The Armata & the USS Langley are Trumpeters' newest releases this month. We have colours, decals & built-up kits & CADs showing features in our preview...Read on... »

Box Art / Packaging

The Tamiya RSO/01 German Tractor is a brand-new tooled release presented in Tamiya's typical rigid top opener with crisp artwork depicting a unit from the 1st Skijager Division, Eastern Front, 1944.

This 100% newly tooled kit complements the existing 1/35 scale line up of German WWII vehicles in the Military Miniature Series and is also designed to be used with last year's release of the 50mm Pak38, kit # 35392.

The box contains a normal Tamiya instruction manual with clear construction steps, 37 in all, to complete this kit.

Also included is a glossy ‘background information’ leaflet which provides some history and details of the different designs and variants for the RSO through the WWII campaign.

So, you want to put your Italeri M-8 or M-20 in a winter scheme and you want some snow chains. Hauler has you covered.

Ok, just to preface this, photo-etch (PE) and I don’t get along. Also, I am not actually planning on putting my M-8 in a winter scheme so this review is just my attempt to show what they would look like. Your mileage may vary.

That said, the set includes enough brassand PE chains for 6 wheels, which is perfect for an M-8 or M-20. The product also says it can be used on a Dodge halftrack but it doesn’t tell you which kits to use. In fact, it doesn’t tell you anything, as there are no instructions included.

I wanted to share these before the forum dies. Just finished the Revell/Lodela 1/48ish H-19 with Caracal decals and Mr. Color GSB. For a really old kit, it goes together pretty easy. The Paul is almost done, just the rudders on the floats (my fat fingers keep knocking off), the aerial and lights need to be added. Still a great kit, HOWEVER, the catapult instructions leave a bit to be desired. Had to paint the Hinomarus and float markings due to red on the decal sheet not being usable. Hope you like!

Takom has a new "big box" set available with three of the four releases for the month. New artwork & big box features in our updated preview...Read on... »

More details today of MiniArt RSO/01 & 1.5t SD. ANH trailer. We add plastic, etch, markings & decals to the art, features & CADs in our preview...Read on... »

An Argentine A-4P Skyhawk is on the way from Hobbyboss in October. We look at the colours, decals & built-up kit in our preview...Read on... »

HI ! Here another project I have done in the past , if you wish to view the WIP and more pics of it , just follow this GOOGLE link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/We2Djn1yXN7fUHgH9 Enjoy ! Jmarc

The MiniArt in 48th scale P-47D-22RE Thunderbolt of the Duxford Eagles is their latest release. Art, decals & the real kites of this latest release in our preview...Read on... »

Clayton Ockerby from Workbench Hobbies treats us to his top ten of upcoming releases that caught his eye this past month in his video preview...Read on... »

Alpine Miniatures has two new single figures & a set of WSS panzermen inspired by an ace of the SS. See the inspiration, the gear & the figures in our preview...Read on... »

We have CADs, info & art of MiniArt's latest "Blitz" – the 35th scale Opel 3.6-6700A RN-Type in our preview...Read on... »

This review has been a long time coming both in build time and in life. I received the kit in October of 2024, coming off my first win at nationals that year and wanting to branch out from aircraft and turrets I quickly sent in my request for this kit when I saw it in the stash list. I was granted the kit and, in a week, or so it arrived. I started digging into it (researching the vessel checking for inaccuracies etc.) and then around Thanksgiving of that year my world flipped upside down. My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Hobbies and the like were put aside and thus Naiad stayed on the workbench. Jumping forward a year and I finally got back to taking some time for myself and got back to working on the ship and review.

I first read Robert Johnson’s autobiography when I was in grade school, probably when I was around 9 or 10 years old. One incident in his story always stuck in my mind and that was his near fatal mission of June 26 1943. On that sortie his aircraft “Half Pint” was badly shot up by FW-190s of JG-26 during a bomber escort mission. His description of the ordeal in the book has had me wanting to build a model that P-47 of his one day, but it was a P-47C, and nobody at the time was making kits of the P-47C, only D’s, M’s, & N’s. But then SuperScale Decals released a set of decals for all of Johnson’s P-47s, and Cutting Edge released a P-47C conversion cowling for the Hasegawa P-47D Razorback. I bought all of the above and eventually started the project, but then it was sidelined when I encountered some warping on the fuselage where it connected to the lower wing behind the engine. So it sat for many years on the shelf of doom until I recently decided to do knuckle down and finish this one up, no matter what. Without further elaboration, here is my build of “Half Pint”, as it would have looked, before setting out on that June B-17 escort mission. Decals are SuperScale, paints used are primarily AK Real Colors and Tamiya Acrylics. Thanks for looking, comments and critiques are welcome

Amusing Hobby's newest Leopard 2 is the "DEU" version in 1/35th scale. We lok at the kit features & the real thing in our preview...Read on... »

Ardennes Miniature is back with four new 1/35th scale WWII German figure releases of officers and buttoned-down Panzer crews. We look at the singles & sets in our preview...Read on... »

The fall model show season is here. We talk through upcoming events like the Military Modelers Club of Louisville invitational in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, plus an early nudge to start planning for the Cincinnati show in October. If you’ve been itching to get your work on a table, see new builds up close, or just hang out with other builders, this is the stretch of the year where local contests and club shows really deliver.

We also lay out what’s coming next on Plastic Model Mojo: an interview with Dr. Michael Polan from Knoxville, Tennessee, fresh off winning Best Aircraft at the 2026 IPMS National Convention, along with more listener-driven shop talk and a model show spotlight. And because the hobby is better together, we check in on the Plastic Model Dojo’s rapid growth, share what kind of posts are lighting up the feed, and offer a simple guideline that keeps everyone’s work from getting buried.

If you enjoy scale modeling podcasts that mix community, events, and real bench-top problem solving, subscribe, share this with a modeling friend, and leave us a review so more builders can find the show.

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Bump Riffs Graciously Provided by Ed Baroth
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Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.  

Takom has four new kits with a heavy red dirt of Vietnam theme in their latest sets. M113A1, the M577A1, stowage & soldiers in our new item preview...Read on... »

Originally founded in 1968, Squadron / Squadron Signal / MMD is back in business again after bankruptcy and are now based out of Ringgold, Georgia. Their web page was re-activated in January 2022 for plastic kits. A retail store was opened in 2025 at their Ringgold address and is open from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Monday through Friday. They have invited The Chattanooga Scale Modelers Club to meet at their warehouse, which occurs on the third Monday of the month. If you can’t make it, be sure to check out their YouTube channel where Brandon and guests are live every Wednesday night. Brandon Lowe and his father, Russ Lowe, re-acquired the Squadron Tools Product Line and are now marketing them once again.

This figure kit is produced by Aerobonus and is designed to be used in conjunction with several Korean War aircraft subjects or as a stand-alone figure. It’s nicely cast in 1/32 scale from a medium gray resin. The casting is crisp and clean, and contains four parts which include the main body, a head and a right and left arm. Assembly was very easy and there was no flash present on any of the castings.

Representing a US Air Force mechanic on a winter flight line somewhere, the figure is dressed in typical grab found during this time period in a cold weather environment, A coat with hood and heavy gloves cover the upper torso. A baseball like cap covers the head. And the lower torso has Utility style trousers and boots.