I had to be clever and in the two weeks between returning home from Scale Model Challenge and the start of SMW in Telford, I decided to build ICM’s 1/48 Marauder, a kit that’s large involved and in places, not the easiest thing I’ve put together this year.
29th October 2025.
Scale Model World is now almost a week away and I’ve decided to do something that I haven’t done for years: complete a model for the show against the clock. Having promised myself that I wouldn’t do this again a long time ago (pretty much at the same time I took an extended decade-long break from competing) I’m somewhat at a loss as to why I thought this would be a good idea this year. If flagging energy levels, a persistent head cold and a distinct lack of anything close to decent sleep are anything to go by, it wasn’t a good idea. In fact, it was as far removed from a good idea as it’s possible to be.
The main driver for this unexpected decision to remove any remaining vestige of my sanity, was the need to create a display of ICM models on the Hobby Company stand. With visitors from the company due at the show and the news recently that their HQ had been damaged in yet another Russian bombing raid, we were all keen to to our part to get the message out there that they are still very much in business.
Truth be told, I could have taken the easy route and simply displayed models that are already built’. But no, I had to be clever and in the two weeks between returning home from Scale Model Challenge and the start of SMW in Telford, I decided to build ICM’s 1/48 Marauder, a kit that’s large involved and in places, not the easiest thing I’ve put together this year. That said, multi-tasking and all that, I have offered it to Brett, so not only will it be the centrepiece of my collection at SMW, it will be a feature in Model Airplane International, thus dealing with my professional commitments for November. Swings and roundabouts, swings and roundabouts…
So today, I completed the interior of the model and then managed to assemble the airframe at least parts of it, my thoughts being to keep the fuselage and wings separate so that I can paint them apart thus easing the path to completion somewhat. I also hope that I may be able to rivet the model after painting is complete. Something I have done in the past, I know it’s easier when wings and things are not securely glued in place. Of course all of this is rather dependant on time. I doubt that I will be considering such heady aspirations if the model remains incomplete this time next week, but then again maybe I will, sensible decisions as this column sets out to prove, being in rather short supply in my studio these days…
See you tomorrow.
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