Reflecting on 2024 and Exciting Plans for 2025: Episode 131

Welcome to Plastic Model Mojo, a podcast dedicated to scale modeling, as well as the news and events around the hobby. Let's join Mike and Kentucky Dave as they strive to be informative, entertaining and help you keep your modeling mojo alive.

Oh man, dave, we are at the end of the year.

Yes, we are Almost exactly at the end of the year.

That's right, your dark period's almost over.

That's right, that's right. I'm looking forward to 2025.

Well, at this year end, what is up in your model sphere?

Well, you know, looking back over my model sphere for 2024, and I didn't accomplish everything I wanted to, but I finished a model. I've got a couple very close, so I've kind of got a running start to 2025. But, more importantly than what I finished and didn't finish, I had fun, and that is what the hobby is supposed to be is fun. Man, we went to, I think, a record number of shows. That's right, or at least I did.

You missed out on one or two. I got a record for me, but we'll get into all that a little bit down the road here. But what else Anything? Just recap, and I guess it's what we're here to do tonight.

Yeah, you know, the interactions with the listeners were fantastic. I got plenty of kits and plenty of supplies and other stuff. I don't think I've enjoyed a year of modeling as much as I enjoyed this last year. Good, so that's a good thing. My model sphere is full of joy. How about you?

Mine is as well, and we'll get to some of the details for 2024 a little later in this short episode. I'll address that first. We got a truncated final episode of the year. I think I was a bit naive to think we could get everything in that we wanted to get in for 2024, given the holidays right smack in the middle of it, yeah.

So Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs.

That's right, which happens a lot this time of year yes, it does. You know I've been working a lot on the new banner graphics for all our social media stuff that's going to start showing up soon, and then I've been thinking about what we can do for Plastic Model Mojo in 2025. And I just want to make sure I enjoy that this coming year as much as I did this past like you, yeah, so you're feeling the juices flowing is what you're telling me.

Yeah, I'm feeling the juices flowing. What you're telling me? Yeah, I'm feeling the juices flowing.

That's fantastic. Speaking of things flowing, I'm assuming you have a modeling fluid in front of you.

Oh, sorta Sorta. It's a new one, it's called Dr Pepper.

Oh my gosh, have we had our fill of holiday cheer? Have we gotten to the limit?

Well, if we got to the limit, we're knocking this out a little earlier in the evening than we normally do and, yeah, I might need to do something after we're done. Let's go to bed. I hear you.

What about you? Well, I'll uphold the honor of the podcast. Thank you I have. I think this is a new one, another one courtesy of the model wife. It's called Boatswain American IPA, india Pale Ale from well, boatswain is the way it's supposed to be pronounced for you, navy guys and Rhinelander Brewing out of Monroe, wisconsin and any beer out of Wisconsin you know has got to be good, because those people know beer.

Well, we can't wait to hear that one in the wrap up. That one's new to me. I've not heard of that one. Another one courtesy of the model wife. Ah well, good, she's taking care of you, man, that's right.

Made it another year. That's right Now. We've just got to stock up on modeling fluids for 2025. Hopefully you got some as gifts.

I did. We'll put those out in the new year. That's good, can't wait. Well, folks, normally we would be sticking the listener mail in here, but we're giving ourselves a little break here for this last episode. We're going to defer all that until the first episode of 2025. We got some good stuff. We got several long ones, dave. I just really haven't had time to get into them all and they're multi-part and I'm anxious to.

Well, this gives us a chance for all of the listeners out there to write in and tell us what your holiday modeling experience was like. Did you get to model? Did Santa bring you things that you wanted? Did you take advantage of any Christmas sales? Write in and tell us what your holiday experience was like.

You were almost clairvoyant. I'm good. I was going to list your mail to call to action. One of them is obviously right into the show, like you just suggested. Yes, I'm good, but Dave just suggested your holiday modeling experience. But give us a high point for your 2024 and give us a teaser about what you hope to have happen in your hobby in 2025.

Those are both great subjects. What's the model that somebody built that they're most happiest in 2024 and what their goal is for 2025?

Well, they're going to hear us talk about those two things. I want to lead this undefined segment now with a 2024 wrap up and just what all we got done in this past year, with a 2024 wrap up and just what all we got done in this past year.

All right.

As far as content goes, I think we've started doing these shorts and some other things and we've put out a record amount of content. Yes, in 2024.

Yep and had a record amount of downloads too.

Yeah, we have, things are moving, certainly moving in the right direction.

Absolutely.

So we appreciate all the folks tuning in and helping with that man. We went to a bunch of shows this year, dave yep, yep, I think.

I think we counted nine nine between us yeah or I went I think well, you went to one different than me because you didn't make the louisville show that's right, I went to knoxville you went to knoxville because you didn't make the Louisville show. That's right, I went to Knoxville. You went to Knoxville because you missed out on Louisville due to inclement weather.

Yep, I did so. We hit the big ones, for sure.

Yes, well, in fact, when you take a look at it, we hit both Amps National and the IPMS National national and the IPMS national yeah, for the IPMS national we had a crew go with us which was really kind of an international crew go with us, which was really kind of enjoyable. And, boy Madison, you all did a, you know, shout out to you, you all did a great job, it was fantastic. And HeritageCon, yeah, and HeritageCon as well. So we hit three big shows as well as a bunch of invitationals and the MMSI show.

Oh, that's right. Before big shows yeah, we added that one this year.

Yeah, that's right. I mean before big shows. Yeah, we added that one this year. Yeah, that's right, and I think we'll try and add that again next year because I really, really enjoyed that and it was not a bad trip. Now you did all the driving, so so you know, it's kind of kind of funny for me to say it wasn't a bad drive but it really was, it wasn't.

I mean that's not. I mean it's not a short trip, but it's not. It's well, well within our average force. Yes for shows, it's just not.

It's not too bad, especially for an overnighter yep, yep no, that was a fun time and I picked up a number of kits that I wanted. Uh, I, I at the nationals, I really ended up finding a number of good deals. Thank gosh we were driving, so that we didn't have to try and fit it all in suitcases and get it on an airplane.

I got some good stuff this year too, but I was, I guess, well-reserved. You were more restrained than I was. I didn't get too crazy. Let's go ahead and say that I didn't get too crazy, no.

I bought a lot of books this year.

Yes, I did too. Not only did I buy kits, I bought a fair number of books, between stuff I picked up at shows and stuff that Inch High encouraged me to buy. Every time he sent me and forwarded me an email that says, hey, hamilton Books is having a big blowout sale, and he got me with that on at least two occasions this year. You know we tried out some new airbrushes, courtesy of Dr Miller. We did our first giveaway listener giveaway with B24, thanks to our friends at Squadron. You know we planned to do a lot at the beginning of 2024, but I don't know that even we planned everything that came out as well as it did.

No, we did pretty good, man. Thanks for all the support, folks. It's been a lot of fun and now we're getting ready to start a new year. Before we get into that, though, I don't know if we've finished a lot of things We've been building a lot of stuff. Yes, I know some folks out there would like us finish more and we'll try. But you know you've got, you've had several builds going on. I know you finished the, the landing craft yes, I did.

I got the lane. Not only did I finish the landing craft, I took it to madison where it was entered with the September's group build and we had a great turnout in that group build. I've got the SAM really close. I've been cranking away on the Moosaroo, because that's a deadline that's coming up quick. I got that BT-7. I've got the F-8. That's crying for me to come back to it and I have not forgotten it. And Ian McCauley's performance in Reviving Shelf Queens has kind of inspired me to try and take a look at making 2025 the year that I dust off some of those ones that have been sitting for a while.

Well, I finished the Moose Root Cup for this past for 2024. That was fun. Yeah, it wasn't a great kid, but I enjoyed that.

I think I had your innovative idea.

Well, it's in the display case now and it still makes me smile. It's pretty funny. It was Other than that, I've been chipping away at this E16. That one's moving forward. We'll have a Benchtop update here in a little while, but, yeah, that one's getting close to done. And I've also got the uh kv-85 I've been working on and the little flak panzer 3d thing, and until I get something done I won't be starting anything else. But you know, I look back and I've had a number I'd hope to finish and once again I didn't do it. So I'm probably not going to do that anymore. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think that's.

