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Chris Vandegrift

When Chris isn't modeling he's restoring old cars or doing home remodeling in his spare time. Both have helped improve his modeling. "Having learned to paint cars, quite a few of those techniques apply to priming and painting my models," he says. Chris used to build aircraft exclusively, but has expanded into ships, science fiction, armor and cars. A member of multiple IPMS clubs in Ohio including Akron's Ed Kinney Chapter, Wright Field and Cincinnati Scale Modelers, Chris started building models when he was about 7. Chris lives in Cincinnati Ohio; a Mechanical Engineer by trade, he's the head of Operations and Engineering for a company that makes pumps. He's been married to his wife Jane for 30 years; they have four kids ranging from 20 to 34.

IPMS Number
50312

Reviews By Author

Cover

USS Midway Pt 1: Hangar Bay Deck

Published: May 5, 2024
Company: Trumpeter

Intro

Shore Patrol is mustering everyone back to the ship, time to start our 2nd leg of this journey...In this review we’ll install the flight deck, all the armament and ancillary pieces from part 1, build up the hangar deck walls, and fit out the ship with railings, ladders, and nets. This is a really extensive, and sometimes repetitive part of the build. There are probably… more
Package

USS Midway Pt 2: Armament & Ancillaries

Published: May 4, 2024
Company: Trumpeter

Intro

I was excited to see the upcoming launch of Trumpeter’s USS Midway and jumped at the chance to do this review. The DKM H-Class was a terrific ship to build - if the Midway is as good as that, or better, this will be an enjoyable build for sure. As I got into the build the 3 characteristics of Trumpeter’s ship kits that I think set them apart from others showed up right away:… more
Cover

DKM H Class Battleship

Published: October 15, 2023
Company: Trumpeter

Intro

I have to tell you that I bet there will be a couple jealous reviewers out there after they see this ship, wishing they had jumped on the review opportunity! The quality of this kit is really worth it, and it was an exciting ship to build based on the detail level and the overall engineering. Trumpeter has thought through a number of significant elements that make the build… more
Product

RAAF Fighter F/A-18A Hornet NO.77SQ 77th Anniversary

Published: October 10, 2023
Company: Platz

Intro

WOW, I’ve always loved the Platz kits and was I surprised to find 2 kits in the box! Initially, I was thinking about what a hard choice it would be to decide on wheels up or down. Not with this kit :D So, I love the box art for the 40th Anniversary livery and decided that had to be the in-flight version and the low-vis aircraft would be parked.

The Kit

Two… more
eCover

Marmo Method Out-Of-The Box Kenworth Aerodyne

Published: September 30, 2023
Book Author(s): Richard Marmo
Company: Richard Marmo

Right off the bat, I was drawn into the book through Richard’s writing style. I felt like we were having a conversation over the modeling bench, discussing the history of big rigs on the road and what was available to build. The discussion on available kits is quite extensive, covering the origins as a snap-tite kit through the different re-pops as a glue kit, even covering box tops which are… more
Cover

Texaco Bug US Refueling Vehicle

Published: May 13, 2023
Company: Hauler

History

Back in 1935 Texaco was thinking of the future. Commissioned to help market the company it is believed there were 6 Doodlebugs produced. Coincidentally it was the smooth streamlined look of it that drew me in and motivated me to build this for my 1st IPMS review. It was only 6’ tall, carried 1500 gallons of fuel, and featured a unique compound curved glass windshield. I think… more