Why This Podcast, Why Now?

My experience at IPMS Scale Model World 2026 held in Telford at the International Centre.

In this episode we take a deep dive into the Spanish Civil War covering the origins, war and the aftermath.We also take a look at the Scale Modelling possibilities from aircraft, armour and dioramas.

In today’s episode, we’re going to take a more philosophical look at the hobby — specifically the parts we don’t always talk about: burnout, shelf queens, rushing a finish, and those moments when we just can’t seem to get to the end of a project.This is the reality for most of us at some point. Whether you’re a seasoned modeller or just getting started, there comes a time when the hobby that usually brings us joy starts to feel like a chore. And it’s worth asking — why?

This is episode three, and today we’re going in-depth on one of the most iconic tanks of the Second World War—the Tiger I. We’re going to look at where it came from, how it performed in combat, its variants and production, and finally, we’ll connect all of this back to scale modelling and why it remains one of the most popular subjects in our hobby.

Today we’re looking at the kits and subjects that keep coming back — the Spitfires, the Tigers, the Shermans — and asking: Why do we keep building them? What is it about these subjects that makes them timeless?”

Welcome to the very first episode of the CSM Podcast!I’m Jason Champion, and I’m thrilled to have you along for this new venture.This podcast will run in seasons — roughly 10 episodes per season, with the occasional bonus episode and a break in between.In today’s episode, I want to set the stage. I’ll tell you a bit about who I am, why I’ve started this podcast, and what you can expect moving forward.