Wezra's Intro

[Wezra]

Hi All,

Finally got around to signing up having been browsing the forums for a couple of days marvelling at some of the work that goes on here!

Anyhow, myself, from the UK, live at the moment in a village in Buckinghamshire sort of smack bang in the middle of England geographically. Married with 3 boys (5 yrs, 3yrs and 7mths respectively) so get precious little time to anything personally but that's something I want to change!

Used to do loads of card modelling as a kid and have fond memories of the time you could still actually buy card models off the shelf in the UK from newsagents and stationers alike, alas they don't exist now but it seems the hobby has continued to evolve using the internet and modern printing methods, some of the available stuff form eastern europe looks amazing and I've already got myself an Orlik Spiteful/Seafang to have a bash at!

Though the amount of free models available on the net is amazing, that's what rekindled my interest, I was looking for some space shuttle pictures for my son's school project and came across AXM's amazing space shuttle models (http://www.axmpaperspacescalemodels.com) then a russian equivalent with rockets and the buran launchers, that was it I was hooked! Have printed off the amazingly accurate Columbra STS to build as a present for my eldest who is space mad at the moment. When I get some time, will post up some WIP's as I go along. Want to try and get it done before christmas this year!

Anyhow, enough rambling, nice to be hear, look forward to learning a bit more about the hobby again as I go along!

Cheers

Matt.

 

[Cybergrinder]

Hi Matt, welcome to the forum! (Yes! I beat Rhaven Black & Zathros to the welcome! )

I was born in the UK, in a little village called Burtonwood in Cheshire. I'm now living in Jo'burg, South Africa. I can identify with the time constraints, I have a (nearly) 6 year old daughter & (nearly) 2 year old boy.

I mention the UK bit because I can still remember a paper HMS Victory that I had back when was 6 & used to live in England!

This forum is great as it caters for all types of modelling, (plastic, paper, etc) and various "tastes" (sci-fi, cars, modern aircraft, everything!)

 

[zathros]

Welcome to Zealot, Matt. I think, from my experience, you will be having less and less time. You'll have to plan it. Let us know if there is anything we can do to be of service, and Welcome aboard!

 

[Wezra]

Cheers fella's. We only recently took the boys down to Portsmouth to see HMS Victory, though I think from a kid's point of view HMS Warrior was much more fun! You get a bit shuttled round Victory like cattle rather than the option to explore at leisure on the Warrior.

I've nearly finished setting myself up a little den and desk in the garage to work in, though already finding it is being used as a local dumping ground for all!

 

[Cybergrinder]

Hi Matt, I've never been on either ship, would love to go on Victory though. I know the feeling about having a "dedicated model space", my desk in our study regularly gets everything dumped on it. Then the wife needs to work & I get chased to the lounge or dining room....

 

[Wezra]

Sadly I didn't go on the victory, I was left looking after the youngest who's in a pushchair, no pushchairs allowed on the Victory. I went and had a mooch around the Nelson museum and had a look from a afar at HMS Illustrious (which was officially decommissioned the day we there !) and HMS Diamond which was in dock for maintenance. You don't really get how big modern warships are till you see them in the flesh! Here's a couple of pics of them. Was a bit of grey day!

HMS Illustrious


HMS Diamond


All in all a good day out, the tickets you get last for a year so we are gonna take them back to see the things we didn't get time to see last time around.

 

[Cybergrinder]

Wow, drool, I used to be in the Naval Cadets here in SA, which tried to groom schoolboys for the Navy as conscription was enforced back when I was in school (yes, the dark apartheid days), my motive was to get into the Navy, as opposed to the Army. (PM if you want more details on this )

So with that in mind, and that my Granddad served on a carrier in the Atlantic during WW2, I've always had an interest in naval things (especially RN).

I went to Simonstown (just outside Cape Town) during this spell and saw SAS Drakensberg (biggest ship in the SA Navy, she never leaves port due to constant breakdowns...)

Do you know where "Lusty" is going to be? (I understand that she is also going to become a tourist attraction?)

 

[zathros]

The "Illustrious" looks too damned clean and well kept to have been decommissioned. I hope not, but I believe that move will be regretted. It would have been perfect for the new generation of low cost fighters, that can deal with 80% of the world's countries, or a Helicopter, amphibious, Osprey aircraft type carrier. Oh well, none of my business. Maybe you can sell it to Scotland!!