When I saw the Mikro Mir model of the Ukrainian Maritime Drone, I knew I had to have one to build in a seaborne diorama. I’ve not built any other boats, but this company’s kits could tempt me to try a few.
I also bought their model of the Turtle submersible, so I got one of the first naval innovations of the modern era, and one of the latest.
I’ve been stocking up on figures for the Spinneyworld store, so I took the opportunity to have a look inside Tamiya’s Campus Friends 2 box- with a quick look back at the original, and a bonus box from Hasegawa.
I’ve been storing up interestingly shaped bottles and packaging to make science fiction flavoured buildings and tech. But I wanted to go further than normal greeblies and plastic strip detailing, and designed some themed parts.
Another eccentric kit from Japan. This storyteller’s bike is a companion to the Goldfish seller, and has links to Golden Bat. At this rate, I’ll soon have a full fair.
This look back at Las Vegas capitalising on nuclear tests ties in to the theme I’ve got planned for a few model builds this year. I’m going to take the already odd and tense air of the Cold War and give it a dimension slipping twist. The videos will appear on YouTube, and back stories will be on Patreon.
Just a simple diorama using a base that some of you may remember.
I picked up the Dunbine kit from Hobbylink Japan (affiliate link) because it was cheap and looked interesting. The base is from an old Matchbox tank kit. I’ve got a few of them, bought from nostalgia, and I wanted to see what I could do with one.
This is the first of a planned series of connected builds, set in a Cold War made very different by incursions from other worlds. Lore and more will be shared at the Spinneyhead Patreon.
If you haven’t already, please Like and Subscribe to the YouTube channel.
I put together the first of the 1:32 R32 Skyline kits I unboxed recently. The Aoshima kit is snap together, but I couldn’t resist the urge to do a little detailing and texturing on the inside.
I don’t usually do military subjects (that aren’t sci-fi), but the Smith gun appealed. The base for the diorama is an old wooden ashtray, flipped upside down and repurposed. The model is from a Ukrainian company called Ace.
The annual Bolton model show has been one of the few I’ve been able to get to consistently over the years. This year, I decided to get video of all the displays. Even trimmed down to just the builds on display, the video above comes in at an hour and twenty minutes. Definitely worth it if you weren’t there, though.
I also split out examples of the stuff I’m most interested in, with shorter videos, below, for cars and bikes, and Science fiction and figures.
Another magazine from the stash. Chrome & Flames was a Belgian based magazine, published in French, German, and English (and maybe other languages, I don’t know).
Significantly more glossy than the British mags I’ve collected, it was focused almost entirely on finished cars, where UK magazines would be full of how-tos and product reviews. The cars in Chrome & Flames are, generally, easier to find models of, and much, much more flashy.
The product development process for the Spinneyworld shop is not very organised. I have a lot of ideas for things that need designing, and a lifelong problem concentrating on what I should be doing. Sometimes, the only way to get anything done is to trick my procrastinating brain into making something that isn’t on the to-do list.
Which is why Action Man now has a radio control transmitter.
I sat down with Blender yesterday, and built the model up based on photo reference, printing test pieces last night.
There are some changes needed before it sees production. The main one is to the trigger, which was super fragile, and pinged off as soon as I put the controller into the figure’s hand.
The final version will be available in 1:6, 1:12, and 1:24 scales, and this post is partly another psychological trick, designed to shame me into getting the work done, rather than sitting on it for a few more months.
I have a growing stack of vintage car magazines that I’m trawling through for inspiration, and I thought I’d share them with you. This is Custom Car magazine from February 1978, full of old-school customs I mostly can’t find kits of.
What’s better than one Nissan Skyline? Four Nissan Skylines, of course.
I thought I’d compare two new models of the R32 Skyline- one by Mono, and one by Aoshima- with two older models from Microace. You may be surprised by the results.
I got all four kits from Hobbylink Japan. As the new kits are available in different finishes, I’ve created a link to every 1:32 Skyline model by the three companies, which includes older and newer generations, as well as the R32s (affiliate link).
I do like the occasional left-field subject, and this is one of those. The 1:25 Goldfish Shop is clearly not intended for markets outside Japan, but I had to get one for myself. Have a look at what’s inside the box with me.
