Plastic Model Mojo

PMM Twelve Minute Modelsphere: February 20206

• A Scale Modeling Podcast

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Snow may slow travel, but the calendar is heating up. We swap plans and call out standout events across the map, including BlizzCon in Columbus, AMPS Atlanta, 4M Mayhem in Michigan, Rochester’s Hope It Don’t Snow, and the Old Dominion Open in Richmond. For planning and entries, IPMSUSA.org remains the essential resource, with listings that stretch well into spring. That rhythm—research, build, show, repeat—keeps the hobby humming even when the weather says stay home.

Community is the thread. The Plastic Model Dojo has surged past 5,600 members, and the feed is full of show flyers, build logs, and finished models that show serious skill. We highlight a new Gemini book, and we touch on current work heading to Kennedy for Artemis, a reminder that the same care we bring to scale builds echoes in real-world engineering. It’s all connected: precision, patience, and the joy of making.

We also set up two upcoming topics that need your voice: what stops us from starting, and what do we truly get from this hobby—calm, community, challenge, or something else entirely? Share your story and help shape the conversation around motivation and meaning at the bench.

Subscribe for more modeling insights and show news, share this with a friend who needs cleaner canopies, and leave a review to help others find the pod. Got thoughts or tips to add? Send us a note and join the Dojo—your build might spark someone’s next breakthrough.

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Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.

Janelle (KitMasx):

Kev, tell everyone why you started Kit Mask.

Kevin (KITMASX):

Well, manually masking canopy sucks, and somebody had to step in to save those countless kits from the shelf of doom.

Janelle (KitMasx):

And now we've got over 400 sets and counting. We've got old kits, new kits, forgotten kits, you name it.

Kevin (KITMASX):

Yeah. And if we don't have it, just ask.

Janelle (KitMasx):

Yeah, people don't realize we take custom requests and we even have a service that gets you canopy masks for free.

Kevin (KITMASX):

We do.

Janelle (KitMasx):

Our masks are precision cut, they fit well, they're easy to apply. Kevin cuts and tests every set.

Kevin (KITMASX):

Several times.

Janelle (KitMasx):

Yeah. Precision is kind of his thing.

Kevin (KITMASX):

And Janelle, she does everything else. She cares about each customer and is the heart of our business.

Janelle (KitMasx):

If you ever reach out, you're talking directly to us. Real people, real modelers.

Kevin (KITMASX):

And if you don't love your masks, we'll refund or replace them. No questions asked.

Janelle (KitMasx):

Visit kitmask.com, join the mailing list, and treat yourself to easier, cleaner masking.

Kevin (KITMASX):

Kitmask, made by a modeler for modelers.

Janelle (KitMasx):

Hey, what about me?

Kevin (KITMASX):

You're not a modeler.

Kentucky Dave:

You know, I was reflecting on that today. I cannot believe that we're already 112th of the way through 2026. Man, it's flying by.

Mike:

Well, I won't miss this snow and stuff. I'm ready for this to be over with.

Kentucky Dave:

No, and they're talking about another inch tomorrow.

Mike:

Maybe. Hope we get rain instead.

Kentucky Dave:

Yep.

Mike:

Melt the rest of these side streets, man. This is a pain.

Kentucky Dave:

I'm telling you what, this stuff ain't gonna go away anytime soon.

Mike:

Well, I'll tell you what is gonna go away soon, Dave, and that is the 30% off your order from KitMass up until HeritageCon, which is March 29th. So Mojo 30 at checkout will get you 30% off your order from KitMass up until HeritageCon kicks off. So, folks, order some KitMass. Support the business. It's a good company, and uh they'd like to hear from you.

Kentucky Dave:

Yep, and they'll go be at HeritageCon, and I've got a couple of things already I'm gonna pick up from them.

Mike:

Well, he may have something for me. We'll see. I don't know. He didn't say it, but he sent me a box art picture of a kid I'd been talking about. He says, Is this the one? I said, That's the one. So we'll see what happens.

Kentucky Dave:

All right.

Mike:

Well, you know, we talk a little bit about where we're going and where we've been. We've not been anywhere because we've been snowed in our houses. Yeah. I'm not going anywhere in February, I don't think. What about you?

Kentucky Dave:

Skippy and I may run up to the Columbus show, BlizzardCon, if there's no blizzard, because I'm sick of this stuff. But we he came over and we modeled for a couple hours the other day and talked about it. We may do an up and back in a day run to Columbus. We'll see.

Mike:

Well, that sounds fun. Hope we get to go.

Kentucky Dave:

Yep. Yep. And then, of course, the big one we're anticipating in March that we are gonna go to is HeritageCon.

Mike:

That's next week's, though. Our next month's.

Kentucky Dave:

You mean next month? Yeah.

