Search the Community

It has been reported that the entire Testors lines...incuding Model Master...has been unceremoniously dropped. While I don't doubt this...Model Master has been dying drop by drop for some time...getting confirming information from multiple sources is something else again. As of a month or so ago, Rustoleum stated to me in a phone call that the latest updates as to which colors...if any... would not be produced had not yet been determined, but that Model Master was still being produced. They did advise me that one of their warehouses was temporarily closed due to Covid-19, which is why some colors were not available or backordered. Today I called my local Hobby Town and all they knew was that some of the colors had been discontinued. No knowledge at all re: the complete demize of Testors. At the same time, I checked the website of Stevens International...one of the largest hobby wholesalers in the U.S. and the one many Hobby Town shops order from...and Model Master is no longer on their paint list. Additionally, Testor products of any kind take up a grand total of 1 2/3 pages. In order to be fair, I also checked the website of Megahobby...self-promoted as having the largest selection of hobby products on the web....and they list all of the colors from Model Master. That included Acryl, Metalizer, Automotive, Spray cans, etc. 95% of everything listed is out of stock. I know, I know. Most of you have already converted to acrylics like Vallejo and Ammo MIG and don't really care about the death of Testors/Model Master. Why does it matter to me? First of all, I'm trying to finish a vignette for a commissioned magazine article and I need the four skin tone enamel colors to complete it. I'm not really in the mood to change horses in midstream, especially since I've never used acrylics and don't have the time right now to learn. Particularly since I have a deadline, even though it is fairly loose. Second, it will impact my Modelbuilding Guide E-books, essentially bringing them to a screaming halt until I can adjust to the loss of Model Master. Finally, I have a call in to Rustoleum to try to get a definitive answer from the horse's mouth. I'll let you know when I hear from them. BREAKING NEWS I just spoke with a lady from Rustoleum. This is straight from the horse's mouth: "The Model Master...both acrylic and enamel...line, as well as Aztek, have been discontinued effective immediately due to declining demand." Incidentally, if you think you're all right for a while because you have a stash of Model Master, maybe not. Over the last couple or three years, chemical composition has changed to the point that paint that I bought two years ago has gone bad in the bottle before I ever opened it. This doesn't happen to every color, but it might be a good idea to check your paint stock. Now if I can find a flesh tone paint that'll let me finish my vignette! 5

If anyone reading this enjoys watching kit buildups or kit reviews on YouTube, you need to watch a video that can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXHYVWyAGcE&t=11s Why? Because the Federal Trade Commission has just announced that starting January 1, 2020 any video that is identified as made for kids but that they believe is not made for kids, the creator of that video will be fined $42,530 PER VIDEO. Incidentally, a kid is defined as anyone under the age of 13. So why should that matter to us? Because two of the categories that they will be especially focusing on will be arts & crafts and toys. Modelbuilding, scale models and model kits are all too often classified by those who do not know what they're talking about as arts & crafts or toys. Rather than spend a lot of time and space recapping information that is already on YouTube, I'd suggest you watch the video...and others...then reply to this post. By the way, if you think this doesn't affect us, it does. We're a family friendly organization, we want to attract kids so they become modelbuilders and kids watch YouTube in droves. If they can't find videos about modelbuilding, we lose a very valuable source that may expose them to scale models for the very first time. Anyway, watch the video and let me know what you think.

It is now 10:41 a.m., October 28, 2019. I just got off the phone with Rustoleum and here is what I learned: 1. The Bulletin about Testors going away is fake and they are still trying to track down who posted it. Rustoleum didn't say so, but I would suggest the idiot is in a world of hurt whenever he or they are caught. 2. It is TRUE that international distribution will end EXCEPT for Canada. Again, Testors products will continue to be distributed in the U.S. AND CANADA. 3. It is TRUE that Aztek Airbrushes are gone. 4. It is TRUE that Metalizer products are gone. 5. The ONLY link for current Testors products is https://www.rustoleum.ca/product-catalog/consumer-brands/testors/ 6. The familiar testors.com websie does NOT show the correct current product line. 7. The Testors link at the bottom of the Rustoleum home page is NOT currently correct. At this time, it takes you to the old testors.com home page. 8. Having been made aware of the link/website problems, Rustoleum will be working to correct them. 9, Rustoleum stated during our telcon that Model Master is not going away any time soon, but colors that do not sell will not be continued. What that means for anyone's favorite color I can't say since I have no idea what their criteria for sales volume is.

