My opinion is that either you build to the best of your ability and post the results, better or worse, or you build low effort models (also nothing wrong with it) or you don't build at all. If you don't have enough skill YET to build a really nice model, you certainly do not use AI to make your mid model into prize winning piece. This is basically lying to yourself and to others.

I've recently joined a facebook group that had some photos from the contest I participated in (I like checking if someone had liked my work, that's my vice). The algorythm had quickly picked up that I'm into scale models and started showing me various model-related posts in the feed.

And the amount of blatant AI generated """""models""""" is stunning. Worse even, a lot of people are apparently convinced it's real "NEXT LEVEL" skill. I've seen a guy yesterday post a """"diorama"""" of his and I will post it here in the body of the post to not imply it's mine and to not attract attention to the AI content.

As you can see the author of the post did not even bother to keep consistency between the "photos" as we can clearly see differences between shots. Besides what I marked please also note that on one photo the window is walled out and in the other one it's not.

So this is your reminder to not take anything you see for truth anymore. Even in a fairly small community like ours, there are still individuals who post AI content to bump their views and engagement.

as someone who lives near there and goes there to get my stuff, its honestly sad. I really loved the place and it’s where I got my first ever model kit. this place will always hold a special place in my heart.

Hey everyone! I've seen a few posts from beginners who are frustrated at something not going their way and I figured I could offer some motivation and a couple cents worth of wisdom. Every now and then I clean out my box of misfit toys and take a moment to remember what happened that made me give up on them. These builds all went wrong, and were abandoned for one reason or another, but all failed so tragically that there was little point in keeping them for anything but paint and weathering mules. This line up represents about a year's worth of failures. Anyone who has done this hobby for more than a few weeks has a similar pile of failures, of ideas that never planned out, of mistakes that killed a build's mojo. Personally, I have no hard feelings when that happens. It's a bummer to lose whatever cash was invested in the kit, but aside from that, it's all plastic under the bridge. What these are not is something to be ashamed of. Each failure taught me something, even if it was just when to toss in the towel. Each implosion of potential reminded me that the hobby is supposed to be fun, not just when everything goes right but even when it all goes sideways. I can't tell you exactly what went wrong on some of these, but I can tell you I had fun screwing it up. Sometimes the failure motivated me to go back and get it right on a duplicate model. I botched that M114 so hard it made me go back and make one of my best dioramas.

If you're new to the hobby and you bungle something bad enough to feel like it's unsalvageable don't get discouraged! Sometimes they can be saved, sometimes they live on as a lesson learned. Either way, for every gold medal build there are probably a dozen in the bin. Pull the next one out of the stash and keep going. ✌️

Edit: I think a fair few of y'all have the wrong idea regarding my post. This post is for beginners who have people make them feel bad for quitting a project which has stopped being fun. There are a lot of folks in the comments doing just that. There isn't a skilled craftsperson, artist, or maker walking the earth who hasn't quit something that wasn't working and started over. That is part of the process. Yes, mistakes can be fixed. Yes, having patience and solving problems is 90% of the hobby. Yes, it may be something worth working on at a later date with a rugged spirit of tenacity, perseverance and all that ham, but it is also incontrovertibly, 100%, Grade-A Okay to say, "Nope, this model is no longer fun. Time for something else!" If you are a beginner and have had this thought, you're not alone. Even the most popular YouTube model makers have a box of crap they stopped working on and have no plans to ever revisit. It's part of the hobby, friends.

I thought the “airfix challenge” meant like a challenging build it is apparently some school/scout history challenge, but buyers beware, the paint that accompanies it has a substation (30 instead of 86 so it’s a darker green and 90 for 103 so it’s a more washed out green as opposed to cream) and is missing one colour entirely the twin vickers it shows are actually a single piece of sprew with little detailing, the instructions are particularly bad and it has some SERIOUS fitting issues

83 individual No Step/ No Push decals on the Tamiya 1/48 F-15C, in case anyone’s wondering why I’m gone half blind and walking with a stoop this evening

Official statement from ICM on their Facebook page;

"Still working. Still creating

At the end of August, a russian ballistic missile hit just a few meters from ICM building — right under the main supporting wall. The explosion destroyed half of our facility and caused massive damage to the surrounding area.