Mike:

Well, folks, don't forget the shows we mentioned in the February model show Spotlight. We we pitched Jackson. We we mentioned Amps Atlanta and the 4M Mayhem in Michigan. And you just mentioned BlizzCon here in Region 4 in Columbus, Ohio. Our friends up in Minnesota might be taking in the Hope It Don't Snow show in Rochester.

Kentucky Dave:

They are.

Mike:

And then we'll know plenty of folks at the Old Dominion Open in Richmond, Virginia. So that's a lot going on in February. It's about when things really get kicking in the uh show calendar.

Kentucky Dave:

It used to be that there was just rarely a show in February. Now the calendar's full of them.

Mike:

Well, folks, you can get a list of these at present or at any time you want, just at IPMSUSA.org under the events tab on the IPMS USA website. And they got them listed out through most of the year, and it kind of grows as the year goes on. So but I don't know, February, March, and April are probably pretty pretty fully populated at this point.

Kentucky Dave:

And that just another service that your national organization, IPMS USA, provides to the modeler.

Mike:

Well, Dave, we got two episodes in February, 157 and 158.

Kentucky Dave:

And I'm looking forward to both of them.

Mike:

Well, I think in 157 we're gonna go back and talk about his fear targets topic. We kind of skiddeb by on in when we were talking to Jim, but that's okay. That episode ended up pretty good in the end. And uh this didn't quite get quite the traction I'd hope, but it's gonna be talking about what keeps us from starting and what keeps us what knocks us off our tracks or stops us in our tracks. So uh I think that'll be an interesting topic.

Kentucky Dave:

I agree.

Mike:

And 158 is gonna be what do you get from this hobby? And we're gonna talk about uh what we get out of it personally, and there'll be a call to action at the end of this short episode to hopefully get some input from from you folks out there, what you get out of this hobby.

Kentucky Dave:

So I'm looking forward to both of those. Well, we continue to grow as of this recording. The dojo now has 5,664 members. We'll be at 5,700 probably by the end of February. There are a lot of people posting their show flyers, and of course, we're always encouraging you to do that. Now that February's rolling around, and we mentioned all the shows, people have done a really good job in the last year of when they go to a show posting photos in the dojo. So I'm I'm expecting we're gonna get a lot of show reports and show photo features in the dojo. And finally, I gotta say I'm impressed with the amount of modeling that is getting done in January and getting posted to the dojo. People are posting a lot of in-progress and finished models, and man, there are some darn good modelers out there, man. I'm telling you what, I am impressed to to no end. So keep that stuff coming, guys. We really enjoy it. I'm loving the interaction. I never fail to page through and every day see a post that fascinates me in one way or another, whether it's a new product or a new new technique or or just somebody building a kit I've always been interested in.

Mike:

Well, in addition to the show flyers you mentioned, Mike Bukowski out in Arizona posted he's released a new book, Space Related Book. I think it's on the Gemini capsules? Yep. Or maybe the whole program. I I don't know. I didn't look at it yet, but I will. It's certainly interesting. And he had sent me an email earlier if we minded him posting that there. And uh I appreciate asking ahead of time. But if you got a book project or something you're working on or a new product, go ahead and throw it up there and uh see what kind of reaction you get. And we appreciate Mike uh posting that up because we don't get a lot of uh real space content, and he's one of the primary guys who does. So if you're into that, check it out, check out his links and uh see if that's something you might want to pick up.

Kentucky Dave:

Yeah, and Gemini holds a special place for me uh in real space simply because uh I was born in '61, so the Mercury stuff was just a little bit before my time. But Gemini is the program that I really first remember and and fell in love with space from that program. And always thought that the Gemini capsule looked really cool. So I can't wait. I can't wait to get eyes on that book.

Mike:

Well, speaking of space, we just sent a load of stuff down to KSC for this Artemis. Artemis thing, so looking forward to that. Mike is sending stuff around the moon, man. I hope. We'll see. Yep. We'll see if it's on time or not. Let's hope. Well, I don't want to I want it to be ready to go, not just because they want it to go. Exactly. That might not end well. Well, we invite you folks to join the Plasty Model Dojo over on Facebook and uh look forward to your contributions. Well, folks, uh we want you to participate on the dojo. We want you to participate through listener mail, and we want you to contribute to our episodes too. So we got a little call to action here to let us know what you get from this hobby. There's lots of things you get out of the hobby, relaxation, mental health, you name it, but uh, we'd really like to hear from some of you folks to let us know just how the scale modeling hobby helps you out, helps you get your enjoyment and what what kind of enjoyment you do get out of it. So you can email us at plasticmodelmojo at gmail.com or you can send us a direct message through Facebook's uh direct messaging system. So uh we look forward to hearing from you folks.

Kentucky Dave:

I'm just looking forward to February, man. Uh I'm I I think there's gonna be a lot of great stuff going on.

Mike:

All right. Well, I'll see you in the rest of the month, man.

Kentucky Dave:

I will too.

Contributor

Mike Baskette

Host
Contributor

David Knights

Co-host