Senior Gizmologist

Scales:

Anything from 1:5000 (Imperial Star Destroyer) to 5:1 (30.06 rifle cartridge) – if it interests me, I’ll build it in whatever scale is available/affordable/appropriate/fits on the shelf, although related models (Mercury, Gemini, Apollo) should be in the same scale.

Primary Eras/Subjects of interest:

19th Century to 25th Century…

Anything out of the ordinary.

Heavily tilted in favor of Real Space, Science Fiction, and aircraft, but sometimes most anything will get my attention… Scale rockets. Occasional dabbling in armor, cars, ships, subs. I like lighting things up, although that often turns into a Project with a capitol “P”. (The soldering iron is often right next to the liquid cement!)

I’ll build anything simple to complex if the subject matter piques my interest. I don’t like building specifically for contests or events, or to deadlines. If I build something and it turns out well, I’ll enter it in a contest. Otherwise, I’ll still enjoy it.

Special Interests:

Anything rare, bizarre, or out of the ordinary – Nobody needs more ME=109s, but ME-163s and F-82s qualify. Better yet, the Edgley Optica! Probably why I’m attracted to Sci-Fi subjects.

Awards:

Best Space/Science Fiction AND People’s Choice for my Pegasus Nautilus at Modelzona 2014. Many other awards.

Like many builders, I built my first model when I was about 12. It was a yellow hot rod of some sort with lots of chrome; the details are hazy. What stands out clearly, however, is the day of the week and the time of day. I used to live right behind University Hospital between Grant Road and Speedway (Yes, I’m a native Tucsonan!). In the 1970’s Tucson still had at least one functional air-raid siren, which was right across the street from my house, and was tested at 1 P.M. sharp, for one minute, every Saturday afternoon. It’s hard to concentrate on good model building when you’ve got 120 decibels blasting right outside your living room, and while the siren was going off, I managed to glue several parts together wrong. Hey, they fit together, they must go together, right? Fortunately, Dad, who was always my hero, pried the parts apart again with his ever-present pocket knife. I learned at least two things that day: Don’t try to do anything important while an air-raid siren is going off (Unless you’re seeking shelter), and always carry a knife (This was long before it became Gibb’s rule number 9 (NCIS), also long before it would get you expelled from school!). Also, read the instructions before starting. At least twice.