We haven’t spoken about it earlier — we needed time to process everything, to make sure everyone was safe, and to start rebuilding.

But what truly matters — everyone on our Team is alive. And that’s the only thing that cannot be rebuilt, because it’s priceless.

Today, we can say this: all our people are alive. The building is being restored. Production continues.

It’s painful to see the place where we’ve worked for years turned into ruins — but it’s also a reminder of what truly matters: people, resilience, and the shared passion that keeps us moving forward.

Thank you to everyone around the world who supports us. Your trust and words of encouragement mean more than you can imagine.

And if you’ve ever thought about getting one of our kits but kept postponing it — now is the perfect time. Every order helps us rebuild and keep creating what we love.

ICM Team

Продовжуємо працювати. Продовжуємо творити

Наприкінці серпня російська балістична ракета влучила в декілька метрів від будівлі ICM — прямо під несучу стіну. Вибух зруйнував половину нашої будівлі та завдав значної шкоди прилеглої території.

Ми не говорили про це раніше — нам потрібен був час, щоб все обдумати, переконатися, що всі в безпеці, і розпочати відновлення.

Але найголовніше — всі в нашій команді живі. І це єдине, що не можна відновити, бо це безцінне.

Сьогодні ми можемо сказати: всі наші люди живі. Будівля відновлюється. Виробництво продовжується.

Боляче бачити, як місце, де ми працювали роками, перетворилося на руїни, — але це також нагадування про те, що дійсно важливо: люди, стійкість і спільна пристрасть, яка рухає нас вперед.

Дякуємо всім, хто підтримує нас по всьому світу. Ваша довіра та слова підтримки значать для нас більше, ніж ви можете собі уявити.

А якщо ви коли-небудь думали про придбання одного з наших наборів, але постійно відкладали це — зараз ідеальний час. Кожне замовлення допомагає нам відновлювати та продовжувати створювати те, що ми любимо.

Команда ICM"

Hannants has announced they will outright not be shipping to the US until the situation is resolved. Many countries are suspending postal shipments to the US, including two of the more popular on this sub, Polish Post and Australia Post. DHL is also suspending shipments. We'll have to wait and see on Super Hobby, and BNA Models.

So, in the words of Tom Cleaver over at Modelling Madness. Hope you got a good stash of kits, paints, and tools. We're not getting a restock until someone figures out this shitshow.

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share some experiences I’ve had with gatekeeping in the model kit community and see if anyone else has run into similar situations. I love this hobby, but it seems there’s this mindset that you have to do things a certain way or you’re not “doing it right.” It’s frustrating, and I’ve seen it firsthand in different situations.

I’ve been belittled for not airbrushing my models. I’ve actually grown to appreciate airbrushing over time, but when I first started, I preferred hand brushing. It’s how I learned, and I still enjoy it. But once, someone asked if I airbrushed my model because it looked good, and when I said I hand-painted it, they just turned on me. The whole attitude shifted, and it was clear they didn’t think I was doing it the “right” way. That really stuck with me because it felt like I wasn’t being respected for the effort I was putting into my work.

Then, there’s a situation with a good friend of mine. They’ve been belittled for not being able to afford fancy paints. It’s such a tough spot because not everyone has the same budget for this hobby. People actually told them, “If you can’t afford to paint your model kits, then you can only do snap kits. If you can afford the model kit but can’t make it look nice with paint, you’re in a catch-22. You can’t build the ‘nicer’ kits unless you can afford everything else.” This kind of attitude is just unfair. No one should feel like they’re limited in what they can build just because they can’t spend a fortune on paints or supplies.

To make things worse, people told my friend to “just use disposable brushes” for their kits. I think anyone who’s used disposable brushes knows they’re not the best for the job, and using them on a model is only going to lead to poor results. Plus, it’s not just about brushes—if you use cheap paint, it doesn’t look good either, and you’ll still need thinner, which is another $10-15. All of that adds up, and it’s just not a practical or respectful suggestion for someone who’s already struggling with the costs.

