The Naked Silo

Building and customizing (via scratch-building and kitbashing) models from kits is great fun, but sometimes it's nice to build something truly "from the ground up" (it's the Small Pond Shipyard motto, after all). Aside from one drafting class in high school, I don't have any architecture training, but a model of a hospital was the first model I remember being aware of and which may have planted a seed in my 5- or 6-year-old brain. My architectural interests lie quite clearly in  mid-century modern , 20th Century American diners , and art deco (see below). After having so much fun building a  TARDIS  with chip board, learning a lot about construction, and how to handle that material, I thought making another small model, but with slightly more complex shapes, would be a good next architectural project (as a lead-up to perfecting the A-frame diner, which will be a much more complex diorama project with figures, landscaping, and possibly lighting). KGH...

My main plan and inspiration for getting back into modelling after twenty years is to make projects that are unique and maybe have some personal motivation, but some of the recent Bandai kits have made me want to just build them as "traditionally" (straightforward and accurate to their appearance in the movies) as possible (namely their C-3PO and Y-Wing Fighter kits). In the past few years Bandai has been setting a new standard for kit molds with their amazing attention to detail and the near perfect fit of the parts. Standard Bandai box art. I'd already built an MPC  A-Wing  before, way back in 1993 (I'm even listening to Saga as I build this just as I did back then), but this new Bandai A-Wing was irresistable, so I ordered two, not having a concrete plan, but loosely figuring one would be traditional (as seen in  Return of the Jedi , where they first appeared in 1983) and the other would be...something different...maybe a unique paint job, maybe lots...

To make my modelling projects easier to find, I've created this main hub for my three genre-specific sub-hubs. You can still read about my return to modelling by clicking the preceding hyperlinked phrase or by clicking on the Small Pond Shipyard logo at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

Born & Bred & Bored & Dead by  Milé Murtanovski  24" x 24", oil on canvas, 2017 [Phase One]  ...see the PHASE TWO version. Home Away by  Celia Sage  24" x 24", collage and oil on canvas, 2017 [Phase One]  ...see the PHASE TWO version. Where the Heart Is by  Milé Murtanovski  24" x 24", oil on canvas, 2017 [Phase One]  ...see the PHASE TWO version. Home Builder by  Celia Sage  24" x 24", collage and oil on canvas, 2017 [Phase One]  ...see the PHASE TWO version. Always on My Mind by  Milé Murtanovski  24" x 24", oil on canvas, 2017 [Phase One]  ...see the PHASE TWO version. Home Range by  Celia Sage  24" x 24", oil on canvas, 2017 [Phase One]  ...see the PHASE TWO version. Conform or Be Cast Out by  Milé Murtanovski  24" x 24", oil on canvas, 2017 [Phase One]  ...see the PHASE TWO version. Homemaker by ...

24" x 36", oil on canvas, 2017, (after Johns) Peter and Alice of  Blizzmax Gallery  had asked if I would like to participate in their  One 5 Oh Canada  show celebrating Canada's 150th birthday this summer and, always happy to be part of a Blizzmax show, I said yes , not knowing right away what I could/would/should submit for inclusion. With an eye towards positivity and celebration (rather than grim political commentary) I settled on aping a couple of Jasper Johns paintings of American flags and giving them a Canadian twist. This one is a riff on his  Three Flags  (1958) which I did in oil (rather than his encaustic on canvas) and is much smaller than his work. Because I used a different medium, I had to create an illusion of depth as well as rely on many layers of gesso and paint for actual texture. My flag paintings are less complex as a result, but no less fun and whimsical. My other painting is a Canadian version of his  White Flag ...

24" x 36", oil on canvas, 2017, (after Johns) Peter and Alice of Blizzmax Gallery had asked if I would like to participate in their One 5 Oh Canada show celebrating Canada's 150th birthday this summer and, always happy to be part of a Blizzmax show, I said yes , not knowing right away what I could/would/should submit for inclusion. With an eye towards positivity and celebration (rather than grim political commentary) I settled on aping a couple of Jasper Johns paintings of American flags and giving them a Canadian twist. This one is a riff on his White Flag (1955) which I did with just oils on canvas (rather than his encaustic, oil, and charcoal on canvas) and is much smaller than his flag. Because I used one medium instead of three, I had to create an illusion of depth as well as rely on many layers of gesso and paint for actual texture. My flag paintings are less complex as a result, but no less fun and whimsical. My other painting is a Canadian version o...