Plastic Model Mojo

You can feel it when your modeling mojo slips: the bench sits cold, your phone stays hot, and the hobby starts to feel like homework. We dig into that problem from a few angles, starting with a listener question about “palate cleansers” and whether they actually help. Our take: the label can be wrong, because it implies you disliked what you built. We prefer “genre change” a deliberate switch in subject, scale, or materials to learn a new skill, finish something sooner, and bring back the fun.

We also get practical about what “still counts” as modeling, including a chat into 3D printing a Halloween costume crown, troubleshooting a finicky printer, modifying fit, and finishing it with lacquer metallics and clear color. Along the way we talk paint choices, airbrush tip dry in brutal heat, and why many builders reach for systems like Tamiya acrylics with Mr Leveling Thinner, Mr Color, or AK Real Colors when conditions get ugly.

Then we share a big set of Plastic Model Mojo website upgrades built for the scale modeling community: a better Community hub, easier ways to contact us (including voicemail), a new Model Sphere blog for visual content, and our biggest experiment yet, the PMM Model Review tool. It lets you generate a QR code for a contest entry so other modelers can leave constructive feedback, praise what worked, suggest improvements, and even request a follow-up conversation. If you’ve ever wanted real feedback without chasing judges across a show floor, this is for you.

Subscribe, share this with a modeling friend, and leave us a rating and review so more builders can find the show and keep their mojo strong.

Check out the web upgrades at the Plastic Model Mojo website!

Model Paint Solutions
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SQUADRON
Adding to the stash since 1968

Model Podcasts
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KitMasx
Custom Canopy Masks for the Scale Modeler.

Bases By Bill
Your source for custom display bases, laser engraved airfield and carrier decks.

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Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.  

The Model Show Spotlight is brought to you by The World of Armor

A free model kit, a folding table, and someone patient enough to coach can add up to something bigger than a hobby. We’re joined by organizers behind Scale 41, a veterans-focused model making workshop hosted at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas. They walk us through the plan: an unjudged public display, a hands-on classroom build session, and enough donated kits and basic supplies that participants can start building on the spot and take a kit home. We also talk candidly about why scale modeling can be powerful therapy for stress, injury recovery, PTSD, depression, and anxiety. 

Aggieland Modeling Club
Scale 41: A Model-Making Workshop

Then we head to Florida for a first-year event with a very different twist: Figure World Orlando, a juried exhibition style figure show at the Renaissance Orlando Hotel near SeaWorld. Show chair Randy Riley explains how open judging works, why simple scoring makes judging smoother, and the clever upgrade they’re using to prevent a classic show nightmare: exhibitors provide photos of their entries so judges can verify they’re scoring the right piece. We cover the two-day painting workshop, display-only options, vendor plans, and what to expect across the weekend. 

If you care about scale modeling events, IPMS club outreach, AMPS partnerships, miniature painting workshops, or better contest formats, this conversation is packed with ideas you can steal and adapt for your own community. Subscribe so you don’t miss future spotlights, share this with a builder who needs a nudge to get involved, and leave a review to help more modelers find the show.

Figure World Orlando

ModelCon/EagleQuest 2027

Model Paint Solutions
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SQUADRON
Adding to the stash since 1968

Model Podcasts
Please check out the other pods in the modelsphere!

KitMasx
Custom Canopy Masks for the Scale Modeler.

Bases By Bill
Your source for custom display bases, laser engraved airfield and carrier decks.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

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Bump Riffs Graciously Provided by Ed Baroth
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Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.  

Decals can be the moment a build turns from fun to stressful, and we have all watched a perfect marking fold onto itself or silver at the worst possible time. That’s why we were excited to finally sit down with John Ferdico from Hawaiian Air Depot, a Hawaii-based aftermarket brand with a smart twist: instead of shipping pre-cut masks, John sells digital downloads (SVG and DXF) so you can cut your own paint masks at home with a Cricut, Silhouette Cameo, or similar cutter.

We get into the real nuts and bolts of paint masking for scale models: how John researches markings using factory drawings and period photos, how he corrects photo distortion to nail proportions, and why his sets include kit-specific placement masks that align to panel lines so you can hit the right location without guesswork. We also talk materials (Oramask, tape, vinyl), what cutters do best, and where the limits still are especially in 1/72 scale and with multi-color nose art.

Outside the interview, we catch up on fall modeling season, bench time reality, and a flood of listener mail about contest judging and the bigger question behind it: when does chasing trophies start steering your hobby in the wrong direction? We also share updates on Chattanooga ModelCon and Eagle Quest planning, plus a quick round of faves and yawns from recent releases and new manufacturers.

Bonus: Hawaiian Air Depot offers 10% off through October 31 with code mojo dojo, and we’ll point you to a free download so you can test the workflow if you already have a cutter. 

