Hokonui Hobby Room

Hokonui Hobby Room New Zealand based scale model builder and diorama artist. Just a guy who loves to build models

Commission work carried out. 3D designer with 25+ years experience - If you want something drawing and printing in 3D, please drop me a DM or email

Well dang it Italeri Official Account I was supposed to be having a purchase free 2025 and now this...
18/01/2025

Well dang it Italeri Official Account I was supposed to be having a purchase free 2025 and now this...

Walkway done
17/01/2025

Walkway done

Been out hiking... Almost pi**ed my pants when I saw this, been asking Airfix for years.... Thank you πŸ™
15/01/2025

Been out hiking... Almost pi**ed my pants when I saw this, been asking Airfix for years.... Thank you πŸ™

Lots of touch ups here there and everywhere but I'm fairly happy now. Did some lighter colour mottling to represent sand...
12/01/2025

Lots of touch ups here there and everywhere but I'm fairly happy now. Did some lighter colour mottling to represent sand/sun fade being in the middle east. Hard to pickup on camera but it's there and looks better than it did just flat.
Next to paint on the walkway and I'd forgot the middle fuel filler, so need to stick that on and paint too before sealing with varnish before decals go on.
Also got to paint up the Eduard Zuni rockets and also have some Reskit mk.82 500lb bombs arriving soon hopefully for it.
Still a way to go, engine and landing gear detailing to come thanks to Anyz products 😁

First round of blocking in the camo. All done freehand with no masking. Needs some small touch ups but easy enough to re...
11/01/2025

First round of blocking in the camo. All done freehand with no masking. Needs some small touch ups but easy enough to rectify.
Next wave will be both colours lightened slightly into certain areas, panels etc to break it all up. Then post shade with the airbrush here and there.
Painting fully assembled is a right pain in the arse...

Figure painting is slowly getting there. It seems with every new session I feel the guys coming more to life. Still a wa...
10/01/2025

Figure painting is slowly getting there. It seems with every new session I feel the guys coming more to life. Still a way to go yet as I play around with depth and highlights to give them more pop.
I've then got to add some dirt, grime and perhaps some snow to a few of them to blend in with the environment.
All a very enjoyable experience so far this figure painting.
AK-Interactive gen 3 paints and my The Army Painter wet pallet have been invaluable so far. I also bought some Acrylicos Vallejo pro modeler paint brushes in Japan and I'm suitably impressed so far...

More to come, stay tuned

Happy modelling all - Paul

Always a good day when Tom at Anyz sends you stuff πŸ˜πŸ‘Now the Bronco build can continue πŸ’ͺ
05/01/2025

Always a good day when Tom at Anyz sends you stuff πŸ˜πŸ‘
Now the Bronco build can continue πŸ’ͺ

These figures are going to take a while lol... It's hard learning/mastering new things and I'm definitely not a figure p...
03/01/2025

These figures are going to take a while lol... It's hard learning/mastering new things and I'm definitely not a figure painter.
Blocked main colours in and now trying to refine and blend faces before detailing up the rest.
Practice makes perfect as they say...

Weathering.... It's a timeless debate amongst modellers. Too much, not enough, too toy-like, not to scale, wrong colours...
02/01/2025

Weathering.... It's a timeless debate amongst modellers. Too much, not enough, too toy-like, not to scale, wrong colours, wrong location, bla bla bla....
I watched a YouTube video the other night about what some guy reckoned was 'bad weathering' or over weathered and what was good/acceptable, like he was an expert on everything? He did add that the video was just 'his opinion' but it begs the question, who cares what his or anyone else's opinion is really?
If you were new to modelling, watching videos like this is bu****it and just puts you off being creative through fear of being ridiculed for your efforts.
If I were to build a spitfire based on the included image, 'experts' out there would most likely say it's not realistic and 'over weathered' if I didn't include the image as reference. Why does it make it any less credible without the photo?
Maybe the modeller just decided they wanted their build to look like this without a ref photo?
I guarantee someone out there would say that spitfires didn't last long enough to get this dirty and weathered lol.
In a nutshell, build YOUR model how YOU want it built and screw what everyone else thinks.
Some out there will like your work and some won't but above all else, if you're happy or know what you did wrong to correct next time, that's all that really counts in this hobby...

Rant over πŸ˜‰

Happy modelling (and weathering) all - Paul

We have colour going on the Bronco finally
01/01/2025

We have colour going on the Bronco finally

2025 build plans....So here it is, my 'rough' plan for 2025.I want to add some more variety to my tally for this year so...
01/01/2025

2025 build plans....
So here it is, my 'rough' plan for 2025.
I want to add some more variety to my tally for this year so I am finally going to do some civilian stuff in the form of a motorbike (because I used to own this bike) and a race car (because it's one of my favourites).
I have three to finish, Bronco, Tiger tank winter Dio and Tempest. All three will get done this year. Bronco first with the Tank Dio closely following.
Tempest will slot in somewhere along the way.
First fresh build in 2025 will be the P40N in the kiwi scheme.
No order to the rest, I'll decide as I go.
There will also be other small out of the box builds added along the way...
I'm also most likely going to start laying out my German train diorama this year but it'll be a big project stretching into 2026...
Wanted to do as many scales as I could this year too, again for variety...
Hopefully some interesting builds in there for you all to follow along with. Most will have aftermarket additions too.

Happy new year to you all and of course, happy modelling too - Paul

Well this looks a bit special and very different...
31/12/2024

Well this looks a bit special and very different...

