Framo Stromer - modified 1/72nd 3D-printed three-wheel car

 

An example of what good 3D-printing could be (and not the crap we now see everywhere that looks like a layered cake or a Lego toy), this little cute car was brought to my attention by Fellow modeler Sönke of Volkania, who had acquired the 1/48^th bigger brother. I invested a little time and effort doing the following:

1) Carving out all the solid windows and filling the openings with clear ones

2) Adding a steering wheel

3) Carving the solid headlamps and adding home-made clear lenses, plus two red lenses at the tail

4) Adding license plates

The modification process can be seen here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/09/framo-stromer-car-172nd-scale-high-def.html

I wish in the future we could acquire this little marvel as a kit with open windows, separate chassis, interior and so forth, which would greatly facilitate painting and detailing for more enthusiastic modelers (they do have, though, an Opel Kadett K38 that comes as a “kit” with multiple parts).

Now I have another good photography companion for my scale model planes. I couldn’t resist and also just orfedered the manufacturer’s Mercedes 1914 racer (subject of a future post).

Both models can be seen here (don’t be put off -as I initially was- by the “Military Scales” logo, there are also civilian models).

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1148954181/framo-stromer-german-military-scales-ww2

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1257372106/mercedes-grand-prix-1914-german-military

Here a list of their civil offerings:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PlayMoreIt3D?ref=related&listing_id=1148954181&section_id=44227468

Sfreddo y Paolini SyP-II, Golden Age Argentinian biplane - 72topia 1/72nd resin + Arctic Decals

 

Here is the completed little jewel from the works of 72Topia, a Golden Age biplane "Made in Argentina". This superbly detailed resin kit with excellent fit and sound engineering was produced in Argentina by Matías Hagen, a one-man enterprise that deserves lots of credit given the challenging conditions prevailing in that country. The kit builds without a hitch, although it requires a modeler of certain experience in resin and in dealing with biplanes. Extract the parts carefully. Some are small and won't tolerate abuse, take great care not to lose the little bits, wash the parts and let them dry them thoroughly, as resin can be hygroscopic (that is, it may tend to retain humidity). Isopropyl alcohol may work too instead of water. Priming -as with all resins- is a must to detect the occasional pore. Be sure to obtain a good surface before committing to paint. The decal set I used came from Arctic Decals, as the kit's decals were home-made and required a bit of a complicated set-up. For more info on the type and the step-by-step building article please go here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/08/sfreddo-y-paolini-syp-ii-matias-hagen.html

This is the historical background taken from the instructions: