New Guy from Michigan

Hello, my name is Rudy, I am 34, married with a 10 year old daughter. I am a T-4 Paraplegic, and I am REALLY enjoying getting back into modeling seriously again. I started building around 8 or 9, building muscle cars and a few aircraft. I took a break until 2004, when I was injured and stated building cars and trucks again 1:24 and 1:25 mostly. I built about 15, mostly mopar at the time. I got back into the hobby a couple years ago, with a 1:48 B-17G from Revell (I think). I just finished a 1:72 (I prefer 1:48)P-38 Lightning that my dad picked up for me at a garage sale. It was pretty neat because it had a card in there for a contest in the 70's, you could win a Harley Enduro motorcycle, or a Custom Van... (groovy!) I painted D-Day invasion stripes, but the paint bled underneath so they didn't come out too good. This isn't ALL bad, as these stripes were mostly painted on in the field, and were not perfect. I am also building a Monogram PBY Catalina (1:48)as a gift for a friend who's dad served in the south Pacific on one that was a sub-hunter... I am also working on a Tamiya 1:35 M8 "greyhound" light armored car, my FIRST piece of armor, and my first Tamiya Kit. I look forward to trying my hand at weathering on this one. Also on the stack are a 1:48 De Havilland Mosquito fighter (also Tamiya) and a 1:48 B-29 superfortress (revell) and a 1:48 F4U Corsair. I look forward to seeing how the higher-priced Tamiya kits go together. I am also excited to build some larger armor, and a Ship soon, maybe a PT boat. Never built any ships yet. I also just got a Paasche Talon Airbrush, and a DR300 Air compressor. This is a VERY nice setup. I just clear-coated the P-38 with Model Master Flat Clear Lacquer. This was my first use ever of the airbrush (brave, or stupid, I know!) and I scoured high and low for the ratio to mix this clear and thinner, I ended up going 75% thinner and 25% clear, and this killed the flattening agent and came out glossy. I called Testors, and they had to put me on hold for a while to go find the correct ratio, which was 75% clear flat lacquer to 25% thinner, and it turned out great, and flat this time! While I still have quite a bit of (Mostly testors Model Master) enamels, I DO want to switch over to Acrylics, I know they can be a bit of work, and clog the airbrush, but I am willing to learn. The odors from the enamels, and all of the thinners used for everything are a bit much. I have a paint booth I made, but I need to put a better blower on it, and vent it to the outdoors. With better weather finally showing up here in Michigan, I can even paint outside some. I watched quite a few YouTube videos of guys using acrylics, I look forward to trying them, using windshield washer fluid for thinning and cleanup. I also saw one guy use a mixture of paint and future floor polish. I am also building a 41 Chevy pickup with my daughter, her first "skill level 2" using paint and glue. This is also a revell, and is a very nice kit. I really enjoy the magazine, and look forward to learning new tips and tricks, and meeting like-minded folks. I will try and get some pics of my work area, booth, and stuff I am working on. Thanks for having me! Rudy