How about some Re-Introductions?

[gregbbear]

I guess this is more of an intro, since I have been pretty much a spectator until lately. I am a 38 y.o. fireman for the City of San Antonio, Texas. I have lived in San Antonio, and been a fireman since '98. I am NOT a native Texan. I wound up here via the USMC and moral turpitude. Currently between wives, so I must buy as many models as I can while that lasts!

Even though I live in the jerkwater of the motorsports world, I am a big fan of auto racing, and sports cars. And, of course, I like to model those subjects. It is hard to believe that the hobby is in bad shape with all the money I spend, ha ha! That is a boat that I'm sure we are all in! Seeing how I am, and probably always will be inept at using smiley faces, feel free to imagine the appropriate smiley in the appropriate places above!

Love cars, love the hobby, and yes, the forum too. Long live Model Cars!

Regards to All,

Greg Broadbear

ps- I don't have a Revell '49 Merc on my bench, lol.

[marinewifejones]

I'd love to see pics of that oval-window, Joe, and I must admit I'm a little jealous....I didn't get my first 1:1 Beetle until I was 23(still have it BTW )

My turn: Dave Carnevale, certifiable car guy and styrene addict. I'll be 38 much later this year, been building pretty much since age 7, and I'm a lifelong resident of the 'forgotten' upstate New York. (Most NYC & NJ folk refer to Westchester county as 'upstate,' which makes us Albany-area residents Canadian by default ) I'm a member of the TNMCC, although the distance makes it hard to attend more than 1 or 2 meetings a year. I've been married to my wonderful wife Jennifer for just over 4 years, she has built one model so far, and she is ready to move on to the next build....we are expecting our first child this coming November. Our two Pug dogs, Ralphie and Phoebe, should do well as older(albeit furry) siblings.

By my moniker, one can assume that I'm into Volkswagens - that is correct, but not the whole story. I also enjoy a lot of other cars, particularly Mopar muscle cars and traditional hot rods; it's no secret that in recent years I've become a big fan of weathered vehicles, and I have been working on stocking my buddy's G-gauge model railroad(1/22.5 scale) with a junkyard full of vehicles. Like most northeasterners I build model cars in the colder months, and tinker with my 1:1 toys all summer. Here's my '68 Meyers Manx and my '68 Beetle project:

Having the Saratoga Automobile Museum and Rolling Bones Hot Rod Shop within a half hour drive of home is great for a guy like me who is into a little of everything automotive.

I attended my first model car contest in '87, built models like there was no tomorrow, and went through a short period of trophy hound behavior in my late teens...luckily I survived with my dignity and hobby intact. Except for a stray local show here and there, I pretty much only attend the NNL East. I nowadays finish maybe 2 to 4 models a year, and I find a tremendous amount of joy in helping others; Matt Trotta and I have put on a couple of 'Make & Take' events at the Saratoga Auto Museum over the past few years, and it's great to see youngsters getting enthused about our hobby. I've found that the real awards in our hobby are the friendships we form and the enjoyment that building models brings us.

This thread was a cool idea for sure, and I concur the family atmosphere on this board is superior to the others.

Ok I find it funny that you are into VW's and your name is Dave. This is because my dad, David (hence my son's name), went through a period where he would only work on air cooled vw's but he has since moved back into the Studebakers and I believe he is in the process of selling off his vw collection. I think I scared a few guys off when I was younger because I could drop the engine out of a bug with very little help but oh well their loss is Clay's gain.

[Clay]

I'd love to see pics of that oval-window, Joe, and I must admit I'm a little jealous....I didn't get my first 1:1 Beetle until I was 23(still have it BTW )

My turn: Dave Carnevale, certifiable car guy and styrene addict. I'll be 38 much later this year, been building pretty much since age 7, and I'm a lifelong resident of the 'forgotten' upstate New York. (Most NYC & NJ folk refer to Westchester county as 'upstate,' which makes us Albany-area residents Canadian by default ) I'm a member of the TNMCC, although the distance makes it hard to attend more than 1 or 2 meetings a year. I've been married to my wonderful wife Jennifer for just over 4 years, she has built one model so far, and she is ready to move on to the next build....we are expecting our first child this coming November. Our two Pug dogs, Ralphie and Phoebe, should do well as older(albeit furry) siblings.

By my moniker, one can assume that I'm into Volkswagens - that is correct, but not the whole story. I also enjoy a lot of other cars, particularly Mopar muscle cars and traditional hot rods; it's no secret that in recent years I've become a big fan of weathered vehicles, and I have been working on stocking my buddy's G-gauge model railroad(1/22.5 scale) with a junkyard full of vehicles. Like most northeasterners I build model cars in the colder months, and tinker with my 1:1 toys all summer. Here's my '68 Meyers Manx and my '68 Beetle project:

Having the Saratoga Automobile Museum and Rolling Bones Hot Rod Shop within a half hour drive of home is great for a guy like me who is into a little of everything automotive.

