kiwiRKC

Decided its time to join up after seeing the thread covering Philippe Chauvin's absolutely amazing diorama of Spangdahlem AB - really inspiring and executed so realistically! I'm retired in sunny Italy but am originally from Aotearoa/New Zealand via the US (2 years at GMI in the early 70's) and Oz. 

I received the modeling bug from my dad, who used to bring me home an Airfix kit each payday back when I was 9 or 10, mainly WWII aircraft at first (this was the 1950's, after all) , but then the occasional jet and into my teens a few AFV's (1/48 Monogram - their Atomic Cannon was most impressive as I recall) plus 1/24-25 autos from AMT etc. Built lots of kits through those years, just a handful survived the many moves unfortunately. Once I started work  the modelling pretty much stopped until the early 90's when I was inspired back by Tom Clancy's "Red Storm Rising" and picked up a 1/144 scale Dragon Mig-29 kit during a business trip to London. Long story short, got back into modelling, joined an active IPMS club in NZ, recommenced purchasing kits "for retirement". 

Well, we retired in December 2010 but it's taken until the pandemic arrived to recommence! I started with the 1/200 scale kits before my eyesight and tactility begins to deteriorate and have almost completed all the 1/144 models as well, averaging one every 2/3 weeks taking account of research, scratchbuilding details and printing off custom decals. I still have around 155 models to go, majority in 1/72 with a few 1/48 & 1/32 then a handful of 1/35 AFV's and 1/25 autos