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Gil Gonsoulin’s Bizarro Land

“Welcome to Bizarro Land!” . . . . .from the galactically eccentric mind of Gil Gonsoulin


“My name is Mongo. I’ll be your Tour Guide and introduce you to the Population of Bizzaro Land, from the Hinterlands of the Imagination.”

“No Checks”: The original concept for this diorama was a scrap yard for damaged space craft. Then Pegasus released the Short Range Saucer kit with an alien and the whole dynamics of the idea shifted.

Roden 1/35 Howitzer by Gil Gonsoulin: “The Roden Howitzer was released (or escaped) to be a companion to their Holtz 75 artillery tractor. The kit consists of the howitzer, limber and a fixed emplacement mount.”

LCVP Diorama: “This LCVP diorama was built using Italeri’s 1/35 LCVP kit and Tamiya’s Jeep.”

British Armored Car: “On to the kit itself: There are some very small parts that require careful removal from the trees. ”

Space Wolf: “The Sw190 is a high speed single seat fighter capable of operating in either atmospheric or space conditions.”

Glencoe Retriever Rocket: Gil Gonsoulin took such a break after doing a couple of nightmare builds. His choice for a change of pace was the Glencoe Retriever Rocket straight out of the box – – with no extra detailing.

Roden 1/35 Holt 75 Artillery Tractor by Gil Gonsoulin: “If you are interested in building the Holt 75 Artillery Tractor, the first thing to remember is that it’s a Roden kit!”

“You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat”: The shark is from Pegasus Hobby’s Great White kit. I only used it’s front section since it was beaching.

 “ .  .  .  There Still Be Pirates.”: The original kit has a crane on the bow, so I made the gun mount to look like the normal crane. That way the pirates can sneak up on their prey.

Edelweiss: The road wheels are from a Panzer III. Part of the front hull is from a Tiger I. And the turret is from the Tiger II.

Soviet Ball Tank: Putting the interior together is a real bear. It’s a complex task to say the least.

AFV Club M54A2 Gun Truck: “When AFV Club announced they were going to release a five ton M54A2 gun truck, the first thing that came to mind was to make the gun truck version of it. Since they had also released an M113A1 ACAV, which I had already purchased, I thought this would be a perfect match. The plan was to mate the ACAV to the 5-ton. Little did I know how wrong that was going to be.”

German Mine Clearing Vehicle: The German’ made only one of these vehicles, whose purpose was to clear minefields

Lance Missile by Gil Gonsoulin: “Although Dragon Models M752 Tactical Ballistic Missile Launcher kit is called a ‘Smart Kit’, I came up with a few other names for it with all the problems it has.  I built it in the ‘launch’ mode, and during the building process it was almost launched into the trash can more than once.”

Raptor Rider: After looking at the assembled rider I thought of putting her on a Velociraptor: would she would fit?

Walrus & Shock Team: Four small guns were replaced with tubing because they were too fragile. 

Mars Lunar Explorer Vehicle: The biggest challenge is painting the model. If you follow what’s called for in the instructions you’re in for a lot of masking.

Do You See Anything Yet?“: This 1/35 scale diorama consists of Industria Mechanika’s Pawn Brigade and Tamiya’s Velociraptors

Big Joseph: The resin that’s it’s made out of is exceptional: when you open the box you think it’s a plastic kit!

Bandi M61 A5 MBT: The M61 A5 MBT looks like a Merkajawsava on steroids

Atlantis Flying Saucer: Tail surfaces came from the Dragon Ba349D Natter kit, modified to fit as seen on the model.

Bandai 1/35 scale PVN 3/2 Jeep: This Bandai Jeep looks a lot like a modern version of the World War II Kubelwagen.

Pig Tank: This is a model of Tasca’s TG-1 AKUYAKA #1 – the Pig Tank

Amored Security Vehicle: The P21C Armored Security Vehicle was modified with the rocket launcher replacing the kits search light

Cyborg Hunter: Verlinden’s 120mm Cyborg Hunter is a real survivor.

Bet You Can’t Eat Just One”: The desert outpost lay in ruins as the raptors are poised for a sneak attack

Bandai M353 A5: I replaced all the molded on grab handles with brass wire ones. Before I started this, I didn’t realize how may there were.