I attended my first model car contest in '87, built models like there was no tomorrow, and went through a short period of trophy hound behavior in my late teens...luckily I survived with my dignity and hobby intact. Except for a stray local show here and there, I pretty much only attend the NNL East. I nowadays finish maybe 2 to 4 models a year, and I find a tremendous amount of joy in helping others; Matt Trotta and I have put on a couple of 'Make & Take' events at the Saratoga Auto Museum over the past few years, and it's great to see youngsters getting enthused about our hobby. I've found that the real awards in our hobby are the friendships we form and the enjoyment that building models brings us.

This thread was a cool idea for sure, and I concur the family atmosphere on this board is superior to the others.

And I actually have ictures of most of his VWs, may not be the best quality, but I have them.

Ok I find it funny that you are into VW's and your name is Dave. This is because my dad, David (hence my son's name), went through a period where he would only work on air cooled vw's but he has since moved back into the Studebakers and I believe he is in the process of selling off his vw collection. I think I scared a few guys off when I was younger because I could drop the engine out of a bug with very little help but oh well their loss is Clay's gain.

I won't believe that until i see it.

[Mal.au]

Hi Guys

Mal here I live waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy down in the south in a little place called Australia, you may have herd of it. I have been building models for years to many to remember I am 42 years young, I am married with two kids and two dogs, I am also a motor sports fan although I must admit F1 isn't high on a list of things to do even with a race around the corner

Mal

[CraigDaModeler]

Greetings from ‘Nawlins, La (New Orleans for all you northerners & other foreigners)

My name is Craig Naquin and I used to be an avid model builder. I am currently suffering from a MAJOR motivational building slump for over two years. It is so bad I even missed going to several contests/shows in the past couple years, something I have been doing religiously for the past 10 years. I rarely post on any model forum either these days but still lurk fairly regularly.

My sob story-

The slump hit me just after hurricane Katrina hit these parts (August 2005). Fortunately my home suffered very minimal damage (I actually live about 20 miles west of New Orleans), and I was back in my house within a couple of weeks.

However the company I work for had over 6 feet of water for a couple of weeks. After the water resided, I was given the task of boarding the broken windows and cleaning the place out (two buildings). This went on for about two weeks. After that, we landed a huge job and I was able to work from my home. My occupation-Fire Alarm/Life Safety System Design. This work at home gig was great and lasted about seven months.

Anyway earlier in 2005 I had finished a 55 Chevy Convertible that turned out good enough to place 1st at the IPMS Nationals in a field of over 40 Factory Stock entries and needless to say I was on model building cloud nine. After that Build I had two other projects underway when the Katrina thing happened. After all the initial hoopla of getting settled back in I completed those projects. That is when the slump began. I had a hard time staying motivated and basically had to make myself sit at the bench. While both of those builds turned out quite well (according to several contest results& other builder comments) I was losing the will to build. Months passed before I could bring myself to start another project. I finally did start a new project and two years later it is not even half way completed. The motivation only comes and goes in spurts. To make myself sit at the bench usually ends up making it feel like “work†and not fun.

I will try and make a separate post with my current project and maybe some feedback will spark some motivation. I do not want to highjack this thread for that.

If you are still with me, here is a little about myself.

I am 45 (no by the time I hit the ‘add reply’ button, it’ll be March 27 and I’ll be 46)

I have been married to the same wonderful, hobby supportive woman for 22 years, have two boys 17 & 15, just “celebrated†24 years of ownership of my very first brand new car an 84 ElCamino that I bought Feb 29th 1984 and even though I just bought a brand new car in October (Nissan Altama Coupe….very fun drive), the Camino still maintains one of the two coveted garage parking spaces ( being the loving husband, the wife gets the other garage spot). I been in the Fire Alarm/Life Safety business for the past 22 years and am currently the vice president of the La Automatic Fire Alarm Assoc.

I “put together†some models as a kid but did not really start “building†models till 1998 at the age of 38. I have met so many talented people through this hobby and formed some good friendships as well. I always tell people there is no other hobby or sport that I know of that includes competition, where competing persons are not only willing to share their secrets to success it is actually a driving force, a major part of the hobby itself!!

Man I sure did not mean for this to go on so long. But hey, I think I got myself pump up and just might have to sit a that bench again!

Craig

Here is my 55 Chevy.

My Fotki Site

[Lyle Willits]

Happy birthday Craig. SEE?,,,,I read the entire thing!

[Nick F40]

CHEYA!! Sweetness!

[dartman]

Greetings.My name is Alan Miller and im 47 years old.I live in rochester New York but will soon be moving to Bay City michigan.I am married and have 4 grown children and I have 8 grand children and 1 great grand child.Been building since I was about 7 with a few of the usual gaps.

[kitbash1]

Hi all.

