So that was something that was unique to me in terms of the outcome that I wanted. And then the other thing is I'd say to someone, if you're going to move and you are restricted in what you can do from a modelling perspective for time, just you know, plan that out as well. I've got 12 kits, I've got all the reference that I need, every piece of reference that I had all now with me, so I'm not having to go out to the storage unit and dig through to find that one set of aviation news plans from 1981 that I know I've got there somewhere. I've got everything with me that I think I'll need, and then it sets me up as well and allow for a little bit of distraction as well, because I I I I might see something that interests me that I that I do actually need to go out and grab that set of plans from 1981. So I've allowed it so that I can access the things that uh that I need to get to if I need to get to them.
Kentucky Dave:Now, did you find that the Tupperware containers were the best way to long-term store your unbuilt kits?
Paul Gloster:Yes, yeah. So the way I pack my models when I take them overseas, and I'm lucky that I build 70 seconds, so you know that works really well for a 70 second single-engine fighter. It works for twins, be harder for a much bigger kit. But that's how I've packed up the ones that I I want to keep close at hand and I want to have them in the cabinet here. So uh I know that no matter which way they get shaken upside down, worst comes to worse, I know that they're very well protected in that in that foam and the little tubware container.
Mike:Well, Paul, what are you working on now? What are what are the ones that uh made the short list?
Paul Gloster:Well, I've got a couple of mosquitoes, a couple of Tamiya mosquitoes that I've put aside that I'm working on. I've got a Edward 190 A model, and I've also got a D that I've put aside. And then I've got some armour that I'm looking at doing, a couple of 43rd scale cars in there as well. So I'm not expecting Mike to get them all finished. It's just it's just these are the things that I think I might build. And they're there and they're close at hand. I can go and I can go and grab them. But you know, I unpacked, helped unpack the container that had my all my stash in it. And in that Hannett's parcel that arrived was this absolutely beautiful metallic details 3D printed Bristol Jupiter. And I thought, oh, I should I should build a Bristol Bulldog. So as they're unpack as they're as they're unpacking, I'm trying to find all the Bristol Bulldogs and pulling them out. And then a moment of sanity kind of arrived at the end, and I thought, no, don't do it, don't start day one by by building something else. So I've put the Bristol Bulldogs back, I'll put the Bristol Jupiters with them and I'll leave them. But probably hopefully fingers crossed, Airfix release it in 70 seconds girl in the meantime, anyway.
Kentucky Dave:So from your lips to God's to airfix's ear.
Paul Gloster:I have uh I you know how it works. As soon as you start building it, the the modern guards release it.
Kentucky Dave:I'm still waiting for those Avro the new Avro 504 kit.
Paul Gloster:Yes, yeah. I might have to build another one.
Mike:Well, Paul, we're looking forward to seeing you this summer.
Paul Gloster:I'm very much looking forward to coming across to Fort Wayne and being with you both in the dojo and Steve and Mark as well. So I'm very much looking forward to that. But as I said earlier, that's the tent pole around, which I'll try to plan some other little adventures this year, and aim to make it to as many of the shows and see as many people as I can because you get such a buzz out of being there and seeing everyone and uh seeing what everyone's working on and what they're doing, and also seeing what everyone's building as well.
Mike:Well, that's not an that's not a short trip. So I gotta ask, um I suspect it's a lot of things we talk about on the show a lot, but what what makes that one worthwhile for you?
Paul Gloster:I love the socialness of it more than anything. It's first of all, you know, it goes for four days and five days when you stretch it out with a you know, bit a bit at the start and a bit at the end. So you get a really high quality period of time with people that you don't get to spend time with normally. And that is uh absolutely fantastic. It's there's You know, none of the other model shows around the world actually do that. You know, they're two days or they're you know a weekend or a day, and and and you're kind of in and out, and the good thing about the Mats is you actually get to spend some really qu good quality time with people. And because everybody is there as well, you get to actually see so many people that you would love to have a really in-depth conversation with and spend some quality time and talk to them, pick their brains, talk about their models, see what they're working on, how they did things. So for me, that's what I love most about it. Something that I got out of this year with workshops too, I hadn't really attended a lot of the forums. I went to Lynn Ritgers on the 109, which was absolutely amazing. So the it the educational aspect of it as well, I think is a really a real highlight of the Nats as well. And plus it's a great adventure. I mean, when I came across, you know, I was up in Minnesota with Stephen Mark for a few days. We did a road trip, did a road trip back. So it's uh it's more than just the model show as such, it's actually more about spending time with people that you really want to spend time with and value value time with them.
