Many thanks to David Fisher of Amazing Figure Modeler Magazine for the following review of our title, Building Large Scale Sci-Fi & Fantasy Models by Jason Gares.
You may know Jason Gares as a modeler, author, and the host of the Video Workbench YouTube channel. Jason has written frequent articles for the excellent British publication Sci-Fi and Fantasy Modeller magazine. Sadly, Sci-Fi and Fantasy Modeller ceased publication in 2017. Luckily for us, Jason has compiled eight extensive articles written for the magazine into a new e-Book, published by KLP Publishing. The articles include varied sci-fi subjects such as:
• BAN DAI’s C-3PO and R2-D2
• Dragon Models’ Hulk
• Lunar Models’ Invaders from the Fifth Dimension from Lost In Space
• Quarantine Studios’ Mars Attacks diorama
• How to mold and cast a moon base
• Apikitt L. Highway’s Engineer from Prometheus
• Masterpiece Model’s Time Machine
• Spyda Creation’s Tournament Challenge
Each article features in-depth instructions for the completion of each project. When I say in-depth, I’m not joking around guys, Jason’s build of BAN DAI’s Star Wars figures weighs in at a whopping eighty pages! Everything you’ll ever need to know about building and weathering C-3PO and R2-D2 are in this massive article. The articles cover many subjects, mostly figure related, with the exception of the Time Machine. Speaking of, I really liked the Time Machine article. There are so many techniques used to create this amazing kit. It’s worth purchasing the book just for it alone. What’s great about articles like these are there are many tips and tricks you can gather to help you not only recreate what Jason does, but to apply these techniques to projects of your own. There are dozens of techniques to explore. Jason walks you through general prepping and priming kits, painting, and weathering, working with putty, molding, and casting, applying pearlized and metallic paints, working with stencils, decal work, wiring and lighting, and so much more. One thing I like is that Jason mixes it up using many products from different sources which gives you a fine overview of the variety of choices modelers can draw upon to finish their own projects. Nearly every major company has something featured.
The book itself has 473 pages that feature a clean and bold, easy-to-follow design with multitudes of excellent photographs to illustrate each article. In all, the book is an excellent undertaking and well worth its reasonable price. This is an e-Book, so you’ll need to purchase and download your copy from the link provided in this review. If you are reading this review, then I know you already have a PDF reader of some sort to access and view the book. I commend Jason for his hard work and effort, whether you are a beginner or experienced modeler, there is something here for you. I recommend you add Building Large Scale Sci-Fi & Fantasy Models to your modeling library!
Many thanks, David! Building Large Scale Sci-Fi & Fantasy Models is available from our webstore for just 20 Australian dollars.
Building Large Scale Sci-Fi & Fantasy Models
In this 473-page eBook, Jason Gares compiles a terrific series of articles he originally wrote for the now-defunct Sci-Fi and Fantasy Modeller magazine.
The book’s flagship feature kicks things off with a massive 80-plus page build article on Jason’s fantastic Star Wars vignette, These ARE the Droids You’re Looking For.
The seven articles that follow it cover a terrific range of sci-fi and fantasy modelling, including building and painting figures, making bases, building resin kits, and doing your own resin casting.
v1.5 Now Available!
Note: all our prices are in Australian dollars.
And in a bit of sneaky news for 2023, Volume 2 is currently in pre-production!
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