I just happened to drop into this section today. Caught up on reading the posts. Let me say Welcome to a new forum member.
Doog - Now that I am reading FSM and getting same on a regular basis, I was always wondering who was doing the fantastic work and article(s). Great to put a face to an extremely talented person.
From my modeling, I model on the principal (at least at this stage), build for your enjoyment, if you like the finished model and did your best, that is what counts. Learn from the first and improve slowly. Build for your relaxation and enjoyment.
A word of wisdom from an old geezer , PaPa-John: The young can learn from the older (and sometimes wiser, but not always), and the older (I mean, matured) can learn new things from the younger as they can be quite brilliant and innovative in their own way. We can learned from each other, it is being open minded and willing to accept new ideas from young and old. Resistance to change is the biggest stumbling block in all walks of life.
95 percent of the people are decent people and the other 5 percent, well I'll leave it at that. My previous line of work proved this to me. Just consider the source (CTS) and don't fret it, life is too short and precious.
Enjoy life to the fullest, strive to do the best you can. The forum is a happy meeting place for everyone. It pulls people together from around the world who have a common interest, modeling, no matter what genre of plastic you like to glue, kitbash or dream up a new creation. We are what we dream.
Toast to the forum and magazine.
PaPa-John