Kentucky Dave:I agree. I I will tell you that now HeritageCon, because it's a much shorter show, you don't get quite the amount of socialization in. But the Nats is the one place that you know that you're going to see, I don't want to say everybody, but you're gonna see lots and lots of modelers, lots of modelers that you know, lots of modelers that you want to pick their brain. And uh I've been a huge advocate for the seminars at the Nationals. And yeah, Lynn Ritgers was fantastic, and Dana Bells was great. Um, you know, anytime that's one of the first things I do when I get to the Nats is grab the grab the seminar schedule and start looking at what seminars are being given when, which ones are one time only, and which ones are going to be repeated and and plan kind of plan my day around that.
Paul Gloster:Yeah, and the scale of the show allows an hour of the show to be dedicated to an expert talking about a very specific topic. You know, whereas a lot of the other shows are so short that they're probably more aiming the seminars at new new modellers or beginners or showing some basic techniques rather than aimed at, you know, I guess the more advanced modeler or somebody who is looking for something a little bit more specific. So I really love that aspect of it. And you know, don't get me wrong, you know, Telford's really social, but in a really different way, it tends to be standing around the tables talking to everybody who are running the SIGs and got their little lollies or whatever they're doing out the front. Um SMCs also as well, but it tends to be at the bar at the conference centre. So every model show has aspects of sociability and so forth, but it's maybe one night at the most. And the beauty of the Nats is that you get it you know for four or five nights plus getting there and getting home, and it it it it really is an immersive experience, and then sitting in a dojo having a few drinks with you fellas and talking about not just modeling, talking about the world and other things is is fantastic as well. So you're not just limited to being that person on Facebook who gives a thumbs up to everybody's model, you're actually talking to someone a little bit more in a deeper sense, which is great, building that community.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah. Well, it is amazing in the dojo when we're sitting there talking and you find yourself wandering from conversations about music to food to beers to whatever. And that's right, you know, it starts off modeling and occasionally gets back to modeling, but there's a whole lot. There's a whole lot of stuff in between.
Paul Gloster:Yeah, it moves from being model friends to being friends.
Mike:Yes. I'd never really thought about the the four-day aspect of that. And and it it's it's it's interesting because in my military collecting hobby, uh, there's a show that just happens to be in Louisville, Kentucky, and it's it's one of the largest military collectors' shows in the world. Now, there's another show that's actually physically bigger in Belgium every year. But it's but it's only it's only one day. So there's a whole peripheral experience around something when there's more than one day, more than two days, more than three days that you can really sink your teeth into just about anything you want to to a much deeper level than you could just for a shorter show. Even a little a lot of those other shows are are are fantastic, but uh interesting point. Yeah, look at that. I didn't think about that.
Paul Gloster:I mean Heritage Hun is a great social show. Uh and uh, you know, you everyone's at the sports bar or going out for drinks, and of course the you know the Toronto modelers are fantastic in terms of uh embracing you and inviting you out, but it's only one night. So that's why I think the the Nats is a really good experience that anybody should attend it. And it's a it's a true convention in the sense of it as well, in that it is actually for an extended period and quite immersive.
Mike:Well, and the way we all got together this year, this past summer, just went off so well that we were we're way ahead in our planning this year.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:Yeah for uh for for 2026. And uh well, uh are you are you coming over early again, or are you just gonna meet us all in Fort Wayne? What what are you gonna do this year?
Paul Gloster:I I think I'm I'm with the Minnesota Twins again, is the plan um to do the road trip with those with uh Mark and Steve again. So, you know, even well, yeah, just the opportunity to sit down with Steve for a couple of days is just fantastic as well. You know, that's not part of the Nats, but it's part of the Nats experience is just being able to talk to him and see what he's working on and talk about what he's thinking about building. And yeah, it's it's it's a it's a great opportunity to do that as well. So yeah, if they'll have me back, I'll definitely try to try to do that again.
Kentucky Dave:According to Steve, you are his wife's favorite person. So uh, you know, obviously you've made a good a good impression, so I I suspect you'll be welcome.
Paul Gloster:I I I hope so. I I probably drank a few too many martinis when I was there, but nonetheless.
Kentucky Dave:Man, his martinis are great. They are just fantastic.
Mike:On the on the modeling front, we'll hit one more topic here. What are you hoping to accomplish in 2026? It doesn't necessarily have to be all be it be subjects, but just kind of on a high plane, what's your 2026 modeling gonna look like given your your limitations?
