LUFTHANSA JUNKERS G 38 AIRLINER

This is the wonderful little 1:144 scale airliner model from Revell of Germany of the astonishing Junkers G38 aircraft. It had two decks and four engines and passengers could even sit in the nose or in the wings!
The paint is Alcald aluminium and gloss black. The decals worked perfectly. There is a complete interior but the windows are too small to allow you to see inside.
I failed to take photos of it myself but found this image from the Ajax 2014 contest where it was a prize winner.

Junkers G38 aircraft - Lufthansa

MISTER BONES, or AGENT SKULLY

This is the unusual 1:1 scale model of a human skull by Lindbergh Models from the USA.
The quality of the skull model is amazingly good, especially considering that Lindbergh is usually bottom-of-the-barrel in that regard. It has clearly been moulded from a real human skull as the detail is perfect.
The bone was moulded in gloss white plastic which I rubbed with Vallejo putty to give a better texture. Then it was sprayed with Tamiya white primer. Then the primer was rubbed with Vallejo grey powder and sometimes wetted and rubbed and other times just forced into crevices with a stiff brush. The teeth were also primer white, then soaked in tea and washed with yellow then coated with satin clearcoat then filled with grey powder to pick out the gaps and gum lines.
It was a second place winner in the misc. category at the Montreal MIMM 2016 contest.

human skull

human skull

human skull

human skull

human skull

human skull

human skull

Third place winner in the Miscellaneous category at CAPCON 2017 on 30 September 2017.

C.I.A. "OXCART" RS-71

This is the 1:72 scale Hasegawa model form the 1980s of the CIA's famous top secret SR-71 spy-plane code-named OXCART. I call this model "Oxcart 4" as there is a big red 3 on the tail. Remember, this was the CIA's aircraft, and even the flash numbers on the side were changed to fool anyone who managed to get a glimpse or a photo.
The US Air Force version was supposed to be designated the RS-71, but was mistakenly announced by L.B.J. as the SR-71.So the new name stuck.
Paint is the Vallejo matte black primer, with various Vallejo airbrush metallic colours for the engines. I added the hydraulic tubes for the main gear. The decals were solid and would never come off the backing sheet. So other means were necessary. The entire kit went together and was painted in six days. The shinier silver on the tips of the engine shock cones comes from using an undercoat of black printer, then using a Tamiya rattle can of silver, then using a fine mist of Vallejo metallizer dark aluminium. This shows up in the photos quite well. A silvered toothbrush was used for bringing out the old raised panel lines and producing weathered edges.
It is very difficult to photograph a long all-black aircraft with a simple camera. Sorry about the rather low-quality images.
It came in second place in the 1:72 aircraft category at the Montreal MIMM 2016 contest.

C.I.A. "OXCART" RS-71

C.I.A. "OXCART" RS-71

C.I.A. "OXCART" RS-71

C.I.A. "OXCART" RS-71

C.I.A. "OXCART" RS-71

CANNON "32 pound long gun" FROM A CAPITAL SHIP

This is a 1:30 scale metal and wood model of a "32 pound long gun" from Unicorn Model of China. It would have been seen on capital sailing warships at the time of Admiral Nelson, and would not have been phased out until breech loaders and rifled barrels were invented. This could be English or French and possibly have seen action at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
A common gun of this designation had a 155mm calibre; and with a full charge of about 5 kg could fire up to 14.5 kg of projectile to an extreme range of less than 1800 metres. The barrel weighed about 3 tonnes, and the carriage another half tonne.
The deck is bare wood with each board cut and placed individually. The deck edge and frame are coated in a wood gloss finish. Extra rigging was built for the cannon to show the means to pull the gun carriage back from the edge in order to service the gun. The water bucket was built from scratch with a lot of small wooden staves. All of the rear pins were added by me. I also added the tied lead sheet on top of the cannon to protect the firing hole. This is seen on similar cannons on HMS Victory.
The kit was ordered from AliExpress, and it went together in about two weeks.

