Archive for the ‘Interviews’ Category

I normally avoid resin or photoetch after market parts. I seem to have a talent for messing them up, gluing small metal parts to my forehead, or oversanding resin until it’s unusable. (And those are not exaggerations.)

 When I have tried to make a go of them, I’d end up sitting back and wondering “why doesn’t someone make this stuff from regular old plastic?’

Thankfully, someone has!

3D-Kits, a small after-market operation based in the UK, has begun producing high quality after market conversion sets. The man behind the company, Stewart Meikle, graciously took his time to tell us more about his work.

You can also read Part II of this report here, detailing the use of two of 3D-Kits aftermarket sets. Read the rest of this entry »

You can’t be in the modeling hobby long and not become aware of how effective an airbrush can be to finishing your models. And almost inevitably, when you ask modelers what airbrush they use, most of them will say one name- Badger. Even if modelers speak of another brand, they tend to phrase things in comparison to a Badger airbrush.

In fact, I was astonished when I first re-entered the modeling hobby a few years ago how deeply committed Badger users were to their airbrushes. I very quickly realized that they are thought of like John Deere mowers or Craftsman tools. Or remember that old saying about IBM? “No one ever got fired for buying IBM.”

Customer loyalty like that doesn’t just happen overnight. The more I talked with Ken Schlotfeldt, the owner of Badger Air-Brush Company, the more I realized why he and his company have so many legions of loyal users- they make a commitment to their products and customers that’s not often found in today’s marketplace. Read the rest of this entry »

You might have encountered him online or in a book. Perhaps you’ve read a report on a new kit, or watched a video on how to use that new airbrush. Whatever the case, you can’t have been a modeler for long and not in some way encountered Brett Green.

Best known as the editor of Hyperscale, arguably the most well-known online resource for modelers worldwide, Brett Green wears many hats. Whether it’s updating his popular website, writing books, or producing helpful videos, he always has something of interest cooking up in his workshop.

On a personal note, Brett has also been a big inspiration for me in producing Agapemodels.com. So I thought it would be interesting to find out a little more about the man behind such a rich blessing of modeling experience. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve built model kits in the last half century, you’ve most likely heard of Airfix. The company has been producing injection molded kits since 1954, and has actually been around since 1939, according to Wikipedia.

The last few years have been difficult however, and in August 2006, Airfix shut its doors. Modelers across the world discussed and speculated on the reasons, but nearly all agreed that the loss of such a major modeling force could not be good for the hobby.

Thankfully, Hornby, best known for it’s railway kits and accessories, stepped up and purchased Airfix, breathing new life into the company. Airfix Product Manager Martyn Weaver was gracious enough to answer a few questions about the “new” Airfix and what the future holds for the historic company. Read the rest of this entry »

Accurate Miniatures has gained a reputation for producing well engineered, high quality, accurate model kits. (Thus the name!) Many of their kits, such as the Il-2 Stormovik, TBF Avenger, SBD Dauntless and others are considered by many to be the finest kits of those aircraft ever produced. And they’ve shown a willingness to tackle kits not often produced by other manufacturers, such as their F3F series of biplanes, and the SB2U Vindicator. More recently, they’ve added pylon racing aircraft, pre-painted 1/100th scale aircraft, and even brought back some “oldies” in the form of nostalgic Monogram re-issues from the late 60′s.

And while so many of the high quality, mass production manufacturers are from the Europe or Asia, I’m proud to say Accurate Miniatures is headquartered right here in my home state, North Carolina, USA. Accurate Miniatures president, Linda Habovick, graciously agreed to “sit down” with me (via email) for an interview. I thought it would be interesting to find out more about the process that happens before Accurate Miniatures model kits appear on the shelves of your local hobby shop. Read the rest of this entry »