I don't know well, let's again the question to ask yourself did you have fun this year? Yes, whether you finished anything at all or not, did you have fun?

I had as much fun as I've ever had in this hobby this past year.

The same for me, man, and I don't think you could ask for more out of a hobby than that.

I think you're right. Well, looking on into this coming year, man, we got a lot, we're trying to get done again. Year man, we got a lot, we're trying to get done again. I don't think it'll look drastically different than 2024, but we've got a new segment we're going to be adding on the off weeks that we'll talk about a little later after the first of the year, but that's going to be fun. And then we're going to have to kick up the wheel again, because I've told Uncle Ed Barrett that he's going to be our third chair on the wheel of Accidental Wisdom, first time we run that again in the new year, which hopefully will be first quarter sometime.

Yeah, so send those questions in folks.

That's right. We need some more questions. I put back a bunch of listener mail. I've got probably five. I need to get out of those before I throw it out and forget about it yes and just for the show, I think we're going to try to keep up the pace that we've established here in 2024, because we stepped it up a little bit yes, we, we did.

We went from just two episodes a month most months to two episodes a TMM, a show spotlight and sometimes a Dr Miller short or a vendor short. So yeah, we're dropping a lot more content, so expect more of that.

You know, I think we've dropped at least, well, two episodes and and and two, two bonuses since I don't know, since most of the year I guess, and that's that's been fun, cause a lot of those things you know, for us aren't aren't too much additional work, so it's good stuff.

Well we've. We've had a lot of fun with it I mean whether whether it's sitting there talking with dr miller, you know, doing a short on some aspect of airbrushing or finishing or whatever, or sitting down and talking with brandon of squadron about you know what's been going on in his business and the move and kind of a behind the scenes to the hobby, to the business side of the hobby. Those have been fun.

Well, we'll talk to those people. And more, dave, yes, we will, and we also. It's kind of content related, but the whole thing's going to be wrapped around our new website Not quite going to get it done before the first of the year, but we are really really, really close. I talked to those guys my last week of work my last workday, I think and I sent them one more bit of information they needed and I think they're going to put the final draft up on the preview site and we're going to have a look at it and then we're going to pull the trigger on that and folks, when that launches, expect the banners on all the social media to change. It's all going to match. It's all going to be looking pretty good, so can't wait for that. And then I got to start talking to those guys about phase two, which is going to hopefully incorporate things that will let us have a lot more engagement with our audience.

Yes, yeah, because that is the thing, to be honest with you, that I've enjoyed most about modeling in 2024 is engaging with all of the listeners, and you know, like I said, there's nothing more that I enjoy on a Monday morning. I'm at the office, I'm grinding through legal work, which you know can sometimes not be the most interesting thing in the world, especially when you're doing the detail side of it and to get a DM out of the blue from a listener with either a comment or a question or suggestion, and that's that's. There's nothing that brightens my day more than that. So, yeah, I hope we get more engagement with the listeners in 2025.

But not at the expense of our benches, dave, no, no, that's right. So in 2025, you've hinted a little bit about you're hoping to clear some shelf coins. What's your, what's your build outlook? Well on that, and is there anything else you might want to kick off new in 2025?

There are. Well, I was hoping to get the SAM across the line before 2024, but, absent a miracle, it's going to be close. I mean super, super, super close. But that will clearly be the first thing I finish in 2025, followed closely by the Moosaroo, because that's a deadline. I got to get that done by the beginning of March.

Got a couple of Bearcats from the Hobby Boss Quick Build Kit that I'm putting together for the September-ish entry for Hampton, and then there are a couple well, there's tons of things I want to do and choosing is going to be kind of tough want to do another tamiya zero. I just they're, they're so enjoyable, I want to. Uh. Steve huestad has been showing me the work that he did on his edward 10 109Gs and singing the praises of those kits to the point that you know I acquired several at the Nationals and I think he's got me convinced that I've got to build at least one of those. And then I would like to. I meant to start in 2024 and did not. I meant to start a B24D and I am bound and determined that I'm going to start one of those in 2025.

You better get something done.

Yes, I got to get some things done and then I got a couple of shelf queens. I've got a Platts T33 that it's in primer. I mean there's no excuse for not finishing that thing. It's sitting there in primer and you're probably right. Setting a number is not. I don't know. It may put false pressure on you.

You got enough real pressure through your obligatory build.

Yes, that's right. So I've got some goals and I've got some models that I want to build, and you know what? I'm looking forward to them Again. 2024 was probably my most enjoyable year in the hobby. I'm hoping 2025 will even top it. We'll see how about you?

Well, I think the E16 is going to be done. I'm not going to put a time on it, but pretty soon. Kind of like you're playing.

Yeah, you're close, I'm close, you are super close.

We'll talk about that in a little bit, about what all has been going on with it. And then you know the other two tanks I got going on. They should move on pretty quick because a lot of the hard work, especially on the KV-85s, is done. It's all just look and do. Now, um, right, and then the flak panzer. I don't have big, big plans for right you're just doing it to.

It's an experiment, right.

Your first full 3d kit, that's right I, you know, I think in 2025, the next thing I start it's going to be it's. It's going to be one off the old list, one of the more involved projects off of there. It could be the Katyusha, it could be the Maltier rocket launcher. I really want to get into one of those projects. I think I'm to the point now that someday never comes, man.

Yeah, that's right. That's right. If you keep telling yourself you're going to build it next year, you'll never end up building it, or at least starting it.

Working on it I may never finish it Right. And then I think, on the kind of technique front I don't know, I'm going to look into this laser cutting a little more. I want to do that, I don't know.

I think I want to figure out what I can do with that and and see if that's going to be a viable thing I was going to ask you, on the next project that you start, do you think you'll use either making your own photo, edge 3d printing your own parts or laser cutting stuff for parts or components for the project?

Of those three things I think, I don't know which one.

Yeah.

Yeah, something will creep in somewhere. It's just going to Scope creep. Well, we got shows to go to in 2025. We got a website to get rolling and we got our own builds. Man, yes, we do. Well, folks, like we said earlier, please let us know what you got. What are your hopes and aspirations for 2025? Yeah, dave, we talk about our listeners in the community a lot and we're sincere in that, and we've made some really, really good friends since we started the podcast.

Yes.

And, oddly enough, with the exception of Jim who's also in this little core group of great new friends we've made. They're not so new anymore but they're certainly new since we started the podcast All our friends up in Ottawa.

Yes, we've made friends with a lot of Canadians, which may say something about them, may say something about us, who knows but a bunch of great guys, a bunch of great modelers Again, I talk about how much I enjoyed the hobby in 2024, and these guys were definitely a part of that.

Well, these guys are all well, they're all Canadians, mostly from Ottawa. Jim's Canadian too sometimes.

Yes, sometimes.

But he's not from Ottawa.

He's trans-Canadian.

We got a build group that gets online. We use the same platform, we record the podcast on and get a good, clean connection and we'll sit and build and joke and cut up and banner back and forth. The nickname of the group is the Spazzers and before we get accused of making disparaging comments about folks with certain challenges, that's not where the name comes from. The name Spazzers comes from an error on the decal sheet for the Trumpeter God what is it?

The Ferry.

Gannet yes, and I'll put that in the graphic for the podcast so folks can see.

Because it is pretty funny.

It's pretty funny. It's just either it's a bad translation or they copied a real mistake on a real sign somewhere.

Well, what it was was that the gannet that they did the markings for the kit was a museum piece. It was a gate Right Like a gate guard was a museum piece. It has a gate Right like a gate guard, a museum piece, and it had a sign affixed to it that said no trespassers. And apparently when they were making the decal the TRE part of that fell off and didn't make it on the decal. So it says no spatsers.

So that's where the name comes from. We recorded a little segment with those guys recently and talked about your current and the year to come, and let's get into that, dave.

Yep.

Well, dave, we got a crowd tonight. We have, I think, every member of the illustrious spazzers with us tonight.

Yes, we do.

