What do you consider to be your finest model, and why?

[Citadelgrad]

My P-47, Gabreski's last rig.  Why?  It is the first LSP that I constructed as an adult, way after I put the models down and then came back to them.  My patience is way better than when I was a kid, but my eyesight and dexterity is in the dumper.  Every marking on the AC except the kill markings and the crew placard are painted on.   

 

[Dpgsbody55]

16 hours ago, mozart said:

The Spitfire definitely Michael, and……sorry…..only one allowed! Naughty boy! 

 

Hey!! I'm just a rebel.  And I don't have a clue either. 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[MikeMaben]

16 hours ago, kkarlsen said:

Many of my large dioramas are on display at the Danish 'Flymuseum' the Lancaster, Mosquito, B-25, B-17, Arado 234 diorama.

Also the PBY-Catalina is at the museum,

Mr. K, 'All' your models belong in a museum.    Seriously. 

[MikeMaben]

15 hours ago, D.B. Andrus said:

The latest, unfortunately not an LSP. 1/48 Tamiya P-47D-16:

 

 

 

Excellent finish Damian  

[MikeMaben]

9 hours ago, Citadelgrad said:

My P-47, Gabreski's last rig.  Why?  It is the first LSP that I constructed as an adult, way after I put the models down and then came back to them.  My patience is way better than when I was a kid, but my eyesight and dexterity is in the dumper.  Every marking on the AC except the kill markings and the crew placard are painted on.   

 

 

 

I remember that one Bill,  alotta detail work on that one. 

[Gazzas]

While scrolling through all of the previous posts, I am reminded that there are some superior modellers out there.  It's quite humbling.

 

I am torn between two recent completions:

 

 

 

 

Edited April 9 by Gazzas

[scvrobeson]

Both of those are great Gazzas! Hard to choose between them.

 

 

 

Matt 

[chuck540z3]

Cool thread!

 

Although I have many favorites, my 1/32 Trumpeter A10A I converted to an A10C is probably my "finest" model, if for no other reason than this kit is really, really bad and it turned out looking pretty good, if I do say so myself.  It fought me every step of the way over the course of 2 full years and it has done really well at 3 model contests, so I must have done something right!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

Edited April 13 by chuck540z3

[LSP_Mike]

It looks good from Texas.

[chuck540z3]

On 4/4/2025 at 1:53 PM, geedubelyer said:

Great question Max but quite a difficult one to answer. 

There are elements of many builds that I am happy with but the one I consider my most successful thus far is "Trip Two", a Tamiya F-15E Strike Eagle. 

 

 

I saw this exact airframe at RIAT one year and her dirty, well used appearance inspired me.

 

There are many modifications to the kit plus a great deal of aftermarket including the jet nozzles by the late Dave Parkin of Flightpath fame, way before 3D printing was a thing.

 

 

Dave Roof inspired the use of iridescent material for the HUD giving that characteristic tonal change from bright green to blue...

 

 

 

 

Adding the crew was another first. 

 

 

Much time and effort on extra detailling and fettling gave me a model I still enjoy looking at even now. 

 

This was probably my zenith. 

Age is conspiring to prevent me from going this far on a build again in the future.

 

It's all down hill from here...

 

Guy,

 

This is still the benchmark for all F-15E's!  Beautiful.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

[Christa]

Chuck's tricky Trumpy A10A modified to an A10C, finished to a high standard, succinctly sums up LSP for me. Not all kits are top class, not all attempts are best builds, but surprisingly often with LSP members, a duff kit gets turned out superbly. Beautiful Warthog Chuck. LSP is rich with inspiring builds.

[ChuckD]

This thread embodies what I love most about this forum.  There's so much talent here, but at the same time, it's an incredibly supportive and positive place to be.  Sure, there's talent at other sites too, but it seems to come with a level of pedantry that's just not present here.  Not sure if that's because of the people, the mods, or a little of both, but LSP is the best scale modeling site on the net.  Period.  (Thanks, LSP team!)

 

But, I digress. 

 

Regarding the OP, this is a really tough question.  Since the rules state I have to pick one and I want to keep it in the realm of large scale planes... After much debate while sitting here looking around my model room, I'd have to land on (pun somewhat intended) the Gladstone Flash.  I had so much fun sculpting the figure from scratch and trying to recreate the reference photos down to the nth degree.  Plus, that HKM A-20G is probably one of the most enjoyable model kits out there, so the build was just a joy.  And, as the icing on the cake, I had the LSP gang here cheering me on during the build thread, so that was really engaging and fulfilling too.  

 

 

 

 

Since others have posted runners-up, I'll share in the fun too.  (Besides, aren't we all here to see and share pics of model airplanes??)

 

Turtle Bay Corsair Diorama

This one was fun trying to create the feel of the scene, the weathering, the palm trees (never again), and the red roundels.

 

The P-38G backdate project  (build thread)

Super challenging due to the surgery required to backdate the Trumpeter P-38L kit.

 

And lastly, the TBF-1 backdate project and vignette.

I enjoyed this one as it was a challenge to backdate the Trumpeter -1C kit to the straight -1.  Plus, I added electronics including the motor and 9 LED lights.  Also, the Trumpeter Avenger is probably Trumpeter's best kit, so it was also a joy to build.

 

[Shoggz]

All of those are absolute corkers Chuck!

[Furie]

To answer Max's question precisely, and if I had to name just one model, I'd say my SH Tempest.
I've just finished my Trumpy Jug, and every time I look at it I see a pretty model shining with its NMF and gleaming cowl engine.
But when I look at my Tempest, I also see a pretty model but also a mountain of difficulty, of traps I had to solve to finish the build.
I've never been so angry about a model, never believed so much that I'd never be able to finish it, never wanted so much to file a model vertically, in my dustbin.
So I vote for my Tempest!

But it's the heart that speaks, not reason!

 

 

[mozart]

All very justifiable reasons why it qualifies as “the finest” Denis…..and a superlative Tempest it is too!