We all have our own story that makes up who and what we are. I was born into a British Armed Forces family in West Germany, as it was then, in 1971. I cannot remember how old I was, but I recall picking up a red plastic Airfix Gnat from our local NAAFI. The only other thing I remember was that the kit was in a bag! When the film Star Wars came out in 1977, my friends and I wanted to make the sci-fi models that were becoming available, and then in 1980 when the whole of West Germany seemed to become one big military exercise area as Crusader 80 kicked off, we all started making Tamiya tanks. The tank thing has never really left me and certainly was the only area of the hobby I was interested in when I myself joined the Army for five years. The next modelling chapter of my life came in my final year at Theological College when my wife decided I needed a hobby for a bit of escapism and proceeded to go out and buy me a Tamiya Mini Cooper! Sandra has continued to encourage me in this area ever since and as long as the models aren't too big or dirty looking, she is happy. Perhaps the greatest turning point in my modelling life came in December 1994 whilst ministering in the Aldershot area. It was at this juncture that my local model shop introduced me to the International Plastic Modelling Society (IPMS) club held at Farnborough, at which I was exposed to a great variety of modelling interests and skills.
