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I've been doing modelling for about 15 years now, having returned to the hobby I dabbled in as a kid. It was a steep learning curve but the Internet was a huge help in picking up tips and techniques and figuring out where to get the necessary tools. Now armed with several airbrushes and a spray booth, I feel reasonably well equipped to work my way through my growing kit stash. Luckily, I have just enough space for a good sized pile of kits, collecting being one of the great secondary pleasures of this hobby.
I build mostly 1/32 and 1/48 aircraft but also some 1/35 armor (WWII and Modern) and am now branching out into 1/200, 1/350 and 1/700 scale ships and subs. I also have a couple of the 1/72 giants, the U-Boat VIIC and the Gato under assembly, as well as an S-Boat.
As for my life outside the hobby, I am a teacher and one time administrator with a strong interest in history, particularly family military history, which has led me to archival research and regimental reunions to interview veterans. . I also enjoy international travel, cycling, hiking and archery, among other pastimes. I also love motorcycles but can't afford one currently.
Here is my version of the big Special Hobby Tempest Mk V. This was one of the most challenging builds I have yet completed. The Barracuda resin replacement nose was difficult to fit precisely and I had to reposition it several times, [...]
I recently spent a couple of weeks in London. I managed to squeeze in an entire day at IWM-Duxford, which was a short train ride to a spot just outside of Cambridge. Here is just a sampling of the photos I took at this huge aeronautical [...]
Here is my finally completed Tamiya P-51D. It represents the aircraft of Captain Henry W. Brown, leading ace of the 354th Fighter Squadron, 355th Fighter Group and its second most decorated pilot. (This is photograph 12694 from the [...]
Here are a few pics from one of Canada's larger model shows, held yesterday at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum near Hamilton, Ontario. This gathering was the largest show in the 15 year history of the event, with over 1000 models. [...]
Here is my Aichi B7A2 Ryusei Kai ("Shooting Star") "Grace" torpedo bomber. The Grace was a late-war addition to the IJN's air arm and saw some limited action before the war ended. 105 production B7A2s were built at [...]
Here is my Airfix Westland Lynx AH-7, representing a British Army machine serving in Afghanistan. It is my first helicopter ever. I took care to preserve all of the beautiful rivet detail of the kit through careful fitting and no excess [...]
Here is my Monogram He-111 in 1/48th scale - a venerable kit which can compete with more recent releases with a bit of care. I had to spend some time filling and sanding to get the clear parts aligned and sealed and there were a few other [...]
Finally, the first of my projects completed for the Falklands/Malvinas War Group Build. The model represents the aircraft of Primer Teniente Juan José Arrarás (KIA) 08 June, 1982. Arrarás survived a first mission on 12 May against [...]
Here are a few highlights (for me) for the large Heritagecon 14 meeting. I had planned to enter some of my own builds, but I waited too long to register online and no more entries were being accepted two weeks before the show. Quite a [...]
Here is my latest build, finally completed. It is also my first successfully finished Bf-109 in 1/32nd scale. I am pretty happy with the result, even though some of the subtler weathering elements don't show up well in photos.
Here are [...]