Paul Gloster:Yeah, uh I think if I finish one to two kits, I'll be relatively happy. If I finish more than that, I'll be very, very happy. I as I was saying before, modeling is such a flow, and this is you know, for anybody, it's a major disruption to the flow when you're kind of happy, happy place is no more, and you've got to recreate a new happy place somewhere else, and that's going to be different and not quite the same, and that you know, riveter that you always use is just not where you thought it was anymore. So I think setting if I set myself up and I can finish one to two models and be happy with them, that they're at the kind of standard that I like to build that I I set myself, I'll be very, very happy with that. But I think maybe this year is probably going to be a little bit less about the model output and more about a little bit more about the modeling input. So spending time with friends, talking a little bit more. I'd love to. I used to when I was you know 18, you know, through to about 26, I used to write a lot of articles for magazines, so maybe I'll dip my finger back into that a little bit more this year. Maybe I'll I'll build something a little bit different, as Dave was saying before, and and that might just throw my brain in a different direction. But I think yeah, if I end up with one to two kits finished by the end of the year or more, I'll be I think I'll I'll be able to say 26 was as good a year as as 25, even though I I managed to knock over 12 this year.
Mike:It took me a long time to knock over 12.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, I'm telling you what, and and and it's not like he just slapped together 12 kits. We saw those at the Nationals. That that was some amazing modeling. The Red Bull air air racer is just every time I look at it, I cannot believe that you were able to pull that off.
Paul Gloster:Yeah, thank you.
Mike:You enjoyed it so much, you painted it four times.
Paul Gloster:Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. It I it it it it visited the strip the the the paint stripper quite often that one.
Mike:Well, they were all fag fabulous, and we look forward to seeing what you bring over this year.
Paul Gloster:Yeah. What about you guys? What about the both of you? What do you you know hope to achieve in 26? What what does 26 a good 26 look like for the both of you?
Mike:If I could get two done, Musuru Cup built excluded, which would be three, uh I'd be ecstatic with that. That would be fabulous. So I'm you know, I've got a couple on deck that are certainly finishable. The the KV-85 is is I'm rapidly running out of things to do on it construction-wise, so it's gonna be final assembly, all the bits and bobs here soon, then it's gonna be ready for primer. I've got a little paper panzer I was working on that I kind of stopped to just stopped because it was it was becoming a distraction for the KV-85. Yeah. Um I I can only manage two, maybe threes to stretch. I got I gotta do some uh some training to uh to get more more than two on my bench to move forward. I just don't get enough time in it to do that. But uh those two, and you know, there's a lot of a lot of stuff with the podcast we're trying to do, which uh you mentioned writing a little bit, so we'll talk about that a little more offline. But for me, yeah, if I could get counting the moose through, if I could get three done, that'd be great. Dave?
Kentucky Dave:I I finished two this year, and I've got two really close. There is no reason I shouldn't finish four or five, but it always looks that way at the beginning. Every new year, the the slate is clean in front of you, and you're like, this year I'm gonna, and then life intervenes, and it's gonna happen. So I'm just going to be happy with what I finish, no matter what it is, or how many there are. But I do want to push myself to build faster, build better, and try and and make 2026 memorable in my mind from a modeling improvement standpoint.
Paul Gloster:And you were only a coup, what, two bearcats short of hitting that number as well.
Kentucky Dave:That's right. Yeah. Hey, I got one bear cat done. That's it's in the collection. It's uh it's I got to deliver it to Dr. Geldmacher, and uh uh that would that one uh I consider that one an accomplishment.
Paul Gloster:Yeah. It's a great point you make, though, because at this stage of the year when everyone's posting what they've built, you know, their what their output has been, what their class of 25 has been, you know, there is a little bit of how many did you get done this year? Whereas I think to your earlier point, it's about are you happy with what you've built this year? You know, are they better than the ones that you built last year? Have you learned more and been able to put it into practice? And yeah, it's definitely the way I'm thinking as well this year.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:Well, and then we've also talked a lot, especially with Paul Budzik, about are you enjoying it while you're doing it? Because once you get really get your head around that part of it, getting it done becomes becomes less important.
Paul Gloster:Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's that thing that takes you to that happy place because you're there and you're doing something and and it's a it it's a hobby, you know, rather than a chore. And and that's uh less output focused and more kind of quality.