If, if, if folks are curious about the name, it's our, our little bill group and reference the. I think it's the trumpeter Gannett kit. Jim Bates, Is that right? That is absolutely correct, yeah, well we'll start with you, Jim Jim Bates, formerly of Scale Canadian TV. How are you doing?

tonight Doing wonderful Hearing a rainy night in Seattle.

Oh, you're back in Seattle Still keeping the dogs.

No, I'm in Tacoma, but Okay, rainy night in the Pacific Northwest.

And we've also got Ian McCauley. He's your favorite hobby shop clerk and he's one of our moderators over on the Plastic Model Dojo and probably the most prolific kit finisher among us yeah Well, the only one probably oh ow Shot fired. I got the Moose through done this year. I got one.

There you go, you and I both have one, mike.

We do. We have Panzermeister36, Evan McCallum Evan, what's happening?

Oh, nothing much. I'm trying to become like Ian and finish more kits at the end of the year here to up my count for the season, but not doing too well.

Are you working on the next video?

I'm always working on like five videos man.

Okay.

A few things on the go.

And finally, a model airplane maker, Mr Chris Wallace. Chris, how are you doing?

I am doing very well, mike, thank you.

You're welcome. I guess we're going to start with you, since you're the last one to introduce. Chris 2024 has come to a close. I hope you had a good Christmas and happy new year. What? Are the what are the high points of your 2024?

Well, I finally built a model studio that's befitting someone of my stature, and by that I mean it's not in a dank, dark part of the basement and I can actually see what I'm looking at.

And has a six-foot ceiling.

That's for sure. I don't know. Other than that, I think I'm looking forward to mostly just getting back to regular building again, now that I have a space that I actually enjoy. I think that was really a main part of it, other than all the other stuff that I had to do once I moved houses. So I'm looking forward to a lot more building this year. Looking forward to seeing you guys in a couple of months and, yeah, we'll see where the where the year takes.

Have we have? We got our digs for heritage gone yet Indeed, we do, mike.

It's already all booked up, reserved and has our name on it.

All right, is it where we were last year?

It is in within crawling distance for the venue, so you'll be very happy. It's exactly the same spot all right.

Well, that worked out nice that did we really go ahead, chris? So last year, what contests did you get to?

I only got to heritage con okay, you didn't make the local show or anything like that no, no, I don't know if you remember, but right around the same time I went on the pod with you guys. I was really sick for about well I don't know six weeks this fall, so I unfortunately missed the local show. Ian was there, though, and I think Evan was there too, but I missed it. I really feel bad about it.

So you're shooting for more for 2025 yeah, for sure, for sure, starting with heritage con harsh, starting with heritage con well, what's how? How was the youtube and blogging over 2024, and what do you got in store for us in 2025?

I'm going to start off the year, hopefully with one of two. So I'm going to have a bare metal finish video and I'm going to have a video on on this arma p39, but really featuring how to paint a shark mouth. So I'm really looking forward to getting those two out. And other than that, I got a couple of couple ideas in the back of the hopefully a little bit of a maybe to honor a couple of other famous YouTubers out there. I'm going to do a couple of things where I've recovered a model that I haven't looked at in over 10 years. I have that one cooking in the back as well, so it's going to be going to be fun a little bit more creative this year.

Did you not recently acquire a 3D printer?

I did. So I have kind have kind of oh, I'm not on video so, yes, I got a sponsor throwing me a resin printer and the quid pro quo on that one is to start including a few resin 3d prints into my build. So I'm more than happy to do that. Over the christmas holidays. I've actually done one print and it actually turned out pretty good, so I'm happy how that works. I think that the idea that they were trying to pitch was to have someone who is completely and utterly unable to new technology to give this a try for the first time and actually not hurt himself or burn the house down, and largely successful. So if I can do it, literally anyone else can do this.

I'm looking forward to hearing over 2025 about your adventures in 3D printing Me too.

Well, let's jump over to Jim now. Jim, I know you got a little more free time on your hand because the YouTube's on hiatus. Why don't you tell us what you've been up to and what you got going on?

from this year is. I got to go to a place called Sprout Lake in British Columbia, on Vancouver Island, and see the second last flight of the second last flying Mars. I also went up to Victoria a few weeks ago and got to see it in its new museum digs, and then I was down in California where I attended an air show where I got to see two mosquitoes fly. So it's been more of an aviation year than a modeling year. I think the only show outside of Model Mania that I attended this year, I think, was Best of the West in Las Vegas, which was kind of fun. I was in Vegas in May for that.

As far as the future, so I killed the YouTube and I think what I'm looking to do is pivot back to more writing. So there's always been a blog at a scalecanadiancom, and I started it I don't know back before the internet happened and I kind of got away from it. There's no posts at all on it in 2024. So I think what I want to do is just do a little bit more writing, and at first I think it's going to be more airplane stuff, but I'm trying to figure out how to write about scale modeling and I know there's no real audience for that anymore, but I think after doing the video I kind of accomplished what I wanted to accomplish and then lost interest and just want to get back to the more creative writing side.

I don't know that there's no audience for it. I think our friend Stephen Lee was sprupeye with threats. I mean he has a really good audience for both short form and long form modeling writing and clearly there's a lot of audience for historical aircraft writing. So I think you've got a wide potential audience there.

Yeah, if you notice, recently though, mr Lee has been doing mostly just short form stuff. He hasn't done much of the long form stuff recently and I don't know if that's a time thing or what that is, but I don't know if he's realized the audience isn't interested in that or he just hasn't had the time. So it would be interesting to hear from him kind of why he pivoted. But yeah, I just I want to get back. What I did a lot of this year was aviation photography and that's been fun and I don't know the best way to share that. But the whole Martin Mars thing and then the mosquito thing just kind of made me think I want to write more and talk less.

So how about model finishing in 2024? How did your modeling?

do? I finished a 72nd scale Chaffee and I finished a 72nd scale carrier deck base by Bases by Bill and I am much like everybody else. I've got the new Arma PSP and I'm trying to get that base done by the end of the year. So not a great year, but not the worst year ever.

Yeah, that's all right, as long as you had fun, that's the important thing In 2025, I really would like to rediscover my love of building airplanes. I'm not sure that's going to happen, but my first immediate project is I have a couple Centurions I'd like to have finished for the February show.

You going to get to any more shows this year?

I was just looking at planning a trip to the UK and Eindhoven for Scale Model Challenge. I would love to get to HeritageCon, but that is always questionable and I'll probably end up back in Vegas again. For Best of the West, all right.

Ian Ian McCauley, how are you doing? I'm doing well.

Let's see 2024. So I got 12 finished finished this year. So down from my high of 15 last year but still still a good number. Did three shows did heritage con as part of the team from hobby center. I did the nnl east in new jersey with a bunch of car guys in the spring and in the fall our local show here in Ottawa. So that was good, not really model related but history related. My wife and I went to France in September with another couple.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that.

Yeah, and we spent my buddy and I, we spent several days in Normandy. We had our own guide. My buddy and I, we spent several days in Normandy. We had our own guide, which was expensive, but I highly recommend it because you cut all the lines and you know what's good and what's not worth seeing right off the bat. The thing that was a little weird, I thought, was that there are museums there that are actually German museums, with all German stuff in it, which was kind of cool. But, yeah, great place to go, lots of fun. I really enjoyed it. My big change for this year was I built three 3D resin kits, which I've never done before. They were awesome Unbelievable how much fun they were and how well they went together. How much fun they were and how well they went together and they were, if anything, a little bit cheaper than regular kits, rather than more expensive, even with the shipping. So that's something I'm going to be probably doing a little more of in 2025.

Which ones were they.

They're called SS models out of China.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Okay, and one was a I'm not gonna get this right an early war french one. That was just a prototype, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was called and I literally bought that one first because it was the cheapest one and I thought, okay, well, I'll try it and see what they with their leg. And then I bought a T18 from them, and I bought an early M8 from them as well, all of which went together really, really well and you can buy them from them in any scale you want.

Basically, I got them in 35th, that's my next question yeah, what scale were they in?

