Happy 4th of July, everybody, I hope you are doing well. I'm excited to be here with you.
Quick intro, as that is what this is for. I built quite a few models as a kid, and watched my father get very deep into his father's war books and replicated darn near every Tamiya war model in existence, so he was my early inspiration, of course. My first car was a little 32 split window Ford with flames on the hood, and I'd dabble in some war stuff and Tamiya race cars motorcycles, etc. At some point i think i had a ship model, but i vaguely remember the sails being a bit more than i could bite off and lost interest as a younger kid. Sadly, dad passed away on new years day this year after a year and a half long fight with cancer, so getting back into modeling seems like my inner self wanting to stay connected. He was an amazing man, and is greatly missed. Oddly enough, I received a very small wooden row boat model he must've made and held onto, and that'll go right on my bench along with his mug which I may use to hold clothes pins or something like that.
For the last couple years, however, I've been looking for a new hobby. I've looked at lists of thousands, but nothing has hit. My search always includes 'the most complex' or 'the most unusual' or the most 'detail oriented' hobbies, so I hope this is the right fit for a number of reasons. (Falconry, lock picking and woodworking were on the list).
I'm coming up on 12 years in the Navy (enlisted) this December, and that tie for me really makes ships and their history so much more meaningful. I've served aboard USS Essex (LHD 2) and USS Tripoli (LHA 7), loving my time at sea, but also enjoying the glory of shore duty now as an instructor teaching the new generation my job.
My other hobbies include keeping a sizeable plant and cactus collection, reptiles (2 burmese pythons, 1 carpet python, 1 Argentinian tegu, and 1 blue tongue skink), guitar (metal 🤘), and hiking and mountain biking.
So far I've spent quite a bit of time watching videos on YouTube, mostly about planking as that seems to be the most critical skill, among others, to nail down 😉. I crave detail-oriented stuff, and the idea of planking to perfection and mastering that has me very excited, almost more than the rest for now. The lady who inspired me on YouTube is named Olha, I'm sure you've seen her work. Additionally, a gentleman named Tom who makes phenomenal stop motion videos, is the one who inspired my first build, which took a great deal of time to decide on, mainly because I so badly, like so many others, wanted to build a big ship first. While I have read that the bigger ships size wise can be easier to manage, the Black Pearl seemed not the best first choice. I love the pirate stuff, so hopefully I can get to a ship like that - crawl, walk, run.
Anyhow, the first ship I actually got on ebay around midnight this morning is the HM Cutter Lady Nelson 1800, Victory Models by Euromodels & Amati, 1:64 scale. I'm very excited to get into it, acquire a new set of tools and brushes, take it slow, and learn as much as I can about what I hope is a hobby that can be fulfilling for years to come, especially after the Navy, too.
Sorry if that was a longer intro - drink to the foam!
Chris