Mike:So But we we all like to have something, some fruits of our labor to to show and and uh talk about. So uh the finishes are good. I don't want to diminish them, but uh I guess overall I want to have fun in 2026 seeing seeing my friends and uh getting out to the shows and and getting finished what I can manage to get finished along the way.
Paul Gloster:Yeah, yeah. And we're so lucky that I think now that you know your modelling sphere used to be limited to who geographically was in modelling clubs you know nearby you, whereas now everyone's modelling sphere is the whole globe, and you've got so many great quality modellers and so many people that you meet and talk to, and you say, How long have you been modeling? It's like, oh, four years, and you're looking at their work, like, how did you get so good so quickly? I've been working on this for 30, 40 years, and I'm only just getting there now, so that's it's it's great to see that because you know we're exposed to that a whole lot more now. And like I said, going to the shows like the Nats and attending as many model shows as what you possibly can and talking to as many people just continues to build on that as well.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, and you make a good point about the the model sphere being so so expanded. I was marveling to my wife the other day that I have three close friends in Ottawa, Canada.
Paul Gloster:Yeah.
Kentucky Dave:That that wouldn't have happened even eight, nine years ago. And a couple of close friends in Minneapolis, and it just it's it's amazing how the all this technology has allowed us to expand our modeling family so much.
Paul Gloster:That's right. Yeah, people are rapidly learning things that previously took generations to learn and pass on. And you know, I go back to some of the mentors that I had when I was just a little junior burger modeler and IPMS, and you know, some of the some of those things I use day to day, but you know, there's so many things that you know blow me away when I see them. And also, look, just you know, the new Tamiya Tomcat has come out, and I was on YouTube yesterday and someone's already built it, already done a video of it. It's like, well, I haven't even seen it yet. I haven't even seen it in the shops. It I didn't even know it was out, and it's built so I can know everything I need to know about the kit long before I even get to have the joy of taking the plastic off the box and have such a head start on building it as well.
Kentucky Dave:Beats pictures of today.
Paul Gloster:Oh yeah, it does look gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. I would I wouldn't have thought that I'd jump into a F-14, but just having a look at it, you know, there's kits that you build because you love the subject, and sometimes there's kits you build just because you they're they're great kits to build, and that looks like a great kit to build. And plus there's plenty of people who love Tomcats, there's so many good schemes as well.
Mike:Oh yeah. Yeah. Well, Paul, it's been real good talking to you again, and we look forward to seeing you in uh Fort Wayne this summer. That's gonna be a big time. Likewise. Speaking about about uh expanded model sphere. I mean, we're we're leasing a Airbnb house with a bunch of guys we didn't even know not all that long ago. Yeah. So we've come up the friendship curve pretty quick, and it's always a a joy to hang out with you and uh really looking forward to this this national convention this year. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Paul Gloster:This is gonna be a great one. The model fluid will be flying as well. Yes, it will.
Kentucky Dave:And and and send us some more warm weather if you would.
Paul Gloster:Oh, yes, yes, it is getting a bit warm here at the moment, actually, to be honest.
Kentucky Dave:And I've left the heat, so you poor thing, it's 20 degrees. It's it's cold as heck here.
Mike:All right, Paul. We'll see you. See you in in the summer. Yeah, our summer.
Paul Gloster:Absolutely, Mark. Thanks, Dave. Thanks again.
Mike:You take it easy.
Paul Gloster:Thank you, cheers.
Mike:Man, I know one thing is not on my list to do in the future, and that's move.
Kentucky Dave:Oh gosh, no. I told my wife when we moved into our present house six years ago, I told her I was leaving horizontally and room temperature. I am not, I am not going through a move again. I and that was like I said, when we were talking, my last move was like four and a half miles.
Mike:So mine was about the same. It doesn't matter whether you're going a mile or a thousand, you still have to pack everything up and vacate the old space.
Kentucky Dave:Yep. Well and real and realize how much crap you've got.
Mike:Well, from my vantage point in front of my microphone, I can look over slightly to the left across the room in the far corner, and there are three boxes sitting over there. Then I bet the bottom one's stuck to the floor at this point. Yeah, it's been we we moved here when Wes was five and now he's 21. And that box hadn't moved since then.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:Yeah, I might need to unpack that or throw it out.
Kentucky Dave:Throw it, throw it out at this point. Don't even look to see what's in it. Just throw it out.
Mike:Well, always fun talking to Paul, and be curious to see what he gets done with his abbreviated modeling space at present time.