Yeah, you can get them in 56, 72nd, 48th, I don't think, above 35, but 35 as well, and they were a lot of fun. I was blown away at how good they were. No cleanup of any of the parts, just removing all of the little stand things that hold everything together. And one of them it was brilliant. All of the little. I don't even know what you call those, the little fingers that hold everything together. And one of them it was brilliant. All of the little. I don't even know what you call those, the little fingers that hold everything together.

The guy had molded the end of each one to a rivet head on the side of the tank. So there wasn't even any cleanup on the side of the tank, it was. You just snip them off and a little pass with the sanding stick and it was amazing, I had both of them ready to paint in like two modeling sessions. It was quite something. So, yeah, it was a lot of fun. Probably last year I built a lot of cars. It was probably half cars and half armor. This year it's been all armor and I'm probably going to continue with that and do a couple of planes to keep my good friend Chris happy too. That'll probably be in the plan somewhere.

Well, let's back up a minute and tell us a little bit more about the show we went to in New Jersey.

Yeah, the NNL.

Yeah, the NNL is amazing. So it's a non-competitive automotive show and there are a few words, but I think they're just based on, you know, people voting that are at the show and it was at a community center in. How can I get this right? I think it was wing new jersey I. I didn't actually. I didn't actually drive, so I didn't really pay much attention.

It's the best way.

Yeah, but there was two gymnasiums full of models on display and then two huge rooms full of vendors and it was humongous. It was unbelievable how big it was. But a super nice show, super friendly show, picked up a lot of stuff. It's a nice show. If you're into cars, I would highly recommend it. It's every year in northern New Jersey. There I'd never been before. A couple of my buddies were, a couple of buddies from Toronto were going and they said hey come on with us.

So I went. It was a lot of fun. Highly recommend it. Plan on going back, uh, this coming year, uh, possibly. I am waiting for two separate surgeries, and this being canada, I know I have no idea when they're going to be not nothing big, but both things that I have to go under the knife for, and they're supposedly going to be at some point in the spring. So I'm not really making any big plans right now. That I can't get back out of HeritageCon, I'll be going as part of the Hobby Centre team again. So, worst case scenario, I can't go to that because it overlaps with one of the surgeries or something. I'm not. I'm not having any travel money or any, you know anything like that, but anything else I'm not. I'm not having any travel money or any, you know anything like that, but anything else I'm waiting until I get a better idea of what's going on.

All right, and finally, panzermeister 36, evan, what's going on?

Oh, I think 2024 was a good year for me. I increased my model finishing count. I'm up to three models finished this year and I might get one or two more done at the end, which I'm happy with, because there's been definitely years where I've only finished like one model, possibly zero, and because I'm trying to make YouTube videos about mainly weathering these things. That kind of makes that harder if I don't actually get kits into the painting stage. So I'm happy with not only finishing more models but also my process, I would say.

Well, how did?

your YouTube channel grow. Oh, it's doing quite well. I'm up to 80,000 subscribers now, which I'm happy about. My goal is to someday hit 100,000, which I think will happen in a couple of years. But also getting a lot more weathering videos and finishing more kits has helped the growth somewhat this year.

You've done several interesting builds this year.

Yes, thank you. How I have developed my weathering process because I'm always kind of fine-tuning that For a while I was doing a lot of almost excessive oil color modulation, which was honestly a bit of a waste of time considering how it looked in the end. It was very subtle, so I kind of stepped back from that and then now I'm at a point, I think, where I'm happy with doing a little bit of the oil work, but not a lot, and then I think it's worthwhile in terms of the invested time versus how well it looks in the end. So I've got like a nice process I'm happy with. So I'm sticking with that on a few projects to see how they go.

And I also yeah, I also understand. This year you stabbed Plastic Model Mojo in the back.

A little bit. Well, the check stopped showing up from the PMM World Headquarters, so I had to jump ship.

We're joking about Evan's recent appearance on On the Bench, for which Dave Goldfinch sent me 20 Swedish Kroner, which I will pass on to Evan at the Heritage Con show. But yes, it was a really great appearance and your interaction on that was really, really fantastic.

Thank you. Speaking of shows, this year I hit three shows that was three shows, I think, yeah Heritage Con, the local Ottawa show, where Ian was also at for the Hobby Center, and then also I was at the IPMS Nats with the PMM crew and I was excellent. Next year I'm excited because it looks like I will be able to go to the Mojan show, which I think will be something different but absolutely fantastic. From everything I've heard and seen about that, I can't wait for something a little bit different because I've never been, obviously, to a European show before. I'm stuck in North America mostly.

Well, you'll have to give us a report. We interviewed that one modeler from over there who reported on the show. It'll be really interesting to get your take, being a North American guy, to see what you think of the show and its similarities and its differences.

Yeah, we'll see how much show I can actually attend, because I'm sure there'll be so many women piling on me as I wear that plastic model mojo checkerboard t-shirt you gave me, so you know I might be busy.

Better wear that in Hungary.

Yeah.

I am seriously bringing that and I'm going to wear it to show and see what happens, but I will represent you guys. Well, are you?

I will represent you guys well, are you going to be going with Hamilcar?

Yes, with my good modeling YouTube buddy, Mr Hamilcar Barkas, who was also at the Nats this year with us. That was fantastic.

It was great to meet him in person. We just got a lengthy email from him that's going to take a couple episodes to digest. Well, that's all. Great man. I want to tell you I told you one-on-one, but I'll tell you in front of the Mojo audience that I thought your build video on the Booker was. I think it's probably the best thing you've done as far as just the entire package and I tried to articulate, articulate. I really can't, I don't, I don't know what it is about it, but that one kind of hit on all cylinders, I thought, and I thought it was really, really well done meanwhile, I will say I think the best model you've completed today was the bradley.

That was just a stunning build.

Yeah, I think that, think that was the like, the well, either that or the model I finished before that, which was the Chinese ZBD thing in the blue camouflage, but that didn't get a video. But both those were kind of the models where, as I was alluding to before, where I kind of nailed down my ideal process for painting and weathering and I was happy with the process and also the result and I'm I'm super stoked with those two models for sure.

Well, let's circle back around and I'm going to ask Mr Wallace what he hopes to get built in 2025. Subject wise, not number of kits, but is there anything you're hot to get started on and looking forward to that in 2025?

Well, it's mostly finishing too. So the Army P-39, the Kinetic CF-104, that's the Starfighter, the zipper. I would love to do the Border, kate. I want to do that one really badly. Oh yeah, kate, I want to do that one really badly. Oh yeah, and I'm going to resurrect the decade old HKB17 that has been my shelf queen. That stares at me every single time I come down here. It stares at me longingly, it stares at me sadly, but I'm going to build that thing finally, I think it deserves to be finished and put on a wall or something like that.

And the other one that I'm really looking forward to is the oh, I think it's icm and it's the special forces mh60. It just it. It's brand new. My lhs doesn't quite have it yet. I've been leaning on on Ian really hard to get it in, but he's been very interested in getting that done. It went on my Google review, it went on a couple of things. So, anyhow, I'm going to lean on him again in this particular podcast. Ian, get that thing in, because I'd like to get started on it. Thank you.

Chris, my mic must have cut out, because I didn't hear the word Corsair anywhere in that description for 2025.

Well, I have to leave something under the blanket. I can't just say everything in this particular broadcast. I have to leave some surprises out there, don't I?

Yes, you do you do. There's some surprises out there, don't there? Yes, you do you do. Well, Jim Bates, you told us about a couple of Centurions, but is there anything else you would like to sink your teeth into in the 2025?

Right now I've got a box from Hannett's stuck in customs in LA, In fact I thought I'd drive down and break it out and in that box is I've already talked about this type before a reissue of the 1144 Martin Mars. That I would love to do, but that's gloss, white and red, so that's a little bit scary. But what I'm really excited about in that box is the new Azure From Ferry Battle. I've long wanted to do a Ferry Battle. It was one of the most used aircraft in Canada during the war and I'm really excited to see if we finally have a decent battle to build, rather than that scary old air fix kit.

I'm waiting for a report.

What about you, Ian? More 3D printed stuff.

