68 articles · 3.1K karma · 13 friends · active 9 months, 1 week 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 Brabham Martini BT44B - 1/12

Kit: Tamiya 1/12 Brabham BT-44B - 12018-3500 This is an amazing kit, especially considering it was released 45 years ago. The fit is nearly perfect which is saying something given the complexity of the kit. There are in excess of 300 [...]

Tamiya 1/32 FAA F4U-1 Birdcage Corsair

The Corsair is my favourite aircraft of all time. I used to watch the show "Black Sheep Squadron" with my dad when I was a kid. The show was kind of terrible but I loved it and the vintage footage of corsairs and zeros was [...]

Tamiya 1/32 VIII Spitfire

These 1/32 Tamiya aircraft kits are simply amazing. I've also built the Corsair and the Mustang as well with he Zero in the stash - they are all close to flawless. To this Spitfire I added Barracuda Cast 5 slot main wheels and pilot's [...]

Tamiay 1/12 Suzuki RGV-500 - Kenny Roberts Jr.2001 Moto GP

I just finished this wonderful kit. The fit is near perfect. If you've never built a Tamiya 1/12 motorcycle, I highly recommend it - these are great kits. All my models can be viewed here: (link) Paints used: Zero 2K primer Zero Suzuki [...]

Brabham BMW BT50 - Nelson Piquet1982 Canadian Grand Prix

This is Tamiya's 1/20 kit - 20017 Decals -Indycals and Museum Collection (D783-1800) Paint Zero 2K primer Zero Brilliant White Gravity 2K Clear All my models: (link)

AMT 1/24 1966 Buick Riveria

Hi all, I finished this kit last night - it went together very easily taking only 5 evenings. I used Zero Paints 2K Primer, Zero Paints Porsche Ipanema Blue, Gravity Colors 2K Clear and Spaz Stix Ultimate Mirror Chrome. All my models can [...]

Kitty Hawk 1/48 Bell AH-1Z Viper

I just finished this kit - the Kitty Hawk 1/48 Bell AH-1Z Viper. I am very impressed with this kit. The fit is flawless, the surface details are precise and the overall build was easy. It also comes with some nice PE, including [...]

AH-64D Apache LongbowHasegawa 1/48

This is a great kit, no issues. I built the kit out of the box and used Twobobs decals (48-085). Exterior color is FS34031 - The Tamiya acrylic mix is as follows: XF51:7 + XF62:3 + XF69:6 All my models can be viewed here: (link)

Fujimi 1/24 McLaren MP4-12C – 2011 Macau Grand Prix

This was one of my first car kits. I used Studio27 Carbon decals which are always a challenge. They are great decals but you have to work them hard for them to conform. I use Solvaset which is pretty strong but it takes a lot and I use a [...]

Tamiya 1/32 P-51D Mustang

This is an awesome kit. It is extremely easy to build and very detailed. I used Eagle Cals decals and Alclad II metal paint. I also added Eduard PE USAF seatbelts (32506) Eduard resin wheels (EDU632015). All my models can be viewed [...]