Kentucky Dave:Well, I'm I'm looking forward to to seeing how how all of that develops. But uh, whenever you talk to Paul, you find yourself involuntarily just grinning from ear to ear, because he's always such a great person to talk to, just really a great outlook on life, doesn't let things get him down, faces the challenges and and makes the best of them, and all with that happy warrior attitude. And I have no doubt that he's going to, in a temporary space, end up producing models that that'll that'll just stun me when I see him in person, like the ones I saw at Hampton.
Mike:And when he gets his new digs finalized, you know, might have to go to Australia.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, there's a tons of spider videos, man. They freak me out.
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Mike:We've had a few faves and yawns over the year, and there's a lot of faves.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:But if we were to rank those top to bottom, they're not all at the top.
Kentucky Dave:Nope.
Mike:So in 2025, and we can go back and forth, we can alternate like we do during normal faves and yawns segment. But uh, what is what was your favorite release or announcement? Now, when I say announcement, it could be an announcement in 2025, but not hard copy yet. So um that's allowed. So what is your favorite release or announcement from the from the from this past year?
Kentucky Dave:70 second scale, fine mold zeros, the early and mid production model 52s, completely unexpected, out of the blue. I have yet to get my hands on them. And David wants just, I mean, I want to build them because they're a different version than the Tamiya 50 model 52, so uh I it's gonna help me build out the collection.
Mike:I bet it will, and that's like classic fine mold style, just stuff kind of kind of shows up.
Kentucky Dave:Yep. You're like, all right. It's exactly right, out of the blue.
Mike:Out of the blue. How about you? From Gecko models and 135th scale, the Matilda Mark I, I think is gonna be my favorite uh announcement. I don't I've not seen a physical kit yet.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:So I don't know if it's out there or not, but I've got a 3D printed one I paid a decent penny for and broke part of it just trying to fix something that was wrong with it.
Kentucky Dave:And it's like it's such a goofy looking thing that you can't help but want to build one.
Mike:And I want to build a British Expeditionary Force one in France, France in 1939 and 40. So I know what I want to do. Yep. A plastic kit, it's just it's just better. Right. Even if all the details not quite there, it's just gonna be a better experience, I think, than a 3D kit at current technology state.
Kentucky Dave:Gotcha.
Mike:I just I broke that part and that thing is like, oh man. I I knew it was gonna break.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:But anyway, I'm I'm excited about this one. Definitely gonna get it. Maybe we'll see it soon in the coming year. If it's already out there and I don't know, that's could completely possible. I don't know. Somebody let me know. Where can I get this thing? Gecko models, Matilda Mark I. You got another one, Dave? Yes, I do.
Kentucky Dave:Tomia F-14. Utterly unexpected. People, as soon as the to me as Tomia released their larger scale F-14, all the 72nd scale modelers were like, oh, come on, please shrink this down. Come on, please, you can do, you know. And out of the blue, finally, after god, 10 years, they did it. And the F-14 is one of those airplanes that A is attractive as heck, B has so many great markings combos. You could build you could build F-14s from now until you till you kick off and have just such a great collection of different markings and and you know, you weather the heck out of them, or you can do them clean. It just it's it's great. And uh Jim Bates, I was talking to him the other day, he already picked one up, and I haven't seen one yet, but when I see one, I will be picking it up.
Mike:It's gonna get in the way, man.
Kentucky Dave:I know, I know. I've there's so many great kits I want to build. I need to I need to pick up the pace, brother.
Mike:Well, maybe you need to to focus.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, well, both.
Mike:I mean, you got all these Pleiasti Raiders you want to do, and you this is like the second modern big jet you've squawked about in recent episodes, so uh I know.
Kentucky Dave:I don't know. I am aware of the ironies. How about you? Another one?
Mike:Uh I've got two more. This is another armor kit. Ryefield's the JS2.
Kentucky Dave:Okay.
Mike:Is that right? Is it Rye Field?
Kentucky Dave:I think it's Ryefield.
Mike:And man, their other stuff's really good. Uh wasn't expecting this. You know, I just bought a Tamiya JS2, thinking I was gonna cabbage parts out of it for the KV-85 and then change my mind. So I've got it. It's a good kit. It's a good kit. Will this one be better? Probably. But it's the it's the follow-ons, it's the ISU, JSU 152 and 122 that I don't have from Tamiya yet that I'll probably give the skip if they do end up doing those. So I'm real curious what they're gonna do with this this platform. Uh I'll probably get this one because I know it's I know it's gonna be stellar. And there's also the what's called the broken nose JS2, the the other hull front style. If they do one of those, that'd be great as well. So looking forward to seeing what that one's all about. It's not uh not much information out there yet, but that's exciting. That's an exciting one. That's a big, big, big tank.
