Ancient Web: Scott Van Aken's Modeling Madness Kept Six Thousand Kit Reviews
Scott Van Aken's 1995-era Modeling Madness has grown into a heavily categorized archive of scale-model builds, kit previews, decal reviews, close-up photographs, and maker techniques.
Part of the Ancient Web Collection.
When a model aircraft kit arrives, somebody has to discover which pieces actually fit. For three decades, Modeling Madness has been making those discoveries public, one build review at a time.
The homepage identifies Scott Van Aken as owner, publisher, and editor and dates the site back to 1995. On October 16, 2026, it displayed a tally of 6,318 full reviews, 6,603 previews, and 4,909 decal articles. Those are the website's own running totals, not numbers independently recalculated here.
At the bottom of the menu is a design recommendation: the site was written for a 1024-by-768 display. It is a quiet marker of how long the project has been operating.
A review is more than a product rating
The site map divides the collection according to what hobbyists actually need. There are complete kit-build reviews, previews of new releases, aftermarket accessories, conversion sets, decals, close-up photographs of real aircraft, camouflage markings, museums, and a section on techniques.
A full-build index sends readers into alphabetized groups of aircraft and vehicles. There are separate sections for cars, civilian subjects, figures, military equipment, science fiction, and ships. The index notes that a KC-135 belongs under K, an XP-77 under P, and other variations follow the major aircraft type.
The website also contains more specialized research, such as a Bf 109 database called 109's All the Time, explained Luftwaffe fighter codes, and guides to paint colors. Its documentation is as much about interpreting the original machine as assembling a miniature version.
Contributors have their own articles and opinions. The homepage emphasizes that individual reviewers speak for themselves, an old-fashioned but valuable editorial distinction. The site invites new submissions and explains requirements for articles rather than funneling all activity into a single comment stream.
Some sections have been retired or placed on hiatus, and an older forum link leads to an external host. These are traces of an archive that evolved without discarding its original organization.
Modeling Madness illustrates a powerful form of hobby publishing: the information accumulates because real builders keep doing the work, while one editor keeps the shelves findable.
Browse the original site map and model-building reviews.
Part of the Ancient Web Collection.
- Categories: Ancient Web
- Tags: #ancientweb, #hobbyarchives, #scalemodels, #aircraft