Actually I tripped over a build that a guy did of the IBC Scammel Pioneer and the guy got a ton of detail into that thing and I've had that kid sitting in the stash for a long time. I think I'm going to break that one out and go nuts on it and just basically follow on what this guy did and try to replicate it. It's kind of a cool-looking vehicle If you ever see them running for real. I can't remember what they call the suspension on the thing, but it's unbelievable what you can do with the suspension on these things because the arms on it just bend all over the place. It's such a weird looking vehicle. So I think I might do that.

I have one thing I wanted to mention that I learned through the store. We got a very long letter from one of our suppliers in the US and it's a big, big supplier I won't mention it here but it's a very big supplier and they basically wrote a rather interesting history of 2024. And they said that overall model sales were down quite a bit but supplies were up quite a bit paints and all the supplies used and they take that to mean that the hobby is still healthy but that people tend to be dipping more into their stashes and building stuff they already have rather than collecting new models, and that's kind of what we've seen at the Hobby Center. It's been. We've had a lot more people coming through the store but a lot less big sales. So it's kind of interesting that people are still building, but apparently they're starting to build a little more of what they've got rather than going after the latest and greatest.

Evan, what's the hot topics for 2025?

Oh, it's hard for me to say exactly, because I'm one of those people who will see a cool photo online and I will put everything aside to start a new project that afternoon and then half finish it and then start something else. But I do have a few things on my radar. As you might have noticed, this past year especially, I've definitely gotten more interested in modern armor. Previously I was doing a lot of my usual interests, which is World War II, german and Soviet, almost exclusively, but there's a couple of modern things I want to do, like maybe some Ukraine war stuff.

I have a Leclerc like the modern french main battle tank. I got the brand new like type 21 model of that from tiger model, which would be pretty cool because the french nato camo is different than normal nato camo and I just have a really cool photo of that one. I didn't actually do any stug threes this year, which is shocking, so I think I'm gonna have to do one of those next year. And apart from that, oh, maybe the tamiya kv2, but it's really hard for me to say mike and I have been talking about a project that I have planned for that for a couple years now and I like your, I like what you're wanting to do and, yeah, that shouldn't be too bad a build.

I wouldn't think, yeah, what's?

a student.

Defenders. So, Evan, do you have any special plans for the channel? I mean, you've been releasing one video at the beginning of every month.

Yeah, that was my plan and that worked out well. I think I had to skip one month in the summer, but I like that strategy. But I I would like to kind of semi-professional you know whatever semi-officially pull my viewers on. Did you guys even recognize that I was doing that, that the first saturday of every month I had a video up? Was that even noticed? Or was people just tuning in whenever I put up a video?

Because, like YouTube is a bit tricky. If you're not uploading every week, it's a little bit hard to come up with a schedule. And when you're doing it part-time like you know the guys on this podcast to do YouTube, we're not full-time YouTubers. So you just kind of have to figure out like a schedule that your viewers can look forward to but that you can also manage with your little bit of bench time in the evenings and everything like that. So maybe I'll change it up, but I'm pretty happy with it. It also keeps me productive. I would say otherwise I might do the thing I did the past, where I don't upload for like six months and I come back and draw three videos in a month and then it's great.

Don't make us wait six months, man, I enjoy. I look forward to the first of the month when your new video drops.

Well, evan, once you give folks out there who, inexplicably, might not know what your YouTube channel is, to tell us what that is and give us your sign-off for the evening.

Thank you. My YouTube channel is Panzermeister36. I do kind of as I've been alluding to a lot of World War II, german and Soviet, sometimes modern, mainly build reviews and painting and weathering and sometimes model railroad stuff. Oh, maybe I should do more of that next year as well.

Chris, tell folks where they can find you.

So I'm on YouTube Model Airplane Maker. I mostly do well, I'm pretty much exclusively aircraft, both building and tips and techniques. I also have a blog at modelairplanemakercom.

All right, Jim. Any parting words for 2024?

Don't have any parting words but due to lack of short-term memory, my other project is something Ian mentioned. I got a Vargas M1917, which is the American version of the Renault FT17, and I'm pretty excited about that. Other than that, I just hope we all get to build and have a great 2025. Ian, what?

do you got?

Just build guys. I'm the only one here that can't lay claim to some kind of notoriety, but my notoriety is. They call me the shelf queen killer here because I outbuild everybody.

Yeah, that's because you're retired, that doesn't count. Yeah, right.

Yeah, okay, okay, so partly retired? No, just build, build, build, build. That's what it's all about. And hang out with your buddies and enjoy the hobby. That's what it's all about. And hang out with your buddies and enjoy the hobby.

That's what it's all about. Well, guys, thanks for joining us tonight and we look forward to seeing you all at heritage con. Hope that all works out and really, really looking forward to that to be our first show of the year, probably, so that's a good one to kick things off with, all right. Well, we'll see you guys in 2025.

Sounds good.

Well, that's definitely the Grated version of one of our segments yes, it is, and I appreciate all the guys for keeping it g-rated.

Yeah that's fun. So you know, amongst all of us we've accomplished a lot. So we've got a couple of youtube channels in there and a blog, and Ian sure can kick out a model.

I'll tell you what, being retired man, he's cranking them out.

That's kind of like Steve Hustad.

Yeah, exactly.

I'm anxious to hear more about that car show he goes to or he went to.

The NNL yeah.

East.

Yeah, I am too.

Plastic Model Mojo is brought to you by Model Paint Solutions, your source for harder and steam-backed airbrushes, david Union power tools and laboratory-grade mixing, measuring and storage tools for use with all your model paints, be they acrylic, enamels or lacquers. Check them out at wwwmodelpaintsolutionscom. Check them out at wwwmodelpaintsolutionscom.

Well, the Spazzers and you and I aren't the only ones who've had productive years. This year, dr Paul Budzik launched a new Patreon-based video channel, still Scale Model Workshop. But we had a few words with him to learn about how that's gone and what we might expect from that in the future. Dave, as we wrap up 2024, we want to have an old friend back who's been on the show a couple of times. He's had a big project going this year, dr Paul Budzik. Paul, how are you doing tonight?

I'm doing really well, how about?

you guys we're good. Thanks for coming back on to talk to us a little bit. We want to get caught up on how your well, your Patreon video channel is going.

Well, it's going. It's going kind of like what I would expect, because it's not the typical channel, you know, it's not one where they're going to see a complete build every week or something. I'm concentrating on techniques and a fair amount of philosophy or whatever. So I'm just I would expect it to not be. The point was not to make a lot of money. The point was is to keep the fee as low as possible and have some, you know, just a little participation in the channel for a minimum amount.

But at least get away from the YouTube platform, which is not, and I was going to ask you that One of the things you wanted to do is move away from the YouTube platform because of all the bots and the trolls and the negative interactions. Did you find that moving to the Patreon model has accomplished that? Well?

yeah, it cuts away all the people that sort of not. There's a lot of people out there that feel a bit entitled that everything should be for free, and you know. So my point is is, if you're going to, if you can't write something halfway decent, don't write it at all, because it's not costing you anything. If you don't like it, just click off of it or whatever. So don't feel obligated to leave. But honestly, I have had very little of that. So you know, it's okay.

On the rare occasion that it happens I just delete the post, hide the guy's cranky or whatever. It's kind of hide him off the channel. And I don't ruminate about it, it doesn't bother me, I just what it is is when, when you, when there's just a little, when there's just a small amount, even just a small amount on the table, it's, it's a real expression of appreciation and that's that's. You know, to me that's it's not excessive, but it means a lot. To me, it kind of means is this worth it? Because I'm just putting it out there so that it's not just well, people are just watching it for free. And yes, I do have a large beef with YouTube, that's for sure. To me, the concept You're not the only one Right, the concepts of ethics and whatever they're not. They're foreign to the alphabet Google model. They just don't track with me and so I don't really want to be their partner because you know you're just to me. You feel like you're being used.

Right.