32 pound long gun

32 pound long gun

32 pound long gun

32 pound long gun

32 pound long gun

32 pound long gun

32 pound long gun

32 pound long gun

32 pound long gun

32 pound long gun

32 pound long gun

32 pound long gun

NAPOLEONIC-ERA FIELD ARTILLERY

My best guess is this is a Napoleonic era artillery piece. This is said to be a 1:45 scale metal and wood kit from "Scale+" of China, bought on AliExpress for about $15.
The gun carriage and axle and wheels are solid wood. The fittings are metal. The gun is brass. The cannon balls in the wooden monkey are steel. I should probably paint them black.
I added metal straps and chains to the carriage.
The wheels have thin strips of metal cut from wine bottle tops as the tyres, painted black metal by Vallejo.
The base comes with the kit and is painted with Floquil spackle "Gravel Gray".

 

1804 STEAM LOCOMOTIVE (COALBROOKDALE / TREVITHICK)

This is the Airfix / Hornby 1:24 scale "1804 Steam Locomotive", sometimes known as the Trevithick or the Coalbrookdale Locomotive or the Pen-y-Darren Locomotive (kit #A05871). 
Although there are no records of the first operations of the Coalbrookdale Locomotive of 1802-1803, and there is only a single drawing and one letter remaining, it is the mother of all steam locomotives and the first working version of what became the more famous "Pen-y-Darren" locomotive which hauled 10 tonnes of iron, five wagons, and seventy men over 16 km of plate tracks in Pen-y-Darren, Wales, in 4 hours on 21 February 1804. It moved an astonishing 4 km/hr, and Trevithick walked alongside tending the engine!
This is considered to be the first actual functioning steam locomotive to operate on iron plates (tracks) and to pull a multi-tonne load. The new machine utilized high pressure steam and was considered to be highly dangerous by other inventors.
More dangerous was the fact that the firebox door was located on the front of the engine directly below the single massive piston. On the first journey no further water was added during the run.
The kit came to me from the IPMS Ottawa club president at a swap meet, and it went together in a weekend. The body of the locomotive, really only the boiler, is covered in actual wood planks to both insulate the boiler and to protect people from the heat of the boiler. This became very common in early locomotives.
The body is painted Tamiya regular gloss black, and the wheels and gears Tamiya flat Hull Red.
The gear teeth and outer surface of the iron tyres is hand-painted Vallejo metallic black, then everything was sprayed with Vallejo matte varnish. Highlighting of the black metal edges and bolts and such was done with the old toothbrush silver up with a craft silver felt pen. This gave the black the look of actual iron. Rust powder (PanPastel 380.3 Red Iron Oxide) was applied to discrete places, but not too many as this machine was well cared for and only ran a short time before becoming a stationary engine in the mine. Soot and smoke residue came from Vallejo pigments 73116 carbon black; and some lightening was done on the wood siding with Vallejo pigments 73113 light slate grey. Oil and grease and water stains come from the new Vallejo 73813 "Oil Stains" weathering acrylic painted in with a tiny brush. It worked well to make the piston rod and guide rods look lubricated and real.
The base is a plain wooden oval from the dollar store sprayed with Floquil spackle "Gravel Gray", then weathered with a line of oil and water drips between the tracks. The plate tracks come with the kit, but I had to make small flat stones for the track bed (sleepers), then nail small spikes through the track and stone into the base. Same colours and methods as per the locomotive.
The finished model placed second in the 2016 annual 'all things British' contest sponsored by IPMS Farnborough, being beaten for first place by only one point and missing the Cody Tree Trophy! Damn! 
It won a gold medal at the Montreal MIMM 2016 contest.

1804 Steam Locomotive - Trevithick or Coalbrookdale Locomotive

1804 Steam Locomotive - Trevithick or Coalbrookdale Locomotive

Second place winner in the Trains category at CAPCON 2017 on 30 September 2017.

1804 Steam Locomotive - Trevithick or Coalbrookdale Locomotive

1804 Steam Locomotive - Trevithick or Coalbrookdale Locomotive

1804 Steam Locomotive - Trevithick or Coalbrookdale Locomotive

1804 Steam Locomotive - Trevithick or Coalbrookdale Locomotive

1804 Steam Locomotive - Trevithick or Coalbrookdale Locomotive

1804 Steam Locomotive - Trevithick or Coalbrookdale Locomotive

1804 Steam Locomotive - Trevithick or Coalbrookdale Locomotive

1804 Steam Locomotive - Trevithick or Coalbrookdale Locomotive