Good evening, Have you noticed that most of the time LAV models aren't really all that dusty or dirty? Particularly the tire sidewalls? Well, I stumbled across an LAV operating in Afghanistan that looks like the paint shop was spraying dust. The tire treads and the sidewalls are pretty much the same color. For what it's worth, here's a photo that surfaced on Quora. Despite the fact that my primary interest is aircraft, this shot intrigues me to the point that I just might try building a model to match.

Hi all, I assume we've all heard about the forthcoming 1/48th P-38G/H from Tamiya. If y'all are looking for a slew of P-38 reference material in one place, including 517 photos, I would remind you of my Lockheed P-38 Photo Gallery CD-ROM. It even includes some 40 photos of the XP-58 Chain Lightning. You can get all the information here. Oh, yeah, shipping is included in the price.

Just a quick note to let y'all know about my latest e-book in The Marmo Method Modelbuilding Guide series. This one is #9 and is titled From An E-Book To A Hard Copy (or How To Print A PDF). Most of us 'older' modelers actually prefer a publication we can hold in our hands and that's the whole purpose of this installment. Now you can save money on the e-book but print any part or all of it whenever you want to or need to. Anyway, you can find the full particulars here. Check it out and let me know what you think. BTW, it's only 99 cents.

I am proud to announce that my latest E-book is now available. The attached image should give you all the information. Any questions, don't hesitate to reply in this thread or send me a private message. And since a functioning hyperlink can't be inserted into an image, here are working links for your choice of E-book formats at smashwords.com or a printable PDF at scalepublications Now, who do I contact to submit a review copy?

For those who have wondered where I vanished to...particularly my client who has already been informed...and to steal a quote from a Looney Tunes cartoon, I've been sick lately. And frankly, sicker than I ever had any desire to be. I have learned, since the first part of May, that I have severe sleep apnea...but I didn't know it. Sure I snored like mad when sleeping, would go to sleep at the drop of a hat, talked in my sleep and moved around constantly when sleeping. But I always considered that to be normal. Silly me. It wasn't! How I learned about this, in a nutshell, started to become apparent on April 25, 2017. My wife picked my up at church and when I got in the car, I told her to take me to the E.R. What's interesting is the fact I don't remember that...or anything else for the next four or five days. As I've been able to reconstruct things, when I got to the E.R., there was essentially no oxygen to the brain. This resulted in my being intubated and medically sedated for 3 1/2 to 4 days. I got out of the hospital after 8 days. Strangely enough...and thanks to the grace of God...my brain still functioned and there has been little if any brain damage. If you want something that keeps you humble...or that will make you humble if you haven't been...is that fact that most doctors, nurses and P.A.s that I've had contact with since waking up in the hospital keep referring to the fact that my mind still exists and functions normally as a 'miracle' and 'fortunate'. Me? I keep looking up from time to time and saying "Thank you." There is a lot more I could tell you, but the bottom line is that the completion of all of my model commissions have been slowed way down, many of which will end up as builds on this forum and possibly as more detailed ebooks as well. How soon will they all be done and I will back on something approaching a normal schedule? I can't say but I'm working as fast as I can. The C-46 should be the first post-illness project finished, so if everyone just hangs in there, the C-46 should be done in the next couple of months at the latest.

There's nothing like having the original tech orders that specified how camouflage was to be applied to aircraft, both Air Corp and Navy, in WW-II. Even better are the exact specs for insignia and the dates when each insignia style was used. 51 years ago, Jay Frank Dial...a professional modelbuilder and amateur aviation historian...produced a thin book that summarized that information using nothing more than the original tech orders as his source. Jay passed away many years ago and his book has become virtually impossible to find. Since I knew Jay at the time he produced the book, I have an original. To honor Jay and to make that original material available to one an all, I have produced his book in a downloadable PDF format. It has also been enhanced with an index to make finding the information easier, along with ten photos of actual aircraft to help you see what the camouflage patterns really looked like. Viewable with an Adobe Acrobat Reader or print out any or all of it as a hard copy. Price is a paltry $9.99 and can be purchased by going to this link: http://modelersweaponsshop.freeyellow.com/camouflagebook.html