Doug Mulle

Here are the results of the last few months. I hope you have followed along as I went through the steps to make a simple box stock kit look like a custom built model. When you look at the other entries here you are going to see some amazing creations, and I bet many will think the same things I thought when I went to my first model contest.. "That's beautiful, but I can't do anything like that". It's easy to forget that no one built their first kits looking like that, they had to learn the skills, learn the basics and practice. I didn't build this to compete against all the amazing works of art here, I built this to inspire everyone who wants to build a better model. To show that taking the time to make the parts fit correctly, paying attention, finding then fixing the little imperfections in the kit, and your own mistakes, can make a huge difference! To show that you don't need all kinds of extra parts to make a model look good. A little extra paint can make a bare interior look great. A little dust and rust on the drivetrain can bring to life a boring chassis. A little tint on the windows makes a model look a little more realistic.

These are things any model builder can do! It's a matter of practice, and trying to make each model that you build a little better than the last one. To challenge yourself to do a little better every time.

To challenge myself with this build, I wanted to capture a moment in time for a friend, when she went hiking over the summer and made some great memories that she shared with me. I would need to learn how to make some custom decals, license plates, and especially, paint the figure that resembles her to capture that moment. I have never been able to paint a figure and capture the details that I wanted, even after years of trying! The different highlights in hair. Subtle differences in skin tones like a suntan and the shadows. The way blue jeans have lighter fades in some places and darker creases in others. To make it look realistic and help bring the build to life and bring back the memories of her vacation.

I have to say that I am very pleased with the results and the challenges that I overcame to build this. I hope that you enjoyed seeing how even a simple box stock model kit can turn into a work of art by doing the basic things right and constantly trying to improve your own work, and that you are inspired to challenge yourself into making your next build the best you've ever made!

And a vote for me would be pretty nice too!