Some new photos of my models, and my M4 Sherman tank

Hawjker Hurricane 1/48 scake with Sky Decals

Academy 1/72nd scale FW-190 in North African scheme and markings

Airfix 1/72nd scale Junkers Ju-87 in Italian Markings and North African scheme . 

 1/48 scale Hawker Hurricane with Sky decals

Below Diorama Revell 1/72nd Scale M4 Sherman and H/O Scale building under construction, with German army progress, Battle of Venice 1944figures 1/72nd Scalein

1/72nd scale Revell M4 Sherman Tank with gunner added

Below 1/72nd Scale Pro Scale FW-190A 1/48 Hawker Hurricane

Pro Scale 1/72nd scale FW-190A North African paint scheme and markngs

Airfix 1/72nd scale Junkers Ju-87 with Italian Markings and North African paint scheme

My collection, a work in progress.

Academy 1/48 scale P-36 Hawk 75 French Air Force markings and scheme.

Old Monogram kit Curtis P-40 AVG/Flying Tigers

Another view of the Monogram Spitfire.  Used authentic paints, or so I thought, until I started seeing photos posted,  Wish I had these decals again and I would repaint the model.

Supermarine Spitfire Battle of Brittain markings Sky Decals, 1/48 Monogram kit

Hawker Hurricane Mk II North Africa 1/48 scale

F4U1 Corsair in paint scheme and markings for Major Gregory (Pappy) Boyington VMF-214, the Black Sheep
Below, another angle on the Corair.  You can see, I am still applying the decals here,

Another view of the F4F Wildcat.  1/48 scale

F4F Wildcat,in early war paint scheme and markings, 1/48 scale

Academy 1/48 kit Curtis P-36 Hawk 75 in French Airforce markings and paint scheme 1939 pre war.

Revell PT 109 1/72nd scale.  I lost this model, due to parts breaking off of her.  Will replace her again.

Making your model come alive.

Early work on the paint scheme, you will see what a difference finding images on line made in getting the colors right for this model.

Sometimes the most challenging thing a modeler has to do, is bring to life the kit he, or she has bought.  The kit will come with decals, a paint scheme and occasionally more than one paint scheme for the completed kit, and parts.

However if the paint scheme or decals are less than exciting in stirring the soul of the modeler, the kit will just sit there, and it may not be built for several weeks, months and worse case situation years.

The first thing I do, after making sure all the parts are in the kit, is go on line and begin to look for both unique paint schemes as well as details and information to make my model come to life.  I can hear someone now asking, why information what difference is it what unit or squadron a tank, aircraft ship or figure represents?

Well it doesn't matter so much about a squadron or unit so much; however sometimes an aircraft, say the B-24 Liberator, may have been painted with orange and green stripes on the wing and fuselage.  Yet there may have been a B-24 that had bright colored circles of Red and Yellow and Blue.

The point being, if I only went with the first paint scheme out of the box, I very well may have been bored with it and it would sit around collecting dust.

An example with me, when I got my mpc JU-52 several months back, I looked at it and thought I remember there being a version of the Ju-52 in North Africa, and yet the kit had no such markings or paint schemes.  I went on line and searched hard and long, and I found not just a paint scheme for the model, serving in Italy in 1943, but I found photos of the interior, which helped me do some interior painting and detail work on the 40 year old model.

Because of the time I spent on researching the Ju-52, it is one model that looks more real than most.  Now I am still scrounging decals for it, but that too is part of the fun

First look at the model, old decals look good, but aren't usable due to age, the styrene is clean as ever and holds up remarkably well for being nearly 40 years old.

Below, another look at the parts right out of the box, and those instructions that were simple to follow

A look at the early work on the paint scheme, note I pre paint the model before assembly.  This way I can work on it while it is still flat, so to speak.\B

Below is a beautiful photo showing the paint scheme from the rear view of this model.  You can see some of the detail coming out in the paint scheme from this angle.Last photo of the finished product, this shows all the work done to bring this model to life by doing the research and taking time.  Do not rush, and remember even if a part can't be seen once it is inside, if you added the detail you know it's there and adds to the realism of the kit.  You will notice that the wheel on the left landing gear isn't straight.  This was because when mpc produced this kit in the late 1960's the landing gear assembly was not molded correctly and never in the production runs was the mistake corrected.

Some of my models, and how I became a scale modeler.

Above me working on my model of mpc's Ju52 transport.

Above two photos of my model of the Airfix 1/72nd scale Ju-87 Stuka,
Airfix really revamped and added details that had been missing on the old mpc kit. This shows a Stuka in standard North African paint scheme, with Italian markjngs. Italy did have Ju-87's but not until 1943 and they were painted the standard German two tone green and Sky Blue color scheme and used in Sicily.

 Above my completed model of the old mpc Ju-52, in a paint scheme for Italy 1943. Still scrounging decals, since the old ones from the kit do not work.

Above, original box art from the old mpc PROFILE SERIES kit of the Ju-52. This is still a favorite, even though it is out of production. Thank heaven for e-bay.



Since I was eight years old, I have been into scale model building. For me this began with me watching my dad work on scale model kits on Saturdays. I would sit patiently and watch as my father would build a B-17 or P-40. Maybe I would have the opportunity to paint the kit or add the decals.

When I was 14, I began to build models myself, and it has been an adventure ever since. Back when I began, I built two companies models; they were mpc and Revell. At first Revell only offered one set of decals and a single paint scheme with their kits, but they had a wide array of kits on the market.
MPC on the other hand had what were known as the Profile Series, you got three sets of decals and three different paint schemes.

Part of the fun with mpc was deciding which version you would build. The decals sometimes were the most colorful part of the kit.

Several years ago, I was forced to abandon my entire collection. I could taken only five completed kits, and the handful of unbuilt kits I had at the time.

I lost every MPC kit and Revell kit I had built, what made this really bad, was that mpc was no longer producing hardly anythjng by this point and Revell had long since stopped producing their kits.
I began to slowly rebuild my collection, and one of the most recent kits I built was an old mpc kit, that I bought off of e-bay. The kit was of the Ju-52 and I added a few details to it.

I found that Airfix was the parent company of the mpc line in the US, and just recenly built the Airfix kit of the Ju-87.

Above are some photos of these models. Note I will add more and include some how to's as I go along.

My question to any of the scale modelers out there, do you remember the old mpc profile series kits? What was your favorite kit, and what kit that was never released would you have liked to see mpc produce in the profile series, if they were still around today?