Welcome to my miniature modelling museum
Hi. Thanks for stopping by. This is my scale modelling blog.
Although, like many people, I dabbled with a bit of plastic modelling when I was a child, I recently returned to the hobby in a much more serious way in the last few years. I’m not entirely sure why, but I suspect there’s something very basic in our nature to build. So, for me, scale modelling provides a bit of a release from the daily grind – the projects, deadlines and decisions are all my own, and the tactile sensation of physical craftsmanship drains the stress from my fingertips… well usually. The nice thing though, is that when something doesn’t go quite right on a modelling project, and you feel the stress mounting, you can simply walk away from the workbench and go do something else.
When I first returned to scaled modelling, I quickly discovered there was an online community of devotees, who are usually very quick to offer up helpful advice and kind critiques on your work. However, the large majority of them seem to gravitate towards trying to make the most accurate miniature representations of the planes, trains, automobiles and motorcycles that they know in real life. While I do have a passing interest in such things, and the utmost respect for those that can accomplish it, as I just mentioned, for me the joy is in the craftsmanship itself and I find no particular joy in arguing the minute (or not so minute) differences between all the sub-variations of the Messerschmidt Bf-109 series.
What I do like though, is comics.
I’ve been a fan of comics of all kinds since I was old enough to read. In fact, spending my allowance on comics rather than modelling supplies is probably what kept me from diving deeper into the hobby in my youth. As such, when I started looking around for subjects upon which to base my models, it was only natural that I would gravitate to my love of comics (and animation by association).
So this blog is dedicated to the main sections of my modelling passion – the works for Hergé, Hayao Miyazaki, Kaoru Shintani, Leiji Matsumoto, and, well, whatever else I can come up with on the side.
Hergé, best known for his creation Tintin, was a stickler for detail. So it should come as no surprise that the vehicles that appear in the Adventures of Tintin comic albums are accurate depictions of their “real life” counterparts. In fact, they are so accurate that Hergé was commissioned to produce the artwork for a series based on the history of aviation, known as Voir et Savoir.
On the other hand, the works for Hayao Miyazaki, best known as the creative energy behind Studio Ghibli, are so fantastic and fantastical, that the flying, driving and walking machines that appear across his work in television and full-length animation almost beg to be rendered in plastic. Although some of them are straight “out of the box” builds from commercial kits, many of them need to be scratch-built (at least in 1/72 scale!).
Of course in my opinion, no comic (or manga) based modelling blog would be complete without a section devoted to Kaoru Shintani – best know for his manga/anime series Area 88. A devoted scale model builder himself, Shinanti’s manga series (although unfortunately left unfinished in English translation) based on the exploits and adventures of a mercenary air force features a multitude of highly accurate airplanes. Although Hasegawa’s “Creator Works” series features many of the jets flown by the main characters in the series, there are several more to choose from. Besides the jets, I’ve also got an interest in re-interpreting the planes (via their “family trees”) as WWII-era prop planes. For example, Shin’s Vought F-8E Crusader could be rolled back to a Vought F-4U Corsair, or Micky’s F-14 Tomcat could be rolled back to a F7F Tigercat.
And finally, Shintani’s old boss… the legendary Leiji Matsumoto. Although Matsumoto is most well-known for his space operas, such as Galaxy Express 999 and Captain Harlock, I’ve also got a keen interest in his WWII-based series of short stories, collectively known as the Battlefield Manga.
While those are my main interests, who knows what else might pop up? I’ve got a plan to do a project based on the DC Comic’s hero-team The Blackhawks and their famous F5F Skyrockets.
