About Me

I am originally from the busy South Manchester suberb of Stockport in the UK but I now live in a much more tranquil coastal location on the island of Anglesey in North Wales.

 

The mid 1970's is where model making all began for me. I loved Lego as a child, so I suspect this was just a natural progression, only I got to cover myself in glue😁 IIRC the first kit I built was a 1/76 scale Lysander by the kit maker Matchbox purchased whilst on a beach holiday. I used to have weekly subscriptions to comics like Warlord and Battle (remember Charlies War?) and on every family holiday would get my hands on lots of the handy pocket-sized Commando books. As well as a love of the artwork I was always fascinated by all the military machines. So, on one occasion the opportunity to build an aircraft that featured regularly in these comics must have been eagerly taken up.

My local newsagent stocked mainly Matchbox 1/76 kits and is wasn't long before I had constructed all the kits that they regularily displayed. Along with a friend we soon discovered a local hobby shop and from then on in until adulthood I emersed myself in the world of scale modeling even joining a local hobby club. Incredibly I still have a few Airfix 1/32 figures and my first 1/35 tank, a Tamiya Tiger I.

1/32 Airfix German Infantry figure

 

Early 1970's Tiger I

So, forward some 35 years to 2010 and a chance encounter browsing a scale model publication in a shopping centre/mall had my passion for modelling re-ignited. Within a few weeks I had discovered a host of other publications and articles and hastily went about sourcing the ones that caught my eye.  I then realised that the fascination I had as a junior was mainly with all things WWII and especially anything German military. Some of the scale modelling articles, features and photographs I browsed online peaked my interest and I had to get engaged again.

Huge inspiration then came from many places including manufacturers catalogues, an Adam Wilder article, the Little Norway web forum, the Scratchmod website, and the Panzerwrecks series of publications amongst others. I was now itching to get started; but I had no models! I didn’t have a work space and I certainly didn’t have any tools, glues, paints or brushes. This was to be remedied immediately!

It didn’t take long to acquire the basics and with the help of a certain online bidding platform I had my first kit. It was a 1/35 Tamiya King Tiger. Even though this was a pretty ancient release I figured I would be better suited to this scale than the majority of smaller scale kits I had attempted to build in the past. 

I soon became a member of a few modelling forums and watched and learned which manufacturers were held in best regard. The information we can all obtain on the net is vast and there is an abundance of great advice from organisations and individuals alike.  I was however a little alarmed that the majority of these forum's always had a clique of outspoken individuals that constantly bemoaned, and unfairly criticised other members builds and new kit releases. It all seemed a little odd to me that they could get so worked up and vitriolic! 

I was attracted to individuals who were scratch building kits and those that had small business concerns, manufacturing kit upgrades and accessories. I liked the passion they had and the enthusiasm for researching particular vehicles that were not offered by any manufacturers.

I realised that many manufacturers offered the same vehicles so I began researching kits before making purchases. I found the Perth Military Modelling site invaluable. Although, as of writing, the site has not been updated for a long time I was glad to here that Terry Ashley has recently got back up and running again on Facebook. His reviews on the old site have great step by step build advice on many popular kits and a neat section showing all the upgrades and accessories available for any one vehicle. His site also offers advice on manufacturer errors, scale reproduction quirks and the relevant remedies available. Scalemates is another worthwhile site to access.

My first attempt at a soft skin (minus its steering wheel😁) Tamiya's Steyr 1500A (recently recaptured with better camera and software)

 

 

Although I only re-started scale modelling in late 2010 I am still very much learning on the job.  Although my eyes need plenty of visual assistance and the old eye to hand co-ordination is not what it used to be, I believe with a great deal of patience and perseverance I hope to achieve at least a fraction of the results of some of the well published and talented AFV modelers.