SPA Modeler

Brandon, thanks for sharing! You are multi-talented!!

Thank you, everyone. I appreciate the kind words.

Great interview! I'm sure I remember you building that Hawkeye - great stuff!

Look forward to reading it Bruce!

MEET BRUCE (SPEEDGRAFLEX)


Howdy! What was your first model kit?



My very first model was the 1:13 Aurora Snap kit “Spiked Dinosaur,” which my Dad bought for me at Buhl Planetarium after he took me to see the annual winter train show. I was incredibly happy that night. I was seeing stars, literally. Plus it was father and son bonding time which remains embedded in memory. I don’t know if he was smoking a pipe, but I think so—this is a memory I have of him that I confuse with other memories. I am pretty sure he was driving our old station wagon because you could hide tools in it; for my Dad, practicality won over speed—or traction. I took my new monster home and unwrapped it, inhaled my first supercharged hit of freshly packed styrene and was forever changed. I had no idea what the hobby was or how I was going to build what I was seeing on the box art; the closest I had in understanding to this model kit was building puzzles with my grandparents on summer vacation. The sensation of discovery combined with a feeling of accomplishment as the pieces clicked in the right order is everything—order from chaos.


Preferred scale?

Any scale. The subject determines everything. I have built many garage and vintage kits over the years and I truly feel I would have lost out if I filtered subjects by scale. It was frankly news to me that most builders have a preference and that led me to develop this as a question. I was really curious what the reasons were—shelf space, accuracy, ease of assembly, sheer number of kits (insert Mark “The Duke” here) or the need to have a consensus. Does it sound better to say, “I only build scale X?” Maybe so. I just don’t do it; although at one point I considered only building “Studio Scale,” but that’s absolutely impractical unless you’re blessed with incredible resources and fortitude.



1:24 Studio Scale T.I.E. Fighter. Resin, Koolshade, styrene and lacquer paint.


Preferred subject or subjects?

Science Fiction. The first kits I built were all science fiction from shows that I had never seen before—Star Trek, Space 1999, The Black Hole—I still haven’t seen any of Space 1999, no offense to Martin Landau. My Mom would drop me off at the local movie theater to watch Flash Gordon serials on Saturdays. Not with kids! These were adults enjoying themselves immensely. It was a lot of fun. I’m the only kid I know who mailed in $25 to Lincoln Enterprises for a Star Trek jacket, although I was absolutely mortified when a fella at the hobby shop asked if I was a Trekkie. If I could only choose one subject to build it would have to be Science Fiction. I’m definitely a Trekkie. Live Long and Prosper!


What was your favorite model built to date?

That’s the Aries 1B from 2001. I’ve built this in two scales. Both are complex resin kits to which I’ve added lighting of my own design.



1:80 Atomic City Aries 1B. Kit produced by Scott Alexander. Resin, brass, enamel and lacquer paint.



1:48 AJA Models Aries 1B. Kit produced by Adam Johnson; prototyping by Scott Spicer. Resin, brass, lacquer paint.

Go see the original miniature which is on display at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles; as model builders you will be amazed. Truly. There’s a level of craft here that only a model maker will understand. It’s very organic, non organic material usage—thin mylar clad, Airfix studded goodness covered in very thin coats of automobile lacquers.


What was your hardest model built to date?

My hardest model was the Aurora Moon Rocket Bus from 2001. It was designed with a removable roof section that never fit. I had to take apart, cut it into sections and rework the size to make it sit correctly. I actually used two models, one old and one new, to complete the project. This model was entirely brush painted with enamel square bottles I bought at Aero Hobbies in Santa Monica, which, sadly, has closed.



1:55 Moon Rocket Bus. Kit by Aurora. Resin and photo etch by Paragrafix. Enamel paint. Tycho Moon Surface designed and built by Matthew Benware, Scenic Artist & Carpenter for Digital Domain and Universal Studios. Plaster on wood.


What is your Holy Grail kit?

“Stallion and Soldier,” which is a Planet of the Apes kit by Adar would be my grail. I’m not sure I’ll ever own it. It’s rare and very expensive. I think I will cobble together my version from two vintage kits and let the grail remain unobtainable; and hopefully by then it will no longer have any hold over me. I’m hopeful.


Who is your favorite kit maker?

Aurora! Revell! The Golden Age of Plastic! Too many to name, honestly, but those two cover so much for me. AMT, of course!


What’s your favorite glue or glues? 

Super glue from the Dollar Tree store and Humbrol poly tube cement. Humbrol tube cement melts well.


What’s your favorite paint?

Gunze is excellent, really. Very resilient.


What started you as a modeler?

I’m still figuring out if I am a modeler. Maybe one day I will know. I think I answered this one best at the beginning of the interview. I knew there was something I wanted to learn about and wanted to keep my curiosity from becoming stagnant. I wanted to keep learning and being creative. That’s really what I need to keep active. Building plastic kits does this. It’s not even about finishing. It’s about building. Finishing is something entirely different; satisfaction and enjoyment of completion. We all chase different things but we are united under the banner of maker. If Harlan Ellison was right, there are servers and there are makers; we model builders could be seen as both. We serve others, but we make for ourselves when we build our kits. What has been a life changing event was joining here. Thanks, everyone, for making me feel like a part of a community.

In close, I want to expressly thank my Dad for encouraging me to build models. He was caught up in the whole car culture, working at a service station and putting himself through engineering school at the same time. I restored as many of his personal slot cars as I could find. See above.

Wow, fantastic interview! It's so great to learn so much about the man behind the awesome Sci-Fi masterpieces! That's interesting that you've never seen Space 1999, I used to watch it all the time. In fact I have very pleasant memories from that show. Back when it was on, broadcasting at 9:00PM on Friday nights, my bedtime was 8:00PM. Friday nights were the only time my mother let me stay up late so we could both watch Space 1999. I was watching it recently again and it's so humorous how basic and 'primitive' it is compared to series like Star Trek original series and others. Still, it was a great show.

As for being a modeler; seeing all the incredibly masterful fixes and adjustments you've made on the kits you're working on, I feel you've more than earned that appellation!