[Closed] OK boys and girls! Here's a sneak peek of the Mormon Meteor! [PIC]

Wow! That's impressive and looks great!

Nice photos, Rich. What set up are you using?

GOOD GAWD, that's gorgeous!

I'm not sure what you mean by "set up", John....

The set up is a rolled up sheet of poster paper sitting on top of my car in the driveway.
If you mean the camera, it's an old Canon PowerShot S3 IS.
Some shots are with flash and some not. I like the camera because it's got two macro settings so there's a lot of versatility in zoom and depth of field; and with the Image Stabilization, I don't need a tripod.
Is that what you wanted to know?

Looks amazing, I am lookin forward to this one

Whoa, these are terrific pictures of this stunner, Rich !

Yes, thanks, Rich. I was primarily interested in your lens and what manual settings you were using.

The settings are in total flux based on angles, reflectivity, what perspective I want....

I'll go anywhere from wide angle 35mm (equiv) to say a 105mm to 135mm mag to whether I want a background to be incorporated or blurred out. I'll shoot at one angle to the light and then do a 180? with flash to the shade. The aperture setting is whatever works. LOL
For 10 photos I make take 50 or 60 pictures with varied settings; pick the best and dump the rest.
It's kinda like asking grandma for her recipe. She'll give you a blank stare because she hasn't thought about it in 50 years. LOL

I hear you. I tend to shoot my 1/43 models with a macro, 50mm lens

Using a tripod, I usually go for the highest f stop I can muster (usually around 22) and slow the speed way down to catch the right exposure. I'm finding the macro lens does not work as well with the 1/24 models. I've been backing off, using a high depth of field, slow time and then cropping the picture I take. I'm not getting the crisp image I want though. I've got a Canon 5D Mark II set on full manual. I usually don't use a flash, preferring to light with accent lights I picked up at a hardware store. I really like your shots. I may have to rethink my approach on larger models. Here's one of my 1/43 shots:
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I got these images of the Meteor but I'm not happy with the lack of sharpness:
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backing off and cropping is helpful for depth of field for sure....

It also allows the background to be realistically incorporated into the shot and the resultant distortions of telephoto also can give a more 1:1 look to the object. Also, as you say, the smaller the aperture the greater the depth of field. Wider angle decreases the focal length. Canon's solution gives me two options. The Macro setting gives me the option of zooming in and out. The "Super Macro" mode is a fixed lens wide angle for extreme closeups where I can butt the lens to the object.
As you can tell, many those subtle techniques I use are only valid for the camera I use. It ain't like the old "chemical capture" days with a specific macro fixed lens and bellows.... This digital world is a lot more fun! LOL

Amen to that! Easier as well! Thanks for the help, Rich.

One more suggestion re: flash.....[PIC]

If you're primarily shooting 1/43s using a flash can overwhelm the image. With larger scale where you can put some distance between flash and image and there are more depth to cockpits and engine bays that are easily obscured in shadow. The flash can be a great way to fill in the shadows and can offer a better image in backlight situations.
The first picture shows a moderately backlit object shot w/o flash. The second with flash to pop out parts lost in shadow like behind the fender grill.
The third and fourth show how the cockpit can be illuminated w/o washing out the body.
I generally shot identical poses with and without flash and choose the best results.

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Most helpful! Thanks.

Is that the CMC 300S?