Interest	Scale	Specialty
Autos & Trucks	1/24 & 1/25	Pre-1971, but I am also attracted to some of the modern sports cars as well as the World Rally cars.
Motorcycles	1/12 & 1/9	Any era.
Military Vehicles	1/35	Non-tracked vehicles.
US Coast Guard (ships & aircraft)	Any scale	Any era.
All time favorite model built		Lindberg USCG tug boat

I build automotive primarily (cars, motorcycles, trucks, and military vehicles [non-tracked]). I am also partial to USCG subject matter (ships & planes).

I attended my first IPMS contest in June of 1995 and promptly began my collection. I purchased about 50 kits at that show, with my wife's permission and encouragement. I have attended five IPMS Nationals and plan on attending the 2007 Nationals in Los Angeles. I've never been to contest I didn't enjoy.

My all time favorite kit was one of a USCG tug boat. The kit was manufactured by Lindberg in the early '90's. Since then I have learned it was a generic tug with USCG decals -- oh well. My wife bought a car from a salesman who happened to also be a modeler. I met him in a hobby store (my wife recognized him) and we began talking models. I said that I like CG subjects and he mentioned the tug; I offered to buy it that day. After 6 months of aggravating him, he finally decided to trade me. I traded a model that was almost 30 years old for the tug. Good things come to those who wait!

MY WORKSHOP

In the fall of 1990, I suffered a spinal cord injury and after years of trying other rehabilitative measures, my wife suggested I try modeling (1995) since I had built models in the early years of our marriage. I began building models again and it soon became apparent that my daughter's former bedroom was not large enough. My wife decided she was tired of getting wet while going to her vehicle and came up with the idea of converting the original garage to a hobby room and adding a 20 x 20 garage for her. I have managed to actually acquire approximately 75 sq ft in "her" garage for myself. I am very fortunate to have such an understanding and supportive wife.

In the fall of 2004 while in my hobby room, I fell and broke my hip. This occurred due to tripping over a power cord and compressor cord. While in the hospital and rehab, I decided a renovation was in store. This is the result of several months of planning.

I am an avid Carolina fan and I have some memorabilia that I wanted to incorporate into my hobby room. I like all my toys around me. The UNC logo on the wall is one that I painted after transferring the image on to the wall.

I have my wall of fame. I have displayed the National, Regional and Special awards. You know what they say, "It ain't bragging if it's fact". I have two work benches, one is my work station and the other an assembly table. The assembly table began life as my wife's work bench. She quit working and I took back the table. It is a one half scale model of my work station and as you can see the work station also doubles as an overflow storage bench (both on top and below).

I upgraded my spray booth with some tips from John Ratzenberger (Thanks, John for the input). I store my compressor inside the cabinet and feed both the power cord and air hose through the side. The air hose hooks up to the moisture trap and regulator with the power cord plugging into a power strip that is attached to the side of the booth. By doing this I have eliminated my trip hazard. This is not to say, however, I won't fall again, but it won't be because of those cords. When I am ready to paint, I just flip a switch. As an added precaution I have vented the booth to the outside.


I have my completed models on display and the cabinets contain the "to be built" kits. They are stored two deep but I do have an accurate inventory (approximately 203) when searching for the next kit to build. This also includes some kits which are stored under my work bench (wooden boat kits) and some in my bedroom closet. I took an old dresser and converted it specifically for use when building my wooden boats.

ARTICLES

AMPS-2007 Trip Report & Photos

Aberdeen Proving Grounds Photos

Kitbashing a 1955 Chevy Stepside Pick-up

My Third Trip to Nationals

Painting and Polishing - How I Achieve a High Gloss Finish

1/35 CMK Volkswagen Type 83 Ambulance

Kitbashing a Ford C600 COE Stakebed Truck

GALLERY PHOTOS

More of Andy's models are in Gallery PART 2.

SUBJECT Renault 4CV MANUFACTURER IMAI SCALE 1/20	SUBJECT Coast Guard Boat MANUFACTURER -- SCALE 1/20	SUBJECT VW Delivery Van MANUFACTURER Hasegawa SCALE 1/24
SUBJECT VW Pickup MANUFACTURER Hasegawa SCALE 1/24	SUBJECT VW Delivery Van MANUFACTURER Hasegawa SCALE 1/24	SUBJECT 1955 Chevy MANUFACTURER Revell & AMT SCALE 1/25
SUBJECT Catalina Catamaran MANUFACTURER Scratchbuilt SCALE ??	SUBJECT GAZ-AA (1930's) MANUFACTURER Toko SCALE 1/35	SUBJECT -- MANUFACTURER -- SCALE --
SUBJECT '97 VW MANUFACTURER Tamiya SCALE 1/24	SUBJECT Ford GPA MANUFACTURER Tamiya SCALE 1/35	SUBJECT '48 Chevy MANUFACTURER Galaxie SCALE 1/24
SUBJECT 1950 Ford Flatbed MANUFACTURER Monogram SCALE 1/25	SUBJECT C-130B MANUFACTURER Revell SCALE 1/144	SUBJECT M38A1 MANUFACTURER Skybow SCALE 1/35
SUBJECT Ford C-600 MANUFACTURER AMT SCALE 1/25	SUBJECT -- MANUFACTURER -- SCALE --	SUBJECT -- MANUFACTURER -- SCALE --
SUBJECT VW Type 83 Ambulance MANUFACTURER CMK SCALE 1/35	SUBJECT VW Cargo MANUFACTURER CMK SCALE 1/35	SUBJECT -- MANUFACTURER -- SCALE --
SUBJECT '56 Chevy Nomad MANUFACTURER Revell SCALE 1/25	SUBJECT -- MANUFACTURER -- SCALE --