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

Dragon 1/350 USS Independence CVL-22

Accessories: Trumpeter – Grumman F6F Hellcat 1 x Trumpeter – Grumman TBF-3 Avenger Eduard PE (53070) North Star Models USN Bofors Quad mount crew (NSA350522) North Star Models Life Buoys (NSA350505) Shapeways USN Combat Set (201), [...]

My 2020 Builds...

Finished 15 this year - pleased with that. Happy Holidays, Richard All my models: (link)

1/144 HMCS Snowberry, the Battle of the Atlantic

Buzzer beater for 2020 - finished on New Years Eve. Great kit (Revell 051322) with very nice details out of the box. I added Shapeways figures. Album: (link) All my models: (link) Photo Editing: Adobe Lightroom Helicon Focus (focus [...]

Studio 27 1/20 Super Aguri Honda SA006 – 2006 Grand Prix of Japan

Kit: Studio27 1/20 (FK20180) Paint: Eastwood 2K Primer (ZP-3014) Zero Paint Pure Brilliant White (ZP-1026) Zero Paint Red (ZP-1074) Zero Paint Diamond 2K Clear (ZP-3006) Decals: kit markings Tamiya and Scale Motorsport [...]

Lotus Ford Type 72C, Jochen Rindt

Lotus Ford Type 72C, Jochen Rindt Kit: Ebbro 1/20 (20009) Paint: Zero Paint 2K Primer (ZP-3014) (A primer is really needed on this kit since the body is molded in red styrene. The red bleeds through even this 2K primer. Zero Paint [...]

Lotus Renault 97T, Ayrton Senna’s first win -1985 Portuguese Grand Prix.

Kit: Fujimi 1/20 (GP03) Accessories: Studio27 Carbon decals (ST27-CD20032) Tabu Sponsor decals (TBD230) Paint: Zero Paint 2K Primer (ZP-3014) Zero Paint Lotus F1 JPS Black (ZP-1121) Zero Paint Diamond 2K Clear (ZP-3006) Album: (link) All [...]

USN F-14A Tomcat VF-84 Jolly Rogers USS Nimitz

Kit: Tamiya 1/48 F-14A (61114) Accessories: Quick Boost resin seats (QB48223) AMM Alfa Probe and AOA probe (AM-48-007) NOS resin wheels (NS48121-a) Album: (link) All my models: (link) Photo Editing: Adobe Lightroom Helicon Focus (focus [...]

German Leopard 1A4 Kit Meng Leopard 1 A3...

German Leopard 1A4 Kit: Meng Leopard 1 A3/A4 (TS-007)) All my models: (link) Photo Editing: Adobe Lightroom Helicon Focus (focus stacking) Enjoy and comments welcome.

Academy 1/48 MiG-21 MF Fishbed J, Syrian Air Force, 1982 Lebanon War

This is a pretty good kit which goes together without problems. There's a bit of a step between the the front and rear fuselage sections that I wished I had paid more attention to. I used Eduard wheels and the AirRes cockpit set. I also [...]

Airfix 1/48 Hawker Sea Fury FB.11 - 803 Naval Air Squadron - Royal Canadian Navy - HMCS Warrior - 1948

This is a fun kit - easy to assemble with good fit. The panel lines are really sharp but the interior details are sparse and kind of soft. Ailerons, rudder and elevators are separate pieces which is nice. The decals are excellent - [...]