Kentucky Dave:Yep.
Mike:What you got?
Kentucky Dave:I got two more. One, we're gonna go back to fine molds.
Mike:Okay.
Kentucky Dave:Because again, out of the blue, fine molds announces uh the F-104 family.
Mike:Oh man.
Kentucky Dave:The Japanese used the 104 and painted it in all sorts of really great schemes. In addition, Fine Molds has apparently manufactured this thing in the way that they can do the Canadian C F-104, the US F-104C. I I think they may even eventually do the German and Italian 104s as well. Again, it's another one of those aircraft aircraft that's just so cool looking, it's not funny. And there's such a great collection of markings that that's one I'm definitely gonna pick up.
Mike:You know, I've got a do I still have the book? If I dig through my books, I may still have the book. It was probably the first aircraft book I ever got. Nobody else will can relate to this, even you, but I remember the bookstore it came from in the mall, and it was before the mall in my hometown was expanded, and the bookstore moved upstairs to the second area, the news part of the mall. So it was like in the stinking mid mid to late 70s. I got this book. It's like Combat Aircraft of the World. One of those coffee table books. Yeah, I've got the book. And there's a picture in that book of a German F-104 on some kind of VTAL platform.
Kentucky Dave:Yes, the zero, the ZLL, zero length launch.
Mike:Okay. Yep. That'd be cool.
Kentucky Dave:Yep.
Mike:Maybe somebody'll do that.
Kentucky Dave:And and I think there's actually a a conversion for the old Hasagala kit out there to do that. So I would there shouldn't be any reason that that that wouldn't fit the the new fine molds kit. But yeah, that was a cool little experiment that the that's a deep dive for me.
Mike:Now I'm wondering if I have that book anymore.
Kentucky Dave:I've got it. If you don't, I'll give it to you.
Mike:It was kind of big format and not very thick.
Kentucky Dave:Yep. I've got it.
Mike:About a half inch thick.
Kentucky Dave:Yep.
Mike:All right.
Kentucky Dave:I have the book.
Mike:Well, shoot me a pick of that pick and let me know what's up. You got it. Well, I've moved to aircraft now of sorts. I'm I'm glad to finally have that Northrop F2M M2F3 lifting body from uh AMP out of the Ukraine in in my hands. Not cheap. Not cheap. Cool little kit. Man, that's almost a buyer's remorse price on that kit. But uh so far, no. If I if I gaff it up, then I'll be really kicking myself. Right. That's a cool kit, and it's it's a really nice little kit, too.
Kentucky Dave:And that is one of those kits that proves we are living in the golden age of modeling. Because by no rights would you have ever expected to see that injection molded, particularly by a fairly major manufacturer. Even if it's not to me a quality or Arma quality or fine molds quality, it still gives you the good place to start from that's better than some vacuform or resin or you know, something like that.
Mike:It's pretty nice. I'd it's it's up, you know, maybe the fits for crap, but uh I don't know. I I need to build it.
Kentucky Dave:So maybe we'll start it in 2026. That that would be a good one to start because I'd like to see that.
Mike:It's a fave for 2025 for sure.
Kentucky Dave:Okay. My last one for 2025 been announced. It was supposed to be out either at the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026. Our friends over at Arma have announced a 72nd scale ME262. There are a number of 262 kits out there, and many of them are decent, but they're little things to complain about with everyone. And to have Arma do it, I know that or I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to have any of those complaints.
Mike:Now or you might have all of them.
Kentucky Dave:Well, it's possible. But now I know they're not uh doing some things I may like to have seen them do, like the slats and the flaps separate and all that, but I'm sure the 3D printer guys are gonna aftermarket the heck out of this kit. So, you know, if Arma chooses not to do that in their manufacturing of it, that's fine with me. As long as I get a really nice Arma level kit of an ME262, because I like that airplane.
Mike:Oh, I do too. And that's you gave me a pro modeler kit.
Kentucky Dave:Yep, which isn't a bad kit, by the way.
Mike:I could end up getting this one too. Is that all you got? I'm done. I'm done too, man. Well, folks, let us know what your favorites were in 2025. We'd love to hear about it.