And so their rules are kind of arbitrary. I've gotten one or two times where they've not. They've sort of flagged a video, unless I could come up with. They misunderstood something. I said they missed the word. It wasn't what they thought it was and I thought listen, I see stuff on your channel that's just loaded with obscenities. Right, this is not an obscenity, it sounds like what you, but it's the wrong consonant that starts the word. So I'm sorry your algorithm picked it up wrong, but it's not right. But I just find that sort of thing arbitrary and that doesn't set well with me. So I put up a World War II aircraft training film and they flagged it for like violence or whatever. I'm going. How to fly a P-38 is not a violent film. There's not even a gun fired in the training films. I don't know.

Well, I think your, I think your material attracts a certain subset of the of the hobby.

I think your material attracts a certain subset of the hobby. Yeah, and that's good, because the channel really has to do with some specific techniques, not necessarily the finished model, and there's a fair. What I really want to work out the nugget here in this, like what you were talking about, the fine scale articles before is how to think, because if you can think about the thing analytically, you might not come up with the answer right away. If you don't solve enough problems often enough, you don't get in quite in that habit. It may take a day or two of sitting with it, but work out a way to either you know guys if they don't want to alter a model or they want to how you're going to align things or how you're going to account for the shortcomings in a kit.

What are you going to do? Well, what I, my approach is to give you a thought process. It was like when I did the how to create that nose for the F-101 Reese version. Yeah, and I showed how to establish the center line. Well, that's the point of it, it's build your four. People would say, well, why are you using four blocks? Because when you put the four blocks together and you paint in between. You have four, you have an axis, you have, you know, something that you can work from and that's the way you create those shapes, and so some people get it. I love it when people write in and say I knew where you were going with this and I'm going okay. So people are on the same page and that's very rewarding.

Well, you know, speaking of that and talking about the emphasis not necessarily on the complete model or whatever, but on different techniques and solving problems, the video you did where you worked out the gun nose on the A26 and how you were going to handle the alignment and the inserting of the barrels, I mean that was just a really nice piece of okay. Here's a challenge that we've got how do I think through and accomplish what I need to get done? And that's a really good example, I think, of the technique focus.

Yeah Well, thank you, Dave. That whole project is about alignment, whether it's the grid pattern thing that goes over the top of it.

Which is amazing.

Well, I had one, this one I had printed up, but I had one back 30, 40 years ago, back when I was building. It's the only way you could align in a halfway good size model, align the decals and even getting your tape set up so that you can scribe into the paint and whatnot. You know, if you've got tapered wings and everything else, you have to establish certain lines first and it helps to put that under it, under the grid, and really just step over it and see where it lines up. You can measure forever. But if it's an irregular surface, if it's not straight on straight and you're using a square, there's always subject and sometimes things just don't look good.

The grid really does kind of align it in the different planes. So something like that. Even longer, longer than that, I was using them to align the mass on a rig, on a three-masted ship, because they they go back in several different degrees as you go four to half, not the, the four and the main and the mizzen, they're all kind of just a very slight difference that all makes a difference difference. So and I and I and I got to say my eye is probably a little bit more, I mean, I like to think I can usually see about a thousandth or two thousandths of an inch, you know. So everybody's just got a little different. Take on how precise they want to be.

Yeah.

Well, I think that's a's a good what to call it. For me anyway, probably most of your, your viewers as well the technique based stuff is just adding to your own toolbox, like, like Dave mentioned, the, the alignment of the nose guys. I mean, somebody might not be building that aircraft, they might be building a B-25 strafer with a nose full of guns, so you can take what you did with your plane and use it on something else and always have new tricks in the bag. And I've always liked that about your articles. A lot of your older articles were, for me, not so much about the subject matter itself but how you accomplished a certain problem, fixed a problem.

Yeah, well, thanks. Thanks, mike. That's the A-26. It is all about establishing an initial alignment with some square edges around where you've got the model aligned, and then you can work off of there. Everything is. You know, you're aligned on the axis and all axes, so it just keeps everything together. You can get your dihedral correct, you know, so that they're equal on both sides. Thrust line guns keep everything on center and that's what makes a model look tight to me is when it all comes together and it just looks right, is when everything is symmetrical in the way it's supposed to be, and it just looks right is when everything is symmetrical in the way it's supposed to be. So I don't get off so much on all the lipstick and everything that goes on. You know the shape's got to be there and it's got to line up, otherwise it's just lipstick on a pig, what's you know?

Did you think that the A26 kits, the monogram, the ICM, that the parts were going to come together like they did?

Well, I kind of thought they would.

Okay.

Yeah, in the wing root area they're close, they're close, they're close. You know there's not much left of the fuselage by the time you get the monogram wings off, and I kind of had expected that it wouldn't be quite so much that I'd have to reduce off the wing roots of the ICM wings to get the engines in the right spot distance from the fuselage. I thought it would be a little bit simpler and initially when I did it I thought I'm going to be able to salvage some of the wing root on the ICM wing. But hey, you know that's what happens.

You live, you learn.

As long as the props clear, the fuselage.

There you go. Okay, yeah, I'm sure that's what the engineers at whatchamacallit said anyway, Douglas said yeah, as long as those props clear the fuselage, we're good.

I've got a tank in the display case that did a lot of scratch building on. I think the tracks just barely fit under the fender. I think if it was moving it would be singing against that steel pretty loud. Well, paul, in addition to the technique videos, another thing you do that I also enjoy is these postscripts.

Well, I've got a good one that I wanted to get out for a good New Year's mantra, but and I don't know if I want to disclose it, but I don't- know if I'm going to.

I'm going to. It kind of hit me as having a good mantra instead of because my wife said that what should be on my headstone is. I thought it would take, I didn't think it would take as long and she said I'm going to stick that on my headstone is. I thought it would take, I didn't think it would take as long and she said I'm going to stick that on your headstone.

That's what I always say after I have to do something, so this thing stands, that thing on its head. And I realized it when I forgot what I did and it came out a lot easier than I thought it was going to and I thought, maybe.

I should just kind of rethink that. So now, how far ahead are you thinking as far as where you are and where you want to get to? I mean, can you see all of the steps?

With what.

With the current project.

Well, the 826 is really nothing but and that's the beauty of scribing into the paint so what it is is I'm just cooling my heels because the weather's cool, so I'm letting the primers really, really evaporate, I'm letting the thinners really evaporate out of it and and I just have to sand it down, and then I'm going to shoot it with, with the, with some natural metal, and make sure that's straight, you know, and looks good, and then I'm going to and then start, then I'll scribe into the paint, right, and, and that the way, the way that works is you basically just find a circumferential line, like around the tip of the wing, where the wing tip. You know that's going to go all the way around and it's going to start at where the aileron is right. That's pretty much where they go, and you have to go down to the other end, where the wing root is, and that's going to usually have something that's circumferential around it or probably at the root, so that when you start scribing your concentration is slightly ahead of where you're at. But your real focus is making sure you stay on that straight edge.

And I usually use a piece of strip brass, really thin strip brass, something that I know is not going to deform if I put a little pressure inward on it. But you really develop a light touch and you just take the scribe and you just go down. But if you got another perpendicular that you're working to to stop to, then you got that line. Then you work through kind of building. It's sort of like a house of sticks or whatever. You're just building one on another so that you've got your starting point and your end point laid out perpendicular and you just start adding the stuff in between. And it's a little bit of strategy. It's not as bad as trying to shoot straight pool, but you know.

Or chess bit of strategy.

It's not as bad as trying to shoot straight pool, but you know, or chess, yes, yeah. Well, back to these postscripts. Where do, where do most of those come from? I know they come from between your ears, but uh, yeah, I think I can't remember which one it was I was. I've got it up here and oh, it may have been. Well, it's the aesthetic modeler. I think remember which one it was I was. I've got it up here and, oh, I may have been. Well, it's the aesthetic modeler. I think it's the one it was, but I think I told Dave and I mean this with all as as a complete compliment it just it was like this is Mr Rogers neighborhood for grownups.

And it, I don't know, it's just those things. Just I think they're really cool, they. They give you a lot to think about and, and particularly this year, I think Dave and I have and if you go back and listen to this episode, we talked about it in the in most of the the the other content of this particular episode, but uh, you know we didn't finish a lot of stuff this year, but boy, we sure had a good time.

