Hello MSW! I'm thrilled to have found this forum and am excited to connect with fellow modelers. My name is Josh, and I'm originally from Maryland, though now I live in Arizona, near Phoenix. That may be partly why I'm drawn to model ships, as they remind me of family day trips to the Chesapeake Bay, walking around Baltimore's inner harbor, or visiting the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. While I've spent very little time on actual boats, I love reading about naval history, especially some of the great fiction series, such as Hornblower by Forester, Master and Commander by O'Brian, and Ramage by Pope. So although I'm just a beginning modeler, I hope to try my hand one day at some of the classic sailing warships. For now, I'm in the middle of my first full build (the Sharpie Schooner by Midwest) and will go ahead and start a build log, welcoming any and all suggestions. I've already benefited from scanning through some other people's Sharpie builds, so I'm excited to learn more and improve. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post, as I currently work full time, still have young kids at home, and am one year into a doctoral program. But when I do find a few minutes to work on the model, I find it to be a welcome break. Hope to connect with you in the chats!