That's a wrap, part two....So its New Year's Eve here in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and I did it, started this little 1/48 H...
30/12/2024

That's a wrap, part two....
So its New Year's Eve here in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and I did it, started this little 1/48 Hasegawa Spitfire Mk.VII/VIII Pointed wing the day before Christmas Eve (23rd) and finished it yesterday (30th), so a quick 7 day build to end the year and add an 8th completed kit to my year (See previous post for the years run down).

Overall the kit is 'good' for an older kit, tooled in 2000. The actual kit I built was released in 2013 with new decals.

I opted to build the medium, sky grey over PRU Blue high altitude flying version, flown by Pierre Closertmann, a French pilot flying for the the RAF's 602 squadron. He had an illustrious career in WWII and he's worth looking up...

A few modifications are needed for this variant, such as reducing the length of the ailerons and sealing up the pilot access door to name a few. Most of these modification are mentioned in the instructions. More detail can be seen from my various posts on the build.

Overall fit and finish is good as expected from Hasegawa. Not modern day Tamiya of course but good all the same. Little to no filler was needed but some of the seams needed a bit of fettling to make invisible.

Decals are thick and you need industrial strength softener for these. I always go to AMMO by Mig Jimenez Ultra Decal Fix 1 and 2 for these type of decals as it performs flawlessly. Micro Set and Sol wouldn't stand a chance here, even Tamiya Mark Fit Strong might struggle... the lower wing roundals have to conform over some lumps and bumps and it takes a few applications to get them there.

Cockpit lacks a bit of detail in some places yet has good detail in other parts, which is weird. I had to make some basic harnesses from thin tape just to have something there, nothing is provided, decal or PE. I thought I may have had some spare PE belts hanging around but couldn't find them. The tape looks ok through the closed canopy though.

The one thing that really let this kit down above all else is the canopy glass. Its not molded very well, lacks detail and crispness and because of this masking was a mission. I am not happy with my canopy and would love to redo it at some stage. I only PVA glued the glass on, so I can easily remove it, should I feel inclined to do so in the future...

For a quick 7 day out of the box build though I'm fairly happy with the end result to sit alongside my other Spits in the cabinet.

As always painted 99% with Acrylicos Vallejo paints apart from the exhaust staining where I used TAMIYAοΌˆγ‚ΏγƒŸγƒ€οΌ‰ acrylic.

Onto 2025 now and all that it brings...

My 2025 plans will be posted tomorrow on New Years Day, so stay tuned for that if you're keen to find out the kit list from my stash I plan to attempt next year...

Hope you all have a great New Year's and try not to drink too much so you're all fully compos mentis for building kits on your New Year day off work :)

Happy Modelling All - Paul

True to my word, I won't be buying any new kits in 2025, apart from ones I've already pre ordered (Airfix Lysander and a...
30/12/2024

True to my word, I won't be buying any new kits in 2025, apart from ones I've already pre ordered (Airfix Lysander and a few armour kits).
My last purchases of 24 I snuck in just in time..

2025 is all about stash reduction at Hokonui Hobby Room and not being stuck with so many kits that I can't possibly finish before I die...

That Sea Fire will be added to my quick out of the box build pile.

What's to come build wise in 2025? Full list coming shortly 😁

Done...That's now 8 complete for the year of 2024. Glad I added this build last week as it was just what I needed going ...
30/12/2024

Done...
That's now 8 complete for the year of 2024.
Glad I added this build last week as it was just what I needed going into a new year. Completed in 7 days.
Full review and finished photos of the kit tomorrow, New Year's Eve, stay tuned...
Happy modelling all - Paul

29/12/2024

Seems so simple, yet I hate painting faces... 2025, I need to up my game!

I just might finish this new year's eve...If I left it a clean new spit, it would be finished by tomorrow. Just waiting ...
29/12/2024

I just might finish this new year's eve...
If I left it a clean new spit, it would be finished by tomorrow.
Just waiting on the clear to cure overnight, then a flory wash, flat coat to seal and some subtle weathering...
Watch this space...

Address

Gore
9776

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Hokonui Hobby Room posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Hokonui Hobby Room:

Videos

OV-10D Bronco...
OV-10D Bronco...

Coming soon....

To most, seeing a Dominie flying over your house would be a very rare occurrence. Luckily I live just across from a museum that not only has one but they use it regularly as well as a couple of tiger moths. It's not uncommon to see tigers doing loops and rolls in the sky above my house... Love these things though, will have to build one at some stage.... https://youtu.be/FHVBf3rHVMc?si=ik0GIyZzblQQcnnb

Another walk around video from nationals (day 1)

A quick walk around the plane table

tidy up
tidy up

Reorganization of my display cabinet. Added an extra glass shelf and some round mirrored bases to help show off the undersides. I have one more shelf to go in at the bottom and the dioramas will be relocated. Much happier with the layout for now though until more models get finished.... If you're wanting a closer look, a few of these kits will be making an appearance at the 2024 NZ IPMS Southland NZ national competition in October in Invercargill, hopefully see a few of you there... Paul

Satisfying

1 Man Army Stencils
1 Man Army Stencils

Satisfying 😁

The weathering is taking shape on my Ryefield Model Tiger I kit. Slowly building up layers of mud using AK-Interactive muddy ground terrain texture with some AMMO by Mig Jimenez Africa corps wash and dry earth splashes. Also been using the AK pencils to add small streaks around the tank. Just got to paint up some of the tools and add some soot from the exhausts before the tracks go on. Final mud/Snow will be placed on the tracks once it's in position on the diorama base. Still deciding on the figure and position of the figures outside the tank. Watch this space.

Starting to look a bit more wintery now bbbrrrrrr....

Shortcuts

Share

Category