Yes.

And I think that's, I think we're coming around to, that's okay.

I agree, I don't know why you'd want to keep a schedule. It's not your work. You know, and that's a little bit of the pressure that I have that I never used to have when I was running for the magazines that I have. That I never used to have when I was running for the magazines, because nobody knew when I was going to finish the project and when I was going to get the article done. And as a general rule there wasn't any pressure, not until that's what kind of gave me PTSD was when I wound up getting put under a deadline for a particular article. I did it at my own pace and so I was able to meter my time out, spread it out over a couple of projects and pick up the harder one, and that was the other thing when I was doing those articles.

The initial plan was to build every one of the monogram heavies or multi-engine of the monogram heavies or multi-engine. So I'd done the B-17, the B-24, the B-25. I had the B-26 almost finished and life interrupted. I mean, it's hanging from the ceiling, it's acceptable to hang from that, but the A-26 was supposed to be in there and, like I say, I started and stopped it several times over the years and I keep forgetting why it was so bad and that I didn't go any further until I started it again. And then I really thought you know, I can't. There's something about the airplane that I really like and I just don't feel I can let go of it.

And the ICM kit had so many problems with the fuselage. It's just insane. I don't know how they could be that far off, but the wings look pretty good. So that's why I thought okay, that solves my issue with the monogram kit, let's put it together and see if you can finally get an A26, because it was like this enigma that couldn't get solved. And then now the A20, which unfortunately nobody's ever built another one. So we're still dealing with the old AMT 48 scale. So that'll put all those on the ceiling and get them done. But when you say the aesthetic modeler, are you talking about the actual video that says the aesthetic modeler, or the series?

No, it's just the video. It was one of your postscripts.

It was one of your postscripts. Well, that came from when I got to that certain point on the P-38, and I could see the visual of what it was, and then I realized that's where I live. Nowadays I don't live. I mean, I think the 3D modeling is just insane, what you can do with the details and all. But I and if I were, if it were 30, 40 years ago, when I was focused on those details, I would have said this is the way to go. But nowadays I'm focused on the aesthetic of the whole airframe or the aesthetic of the project that I'm working on. So if it doesn't look good, if it's some really ugly subject, I'm not going to do it. If it's got a history that I don't like, I'm not going to do it. You're not going to see me build any German armor, any aircraft. I'm sorry, that's just the way it goes. There's a history with it. Way it goes. There's a history with it. And the time that I okay this is going to start moving into you want some philosophy.

This is going to start moving into the metaphysical world. I happen to think that there's an energy of creation and when you look around the world, there's a lot of beauty in it. They're outdoors. You go into the mountains, you go to the coast, whatever. I mean, if nothing else, just those areas. I don't think it's just an accident Maybe it was, maybe it isn't, I don't know but it's just beautiful and I think there is some element, there's some energy of creation, creation for creation's sake.

I mean, you're working and you've got a job and it has to be done, and so you're creating. If it goes over and above the job and you're actually putting that energy into it and yourself, then it becomes a creative art form. Really, whether it's art, like people want to classify classical paintings or whatever, it's a step getting closer to the energy of creation. So when I'm working in my hobby room and I'm doing things with my hands, there's a direct connection between me and what I'm doing and that energy of creation. If I'm on the computer, I don't care. It may look great in Photoshop, and I was one of the charter members of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. I've been doing it ever since it was here and I think I'm pretty adept at it, but it's not the same. It's different than if you picked up a brush. There is an infinite amount of choices that you make when you do things in an analog fashion, and the fact is that you get a lot of that done in a software program because you have knowledge of what to do. You know where the filters are, you know what commands. If you're doing CAD, you know, mike, there's a bazillion shortcuts. You may want to make a circle, you drop. You know you put the coordinates in. So that's different than when you have to pick up a file. And so that's where I'm at right now generating a shape by hand or creating things by hand.

I'm not so much into the detail part of it. I would rather leave the detail off if it interferes with the aesthetic of the model. You know, if there's some, okay, some guy goes this is some quirky thing that I want to have on the model, that's okay. I would probably leave it off because I'm going. It was a mistake, it's an aerodynamic mistake, I don't know, I just may have avoided the subject. So when I look at these things, yeah, it's breaking it down into the basics and shaping it by hand. And when you said the 826, I could have started with a wood block. Well, it saved me a little time. I didn't have to do that A little, but I like that feeling of having a. You know, maybe it's more like a Pinewood Derby kit. You know, you got partway there.

Sense of accomplishment and a sense of creation.

Right, and for no other reason than you're just creating Right, there is no, there's no utility to a piece of music. There's no utility to a piece of music. There's no utility to a painting. It's why, why is it? Humans feel the need to create something? I don't know. I think it's a kind of a if it's a neat mystery.

And when you're doing things as much as you can manually that's as close as I can get to that energy and you, there's a I think I posted some links to it it's they call them the last of the British modelers or something. And he has a thing, the Zen of model making, and he makes a statement in there to where you're in that zone. It becomes like a Zen. You're in, you're in a zone. It becomes like a Zen, You're in a zone, and it becomes mystical is the way he puts it and time passes endlessly.

An hour will go by and it'll seem like five minutes, and maybe that's—I'm not a biblical scholar, but maybe it was that creation, that other-world creation that just went—where time isn't measured. And those moments—and that's what it's all about when I say it's. The fun of the building is in that realization, and I want to maintain that and I don't want to get bogged down in having to create obligations, of having to create a detail that I think is kind of pointless just for the fact I'm not going into a contest. That's pointless too for me. If I put a model on the table, nobody's going to understand it.

Well, speaking of creating and planning, do you have plans for your channel for 2025? Have you thought ahead into what you'd like to do, what you'd like to add, what you'd like to change, what you'd like to see, any and all of that? Just basically, have you thought about what your channel looks like in 2025?

No, I think I'd just like to have more content up. You know, I'd like to be able to, wouldn't we all? Yeah, keep it flowing so I don't get bogged down. And I have an idea for a way to work out maybe some kit reviews. Now and then I've talked to a friend of mine and I think that I kind of have maybe a different way to approach kit reviews that I think would be interesting Not that we would, that would be a lot of focus, and so I still put stuff up on YouTube, stuff up on YouTube.

It's a kind of a balance between what I'll release on YouTube and I put up stuff on what people don't understand. And the stuff that I put up on Patreon is not always just for paid members, because if you can become a member of Patreon and view my channel and there's stuff on it that's not you don't have to pay for. So if there's something that I think is just kind of interesting to everybody and worthwhile, and maybe a short article, like the fillets, which then I put again on YouTube, I just thought it was really interesting, I don't put that up as a paid member only thing. The idea there is just that the subscriber base is getting me away from YouTube. I'm not making anything and you only make about 60 cents for a dollar subscription. By the time they take out their credit card processing and whatnot, it's yeah, so you're not going to get rich.

Nobody's getting rich. Yeah, it won't even pay for your therapy after you finish the 826.

It covers my software rental for my Adobe Creative Suite. That's about what it covers Well that's worth something. Yeah, well, at least the idea that actually, if you say any plans, the real idea for this was to go into if, when I retire completely from dentistry, this to have my hobby I mean doing the videos not cost me anything.

Right.

Cause, then it gets to be an extra expense over and above the modeling and and and that's going to. You know, you got to kind of watch it, you know, when you've funded your own retirement, and so that was kind of the way that goes. If I can, at least that would justify doing the videos Because it's a lot of work. The videos because it's a lot of work, I mean one thing I would say to anyone that wants to do it, at least on the level that I'm doing it, because I'm doing the instructional, I've got bits here and I'm dragging elements in from everywhere. You have to have very good asset management. You want to make sure you don't just file everything under T for the, you know you better put the right name on it so you can find it later, so you can cross-reference stuff.

If I'm referencing a video that I did previously, I need to be able to find that element and I can't rummage around, spending 10 minutes trying to figure out what the heck I named this thing Because you know a number on it doesn't mean anything if it's just an image number.

