Well, its summer- HOT! not much modeling lately due to other things going on. I bought a new machine- a micro lathe. Besides figures I do dabble with Formula One race cars and GP Motorcycles. I have made parts on my Harbor Freight lathe, but due to its size and inaccuracy, it was cumbersome (can you say cheap Chinese?). This little gem should do the trick. It's a Taig lathe, and it is made in the USA! Its only about 18" long. I can turn, drill, mill on the thing. For my busts, I usually use the lathe to machine a pedestal for the figure. Cool. More to come.....

New Magazine

Here is the latest issue of MMI (I think it is the June issue). Brett Green, the new editor stuck my Fallschirmjager on the cover- how cool is that!

Just finished the annual SCAHMS show pilgrimage. What a great show! Nice to see old friends and make new ones. The displays were top notch, and the vendor area huge!

I picked up a new Ma.K kit, so I am hooked. Here is the first one- painted with acrylics, oils, and pigments. Kinda like building an armor model, but more like a figure. Great canvas for weathering.

Young Miniatures SS Bust

Well, because I could not make it to Atlanta for the figure show, I worked away on the Young Miniatures SS Bust. This one is a great bust, but all his busts are. I painted this one with acrylics including the face. It was a challenge, I almost gave up on the sucker. But I am really happy with the results.

Fallschirmjager Finished

I had time to finish this figure- added to the base and shot some pictures.

New Figure

Finally have enough done on this figure to show it on the blog. This is a 120mm figure from JeffShiu Miniatures in Hong Kong. You can see the kit below. I painted the camo (Marsh 44 pattern) with my Iwata airbrush with the tip removed. I used about 8-10 psi of air, and really thinned paint. The head is a replacement I stole from a S&T kit. I had to remove the SS eagle and replace with one I sculpted from A&B to represent a Luft eagle.

I am working on the base now, and will add the left hand when I glue him down, so I do not bust anything off.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Being Christmas, I thought a nice, wintery picture would be fitting. This is a picture of the magnificent Hubbard glacier in Alaska. Enjoy!

New Book

Here is a new book that I picked up. This is a great book for WW2 Normandy fans. It details the battles around and in St. Lo. It really shows the hedgerows and surrounding areas. It is loaded with both great American GI and German pictures. If you like Fallschirmjagers this is a great reference. My latest figure was really inspired by this book (I will post pictures soon).

Merry Christmas!

Awesome New Figure

Here is a new figure I picked up from a sculptor in Hong Kong. It is really well done. Yep, it is a German Paratroop- Fallschirmjager. 120mm scale. Here are a couple of pictures. The company is Jeffshiu Miniatures http://jeffshiu.net46.net/

New Photo

At the recommendation of Pete Herrera, I reworked the shadows and other details on my English knight bust. I think the results are much better. For some reason, this thing is a bear to photograph. I experimented with my lights and finally got some results that work.

Vacation!

We took a cruise on Holland America that left from Seattle to the inside passage in Alaska. The trip was fantastic. One highlight was stopping at the Boeing Museum in Seattle. Worth the stop! WW2, WW1 aircraft, plus modern stuff too. Outside of Juneau we visited the Mendenhall Glacier. Here is a picture. The front of the glacier is about 250 years old!