If you enjoy the show, subscribe, share it with a modeling friend, and leave us a rating and review so more builders can find us.

Hawaiian Air Depot
Chattanooga ModelCon/EagleQuest

Chattanooga ModelCon/EagleQuest 2027 Video Series
Intro Video
Feature Video #1
Feature Video #2

Model Paint Solutions
Your source for Harder & Steenbeck Airbrushes, Mixing supplies, and great advice!

SQUADRON
Adding to the stash since 1968

Model Podcasts
Please check out the other pods in the modelsphere!

KitMasx
Custom Canopy Masks for the Scale Modeler.

Bases By Bill
Your source for custom display bases, laser engraved airfield and carrier decks.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

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Bump Riffs Graciously Provided by Ed Baroth
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Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.  

As we slide into fall show season mode. The weather is turning, the hobby calendar is filling up.  We’re talking about where we’ve been and where we’re going next including a recap of the Military Modelers Club of Louisville show in Shepherdsville and plans for the Cincinnati show at the Tri-State Warbirds Museum. We also share why vendor tables are part of the fun, even when we absolutely do not need more stuff (and still find something we “need”).

We preview what’s coming on the podcast feed too: a feature chat with John Ferdico of Hawaiian Air Depot, focused on aircraft markings files for the DIY masking community and Silhouette mask cutting, plus a 1/72 scale extravaganza we’re already excited about. We also tease our next model show spotlight with a new expo style figure show in Orlando and a veterans-focused model making workshop in College Station, Texas.

Finally, we give a quick update on the Plastic Model Mojo Dojo as it closes in on 5,900 members and we spotlight the jaw-dropping miniature painting posts that are inspiring our own use of color, highlights, and shadows. Subscribe, share this with a modeling friend, and leave a rating or review so more builders can find the show.

Model Paint Solutions
Your source for Harder & Steenbeck Airbrushes, Mixing supplies, and great advice!

SQUADRON
Adding to the stash since 1968

Model Podcasts
Please check out the other pods in the modelsphere!

KitMasx
Custom Canopy Masks for the Scale Modeler.

Bases By Bill
Your source for custom display bases, laser engraved airfield and carrier decks.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Send us Some Mail!
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Bump Riffs Graciously Provided by Ed Baroth
Ad Reads Generously Provided by Bob "The Voice of Bob" Bair

Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.  

Model contests can be a blast, but they can also mess with your head if winning becomes the point. We dig into a listener question that hits a nerve for a lot of scale modelers: do you need to compete to be recognized, and what happens when you start building with “beating other builders” as the goal? We share our own experiences with competition, dopamine hits, and disappointment, plus the guardrails we think keep plastic modeling fun and personally rewarding.

Then we shift into the nuts and bolts of staying grounded in the modern golden age of modeling. We talk about why kits have improved so much since the 1990s and early 2000s, from 3D CAD and CNC tooling to instruction sheets that finally make sense. We also address modeler burnout and bench motivation: how work stress and mental fatigue knock you out of routine, and how simple off-bench habits like reading, focused videos, and low-stakes tasks can pull you back in without forcing it.

Shop talk goes deep on two creative topics: in-flight aircraft displays and genre changes. We cover “plane on a pole” basics, judging reality (pilot included), and smarter presentation ideas like box dioramas, controlled viewing angles, blurred backdrops, and hidden supports. We wrap with why switching genres, from armor to cars to Gundam to figures, can add new tools to your skill set fast, from gloss finishes to metallic effects to decals.

If you enjoy honest hobby talk with practical takeaways, subscribe, share this with a modeling friend, and leave a review so more builders can find us.

Check out Jeff Groves' ARMA Hawk 81-A!

Model Paint Solutions
Your source for Harder & Steenbeck Airbrushes, Mixing supplies, and great advice!

SQUADRON
Adding to the stash since 1968

Model Podcasts
Please check out the other pods in the modelsphere!

KitMasx
Custom Canopy Masks for the Scale Modeler.

Bases By Bill
Your source for custom display bases, laser engraved airfield and carrier decks.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Send us Some Mail!
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Bump Riffs Graciously Provided by Ed Baroth
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Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.  

The Cincinnati Scale Modelers are becoming the scale modeling equivalent to "The Big Red Machine"!  Join us as we discuss their upcoming show, and then pivot to a conversation regarding their Junior Modelers Chapter!

A model contest inside a warbird museum is already a strong idea, but Cincinnati Scale Modelers are pushing it further with the kind of details that make a show feel effortless for builders. We sit down with club president Will Kurt to get the full rundown on the upcoming Cincinnati show at the Tri-State Warbird Museum in Batavia, Ohio, including what time the doors open, how the museum space stays accessible all day, and why that setting makes the contest tables more inspiring. If you’ve ever wanted to study real aircraft shapes, finishes, and markings while thinking about your next build, this venue delivers.

