SPA Modeler

Medicman71 wrote: You should be.

That was supposed to be "skeered' (scared for the non-southerners) not skewered. Love spell check. besides....I got protection!

What a cutie! I have an 8 year old trim color King Charles Cavalier Spaniel And recently adopted a Chocolate Lynx Mitted Ragdoll kitten. The kitten is my second ragdoll. My Chloe was a blue point rag doll we had to put down this past January due to a blood clot that led up to a stroke.
My first kitten was a Tortie Persian.

This is my Doodle at 16 weeks. He is 6 or 7 years now. Still a cutie and that has saved his butt more than once....Sorry to hear about your kitty. Pets are precious additions to a family. Glad you found new friends to spoil.

Scale Plastic Aircraft Modeler Member Interview

John aka JKim

Carlsbad, California

1. First model kit?

I started building plastic models as a child growing up in the 70's. Most of the department and drug stores at the time had some sort of plastic model section and I spent countless hours ogling all of the models. If I remember correctly, I think the first one I bought and took home was a Revell 1/200 USS Arizona. My father had taken me to see the movie Tora Tora Tora at the theater and that must've jump-started my interest in WW2 history. At that time, my only tools were a pair of fingernail clippers and a tube of Testors glue.


2. Preferred scale?

I stopped building models after high school. When I re-entered the hobby about seven years ago, I started with 1/48 scale aircraft just to get re-acquainted with building. Since then, I've moved up to 1/32 aircraft and I prefer this scale, mostly due to my diminishing eyesight. I now use any and all tools available to the modern model builder. This includes airbrushes, shelves of different paints and weathering products, circle cutters, punch and die sets, a rotary tool with assorted grinding bits, a Silhouette Portrait craft cutter to make my own painting masks and a photo light box to help document the build process. It's gotten complicated!


3. Preferred subject or subjects?

My primary interest lies in WW2 aircraft, especially single-engine fighter planes. Within that genre, I really like modeling late WW2 Luftwaffe subjects. The variation in color schemes is very interesting to me. The Focke-Wulf Fw190D-9 is my favorite aircraft and I've done three of those in 1/32 and one in 1/48.


4. Favorite model built to date?

It's hard to isolate one particular build above the others since all of them had their share of challenges and milestones. If pressed, I'd have to say it was my 1/32 Hasegawa Fw 190D-9 built as Hans Dortenmann's Yellow-Tailed Black 1, in its initial, canopy open, state. Being my second build of this particular D-9 kit, I felt that I brought previous experience into play as well as incorporating a lot of new elements into the process. It solidified a basic structure of execution in my mind that gives me confidence in tackling future projects.


5. Hardest model built to date?

The Trumpeter 1/48 MiG-23MF. For one, it was out of my normal range of subjects so there was already a sense of uncertainty built in. Secondly, I heaped on way more aftermarket additions than I was ready to handle at the time. As a result, construction stalled and I had to walk away from it for a couple of months before I felt I was ready to finish it off.


6. Holy Grail kit?

There is no "Holy Grail" kit for me since I've been building everything that I've been wanting to build. Cost is not an issue in this hobby, thankfully. There are some BIG new models out there but they hold no interest for me at this time including the HK and Wingnut Lancasters, the Hobby Boss B-24's and the Airfix 1/24 Hellcat. However, there is a Meng King Tiger II that is on my to-do list and I'm feeling the same sort of nervousness that I did with the MiG-23. I'm very unfamiliar with tanks and I've also added a full interior set and metal tracks to complicate matters even more. Hopefully, it'll turn out better than the MiG!


7. Favorite kit maker?

There are LOTS of great model manufacturer's out there right now. It's a strange time for plastic modeling. Here in the US, we see a general decline in the hobby as evidenced by Revell's recent bankruptcy and the closing of many local hobby shops. But internationally, scale modeling seems to be thriving and even growing. For the scope of kits that I am interested in, my favorite manufacturer is probably Hasegawa. Accurate outlines, precise molding, decent detail in the cockpits but no complete engines, bulkheads or other details that won't be seen later. Hasegawa kits usually give you a good base to start with room to add personal touches like aftermarket cockpit enhancements or external riveting. I like to build my aircraft with the panels shut so the Hasegawa blueprint fits my build preferences more than say, Tamiya or Zoukei-Mura.


8. Favorite glue or glues?

Tamiya Extra Thin... one of the things that was not available when I first started modeling. This stuff is just fantastic. It allows for a more precise and clean glue joint and it can also be used to clean up rough plastic after your knife work. My least favorite adhesive is CA glue. It definitely has its place on my shelf but it can also be frustrating to work with. Thank goodness for debonder!


9. Favorite paint?

I like Acrylics. Mr Hobby Aqueous probably has the best qualities that I look for in a paint but I can't get it locally. Tamiya is a close second but you have to mix your own colors, which can be tedious. I've recently been trying AK Real Colors, which have a great range of exact WW2 colors and I have had good initial experiences but its got a few issues too.


10. What started you as a modeler?

See Question #1. The more relevant question might be why do I continue to build models? Part of it is connected to that childhood joy of opening up a new kit and exploring the kit parts on their sprues, visualizing what it is going look like when you put the parts together. What I really enjoy right now is sharing my builds online with the SPA community. It's great seeing different builds come together and being able to interact with other modelers globally as we build is a tremendously cool and gratifying thing. I've learned a lot at SPA and I hope to continue posting and learning with everyone.

Great interview! John's eloquent as always. I had to chuckle when reading this:

It's gotten complicated!

Yep, modeling ain't a simple thing.

Another great one guys! I agree modeling has gotten more complicated as we reach even further for more accuracy, more detail, etc. Will it ever be enough to satisfy us?

Great Interview John. I had to give that "complicated" statement a second look with a little laugh as well. You hit the nail right on the head with that one.

Great Interview again!

- Kari

Keep ‘em coming Bruce! These are great!

Looking forward to next Friday’s subject...