[COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]Greetings one and all.
As yet another refugee from, ahem, 'the other forum' (recently defunct) I thought I should introduce myself here.
I suspect some of my story will be familiar to many on this site.
Born in ’68 I started out with Airfix planes and Matchbox tanks before – at the tender age of 9 – Francois Verlinden opened up my eyes to the wonderful world of Tamiya, 1/35 scale and dioramas. When I was 13 I entered my first competition (a Stug III diorama at the Model Engineering Exhibition at Wembley) and I was thrilled to win a bronze medal in the Junior class. A couple of years later I returned with a part scratch-built Sdkfz 7/1 flakvierling halftrack diorama and managed a silver in the Adult class. I also entered the same model at the very first Euromilitaire (no medals there I'm afraid).
Of course, other distractions soon appeared. Although it is traditional for people to mention girls at this point, in my case it was music that took over. I was in a band, which everyone thought was extremely cool, whilst model making (even in the 1980s) was seen as exactly the opposite. So by my mid-teens my remaining models, tools, etc were in the loft. Over the years I used to sneak a look at modelling magazines in WH Smiths from time to time, but it was merely a ‘guilty pleasure’.
Then I had two sons. As soon as they were old enough I introduced them both to the magical world of model kits and they took to them with much enthusiasm - and more skill than I had ever mustered at their age. I started taking them to model shows: MAFVA at Duxford (now St Ives), Euromilitaire at Folkestone (now reincarnated as Euro Minature Expo) and Scale Model World at Telford. They soon got the competition bug and between them got quite a tally of medals.
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Needless to say, all this left me wondering where I still fitted in! So I decided to re-embrace the hobby I had left over 30 years ago. My first 1/35 project since I was 15 is a diorama called ‘Liberation, Italy 1944’. It depicts an Italian hill village just after it has been over-run by the Allies during that long, hard slog up the peninsula. I had been posting a blog on the ‘other forum’, but since this has now vanished I am going to start anew in the Dioramas section[COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]here. For those who saw it elsewhere I hope you will forgive me if I begin with a recap of the progress to date…[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]Anyway, I am looking forward to becoming an active member of this friendly forum.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)][ATTACH]300914[/ATTACH][/COLOR]
As yet another refugee from, ahem, 'the other forum' (recently defunct) I thought I should introduce myself here.
I suspect some of my story will be familiar to many on this site.
Born in ’68 I started out with Airfix planes and Matchbox tanks before – at the tender age of 9 – Francois Verlinden opened up my eyes to the wonderful world of Tamiya, 1/35 scale and dioramas. When I was 13 I entered my first competition (a Stug III diorama at the Model Engineering Exhibition at Wembley) and I was thrilled to win a bronze medal in the Junior class. A couple of years later I returned with a part scratch-built Sdkfz 7/1 flakvierling halftrack diorama and managed a silver in the Adult class. I also entered the same model at the very first Euromilitaire (no medals there I'm afraid).
Of course, other distractions soon appeared. Although it is traditional for people to mention girls at this point, in my case it was music that took over. I was in a band, which everyone thought was extremely cool, whilst model making (even in the 1980s) was seen as exactly the opposite. So by my mid-teens my remaining models, tools, etc were in the loft. Over the years I used to sneak a look at modelling magazines in WH Smiths from time to time, but it was merely a ‘guilty pleasure’.
Then I had two sons. As soon as they were old enough I introduced them both to the magical world of model kits and they took to them with much enthusiasm - and more skill than I had ever mustered at their age. I started taking them to model shows: MAFVA at Duxford (now St Ives), Euromilitaire at Folkestone (now reincarnated as Euro Minature Expo) and Scale Model World at Telford. They soon got the competition bug and between them got quite a tally of medals.
[/COLOR]
Needless to say, all this left me wondering where I still fitted in! So I decided to re-embrace the hobby I had left over 30 years ago. My first 1/35 project since I was 15 is a diorama called ‘Liberation, Italy 1944’. It depicts an Italian hill village just after it has been over-run by the Allies during that long, hard slog up the peninsula. I had been posting a blog on the ‘other forum’, but since this has now vanished I am going to start anew in the Dioramas section[COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]here. For those who saw it elsewhere I hope you will forgive me if I begin with a recap of the progress to date…[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]Anyway, I am looking forward to becoming an active member of this friendly forum.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)][ATTACH]300914[/ATTACH][/COLOR]
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