Zeon Mobile Scout:  The ship was done in Model Master Pale Green, while the fan blades were painted with their Magnesium.

The Hopper: I painted it with a combination of Floquil ,Model Master and Tamiya paints. The camo pattern was applied using Steel Beach Accessories masking vinyl

DML Chosin Reservoir Jeep by Gil Gonsoulin: “Western Electric #12 cord was used to wrap around front bumper. It’s stranded and you can pull one strand out to simulate smaller diameter rope.”

Meng 1/35 D9 Bulldozer by Gil Gonsoulin: “And when you get to Step 26, do a Knight’s move: jump over it until you’re ready to tackle some serious modeling.”

Pit Road IJA Type 95 Kurogane by Gil Gonsoulin: “If you want to place the machine gun as indicated in the instructions the windshield plastic goes in from the wrong side.”

Revell 1/72 German U-Boat by Gil Gonsoulin: “When the flood waters came, the sub went under nine feet of water and stayed submerged for over a week.”

Trumpeter 1/35 Armoured Aerosan by Gil Gonsoulin: “This is the kit of the Trumpeter 1/35 Armoured Aerosan NKL-26 and their WWII Soviet Assault Red Army in winter gear.”

AFV Club 1/35 Bofors by Gil Gonsoulin: “A warning: dry fit the pieces together before you glue. In some spots the instructions leave a little to be desired”

Bronco 1/35 Diana by Gil Gonsulin: “The 1/35 Bronco Diana ain’t for the faint of heart. It makes a nice model, but it’s a fight.”

Command Inspection by Gil Gonsoulin: “The windows supplied with the kit were too thick and I replaced them with windows made from Micro-Glaze

Making Waves with the Glencoe Rescue Boat by Gil Gonsoulin: “After assembling and painting the rescue boat, I thought it would be best displayed in an action diorama. Naturally, some rough seas would be called for!”

Soviet Motor Torpedo Boat by Gil Gonsoulin: “During the summer the boat could only be kept in the water for 5-7 days. In the winter it could be increased to 10-15 days. After that they would have to be removed  from the water and the hull would need to be treated with anti-corrosion measures.”

To the Victor Goes the Spoils by Gil Gonsoulin: “I found a picture in a magazine that showed an M4 towing a German 88 around the Bastonge area during the Battle of the Bulge between January 6 and 9, 1945.”

Troubled Water by Gil Gonsoulin: “Churned up water can be simulated using White Opaque Flake Texture Medium.”

Hobby Boss 1/35 Hi-Speed Tractor by Gil Gonsoulin: “Since I wanted to build it as a WWII vehicle so I could have it tow an 88, I sanded the vents off of the ammo boxes.”

Razorback: I got this kit from Monsters in Motion a few years ago and after looking at the instructions shelved it. The instructions looks as if drawn by a five year old!

Tactical Ballistic Missile Launcher: “Although Dragon Models M752 Tactical Ballistic Missile Launcher kit is called a ‘Smart Kit’, I came up with a few other names for it with all the problems it has.”

WWII German Truck: “Upon initial inspection of this WWII German Truck, the kit looks good – plenty of detail. However this amount of detail causes problems in construction.”

“Need a Light?” by Sydney Gonsoulin: “The space ship I used is the Atlantis model based on the movie Earth versus the Flying Saucers. When I finished the saucer, I added some bling to the upper hull.”

Gil George Gonsoulin, age 74, died on Sunday, February 2, 2020. Mr. Gonsoulin, a native of New Orleans, lived for many years in Chalmette, LA, and for the last 15 years was a resident of Kenner, LA. He was a valued member of Our Lady of Divine Providence Church in Metairie, a retiree from AT&T, and a veteran of the United States Air Force. Mr. Gonsoulin was a skilled and award-winning scale model builder, with memberships in the Flying Tigers and EagleQuest (formerly MasterCon) organizations. He enjoyed cruising the Caribbean with his beloved wife, Sydney Mace Gonsoulin.

Bizzaro Land Videos

Mars Lunar Lander

LCVP

SW90 Space Fighter

Welcome to Bizarro Land