I've been a FSM subscriber off and on for about sixteen years and have been building models (off and on) for about twenty. I first got back into the hobby (didn't we all build when we were kids?) after my daughter and I had gotten off the StarWars shake and puke ride down at Disney World. Exiting the ride spit us into the 'store' and a Snow Speeder kit caught my eye. I took it home to Colorado Springs and promptly built it. Well, not promptly. I had to collect paints, brushes, an airbrush and compressor, tools, on and on, well, you all know. I was fairly happy with my results until I compared it to other works. Ah, well.
I built a couple of other SW models and then moved on to WWII armor and some WWII and contemporary aircraft. I've built a lot of kits over time and have just recently begun trying my hand a dioramas after a layoff of five years or so. And that's primarily why I've come into this forum, to collaborate with other diorama folks on best techniques for various aspects of the art.
Patrick Ryer