Riguardo a me

Nome:: Claude Nolen
Soprannome (Nickname):: Buford
Nazione:: Stati Uniti d'America
Cittadina:: Key West, FL
Membro da:: March 19, 2022
Comunità:: scalemates.com (Scale modeling)
papermates.net (Paper modeling)
gundammates.com (Gundam modeling)
railwaymates.com (Train modeling)
diecastmates.com (Diecast models)
rcmates.net (RC modeling)

I live in paradise, but am originally from the great state of Virginia. My other big hobby is motorcycling. To lesser degrees of insanity I also collect fountain pens and action figures. I suppose I'm a typical late-Boomer nerd; complete with long-suffering wife, three grown children and enough dogs to field a sled team.

I returned to this hobby after forty years away. In the late 70’s and early 80’s I remember enjoying building lots of models. I was always a World War II buff, so it was a natural fit. Some of the kits I remember building included the Bismarck, the USS Constitution, a Japanese Zero, a WWII Jeep, a P-39, an F-105, an M3 Halftrack, a Sherman tank, a King Tiger and a Flakpanzer IV. I’d imagine most of these were Tamiyas, Monograms or Revells. Ground equipment was 1/35 scale. My dad helped me build a rudimentary diorama featuring the armor (and the Tamiya Panzer Grenadiers). There was also a car model thrown in there too. I think it was the AMT '40 Ford Coupe. I thought my work was excellent, but I’m sure that by any standards it was horrible. Sadly, I’m sure that all those childhood models were thrown away.

During my time away from models I went to a military college (VMI) and served a dozen years in the Army. First in Air Defense Artillery and then in Intelligence.

In my late 50’s the Russian/Ukrainian war rekindled my interest in military equipment and models. YouTube videos about the hobby stoked my excitement.

My initial plan was to have a dog-fight diorama hanging in my bedroom between Ukrainian and Russian jets. I purchased about five 1/48 scale kits and collected tools and supplies. The initial batch was a MiG-29A (Academy), SU-34 (Hobby Boss), MiL-24D (Revell) and a bunch of pilot figures. For giggles I also got a 1/48 kit that included a T-90A and a GAZ Tiger (Suyata). I sort of like to keep everything within the same scale. Focusing on aircraft seemed to be the best plan. I could hang the models up and they’d take up no space and be safe from the destructive forces of dogs or random thrown objects.

I saw a YouTube video where a guy advised to start with a simple kit if you’re returning. I wish I had listened to him! When I opened the MiG-29A kit I was absolutely freaked out by how small the parts were. I tried to remember the aircraft I had built as a kid (which I thought were 1/48), and I thought they had to have been larger models! I would later watch a YouTube video about the history of model companies and realize that the Zero and the P-39 I remembered so well were probably 1/32 kits (Revell, in the case of at least the Zero). In the forty years I had been away from models my vision had gotten worse, and my fingers larger, less steady and less nimble. I started the MiG, but it was truly a frustrating nightmare. I knew that I’d have to come up with a different plan.

I decided to focus on 1/35 scale armor. Specifically, I’m in to building Soviet, Eastern Bloc and Russian armor.