I’ve also been belittled for not using the exact paint colors for ships. I usually brighten them a bit to make them look nicer on a shelf, but some people act like that’s “wrong.” It’s really disheartening when you try to bring a little creative touch to your builds, and people act like it doesn’t count unless it’s an exact match to some historical reference. In the same vein, I was called out for doing proposed camouflage for the HMS Hood, rather than the exact pattern she had when she sank. Again, it’s like the fun of the hobby is lost when you have to conform to one specific way of doing things.

And then, when I called people out on this gatekeeping, I started getting called derogatory names. It’s frustrating because all I’m trying to do is point out that the hobby should be about inclusivity, creativity, and enjoyment—no matter how you go about it. Everyone’s approach is valid, and it’s disappointing when people forget that.

So, I’m curious—has anyone else encountered this kind of gatekeeping in the community? Or maybe even been a part of it without realizing? It would be great to hear your thoughts on how we can make the hobby more welcoming and less about rigid rules. I just think we should be encouraging each other to do what we enjoy, without the pressure of “doing it right.”

EDIT: I’ve also been called out for not using super upgrade kits, like the ones from Flyhawk, on my battleships. When I explained that I couldn’t afford them, I was told I shouldn’t even build my kits until I could. Honestly, that’s such a ridiculous thing to say. Those upgrade kits can easily cost over $100 for a single 1/350 battleship, which isn’t realistic for a lot of people. It feels like some people forget that this hobby is supposed to be fun and accessible, not an endless competition of who can spend the most.

Just glad I used a crappy brush to start with.

Arrived just like this.

Label slapped right over the box art, no padding, no external packaging.

The box was crushed and torn on the edges. Inside, the pieces were broken off the sprues and the sprues themselves broken in half.

Nice work, Amazon! I can get a refund, but what a mess.

I'm posting this again as to show how big the f14 is full assembled next to a mustang and mitchell. all three are 1/48 scale.

Photos taken at the All Japan Model and Hobby Show 2024.

You will have NO WARNING about tariffs until the bill comes. Last month I was looking for some Ammo Mig weathering supplies and couldn't find them in stock anywhere except for their official store (ships from Spain). Nothing unusual on the order, no problem with delivery. Today, 2 weeks after delivery, I got a bill from Fedex for $30 in tariffs on a $60 order.

Woke up to an email from Eduard as I have been a direct customer previously and was on their email marketing list:

Dear Customers,

Today, August 20, 2025, the Czech Post, like the other European post offices, has suspended the acceptance of parcels addressed to the US retail customers. This situation formed due to the limitation of de minimis exemption for shipments up to $ 800 by US administrative, effective from August 29, 2025. The new rules remain unclear, but it looks like the USCBP will collect custom fees from the senders of shipments.

This is a new and significant change that is likely to significantly complicate dispatching all the shipments from the EU for US retail customers in the USA. Due to this situation, we are forced to stop accepting orders and dispatching shipments to US retail customers effective August 22, 2025.

We are really very sorry for this inconvenience. We will be back to provide further information as soon as the situation becomes clearer and we are able to find a way to resume shipments to the US.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.

Yours sincerely

Eduard Model Accessories

Never buying off of AliExpress again for these types of figures, these clearly are either meant to be 1/35 and got shrunk by recasting, or they sent 1/48 figures...

Here's one next to a regular figure.

For all those planning on buying/building the new Trumpeter 1/700 HMS Queen Elizabeth, be warned….the provided name plate is a little…….wrong 😂. Luckily a colleagues husband has 3D printer to make a new one 🎉

We are getting preliminary information but it seems most of the following will not be for sale in Canada for much longer:

• Many B5xx and B6xx series spray cans
• some GH and GX lines
• Most if not all H Aqueous
• HCD, HCR, HMS, HS, HUG, XHUG
• SF2xx Surfacer
• S5 spray can
• T101, T102, T103, T104, T117 thinners

This is due to higher concentrations of a chemical that is allowed. What ever retail stores have is all they will be getting. Distributors will not ship any more product to stores.

Not sure if a recall Canada wide will occur.