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Kentucky Dave:Mike, we're almost at the end of this truncated episode. And my my modeling fluid, my Coke, is almost at the end. And it was, as always, an excellent, excellent Coke. Delicious. And uh, you know, if you if you if you're having a non-adult modeling fluid, you can't go wrong with uh with a McDonald's fountain coke.
Mike:When everything's dialed in. Exactly. Because they can they can mess it up every now and then.
Kentucky Dave:I'll be honest with you, here in Louisville, that's pretty rare, because I get my McDonald's Cokes from three different stores, and every one of them is dialed in just perfect.
Mike:And if it wasn't, would you let them know?
Kentucky Dave:Oh god, yes. Yes, absolutely. That is that is their raison d'tra.
Mike:You're like, you guys are putting too much seltzer water in this, man. The balance is all wrong. You need you need to fix that.
Kentucky Dave:Check the tubes, see if they need to be cleaned.
Mike:Yeah. You don't want to go there. So how suburban? The chestnut farms is is good. It is probably by my palate, it is high rye. Okay. It's a little spicy. It's man, it's a little tingly still, even after 1.5. It's it's good. It is good. It's it's not it's not quite as spicy as the as the bullet, but it's it's it's leaning that way. It's it's certainly not a wheated bourbon like a like a weller.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:It's not like that at all. But it's good. I'd do it again. Chestnut Farms, if you're looking for something to try, would I recommend it above my Russell's Reserve tenure? Probably not. Definitely not, definitely not. But hey, I haven't had anything new on the show in a long time, and this is this is a new one, and it's actually not not bad.
Kentucky Dave:So uh And when Santa shows up with a with a bourbon, you can't complain.
Mike:No, you cannot complain. And I got a bottle of Russell's reserve tenure too from somebody else. So nice. You know, I can have my comfort and I can experiment.
Kentucky Dave:There you go.
Mike:So it's all good.
Kentucky Dave:Well, we are now truly at the end of the episode, and we need to do some shout-outs of the month or year or all the above. I'll start. Go ahead. First, I want to shout out all of the listeners. Did you get my edited outline? No. Well, yeah, no, I well, yes, I did.
Mike:No, you got the outline, but I went in and did my homework. And listeners is the top of my shout-out list. But go ahead, Dave. Go for it.
Kentucky Dave:Okay, well, we do think kind of alike.
Mike:We do.
Kentucky Dave:All the listeners, particularly all the listeners in the last year who have joined IPMS USA. I this is my last term as retention and recruitment secretary. I on the regular get DMs from listeners telling me they've joined or rejoined. And it's it's very, very flattering and satisfying to me that people do that. And I hope those that join will get out of the society uh the value that I see in it. And so I want to thank all of the listeners, particularly those who have messaged me to let me know that they are back in the IPMS USA fold.
Mike:How about you? Likewise, Dave. We got great listeners. We do. And we get a lot of feedback from them. I really appreciate that. And I just want to shout out to everybody who's takes the time to take in our show each and every episode, that we we really appreciate it and you make it all worthwhile.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:Now you you shout out the ones who joined IPMS, which is understandable. I I want to extend an extra shout out to those who've contributed or supported the show.
Kentucky Dave:Yes.
Mike:All the contributions folks have made, all the listeners who have chosen to contribute to the show and support the show financially have really helped us uh expand our reach. They've helped get the website going. Absolutely, they've been instrumental in getting the website going, and we hope that continues. So we encourage folks if you want to support the show. You know, we've got a lot of avenues to do that. You can find them on the website at www.plastic model mojo.com. We got some big plans for 2026, and a lot of it depends on the the level of support we get. So thank you so much for all of that. We really appreciate it and we love to see it. Thank you very much.
Kentucky Dave:Yes, thank you. And I'm not sure that we could continue to do this without your all support. It's been really vital. My next shout out is to the Ottawa gang. I came to the realization a few weeks ago that I have more friends in Ottawa, Canada than I do probably in any other location in North America other than Louisville.
Mike:Likewise, likewise.
Kentucky Dave:That's really weird because I've been to Ottawa once in my life, and the interactions that you and I have with the guys from Ottawa are just fantastic. And they have really made doing this podcast and going to HeritageCon and all of that so much more fun. And so I want to shout them out and thank them for being who they are.
Mike:I second that. And it gets into the whole topic of all these people we didn't know until we did this thing.
Kentucky Dave:Yep.
Mike:And it's just it's really been incredible.
Kentucky Dave:So it has been.
Mike:Love you guys, man. Look forward to seeing it at HairdressCon.
Kentucky Dave:Yep.
