For me, building models started through my dad. He was in the Navy during a time when there were no personal computers, video games, or all of the other gadgets that seem to occupy our time nowadays. He wasn’t a drinker or a partier, so for a man on a ship, there were only two things left. Read lots of Louis Lamour books, or join the shipboard modeling club. Building models is really big with sailors. After all, you’re right there with the planes and ships your building. What a source of reference.

 

      I don’t remember how much detail he put into his models, or how good he was at it. There are a few Christmas pictures around that have a few of them sitting in the living room, but other than being able to tell what they were, you can’t really see the detail. He built most of them before I was 7. Then other things began to occupy his time and he kind of dropped the hobby all together. I was about 6 when I started. I remember building a stunt car that I got for Christmas. The box had actual cardboard ramps that you cut out of the sides. Of course, at that age, I just put the model together without paint. Most of my models were cars and tended to be solid white, inside and out except for the tires and any chrome pieces.

 

     From the ages of 8 to 10, I started giving painting a try. Most of the time it was a disaster. Paint would be everywhere and the model would look like crap. Of course, the paints I used had a lot to do with the problem. Trying to paint the underside of a 1/48 scale F-14 gloss white was a serious joke for a 9 year old. Note:F-14’s were still painted in gloss colors back then. No, really. It’s a good thing that more and more models were being made in the same color as they were depicted on the box art, otherwise, I’d still have been making white cars.

 

     The biggest change in my modeling abilities occurred shortly after moving to Florida when I was 11. We moved right in the middle of the school year from Virginia to Florida. Yep, I was exposed to a whole new set of germs and boy did they ever hit me hard. I was out of school for a week due to a really bad case of strep throat. On about day 3, my Mom brought home some meds along with a model of a 1970 Boss 429 Mustang. Not only did this really kick start my model building abilities, but it also got me really interested in the the Ford Mustang and the first car I ever bought was an '84 Mustang.

 

     Back to the kit. The model was already molded in orange and was done very well. This was good because I was under house arrest and there was no way Mom was going to be able to get me spray paint anytime soon, so I started studying the box art. This is where I learned to do the finer details that really make a model stand out. I didn’t have chrome paint, so I used silver all around the windows, put it on the window cranks inside the car and even around the marker lamps. Details were also painted inside the engine compartment. I snuck out of the house and popped the hood on the old 72 Ford pickup to look at the engine for more reference material. I just wanted to get in idea of what colors to paint engine parts and the fire wall. The kit came out looking pretty darn good. There were some small mistakes, but I learned so much about the hobby just from the box art.

 

     I ended up building this kit 4 times over the years. I even have two in boxes right now awaiting assembly. Each time, the model looked better and better. New techniques where tried. I wanted to paint the raised lettering white on the tires, but I had a hard time getting a steady hand on with white paint, so I tied something different. I used a spray can to paint a piece of plastic white and then pressed the tire onto the plastic. Ta Da!!... Only the raised lettering came out white. How Cool!!

 

     Living in Jacksonville had another cool bonus that helped my love of models. At the time, Jacksonville had two naval airfields. Cecil Field and NAS Jax. This meant that the Blue Angels (who visit each major field once every two years) came to Jacksonville every year because they would alternate bases. Not only did I get to see the Angels in person every year, but I got to see a wealth of aircraft that just fed into my imagination. Each time I went to an air show, I couldn’t wait to get home and start on a new plane that I had seen.

    

      Alas, it would not last forever. I continued work on models, but thankfully, two very good friends managed to get me out of the house and enjoy the real world. I worked on models part time and went out and had fun with my friends. Over time, I found a new friend that would later become my wife. With the responsibilities of keeping a home maintained, and raising a family, modeling kept getting put on a backburner. Every once in a while, movies or shows would inspire me to at least buy a model, but they would sit half built for years to come.

 

     I had become addicted to PC video games and this became my release for many years, but after a while I realized just how many hours I was goofing off on the computer and I had absolutely nothing to show for it. After several false starts, I managed to get a desk set up and I dug out all the old models that were half started. Some of them still aren't finished. Over the years, I've worked on some other projects and the experience I've gained on those will be applied to old kits and they will look much better than I ever imagined they would.Take a look around the site and tell me what you think.
 

Fit, shave, fit, cut, fit, fit, shave, fit, fit, fit, cut, fit, fit, fit, sand, fit, fit, fit, fit,. Ok, now glue and get up and leave till tomorrow.