91 articles · 53.4K karma · 51 friends · active 2 hours, 37 minutes ago

I am twice-retired. I retired as an Air Force pilot (C-141) & instructor pilot (T-37, C-141) in 1993. I spent the next 20 years teaching high school social studies & also as an adjunct instructor at a local junior college. I retired from high school teaching in 2015 & taught my last college class in the spring 2016 semester. I currently teach two adult education classes each semester for a local school district. I began modelling when I was a kid and continued until the 1980s when my flying began to make my modelling time nonexistent. This trend actually got worse when I became a teacher. Now that I have time to model again, I find myself trying to sort through the many new techniques & tools available now. Over the years I kept buying kits, but not building them because they were easier to move while still unbuilt in the box. So now I have a two-car garage completely filled with unbuilt airplanes, armor, ships, space ships, and a few cars. I am now building my way through this cache of thousands while still selectively buying new kits. I am also two-thirds complete on an HO Scale train layout and I just started a small N Scale layout. :o)

Airfix 1:72 Commonwealth CA-13 Boomerang (Series 1)

This was a quick build that I wanted to use to fill the time while waiting for some masks and paint for a Japanese plane I wanted to build for Works in Progress. Of course, I always seem to pick things that have some challenges. This is [...]

Life-Like 24 Pounder Naval Cannon 1:24

Before you read any further, I have to admit that this tale of woe really has very little to do with the Life-Like Naval Cannon. It has more to do with proverbs like: "Measure twice, cut once.", "Look before you [...]

Atlantis 1/54 S2F Hunter Killer: A Casual Build?

If you have read any of my previous articles you know that I have reached the age where I appreciate a relaxing, casual build. I build a lot of old Revell and Monogram kits that I have been hauling around forever. Along comes Atlantis [...]

Visit to the Texas National Guard Museum: Camp Mabry, Austin, Texas

My wife and I were in Austin, Texas visiting my daughter and her husband today and I had some free time while the ladies were off shopping. I decided I wanted to visit the Texas National Guard Museum which is located at Camp Mabry, the [...]

Atlantis 1/48th H-25 Army Mule

The chaos of the Christmas and New Year holidays was upon me, so I wanted to do something simple. I had previously built some of the re-released kits from Atlantis (mainly old Revell kits), and thought it might be fun to do another one. [...]

1/48 Minicraft Grumman XF5F-1 Skyrocket (continued)

This is a continuation of an article I posted a few weeks ago at the start of this project. If you are interested in the previous part, you can find it at (link). I probably should have done this in the WIP Group, but here is the [...]

Minicraft XF5F-1 Skyrocket

I haven't posted anything for a while because I haven't built any models for a while because I was involved in building some buildings and scenery on my N Scale layout. Sorry, poor excuse. After I got to a stopping place, I really had [...]

Review: KA Models 1/48 Bf-109G-10

Sometimes I feel like I am the last one to arrive at the dance. It always seems like when I get my hands on something new that many of you have not only seen it, but built it. So I was a little surprised when I came across this Bf-109 [...]

Toon Time Again: Fujimi “Toon” Ships

I have built a bunch of the "toon" tanks, planes, and ships over the last few years, usually as a way to decompress from some of my more intricate builds. I had previously built four Meng "toon" ships before and really [...]

Building the Revell Black Pearl (Sort of)

When I finished my last build, a 1/72 F-4J, I said that I wanted to do something more simple, like build a sailing ship. I thought I wasn't serious, but the more I thought about, the more I wanted to do a sailing ship. I don't have a lot [...]