So how did I get into model whiffing? When did it all begin? I'm not really sure. Probably started in the early 2000's I think. I remember reading and having a copy of a FineScale Modeler magazine article titled "Modeling the Air Force that never was.". This article described and showed one person's (or was it different people? ) models of aircraft that never were, but could have been. For example: A USAF F-16XL in production service, an Australian anti-ship F-16 fitted with Harpoon missiles, an X-29 FSW fighter in camouflage and used as an aggressor in Top Gun, an an A-10 Warthog in Israeli camouflage/markings fitted for anti-tank missions. This one article, plus the fact that I was getting tired of seeing the "same old, same old" models of Tiger tanks, Yamato battleships, etc. at contests and in magazines is what started my beginnings into what if's.
Granted, there's nothing wrong with building the "same old, same old" stuff from time to time. We all have our reasons for building F-16's, Tiger tanks, Spitfires, etc. straight from the box. Some people build them because friends or family served on them. Others because of the historical relevance, and still there are many more numerous reasons. But for me, I was getting bored of seeing the same thing shown and talked about time after time. An F-16 is still an F-16 no matter how you load it up with weapons or change the unit markings. For me, I needed something different. I wanted to see and build stuff that nobody had ever seen or heard of before. I wanted to use my creativity and imagination. I wanted to see and use different paint schemes, decals, weapons, etc. In other words, it's time to
GET OUT OF THE BOX! so to speak. So in the early 2000's is when my whiffing began. Some samples:
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery/users/Eric-Mante/user-index.htmlSo what do I have planned for the future? Way, way too much. I have so many ideas, I'm not sure where to start. Right now, my current big project is whiffing a 1/350 Gallery Models USS Wasp LHD amphibious assault ship into a what if USS Solace humanitarian relief/hospital ship. My list is so big, I doubt I'll finish any of this in my lifetime:
1. Modern USS New Jersey battleship with more armament than you can shake a stick at. It'll be so heavily armed, it'll make the Chinese, Russians, and North Koreans shake in their boots! Grin
2. Carpet Monster
3. Whif a Cylon Basestar into a Russian orbital platform.
4. Star Trek Deep Space Nine station. Not sure what to whif it into.
5. Build a second 1/700 scale HMS Habakkuk
6. Build a 1/350 scale HMS Habakkuk. (Might take me 10 years.)
7. Convert a XB-35/YB-49 Flying Wing into a Soviet flying wing.
8. Convert a 1/350 TAMIYA Enterprise carrier into a stealth aircraft carrier.
9. Build a second 1/350 USS Montana battleship.
10. Build either the H39 or H45 or somewhere in between, one of the proposed German super battleships in 1/350 scale.
11. 1/35 scale Landkreuser P1000 Ratte German super tank.
12. Build a WWII IOWA battleship/carrier. Only one official drawing exists and it ain't much to go by. The whole project will have to be scratchbuilt.
13. Korean war B-25
14. Scratchbuild a oil rig type platform and turn it into a military seabase.
15. Space 1999 military moonbase diorama.
16. Space 1999 Eagle transporter turned into a US Marine Corps troop transport.
17. 1/350 O.H. Perry frigate OOB, but with slight weapon improvements.
18. Testor SR-75 Penetrator into a what if B-3 stealth bomber.
19. BSG Colonial Viper into either a USAF or US Navy fighter craft.
20. Stryker AFV into an RV camper.
21. Battlestar Galactica with four flight pods.
22. Build every (or as much as I can) stealth aircraft, ship, etc. in 1/700, 1/144, or smaller scales for a special stealth display.
23. Testor B-2 stealth bomber OOB
24. FA-18E/F special project. No other info. available.
25. BSG Pegasus, but with a little more gun turret armament.
26. 1/48 F-15 Eagle, but with Phoenix missiles.
27. Academy 1/48 F-22 OOB.
28. Testor 1/32 YF-22. Not sure what to whif this into.
29. 1/350 scale NCC-1701-A. Might build OOB, or might add a few more phasers and photon torpedos.
30. Maybe build a LCS littoral combat ship into a Coast Guard ship.
............and I STILL have too many more crazy ideas in my head!
But right now, the hospital ship is on hold while I try to build a few small scale stealth ships for an upcoming May contest. I want to create a small display of stealth ships to showcase stealth technology on the high seas.