So what I've learned is to just take your time, actually give it a proper file name, put it in the right folder, and that's really important if you're going to do your own videos, and you know I've got enough scripts written. So when I work through Photoshop and I'm processing my images and I want to get them sized right and sharpened, that routines are all scripted for myself. I've made my own little routines and I got a little bit more diligent about assigning keyboard shortcuts for certain things, so you don't waste time and that makes it a little bit more enjoyable. I can take four or five images off of whatever I've done that day and get them sized and placed into something and move on. So as I'm getting more efficient, it doesn't feel so tedious to document what I'm doing and that's. I would hope that and I'm hoping that I get more comfortable with having free time, because that just you know it's like. Okay, I don't exactly know what this is like.

Well, paul, we hope you have a great 2025. We enjoyed all your content for 2024 and I just hope the channel continues to grow. And I tell you, once you get that bare metal, finish on and start taking your scriber to it, we're we're going to probably want to have you back for a little bit more discussion about that, because those are two things. That's a double whammy, that's a double bill for things to scare modelers.

Yep Scares the crap out of me.

Natural metal, and then the problem that you could ruin it in two seconds.

Yep, that's it.

I have more trouble scribing into plastic in some ways than I do. It is so simple but it's daunting, it just seems. I think that's it.

Yep, and that's part of think, that's it yeah.

And that's part of what my philosophy is, my mantra for this year.

Okay, well, we look forward to hearing that for 2025.

Okay.

Well, thanks for coming back and we'll have you back on.

Well, thank you very much. Well, you guys have a good holiday. Happy New Year.

Happy New Year, happy New.

Year. Happy New Year.

Love it when he drops a new video.

Yes, absolutely Always enjoyable to talk with him.

Even his short takes.

I like that. Yes, I was going to say, but we need to get him on for a full episode. I would love to dive deep into all that stuff.

Looking forward to 2025 on the scale model workshop.

Yes.

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Dave, where is that Japanese plane?

Well, my Sam is on my bench. It's been getting treated with tube oils and the top is basically done. Then I have to flip it and do the underside, which I think will go much faster. Then, once I do that, it's, you know, a matter of some streaks and some other weathering. A final gloss coat, slap together the little fiddly parts that are already painted and sitting aside, and then you peel off the masking on the canopy and you cross your fingers and pray that everything turns out as it should. That's always the moment where you're like, oh my God, and other than that, that'll be done. So, like I said, I had hoped to wrap that in December, but it's probably going to be the first 15 days of January. But it's darn close. It's looking good. It did. Yeah, I like it, I really do.

Steve has been very helpful in giving me hints and comments and stuff, and I really like it. And the Moosaroo is moving along. And now I'm under a time crunch and the real thing is that I've got to build the vignette that goes with it and I've got the vignette all laid out in my mind. But this will be the first time I've ever done anything like that, and so you know, we'll see, but we're going to get done, it's going to get done. The BT-7 from Flyhawk is sitting there and that's really. It's to the point where I just put some pieces on and paint it and it's, you know, and then weather and do all the evan magic to it after that.

But, uh, you know, the bench is my, my bench is active and I'm pretty happy with it. Again, especially during the dark time, I don't get down here as much as I'd like to and sometimes, when I get down here, I don't make the progress that I should. Just a long day, too tired. Life happens to us and don't make yourself feel bad. That's not the point of a hobby, but I like what's going on and I can't wait to finish the year out and start 2025. What's your benchtop looking like? As if I did not know.

Well, I'll start with the light stuff. I haven't done any of the weld seam work I talked about last episode on that or the KV-85, but I'm getting close to wanting to do that. The other night I was just fiddling around, decided to go ahead and put all the suspension mounts on the flak panzer. After a couple hours I had them all four stations on and they all touched the ground.

That's always good.

That was a lot of work to not make much visible progress on the model. You know, one thing I learned with that is well, I gotta get some a new tank of print resin somebody's 3d printed parts. You just can't store them too long really yeah, I'd probably probably what I had. Him man wasn't light tight. Oh okay, and some things got brittle. I'm gonna have to reprint a few things, so, but I'm not gonna reprint them until I need them well, okay, let me ask you.

That brings up an interesting question do you think that once they're painted, that they will have the same durability as an injection molded plastic kit? Or do you think there is a potential for 3D printed kits to break down over the long term?

I think once they're painted that should give you reasonable protection for the UV part of it. Once they're painted, that should give you reasonable protection for the UV part of it. But I don't know, uv aside, if there's any other long-term stability issues with some of these resins that they just happen to get brittle, usually it's a UV, usually there's some. Regardless of what kind of material, resin or plastic it is, there's usually an environmental component that makes it get brittle.

But sometimes there's not, sometimes they just they just get brittle on their own right and well that'll be remains to be seen I was going to say that'll be an interesting question long term as to as to whether modelers experience that kind of problem now what's been getting most of the time is the float plane and I've gotten that to the point where I have all the well, I'll say all most of the touch-up work's done and most of the panel lining's done on it. In fact all the panel lining's done on it. And I've been working on the engine. This evening I got the propeller pretty much finished up to the point where I do some aluminum chips and scratches on it. I'll save that for once. It's been flat, finished, looking good, man. You know it makes me regret some of the warts it's got on it because it's kind of turned out better than anticipated. So I guess the next step is once I'm happy with the engine. The engine's another weak point of the kit.

Yeah, yeah, and that's very common in those 90s kits it needs a new cowl and a new engine.

At least the first bank and I. You know that might not be that hard to do yeah it'd be a good project for somebody. But just the, it's the first bank. There's only half the first bank. That's all right on a blank. So just not much you can do with it and you just, you know, hope the hub's big enough to hide most of it. Yeah.

Well, you really won't see much of any of that.

No, I just I was looking. That plane has the same engine as the M8 Zero, the last one uh-huh but I don't think anybody makes a separate engine for that I don't know, I'd have to look I don't know if that was a high production manufactured version of that plane or not yeah, that engine may have been used in a number of different aircraft. Oh, it was. I've looked it up.

I'll have to look. I'll bet you somebody makes a Resonar, especially now with 3D printing and my gosh, 72nd scale 3D printed radial engines. The detail that you can. It calls to mind the ones from Chris Meddings for the Beaufort. You know he sent us those. Yeah, just absolutely amazing, the level of detail that you can get on a 72nd scale radial engine. So well, you're not going to swap out that one on that one and you're probably not going to build another one anytime soon.

Probably not, but let's get them done, man. Yeah, that's right.

Let's get them done.

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So, mike, we're toward the end of the episode here. I got to ask how's that?

Dr Pepper. It's only about half the one I had left over from earlier today, so it's gone. It was refreshing Dave.

Okay, well, dr Pepper has a reputation for being refreshing. You and I both happen to be Dr Pepper aficionados, so I can appreciate your choice and your beer ale 6.7% alcohol by volume and, as I said, it's Rhinelander Brewing out of Monroe, wisconsin. It's an IPA. It's not bad. It's got a little bit of an aftertaste that I don't particularly care for, almost like an aftertaste that you get out of a Scotch ale. So this isn't my favorite, but it's not awful and you know I'm enjoying it, but probably not something I would choose to to have again.

We'll have to do better next episode. I will. I'll definitely to do better next episode?

I will. I'll definitely do better Me too, Mike. We're here at the last segment of the last episode of 2024. You got a shout out.

I'm just going to shout out everyone who's tuned into Plastic Model Mojo over the year.

You stole mine.

Well, you can do it too. I am, and especially those who've helped us along financially. It's been a big boost this year given the stuff we're trying to get going and it is coming. It's just been slow going and we appreciate the support and hopefully it will continue and grow in 2025. Thank you very much, folks, and have a happy new year.

Yes, and I would like to add my thanks to everyone who's out there listening, to everyone who's interacted, especially to everyone who supported us financially. That has been a great help. You don't know how much of a help that has been, and this is a fun hobby. It's been a great year and let's see if we can make 2025 even better.

All right, dave, bear close this one out, as we always do.

You know what they say, mike. So many kits, so little time. I'll see you in 2025. All right, man Happy.

New Year dude.

Happy New Year. Bye.