We also get practical about how to attend and compete: online registration versus on-site paperwork, clear fee structure, and the on-the-ground improvements like prominent signage, a front-door greeter, and club members in branded shirts so you always know who can help. Then we dig into what makes the awards special. Alongside the returning Boss Hog Award with Mission Barbecue, Will shares the story behind a brand-new Colonel Robert Rogers “Little Buckaroo” P-38 Lightning award that will be presented by the pilot’s son, plus the Spirit of Cincinnati Award sponsored by LaRosa’s Pizza, built around local pride and local history.

The second half turns into a bigger conversation about the future of the hobby: how Cincinnati Scale Junior Modelers became a free youth model club, why a public library is a perfect meeting spot, how donated kits and supplies keep costs out of the equation, and what kids learn beyond glue and paint. If you’ve wondered how to start a junior chapter inside IPMS, this is a real-world playbook, complete with recruiting tactics, mentoring lessons, and a reminder that mistakes are part of every build.

Subscribe for more scale modeling talk, share this with a friend who needs a fall show to attend, and leave us a review if you want more interviews like this. What would you bring to the contest table, and what story would your model tell?

https://www.cincyipms.com/show
https://www.cincyipms.com/juniormodelclub

Model Paint Solutions
Your source for Harder & Steenbeck Airbrushes, Mixing supplies, and great advice!

SQUADRON
Adding to the stash since 1968

Model Podcasts
Please check out the other pods in the modelsphere!

KitMasx
Custom Canopy Masks for the Scale Modeler.

Bases By Bill
Your source for custom display bases, laser engraved airfield and carrier decks.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Send us Some Mail!
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Support the Show!
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Bump Riffs Graciously Provided by Ed Baroth
Ad Reads Generously Provided by Bob "The Voice of Bob" Bair

Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.  

Your hobby room can either pull you into the build or quietly push you away from it. We talk through a real-world reset that many scale modelers are facing right now: replacing doom scrolling with model reading, building a simple nightly routine that feeds ideas, and making smart changes to the model room so the bench feels focused again instead of scattered.

Listener mail takes us into two topics that keep coming up for plastic model builders: health and access. We dig into air quality monitors, ventilation habits, and even surprising CO2 spikes during airbrushing, plus the bigger “golden age of modeling” question. Kits, 3D printing, decals, and aftermarket detail sets are better than ever, but local hobby shops are closing, evolving, and shifting toward different audiences. We also share encouraging stories about modeling as living history and the youth programs that help new builders discover the hobby.

Then we bring on Dr. Michael Polin from Knoxville, Tennessee, fresh off winning Best Aircraft at the IPMS National Convention with a jaw-dropping 1/48 F-16. He breaks down the full “Magnum opus” process: brutal resin fit issues, black CA glue as a gap-filling workhorse, sanding and rescribing, integrating 3D printed parts and photo-etch, choosing decals and clear coats, and solving last-minute canopy and stabilizer disasters right before travel. We also get into a clever QR code build log, transport foam strategies, and how figure painting with Citadel colors sharpened his brush skills for avionics bay detail work.

If you enjoy deep-dive scale modeling talk with practical takeaways, subscribe, share this with a modeling friend, and leave us a review so more builders can find the show.

Model Paint Solutions
Your source for Harder & Steenbeck Airbrushes, Mixing supplies, and great advice!

SQUADRON
Adding to the stash since 1968

Model Podcasts
Please check out the other pods in the modelsphere!

KitMasx
Custom Canopy Masks for the Scale Modeler.

Bases By Bill
Your source for custom display bases, laser engraved airfield and carrier decks.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Send us Some Mail!
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Support the Show!
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Bump Riffs Graciously Provided by Ed Baroth
Ad Reads Generously Provided by Bob "The Voice of Bob" Bair

Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.  

The fall model show season is here. We talk through upcoming events like the Military Modelers Club of Louisville invitational in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, plus an early nudge to start planning for the Cincinnati show in October. If you’ve been itching to get your work on a table, see new builds up close, or just hang out with other builders, this is the stretch of the year where local contests and club shows really deliver.

We also lay out what’s coming next on Plastic Model Mojo: an interview with Dr. Michael Polan from Knoxville, Tennessee, fresh off winning Best Aircraft at the 2026 IPMS National Convention, along with more listener-driven shop talk and a model show spotlight. And because the hobby is better together, we check in on the Plastic Model Dojo’s rapid growth, share what kind of posts are lighting up the feed, and offer a simple guideline that keeps everyone’s work from getting buried.

