For some reason, model manufacturers have been omitting pilot figures from their kits. Many aftermarket producers have stepped in to fill the pilot seat void. Czech model manufacturer Aerobonus has a new tool release (2023) in its 1/32 Modern NATO Fighter Pilots, which the instructions state can be used for all 30 NATO member states). Like most pilot figures being released recently, this figure is standing but can easily be made to sit with some razor saw surgery.

This pilot is one of five in the AeroBonus 1:32 Modern NATO Pilots:

Once again, I was able to finish three more ships this month. Fist up is the Pit Road 1/700 scale Liberty Ship AK-222 Livingston: Next is the Fujimi 1/700 scale JMSDF Chikugo: Next is the Tamiya 1/700 scale HMAS Vampire: That's all for now, thank you for looking in. Comments are welcome.

Today I can show two more helicopters I finished this month. The first one is the Mach 2 1/72 scale SM-1/300 helicopter: It's rather crude, but it's the best I can do with a Mach 2 kit. They truly define "short run" kits! And next is the Revell 1/72 scale US Coat Guard HH-65 Dauphin, my first Coast Guard helicopter: I did my best with this too, but it seems lately, I'm not achieving the best quality that I can. I'm guessing it's because of some of the health issues I'm going through. At least I'm still building though. Thank you for looking in, comments are welcome.

HI ! Here another project I have done in ther past ,using the BANDAI kit that come with the JEEP. If you like to view more pics, Just follow this GOOGLE link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/vGivTEfKBnC8peEJA Enjoy ! Jmarc

Welcome to Episode 130 of The Modelgeeks Podcast!  

In this episode, we’ll kick things off with what’s happening in our Model World, to include our guest host, Eli Van Helvoirt who will be joining us behind the mic for this recording. Eli recently attended the 2026 IPMS USA Nationals in Fort Wayne Indiana and took home the award for Best Junior! Eli will discuss his experiences at this, his third Nationals, what he likes to build, and what inspires him. The Juniors categories were well attended this year and the work on their tables could run head-to-head on the adult side of the room!
 
 Also joining us for an interview session is Mr. Austin Frields. Austin runs a YouTube channel, “Sprues With Spoons”, and has some ambitious ideas on bringing more of the hobby into all media. Check out his channel with a special report from Fort Wayne and the Nats.

 From the Modelgeeks Podcast web page we take a look at the Listener Gallery and the fine work that has caught our eye.

 

Mentioned in the Episode:
 
Sprues With Spoons
 
 

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 We are very fortunate to be able to join the scale modeling podcast community and are in the company of several other really GREAT podcasts. Hopefully, someday we’ll earn our wings and be able to keep up with those guys!  Please check them all out at Scale Model Podcasts.

 

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One of the newer suppliers for the IPMS-USA Review Corps is DXM Decals, the DXM stands for Double Excellent Models. While as the name implies, the company specializes in decals, they also produce detail parts and paint masks for airbrushing aircraft. The company produces their products for 1/72, 1/48, and 1/32 scale aircraft. The decals are printed by Cartograf, who is known for their quality work. Any modeler that has applied water-slide decals will have no issues with using this set.

Episode 245 we joined by Rob Riv and John "Spud" Murphy to talk about "Scale Effect"…..it is a really great conversation.

Don't forget to support the sponsor of our show Scott from the Scale Modellers Supply

https://www.scalemodeller.com.au/

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The second part of Clayton Ockebry's build of Tamiya's new 1/35th scale RSO/01 kit today. See in photos & video how he transforms this from primer to finish in Part II.Read on... »

The best model shows are not just contests, they are proof that a hobby can feel like a community. We’re back with Model Show Spotlight to share what’s coming next after Nationals, starting with our own Military Modelers Club of Louisville (MMCL) and the practical choices that make a local plastic model show run like a well-oiled machine.

Alex Restrepo joins us to break down how MMCL pulled off a raffle that scaled up smoothly at the IPMS Nationals, from sponsored closeout kits to a barcode-based system that scans, projects, and posts winning ticket numbers online. We talk volunteer coordination, contingency planning, and why convenience for ticket buyers is not a “nice to have,” it’s what keeps the room moving. Then we hit the details for the MMCL show at Paroquet Springs in Shepherdsville, Kentucky on September 26, including registration timing, vendor support, nearby hotels and food, and the club’s push to welcome youth builders and fast-growing genres like Gunpla.

