Wayne's World

My first model was an AMT 70 Vette, when I was 7 or 8. I painted it with Testors Blue and Copper bottle paint and a 1/4" brush I borrowed from mom's decoupage supplies. I'd helped dad build a couple of models, but he was in Vietnam, and Grandmom bought me the model and paints at Woolworth's, so I was on my own.

My dad was career Army, so I quickly drifted toward armor and helicopter models, but still bought the cool car models of the 60's and 70's (Boot Hill Express, Rommel's Rod, Red Baron, S'cool Bus...George Barris and Tom Daniels were heroes to me). I have never had a time in my life since 1972 that I wasn't building a model of some sort. I've since found Model Railroading (got a 5' x 10' HO narrow gauge layout), Model Rocketry (still fly at least once a month), radio control ( I'm building a 1/16 scale Elco 77" PT Boat, and I have a Tamiya 1/12 4WD car that needs to be upgraded to the brushless way of doing things), and miniature tabletop gaming (Warhammer, historical gaming). Heck, I even have a stick and tissue Guillows Sopwith Camel on the workbench.

I don't specialize. I build whatever strikes my fancy. At the moment, I have builds going on in every genre of modeling...but I have more car, truck, and motorcycle kits in the stash than all the others combined. I have unbuilts from the 70's and half-builts from last year. Call it modeler's ADHD. I always find something else to start before I've finished the one on the bench.

I also have a 1:1 project going on - my stepdad has a 1963 Mercury Monterey S-55 (300 horse 390 FE - triple deuces) with the Breezeway rear window. I'm trying to help him get it right, and build him a model of it as well. We do the local car club most Friday nights.

To pay for my hobbies (and the bills, and the missus' standard of buying clothes every time I buy a model), I am a production supervisor and machinist for a furniture grade PVC pipe company. Ever watch the dog contests on cable? All that pipe they use for jumps and slaloms, we probably made it.

I'm a member of the Polk Area Modelers Society in Lakeland, Florida, and I fly rockets with Tampa Tripoli Rocket Association. Specialize...heck, I'm a General Practitioner!

And, by the way...I'm the other Wayne Gray!