If you enjoy scale modeling podcasts that mix community, events, and real bench-top problem solving, subscribe, share this with a modeling friend, and leave us a review so more builders can find the show.

Model Paint Solutions
Your source for Harder & Steenbeck Airbrushes, Mixing supplies, and great advice!

SQUADRON
Adding to the stash since 1968

Model Podcasts
Please check out the other pods in the modelsphere!

KitMasx
Custom Canopy Masks for the Scale Modeler.

Bases By Bill
Your source for custom display bases, laser engraved airfield and carrier decks.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Send us Some Mail!
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Support the Show!
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Bump Riffs Graciously Provided by Ed Baroth
Ad Reads Generously Provided by Bob "The Voice of Bob" Bair

Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.  

The best model shows are not just contests, they are proof that a hobby can feel like a community. We’re back with Model Show Spotlight to share what’s coming next after Nationals, starting with our own Military Modelers Club of Louisville (MMCL) and the practical choices that make a local plastic model show run like a well-oiled machine.

Alex Restrepo joins us to break down how MMCL pulled off a raffle that scaled up smoothly at the IPMS Nationals, from sponsored closeout kits to a barcode-based system that scans, projects, and posts winning ticket numbers online. We talk volunteer coordination, contingency planning, and why convenience for ticket buyers is not a “nice to have,” it’s what keeps the room moving. Then we hit the details for the MMCL show at Paroquet Springs in Shepherdsville, Kentucky on September 26, including registration timing, vendor support, nearby hotels and food, and the club’s push to welcome youth builders and fast-growing genres like Gunpla.

MMCL Show Info

Next, Doug Reed returns to preview the Oregon Modelers Jamboree in Albany, Oregon at the Linn County Expo Center on September 12, which also hosts the IPMS Region 7 contest. The Jamboree approach leans into an expo feel: club tables, demos, display-only space, and social time that makes the event more than “enter, shop, wait, leave.”

Oregon Modelers Jamboree

We close with quick early bench impressions of Arma’s pre release Hawk 81-A2,  P-40B kit and what we’re seeing so far.

Subscribe for more model show spotlights, share this with your club, and leave a review so more scale modelers can find the show. What’s one change that would instantly make your local model contest better?

Model Paint Solutions
Your source for Harder & Steenbeck Airbrushes, Mixing supplies, and great advice!

SQUADRON
Adding to the stash since 1968

Model Podcasts
Please check out the other pods in the modelsphere!

KitMasx
Custom Canopy Masks for the Scale Modeler.

Bases By Bill
Your source for custom display bases, laser engraved airfield and carrier decks.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Send us Some Mail!
Rate the Show!

Support the Show!
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Bump Riffs Graciously Provided by Ed Baroth
Ad Reads Generously Provided by Bob "The Voice of Bob" Bair

Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.  

The best part of a national convention is not just the stacks of kits and the contest tables, it’s the moment you walk in and realize you are surrounded by your people. We’re back from the 2026 IPMS National Convention and talking through the full comedown: the unpacking, the reorganizing, and the small but important truth that some “solutions” in the model room (looking at you, retail paint racks) just do not work at home.

Then we get into the conversations we recorded on the floor. We sit down with Jay Chadwell of Mojo Model Works to talk 3D design and 3D printing for the stuff nobody else makes, from real space hardware to pop culture subjects that instantly hit the nostalgia button. We also talk with Randy Chisholm about his USS Texas turret project, a scratchbuilding rabbit hole where scarce references, mechanical realism, and clean construction matter as much as paint and weathering.

We also catch up with Keith Zimmerman about building a striking 1/48 B-24 Liberator for a show exclusive release, including what it takes to handle huge decals and tight timelines. And we’re thrilled to talk with Arma Hobby about how modern injection-molded plastic kits get designed, why 1/72 scale is having a moment, and how a company stays grounded in what modelers actually want to build. Finally we close with our show host and sponsor, Brandon Lowe of Squadron

Top it all off with a “what broke our wallets” recap from the vendor room, and you’ve got a convention debrief that feels like sitting at the bench with friends. If you enjoy this, subscribe, share it with a modeling buddy, and leave a review so more scale modelers can find the show.

Model Paint Solutions
Your source for Harder & Steenbeck Airbrushes, Mixing supplies, and great advice!

SQUADRON
Adding to the stash since 1968

Model Podcasts
Please check out the other pods in the modelsphere!

KitMasx
Custom Canopy Masks for the Scale Modeler.

Bases By Bill
Your source for custom display bases, laser engraved airfield and carrier decks.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Send us Some Mail!
Rate the Show!

Support the Show!
Patreon
Buy Me a Beer
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Bump Riffs Graciously Provided by Ed Baroth
Ad Reads Generously Provided by Bob "The Voice of Bob" Bair

Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.