This could just as easily be a good entry for a ‘shiny’ challenge as one for ‘texture’…it is the prototype Fisher P-75 fighter in the R&D Hall at the National Museum of the USAF near Dayton, Ohio…I’d seen many pictures of aircraft in natural metal finish before but this was the first time I was ever up close and personal with one…”Oooo…shiiiiny” was my first response…”Man, that’s big!” was the second: because the hall is so packed it was difficult to get decent shots of some of the larger aircraft simply because there wasn’t enough room to back away…Hence I shot this one into the light and was surprised when it came out so well…

My next take on ‘texture’ is this afterburner can from the B-1B ‘Bone’  (B-One – get it??) in the modern hall at the Museum…this is where they dump hundreds of litres of raw fuel in order to get more thrust from the engines – and so the crew can see the needle on the fuel gauge move – downward!

And finally…

One iteration of the Interceptor from Mad Max at the recent Scale Model Expo in Wellington…it is relatively simple to get smooth shiny unblemished surfaces on models, it is somewhat more difficult to give an impression of dirt, grime and roughness…I thought this builder pulled it off rather well…