68 articles · 3.1K karma · 13 friends · active 9 months ago

I was born in 1967 in Nova Scotia and I my first model building experiences were building balsa wood kits with my dad. I joined the model club at school and started building plastic kits, mostly planes but sometimes other subjects. I didn't build much in my teens but my girlfriend in University bought me a Monogram A-10 because every time we went to the mall, I would go into the hobby store but not buy anything. I built that A-10 in my dorm room - it came out pretty well considering. Once I finished University I started building more but I wasn't satisfied with the results - decals were my main source of dissatisfaction. Then I found a Fine Scale Modeler Magazine with an article on how to correctly apply decals. I didn't have an airbrush so I painted clear gloss with a brush to get the decals to look better. Still not satisfied, I bought books to learn more skills (this was before the internet.) I now live in Ottawa and over the years I have gotten better and better and faster and faster. 20 years ago it would take me 6 weeks to build a Tamiya Spitfire. Now I can build some kits in a few days or take on complex projects and which take longer but I am usually pretty happy with the results. I was exclusively a plane guy for a long time. I built one aircraft carrier in 2003 but that was it until 2014 when my kids bought me a tank for Fathers' day. I did mostly armour for about two years then I started with cars. I built about 24 straight cars before getting up the courage to try an F1 car. Well, now that's what I'm building most. The nice thing is, as a result of building F1 cars, I'm now a rabid F1 fan which gives me another hobby to keep my interest. Along my modelling journey, I wanted to be able to take nice pictures of my finished projects so in 2007 I bought a Nikon D50 camera and a photo booth. That started a love a photography as another hobby. So yeah, I love modelling various types of subjects and I also love that the hobby has introduced me to other hobbies and passions. My non-model related passions are playing hockey, ball hockey and golf. That girlfriend I mentioned, well, we're married (29th anniversary this Sunday, Sept 15, 2019) and we have two wonderful daughters 20 and 16. I have this weird sympathy for anyone who doesn't build models - I guess because I get so much enjoyment out of it I can't imagine why everyone doesn't do it. It's fun, satisfying and therapeutic when the pressures of life create challenges. My wife is a knitter, crocheter and cross stitcher and we love working on our hobbies together while watching movies, old sitcoms or true-crime shows on TV. I consider myself a descent model builder but I don't enter competitions. I like to do it for me and for the satisfaction it gives me. I don't want to build for anyone else. I like to take shortcuts when I feel like it and not be a slave to accuracy. That said, I love looking at others' contest models and the amazing work people do - they are inspiring and they make me want to keep developing my skills. So, that's me. I'm a proper nerd I guess but I wouldn't trade my life for anything. If you are interested in looking at my models, I have photos of every model completed since 1997 on flicker: https://www.flickr.com/photos/98961263@N00/albums/72157603606379755

Tamiya 1/48 P-38J-15 Lightning, LO Major Richard I. Bong

See all my models at: (link) Photograpy: Nikon D300; Focus Stacking using Helicon Focus; Editing using LightRoom Paint: Various shades of Alclad Aftermarket: Air Masters gun barrels (AM-48-023); Ultracast resin seat (48223) Decals: Kit [...]

Tamiya 1/20 Renault RE 30B TurboAlain Prost

See all my models at: (link) Photograpy: Nikon D300; Focus Stacking using Helicon Focus; Editing using LightRoom Paint: Tamia TS-16 yellow (decanted); Tamiya LP-2 pure white Aftermarket: Icon Resin rain tires; Tamiya seatbelts Decals: [...]

Tamiya 1/20 Ferrari 312T3 - Gilles Villeneuve - 1978

See all my models at: (link) Photograpy: Nikon D300; Focus Stacking using Helicon Focus; Editing using LightRoom Paint: Zero “Ferrari 70’s and 80’s” Aftermarket: Icon Resin rain tires; Tamiya seatbelts Decals: Shunko Wow, am [...]

Hasegawa 1/20 Ferrari 312T2 - Monaco GP Winner 1976Niki Lauda

See all my models at: (link) ... 3606379755 Photograpy: Nikon D300; Focus Stacking using Helicon Focus; Editing using LightRoom This is a tricky kit but well detailed and fun to build. I’d recommend it to anyone with experience [...]

Tamiya 1/20 Williams FW07

See all my models at: (link) Decals - Shunko Photograpy: Nikon D300; Focus Stacking using Helicon Focus; Editing using LightRoom

Tamiya 1/20 Legier JS11

Tamiya 1/20 Legier JS11 See all my models at: (link) Decals - Indy Cals Photograpy: Nikon D300; Focus Stacking using Helicon Focus; Editing using LightRoom

Fujimi 1/20 Ferrari F10Fernando Alonso

Fuji 1/20 Ferrari F10, 2010, Fernando Alonso. This was a competitive car for Ferrari but it fell short of the championship as Red Bull won their first of 4 consecutive constructors’ and drivers’ championships in 2010. See all my [...]

Tamiya 1/24 Mustang... GT4

Tamiya 1/24 Ford Mustang GT4 (24354) 2018 IMSA Road America Winner T. Hindman and A. Baynjolfsson See all my models at: (link) Decals - Blue Stuff Volt Racing Team (24087), Studio 27 Carbon (ST27-CD24038) Paint: Gravity Fluorescent Yellow [...]

Michael Schumacher 1997 F310B and 2001 F2001 (Tamiya)

These are Tamiya's kits with Studio27 carbon decals and Tabu logos. Paint is Zero "Rosso Formula 1 Pre-2004 (ZP-1007)". See all my models at: (link)

Tamiya 1/48 J2M3 Jack

This is a 50 year old kit but it holds up pretty well. It has raised panel lines but they were easily re-scrible. Decals are a bit thick but are nice none the less. Here's the album: (link)