Mike:You're next. It's gonna be our sponsors, Dave. Okay. Always good. Always good. Model Paint Solutions, John Miller, Dr. Sprange Strange Brush, is a stalwart supporter of the show. We've had him as a guest numerous times. We get a lot of good feedback from his interactions with the listeners outside of Plastic Model Mojo, so that's always good.
Kentucky Dave:And all of the listeners who tell us they've interacted with John do nothing but sing the praises of how helpful he has been to them.
Mike:And we got Bases by Bill, who've we run their ad. We're glad to do it because they've helped us along the way, particularly with some swag items we've been doing, and and they've they've done our kind of our peer award things, you know, the poker chips and stuff folks do. We've got a little plaque we we've been putting down at some shows, and they they did did that for us. And some bourbon glasses, and that's kind of was the kind of prototype phase, and we hopefully uh going into next year we'll uh we'll keep that going and look forward to working with uh Bases by Bill because they're such a great bunch of guys.
Kentucky Dave:They are.
Mike:And Squadron. We'd be remiss to not mention squadron. Squadron has just become such a major sponsor for us, and Brandon and company have have done some great things to help us get our message out. We've been on Squadron TV a time. Yep. And really looking forward to the National Convention because the connection between Squadron and Plastic Model Mojo is gonna get a little bit tighter during that because we've got some things planned for uh the National Convention as far as squadron's concerned. And love those guys. Man, I it it's the nostalgia. It absolutely is the nostalgia, Dave. Um those flyers coming in the mail every month and ordering stuff, and they're such a such a fundamental part of my early modeling. Me too. Just so happy to to see those guys succeeding and to run them with the the new company and to be a part of it the way we are is just a privilege. It is.
Kentucky Dave:It absolutely is.
Mike:And finally kit masks. Kevin and Janelle are such fun, terrific people and their product is so great and they he's filling such a a niche for for old kits and stuff you'd never thought you'd ever get a canopy mask for. And we got that kicked off and then this this tariff crap started and they had to had to rein it in a little bit and we didn't know what was going on. And then Janelle just crushed it and figured out a way to do it and now they're back in business selling to the United States again. And I couldn't be happier because it man that made me so mad that we had this thing started and we had to pull the plug and we did really didn't know what to do.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:But we're rolling again. I hope folks out there have taken advantage of their December discount code and order from those folks because they got a great product and they're going to be at HarrisCon. I'm looking forward to hanging out with them a little bit and see what we can do for those folks next man because they're such a fun company to to work with yes they are.
Kentucky Dave:Every interaction is nothing but pleasant. You got another one? I've got one final one and that is a shout out to our guest tonight, Paul Gloster and his Minnesota twin companions Steve Hustad and Mark Copeland. I mentioned earlier in the episode that Mark was instrumental in arranging our lodgings in Hampton and he's done the same thing in Fort Wayne. They're great modeling friends. And great and great modelers. Great modelers too and I maintain that modelers as a group are above average in being good people and you could find no finer examples of that front than uh Paul Gloster, Steve Hewsted and and Mark Copeland. So shout out to the Minnesota boys and their Aussie adopted love child. Well my final one is you Dave now you're making me feel bad.
Mike:No, you don't need to feel bad. We are about to launch the seventh year of plastic model mojo. Never would have thought I never would have thought either but man you're you're here enthusiastic every other week well every week because we've we've got these shorts we're doing now so we're putting out a lot of stuff and you seem to be on board with it. Oh I'm having a time I'm out which I appreciate and it's it's a lot of fun and man I look forward to 2026 and what we're gonna pump out in the coming year as far as episodes and shorts and uh I don't know maybe something new will come up who knows maybe some surprises maybe some surprises thinking I am too man but I appreciate it. I appreciate it our friendship and all that and it's a lot of fun and I look forward to the times we get to record some stuff. Yep I'm looking forward to 2026 man well man we're gonna cut this one short so folks can go drop the ball with Ryan Seacrest and Jimmy McCarthy and all those no go go put on a good war movie or documentary sit at your bench and model. I saw a post the other day that if you start Star Wars uh a new hope at a certain time that the Death Star blows up at the same time at midnight right at midnight. And it's the Lord of the Ring ones too so folks just like in modeling get creative and do something fun for New Year's and don't hurt yourself.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah and with that Dave so many kits so little time Mike see you in the new year.
Mike:We will see you all through 2026 and folks thank you for everything thanks for another great year and looking forward to the new year.
Kentucky Dave:Yep absolutely