My name is Douglas Graves, I just turned 50 not too long ago and I've been building since I was about 6 or 7 years old. I build mostly race cars in a variety of scales, from 1/43rd to 1/12th. I live just outside of Toronto in Pickering Ontario with my wife of 25 years, 2 teenagers and 3 cats. In addition to building models, I can be found at Mosport International Raceway or any number of race tracks in eastern Canada and the Northeastern U.S. working as a safety / flag marshal during the summer and early fall. My other hobbies are Photography and HO Model Trains.

[George Bojaciuk]

OK...my name is George S. Bojaciuk. Gregg sometimes recognizes me...at times weeks later. I use a middle initial because I shared the name w/my dad and he didn't have a middle initial. I've dabbled a little in model cars. I've written a few articles for Model Cars, Plastic Fanatic, Car Modeler, Scale Auto and Fine Scale Model. I also had a book out, "Building and Detailing Scale Model Musclecars". I also co-authored the column, "Four Barrels, Four Speeds and Horsepower" and "Runnin' at Redline", with my good friend, Tom Buesgen. I was a Respiratory Therapist for almost 20 years until fate changed my destiny. About 10 years ago, I went to work for The Franklin Mint as a Design Manager. I paid obscene money to guys like Lyle Willits for color study models and concepts. When I lost my job doing so, my wife could not have the operation so she could play the accordion in a marching band. ...I digress... I left FM when I saw things in decline, to start my own business, GSB Design Concepts and did work for Bradford Exchange, RSC Collectibles, Danbury Mint and GMP. I had GMP as an exclusive client for the last few years. Last year they ended their contract and I had to rebuild my business. It took almost a full year to reorganize and just get back to a point I was at 6 years ago. I decided to produce my own product under the Scale Accents brand name. My first venture is a 1:24th Garage facade, Esler's Garage. I'm pretty excited about this. Since this venture takes time and money, I did take on a FT job at a place I worked at 30 years ago. I'm now back at S&W Race Cars selling race cars parts. I also hope to do the old Speed Shop I worked at, as a display. With doing my own thing and working FT, there isn't much time left over for much else. I do belong to Silent Traffic Model Car Club, but my attendance has been spoiled by my Friday night work schedule. They've sent me a few delinquency notices. In all my free time, I'm also restoring a '69 Chevelle SS396. It's a numbers matching, 4 speed bench, 375 hp car. I hope to finally get her running this year!

Edited March 31, 2008 by George Bojaciuk

[Danno]

Interesting stuff.

How'd I miss this thread before Greg bumped it?

[Greg Myers]

What happened to my bump ? What happened indeed ? There it is down there.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Greg Myers

[Tom Geiger]

Do we restart this one? I think Harry would scold us if we started a new thread of the same essence?

Soooo... I'm Tom Geiger, not a snarky screen name, just the ones my folks stuck me with! I'll be 56 this month, married for 30 something years with two grown daughters. I work in the pharmaceutical industry. This past year I achieved my CFM, Certified Facility Manager title, from the International Facility Management Association.

I have been back to building 26 years. I'm from New Jersey and I moved to Exton, PA about four years ago to pursue an employment opportunity. That job lasted three years, so now I'm back working for the same company in NJ that I did before!

I'm with the Tri-State Scale Model Car Club, hosts of NNL East. I got back to the hobby by answering a small club ad in the back of Scale Auto in 2008. The reply told me they were having a show and invited me to what was NNL East 3. Little did I know what that would lead to! I found that being involved in this hobby really spread and changed my automotive preferences. I got involved because I wanted to build the dozen or two Mopar kits I had collected over years and wanted to learn the skills to do them justice. That journey had me starting with other easily obtained kits to learn and increase my skill level. Once I had a club and mentors, my model quality went up big time!

Soon enough I was entering models in contests and took an interest in the models of Joe Cavorley, light commercial and weathering. With Joe as my mentor, I developed skills and a style that I enjoy to this day. I spent many years working on contest models, but in my learned years I've stepped back from competing and now build the odd subjects that come from my head that only I and the strange band of individuals I call my friends can appreciate. Funny thing, I've never built one of those Mopar models!

Being in this hobby has been a big part of my life and has caused many of my long term friendships, some in person and some on-line. I've had the pleasure of hosting guests I know through the hobby from South Africa and Australia. Four different guys from Australia have stayed with me! I've always said that if it was just about the little plastic cars, I would've lost interest a long time ago. It's about the friends and interesting people I've met through the hobby that keep me coming back for more!

Edited September 6, 2014 by Tom Geiger

[stavanzer]

Bringing this back to the Top.

Great Reading about Many Forum Members. Some of them still post here. It was fun to read the Life Stories of our members.

[Bainford]

3 hours ago, stavanzer said:

 

Great Reading about Many Forum Members. Some of them still post here.

I was struck by how many of them are no longer active.

[stavanzer]

Yeah, but it was nice to see some of the history of our Members.