Hello everyone. Time to kick off this blog. My mission in creating it was firstly, to talk about models I am working on and post pictures of them when possible. It was also meant to be a forum for me to talk about the difficulties and joys that have come from this hobby and living in a rural northern community. So by way of introduction let me give you a bit of my story.  I have been a long time fan of model building. I began to build models when I was six or seven. I barely had a clue what I was doing but it satisfied a need inside me so I was very quickly addicted. Model building was therapeutic for me. It was a release from loneliness. My parents had pulled me out of the school system when I was 7. so I had little interaction with other children my age. Because my parents considered themselves devout Jehovah's witnesses. I was allowed little interaction with "Worldly" children. Add to that the fact that my mother was emotionally abusive to all the children and my Father. You can see why it became a passion.  The first models I recall building, where a Comanche helicopter, a Dornier Arrow, and A Kingfisher. I also had one of a German night bomber with the radar antennas, but I don't recall what it was called. I continued building different kits on occasion but I had no particular interest in scales or kinds of models. I did find that cars where really not something that I enjoyed building. My older brothers where car fanatics, and all of them had built numerous car kits. For me aside from the occasional car. It was not for me. When I was 13, I met one of my older brothers friends. He was the same age as me, and he had begun to amass a collection of  1/72 aircraft and 1/35th scale tanks.  He also built models of spacecraft  like the Enterprise from TV and the movies. I was impressed with the intricacy of some of the models he had. He was also into modeling battle damage on his vehicles, something I had never really considered doing before. Thus began, what for the next couple of years would be a strange mix of collaboration and competition for us.  We would build the same or similar kits, then we would get together and compare the results. Eventually we drifted apart as friends. Eventually he lost interest in model building altogether. When I saw him in my twenties he told me he hadn't touched a kit for years. I continued building voraciously into my early twenties. For a long while I restricted myself to  sci-fi  kits alone. I began to falter during that time. College was an intense experience. A whole new group of friends and a busy study schedule left me little time to enjoy the hobby. I also began to experience a degree of shame for being a model builder ( The same applied to being a miniature wargamer  as I would soon find out ). Most of my friends where aware of my hobbies. Some of them thought it was really cool. However a large number of my peers thought it was childish. It was difficult to get a date with girls who thought I was immature because I played with toy solders and built models. Many young men my age would advise me to "Man up" and quit playing with toys. By my mid to late twenties I had had begun to drift away from the hobby, more to wargaming. I would still buy the occasional kit with the intent of building it. I would usually get it partially built and forget about it, or convert it to a wargaming piece for a popular sci-fi game I played. I was very guarded when I met people and they asked if I had any hobbies and would  avoid the the subject. At 35  I found my wife. My attitude about my hobbies began to turn around. She worked at a local pet and hobby shop. I had known her for a number of years as I went in with friends to buy paints and supplies. She also belonged to the local gaming club that I had helped to found a few years earlier. She was supportive of me. She far preferred me wargaming and building models, over drinking and womanizing.  She could also empathize, because she had faced the same kind chastisement for collecting dolls and gaming. Fast forward 15 years. We have 3 wonderful kids The oldest. My son has Autism spectrum, but is very high functioning. He has an avid interest in electronics and Nerf guns. My oldest daughter seems to be taking up the mantle as a model builder, and has developed an interest in Anim'e kits. Specifically Gundams.  My younger daughter, of course wants to do the same things as her sister. She is demanding to build Gundams just like her sister. We will see if the bug takes or not. So in a nutshell that's my story so far. If anyone reads this I would like you to comment. Did you have similar experiences? How important is the hobby for you? I like to hear from you.

Cheers.
George.
Ps. here are some photo's  of some of my completed kits.