It’s that time of the year again! Even as the farms across the Upper Midwest gather in their harvest, modelers from around the region carry their year’s worth of plastic models to the Twin Cities for NordicCon. This year’s theme is “As Seen On TV”, and this plays well for many Sci-Fi buffs. What was special this year was a large section dedicated to the exhibition of the diorama work of Steve Hustad. His works of art in 1/72 scale are 3-D portrayals of actual WW2 photographs of aircraft crash sites.
The 1/72 scale figures are so meticulously sculpted and positioned that even without the captions, the story is already told. The aircraft themselves are exquisite in the different levels of damage inflicted by their crashes. Burn marks, shattered props and debris strewn over a scarred landscape. Just marvelous artistry. Enjoy the miniature world of Steve Hustad.
This next one has an element of humor in it as a line of GIs take turns playing fighter pilot in a crashed Me Bf-109 G.
An atmospheric diorama of a winter scene with the crashed Ju88 plowing into a canal.
A group of GIs piling onto a Dora for mugshots. Obviously safety guidelines do not matter when you are winning the war.
A surrender scene here with the German pilot being searched by an MP after he crash lands his plane. One could sense the uncertainty of the situation as the pilot steps out gingerly from the shock of the crash into captivity.
This masterpiece “Stranded on Kefalonia 1944” won NordicCon 2010’s gold medal for diorama section. Amazing work with the semi-submerged fuselage and one could almost hear the sound of waves beating on the rocks.
Another photo ops in session for GIs on a former German airfield.
Steve Hustad’s portrayal of the dramatic surrender of German ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel in his Stuka.
Plenty of curious GIs.
And the best (in my humble opinion, for last. This Ju-88 Nightfighter is shown all burnt up on the tarmac. The amount of damage work from the burnt airframe to the ripped up wiring and debris is simply amazing!
Watch out for the next part of NordicCon ’12, the aircraft models in the competition.
I love seeing Steve Hustand’s work. It is truely amazing!
His works are amazing. During that year, Steve also ran some tutorials in NordicCon on his diorama techniques.
Paul
your right. what a Artist
Wow!! Great works they are. I really love all of them!!
Didn’t Rudel surrender in an FW190 f.
You will have to ask the maker of the diorama, Steve Hustad about that. I just snapped the photographs.
Fantastic site. A lot of useful information here.
I’m sending it to several pals ans also sharing in delicious.
And obviously, thanks on your effort!
Man do I love aircraft crashes. I got a bad case of the crash bug due to having a 1/32 scale Revell Wildcat that was missing parts so I decided to crash it. It worked out great, got Best OF Show at WIngs And Wheels competition, and featured it on a TV show I was doing. (See PMCMP for details, it’s in one of those shows.) Then I wanted to crash Revell’s 1/32 Stuka in the snow. Wow another Best Of Show, this is working out great. Then another Revell 1970’s 1/32 kit of their Corsair, I did this in made up markings of a Canadian pilot crashed in the deep woods of Canada in the fall. And I just crashed another 1/32 scale Wildcat converted to a Martlet Mk IV in the desert. Your crashes are marvelous, so well done. Crashes are hard to do, a lot of scratch building required, and brother YOU NAILED IT ! Keep up the GREAT work, and keep on crashing !!!!!
Hello Bill, I love crashes too as they are MUCH harder to build than regular stuff. I must give credit where it is due, as that blog feature was my coverage of the works of Steve Hustad in Nordic-Con more than 11 years ago. Good luck with your model work. Paul