http://www.FineScale.com 5By Mark Savage
[email protected]A
nniversaries come along to
help us focus on various
stages of our history. This
year we’ve already marked the 75th
anniversary of D-Day, and last issue
we celebrated the 50th anniversary of
the miraculous first moon walk and
Apollo 11 mission with a collection of
real space builds.
Ah, but this issue we get
back to our usual round
robin of modeling. We
delve into armor, aircraft,
military trucks and figures,
plus deliver an absolute
explosion of kit reviews.
Ron Poniatowski
wrote an in-depth how-to
on modifying a World War I Renault
FT into America’s first tank. The
story was so detailed we had to divvy
it up into a two-parter. We hope
you’ll enjoy part one this issue, and
watch for the second part in October.
Meanwhile, FSM regular contrib-utor Frank Cuden delves into how to
improve an Intruder with folded
wings. Frank always has a few tricks
up his modeler’s sleeve.
Then there’s Dennis Gerber’s build
of a German WWII truck with
heavy-duty crane built into the tail
end. If you’re looking to make some-
thing a little different,
this how-to is for you.
Rich Erickson also
shows us how to create an
emotive face on the bust of
a war-worn soldier. And
there are a variety of tips
and techniques in this issue,
plus instructions of how to
make your own airbrush
cleaning pot.
And lest you think we just sit
around modeling all day, Aaron and
I have been traveling to several large
shows. You can see a gallery from
one, which was in our own back
yard, the Mad City Modelers’ showin Madison, Wis., starting on page
- More from the AMPS and
WonderFest shows will roll out with
the October and November issues.
One more thing: You’ll want to
order a copy of Great Scale Modeling,
our special issue this fall that will
highlight some of the best model
builds we’ve seen at this year’s shows.
This issue
we get
back to a
real round
robin of
modeling.EDITOR’S PAGE
Back to a little of everything
Life, it has been said, is our greatest teacher. But sometimes, we experience individuals who set the bar a bit higher, motivating us to do better.Off the sprue: Who has been your best teacher? Why?
Editor
Mark Savage
[email protected]Senior Editor
Aaron Skinner
[email protected]Digital Editor
Elizabeth Nash
[email protected]Editorial Associate
Monica Freitag
[email protected]I had a lot, especially in high
school in Indy. One of my
favorites was Miss Ross, an
English teacher who was
nearing retirement and would
read to us in Middle English and
make it sound so beautiful that
we couldn’t wait to sink our
minds into Shakespeare. Her
enthusiasm was contagious.I had several good teachers in
high school and at uni, but the
one I remember most fondly is
Ms. Bennett. She taught English
at Indooroopilly High and gave
me an appreciation for the
written word that has stayed
with me. Her classes refocused
my career goals from meteorol-
ogy to journalism.My Taekwondo instructor always
encouraged us to push our-
selves. The point was never to
impress anyone else, but instead
to prove to yourself that you
could do some pretty amazing
things. His attitude was always,
“Why, yes, as a matter of fact you
can kick that high, jump that far,
move that fast.”Easy, Miss Mary Lou Jellen my
high school English teacher. One
year I took Creative Writing with
her. She had a way of encourag-
ing you to express yourself on
paper with words, to think
outside the bounds of profes-
sional writing. Poetry was also
part of her plan. She introduced
it in a way we could understand
it, and learn to love it.Look for an AMPS gallery in the October issue.