A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: CONVERSIONS AND ALTERNATIVE VERSIONS…

I’m sure it won’t be long before I tackle something new and when I do, I will as always look forward to seeing the reaction from other modellers who may, just like me, be on the hunt for the unusual.

3rd September 2025

If there is one aspect of this great hobby of ours that I enjoy above even decalling, it’s converting a stock kit into a different version of the same aircraft, or even in years gone by, something entirely different altogether.

This began at a very early age. I distinctly remember as a young boy trying to follow an article in an ancient Airfix magazine, where the author had converted a Matchbox Piston Provost into a similar, but entirely different, Winjeel. Fear never came into it as I attempted to modify the airframe and then, fingers burned along the way, plunge-mould a new canopy. It was okay as I remember in part, though I’m sure it never found its way past rudimentary construction and certainly nowhere near painting.

The bug though, had well and truly bitten me, that rather unsuccessful project being the first of many that I would attempt and ultimately complete.

Take my time editing Military In Scale as an example. When Frems released their 1/48 Aermacchi 339, I was less-than taken with the kit’s Frecce Tricolori variant and colours, so converted it into a New Zealand AF 339CB complete with new nose and altered tail. No idea where the decals came from, but it was completed and ended up in MIS.

Fast forward a few years and the release of Revell’s 1/32 MiG-29. Again, out of the box didn’t really interest me, so I converted it into one of the Flight Research Institute jets that crashed at Fairford. A new spine, lots of additional detail and a completely rebuilt cockpit were the order of the day that time. It even went on to win a medal at the IPMS Nationals!

Over the years I’ve attempted a couple of very involved conversions, perhaps the most well-known of which is my 1/24 Harrier T2. Almost a complete scratchbuilt, that model was a real tour de force that brought by together all of my skills to create easily the most involved model I’ve ever attempted. Spurred on by that, I had a go at another Harrier, this time converting the Revell 1/32 Harrier Gr.1 into a Development Batch machine, with its metal finish, altered airframe and that wonderfully pointed nose!

I’m certainly not done with conversions, though finding original subjects is getting harder with the mountain of releases we are seeing these days. I find that more and more I need the challenge that they offer and the chance to create something different that I so crave. I’m sure it won’t be long before I tackle something new and when I do, I will as always look forward to seeing the reaction from other modellers who may, just like me, be on the hunt for the unusual.

See you tomorrow.