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Interview with Volker Bembennek

Autor: Alberto Villasana Creado: 23-Nov-2010

Greetings fellow modelers !!

Once again an interesting interview, this time with someone who certainly knows how to do their job if we talk about destroyed vehicles I mean Bembennek Volker. their creations down to the tiniest detail in realism, his latest creation "Desert Hulk" Bishop! is really a piece of art.

I leave you with an interview with this talented modeler.

Interview.

Alberto: In terms of destroyed vehicles scenes, you are quite a good reference to look at; other modelers and people stare and analyze the details and quality in your work. But tell us a little more about you. Who is Volker Bembennek?

Volker: Well, I'm 34 years old, married and father of two little daughters. I live in a small town near Heidelberg in the south of Germany. After school, 4 years of military service and subsequent study, I work as an electrician in the system technology. My modeling interest already began as a little boy with a small railroad arrangement. During the following years, I have build models from all scales and all categories, from cars to airplanes. Because of historical interest and the enormous variety of vehicles, I changed to the WW2 period about ten years ago. Besides modeling, I really enjoy playing guitar, go out for jogging and spending the time with my family.

Alberto: Do you belong to a modeling group or club of modelers? Or you are on your own?

Volker: I would say yes... but to both questions! I'm happy to be a member of a group of modelers from Munich, which I meet a few times in the year to visit exhibitions and competitions over Europe. But the modeling work itself, I do on my own at my model desk at home. It would be great to perform more modeling meetings, but we all live too far away from each other. That's a pitty!

Alberto: When you are about to start new project, how do you get inspired?

Volker: That's quite different! Often it is a special picture of an original vehicle, which captures my interest. Or the complex shapes of some particular types of vehicles. For sure, also the works of other modelers could be the spark and are very inspiring. Good ideas frequently occur to me during jogging and by observing the nature.

Alberto: The level of realism in your work is exquisite. You take care of all the details, the light, the elements, and textures in a unique way. What would you say has been your biggest challenge when trying to reflect it into a model?

Volker: There are different challenges when building and painting a certain model. For example on a wrecked and abandoned vehicle all parts of the model should be done with the same care. The rust, the burned effects, the dirt and the groundwork. The biggest challenge always is the whole composition itself. To melt together the story, the model and the idea behind the scene. One must smell the rust, the dirt and feel the atmosphere when looking at the model.... that's always the biggest challenge!

Alberto: What do you consider to be your biggest secret when create a new scene?

Volker: I think there's no special secret behind it! Just keep your mind and eyes open and don't be afraid of trying out new techniques. One should carefully study the desired object and make a good planning stage before start modeling... but that's no secret, is it?!

Alberto: Where do you get the references you use to create a new scene?

Volker: Especially, when it comes to complex interiors or some special weathering effects (like burned effects etc.), good references are essential for a realistic result. Nowadays, there are available some really good books about all the different vehicles. But a big resource of knowledge or better the biggest resource is the internet. For example, by reproducing a burned surface on a WW2 tank I also use pictures of burned modern cars as a reference.

Alberto: What diorama of you did you like most and why?

Volker: Well, that's an easy question! Always the current one...

and after it's done my next one!

Because I always try out new techniques and ideas, the current projects are more exciting and interesting as the one I already done. I really like the one I've done... but I like the most the current one, or the one which are in my head for the future. So, at the moment it's my "Desert Hulk" Bishop!

Alberto: Living in Europe put's you in contact with other high skilled modelers, how do you look between them?

Volker: I'm lucky to know a lot of modelers in person and meet them on exhibitions a few times in the year. It's always great to have a talk with them and all this persons are different and interesting characters. All of them are high skilled modelers, but all of them also have its own and special style. It's great to look on a model and immediately know what modeler has done it. We all learn a lot from each other, but everyone has its own special style and strength.

Alberto: What can you tell us about the Modeling events in Europe any good or bad experiences you've had?

Volker: The good experiences are countless... and the real bad thing about the most Modeling events is the fact that they are often too far away! Unfortunately, there are also a few big events I had not the chance to visit until now. Like the Euro-Militaire in Folkestone, England. But all the events I've already visited in the different countries, like Spain, Hungary, Belgium, Netherland, Austria... are always of a high quality. The entries in the exhibitions and competitions and also the organization and implementation of those events are very professional.

Alberto: What advice would you give to modelers that want to recreate scenes like yours?

Volker: Patience, good references, and an extensive planning stage before starting the project and most of all, the will and the fun to build this certain model. All this points are very essential to inspire and motivate you to continue the project and not to turn it into frustration. Always keep your eyes and mind open for new ideas and techniques.

Alberto: Have you published or featured your work in a magazine or book?

Volker: I've done some articles in modeling magazines and also in some special publications in the past. At the moment, I'm working on some new articles about my current works... and there is also an article in a modeling book which will be released in the near future.

Alberto: Any website where one could have a look at your work?

Volker: Unfortunately not! I don't have my own website, but I show my current projects on some different forums on the Internet. There are some good places out there, but I couldn't motivate myself to start my own homepage. I think that's a very time consuming thing and I want to spend my spare time with other things... like modeling.

Alberto: We thank you so much for your time in answering to our questions. Would you like to give us a last comment?

Volker: Thanks a lot for this interesting interview and the possibility to express my feelings about those different themes of our great common hobby. It's great to see grow up some more professional and interesting modelling websites and I wish you all passion, success and luck with your site. All the best!

Well folks it's all for now, we hope you have enjoyed this short talkas much as we . And as always leave you with a sample of the work of Volker, really excellent work.

Best regards and see you soon !!.

Alberto

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