About FineScale Modeler

FineScale Modeler

FineScale Modeler is a general-interest scale plastic-modeling magazine for modelers of all skill levels, published in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Founded in January 1982 by Kalmbach Publishing Co., the magazine shows readers how to create models of aircraft, armor, ships, cars, and more, with clear, well-illustrated articles on assembling the latest model kits and mastering painting and finishing techniques. In 2024, the magazine was sold to Firecrown Media, beginning a new chapter in its four-decade history.

The January 1982 Launch

FineScale Modeler was first published in January 1982 as a quarterly by Kalmbach Publishing Co., the Waukesha, Wisconsin, publisher best known for Model Railroader and Trains. An early editor was Bob Hayden, himself a noted model railroader, and the magazine grew out of Kalmbach's deep roots in hobby publishing — the company had been serving enthusiasts since its founding, and its magazines were known for authoritative, richly illustrated journalism. From the start, it was a general-interest scale plastic modeling magazine — not confined to one subject — suitable for modelers of all skill levels, from beginners building their first kit to veterans chasing contest-winning finishes.

From Quarterly to Ten Issues a Year

The magazine's frequency evolved with its success: launched as a quarterly in January 1982, it had become bi-monthly by 1985. It is now published ten times per year — monthly except for June and August — under the imprint Kalmbach Publishing Co. (later Kalmbach Media), at 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187. The magazine carries ISSN 0277-979X, and periodicals postage is paid at Waukesha, Wisconsin.

What the Magazine Covers

Every issue provides clear, well-illustrated articles that show how to assemble the latest model kits and how to master painting and finishing techniques — the core promise that has defined the magazine since 1982. Also featured are kit reviews, new kit and product announcements, tips from the experts, and a gallery of readers' models. Subjects span aircraft, armor, ships, cars, and more — with roughly one third of the articles featuring aviation subjects, reflecting the enduring popularity of aircraft modeling, the largest single segment of the scale-model hobby. From World War I biplanes to modern jets, the aviation coverage includes build articles, painting guides, and marking references that modelers rely on for accuracy, while armor, ships, and automotive subjects round out the coverage, making it a one-stop resource for the plastic-model hobby, a role it has filled for every generation of modelers since 1982 — a role it has filled for every generation of modelers since 1982. A typical 1990s-era issue ran 68 pages with black-and-white and color photos and scale drawings of markings.

The Editorial Staff

The magazine's 2014 masthead listed editor Matthew Usher, associate editors Mark Hembree, Tim Kidwell, and Aaron Skinner, editorial associate Monica Freitag, and associate publisher Mark Savage. The staff's editorials chronicled both the hobby and the magazine's own history — as Usher noted in a 2015 editor's page, "in its more than 30 years on the newsstand, many, many talented people have worked to make FineScale Modeler the best magazine possible." The staff's continuity — editors who were themselves modelers — kept the magazine grounded in its readers’ workbenches. The magazine's sister publications within Kalmbach included Discover, whose special-edition Drone 360 — produced by Kidwell — was promoted to modelers curious about unmanned aerial vehicles.

The 25-Year Collection

To mark its 25th anniversary, the magazine produced FineScale Modeler: 25-Year Collection, a two-disc digital archive including every page of every issue of the magazine's first 25 years (1982–2007) — more than 200 issues and 19,000 pages, with a powerful search engine to make articles easy to find. The set, which sold out its initial run and was reprinted in a second, smaller run, became a must-have resource for scale modelers and a testament to the magazine's documentary value: a quarter-century of modeling history on two discs, from the quarterly's first issues to the ten-issue-a-year modern era.

The Subscriber Community

The magazine built a substantial digital community around its print product. Subscribers gained unlimited access to bonus features, more than 1,400 kit reviews, and a database of more than 14,000 products — a research resource that turned the magazine's reviews into a searchable library. The magazine's website, FineScale.com, carried the latest news and modeling tips and techniques. The 2014 masthead gave the full picture of the operation: editorial offices at FineScale Modeler, 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612, reachable at 262-796-8776 on weekdays; customer service for subscriptions and renewals at 800-533-6644; and advertising and trade orders at 888-558-1544 — a complete publishing apparatus serving the modeling hobby from southeastern Wisconsin.

The Firecrown Sale

In 2024, Kalmbach Media sold FineScale Modeler to Firecrown Media, as part of a broader divestiture that also saw Astronomy, Classic Toy Trains Magazine, Classic Trains Magazine, Model Railroader, and Trains go to Firecrown, leaving Kalmbach with Discover as its sole remaining publication (later sold to LabX Media Group). Kalmbach sold its former headquarters building to Silgan Containers for $6.5 million on July 25, 2024, and the corporate entity was dissolved on November 14, 2024 — ending the run of a company whose first periodical, Model Railroader, had defined hobby publishing for generations. FineScale Modeler, born in Kalmbach's Waukesha offices in 1982, outlived its parent company, carrying the Kalmbach tradition of authoritative, reader-serving hobby journalism into the Firecrown era. For a title that had been the hobby’s leading modeling magazine for four decades, the sale left modelers hopeful: as one IPMS member put it, the new publisher had plans to bring FSM "to their former glory." The magazine continues under Firecrown’s ownership as the hobby’s leading general-interest modeling title, serving readers who have followed it since the quarterly days.

The Magazine's Place in the Hobby Press

FineScale Modeler sits at the center of a rich ecosystem of modeling media. The International Plastic Modelers Society's USA chapter (IPMS/USA) includes a magazine with membership, and the society's forums buzzed with discussion when the Kalmbach sale was announced — modelers comparing notes on a title many had read since childhood. The magazine has outlasted numerous rivals: the UK's Scale Models International ran for many years, the original Airfix magazine had a long life before its demise, and Kalmbach's own Scale Auto ceased publication after approximately 30 years. That FineScale Modeler endures — through quarterly, bi-monthly, and ten-issue years, through Kalmbach and Firecrown — testifies to its central place in the hobby.

A Long-Running Friend

For scale modelers, the magazine has been a constant companion for more than four decades — "a bit like old friends," as one longtime reader described the genre's long-running titles. Through changing ownership, changing frequencies, and changing technologies — from the quarterly of 1982 to the searchable digital archive — FineScale Modeler has kept its core promise: showing modelers of all skill levels how to build better models.

Official Website

FineScale Modeler's official website is https://finescale.com today. The site carries the latest modeling news, tips and techniques, kit reviews, and product announcements, and subscribers can access bonus features and the magazine's extensive review and product databases. The magazine is now proudly published by Firecrown Media.