MMCL Show Info

Next, Doug Reed returns to preview the Oregon Modelers Jamboree in Albany, Oregon at the Linn County Expo Center on September 12, which also hosts the IPMS Region 7 contest. The Jamboree approach leans into an expo feel: club tables, demos, display-only space, and social time that makes the event more than “enter, shop, wait, leave.”

Oregon Modelers Jamboree

We close with quick early bench impressions of Arma’s pre release Hawk 81-A2,  P-40B kit and what we’re seeing so far.

Subscribe for more model show spotlights, share this with your club, and leave a review so more scale modelers can find the show. What’s one change that would instantly make your local model contest better?

Model Paint Solutions
Your source for Harder & Steenbeck Airbrushes, Mixing supplies, and great advice!

SQUADRON
Adding to the stash since 1968

Model Podcasts
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KitMasx
Custom Canopy Masks for the Scale Modeler.

Bases By Bill
Your source for custom display bases, laser engraved airfield and carrier decks.

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

MiniArt's new "35th scale "German Tank Crew Winter Uniform, 1939-41" features four figures & a sprue of weapons & equipment. See about the soldiers & the set in our preview...Read on... »

The non-profit UK based group known as the Great War Aviation Society publishes their journal, Cross & Cockade International, four times a year. Issues are available in English as printed [Softbound, A4 (8.27” x 11.69”), 80 pages plus a centerfold, as well as digital copies (or both). A new magazine, Contact!, is now available in both print and digital download. Society also provides a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publish WWI themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph, which I reviewed earlier for the IPMS-USA. This UK Journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front. The Great War Aviation Society also hosts a lecture series available through Zoom. If interested, you will need to register early as the call is limited in attendance.

During the latter part of World War 2, as it lost its iron grip on the skies, Germany began to rely more and more on antiaircraft guns and weapons as its first line of defense against marauding Allied aircraft. What this meant in practical terms is that they had to range far and wide to find suitable vehicles to create mobile mounts for all sorts of weaponry, putting them on virtually anything that could move and handle the weight. Of course, eventually this expedient rigging became unsustainable, but not without cost to the allies.

Special Hobby has several releases slated for September. Some are new, some (re)newed. See them in our preview...Read on... »

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Grant is out this episode but the rest of the gang is here and raring to go! Jensen leads us into a discussion point about "knowing your limitations" and we sit down and interview Model Designer, Reference Expert, Museum Vehicle Restoration Technician and Historian David Hobbs, a friend of the Posse to talk about his career and the projects he has worked on. 

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I started this project with the intention of building the 1/48 Hobby Boss F8F-1 kit. But early in construction, I ruined the lower wings trying to install resin gear bays. I ended up pulling a Hobby Craft F8F-1 kit from the stash, and elected to use the Hobby Craft cockpit, wings, stabilizers and fuselage, and the Hobby Boss prop, cowl, landing gear, gear doors, canopy rear deck and roll-over brace. I used markings from Starfighter Decals that depict an F8F-1, Bureau Number 94759, attached to the Naval Air Facility/Naval Ordinance Test Station at Inyokern, Califoirnia in 1950. This Bearcat was used for HVAR (high velocity aircraft rocket) testing. Here's a link to a full build article: https://imodeler.com/2026/08/1-48-hobby-craft-hobby-boss-f8f-1-bearcat/

Art, features & sprues of the most colourful of MiniArt's 1/48th scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9's - the JV 44 “Sachsenberg Schwarm” "Basic Kit". Check it out in our preview...Read on... »

Das Werk adds new decals, workable track links & roof armour to the RFM Schützenpanzer Puma kit. We look at the package in our preview...Read on... »

Hi ! Here another project I have done in the past , of course it's scratchbuilt , if you like to view more pics of this prject , I have set-up an GOOGLE page for it, just follow this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/yuQutHmNnZNFEhdY7 Enjoy ! Jmarc

A Hudson & shades, a big but small Tarhe, a big bucket, high firefighters & a daring heist are the subjects of ICM's August releases. We update you with the contents, CADS, history & artwork in our preview...Read on... »

Due to the nature of our armament, and the tactics in which we shall perfect ourselves, we shall be called upon to carry out operations of far-reaching military importance, and we shall habitually go into action when the need is immediate and extreme. Let me call your attention to the fact that our badge is the great American eagle. This is a fitting emblem for a division that will crush its enemies by falling upon them like a thunderbolt from the skies.

The 101st Airborne Division…has no history, but it has a rendezvous with destiny.