Long time modeler, first time poster...
Greetings:
I'm new to the FineScale forum, but my modeling experience predates FineScale Modeler magazine! In the early '80s, I worked in one of the more well-known hobby shops in the midwest. My kit collection has seen its ebbs and tides over the decades. I'm currently trying to focus on two main subjects: real spacecraft/X-planes/research aircraft; and Porsche racing cars, with a main focus on the 917 and 956/962.
My loving partner and I have a small commercial studio/shop space 1.05 miles from the house. She's set up for her various art interests (painting, tile mosaics, medieval art recreations) while I have carved out a spot for doing my hobbies, to include my return to a model builder, as opposed to a model buyer. We've also reserved about a third of the space for dancing.
I'm in the process of setting up a dedicated modeling area, with a spray booth, operating-theater-candlepower-like lighting, tools and reference material ... you know - the stuff we all say we're going to do, but somewhere in the midst of the 15th unfinished Tamiya 1/48 P-47 realize that it's just Not. Going. To. Ever. Happen.
Also, I have a little bar in the shop. I think that if I had discovered the calming influence of Scotch when I was 8, my Airfix 1/72 baggie-kits would have turned out much better. I probably wouldn't have, but the planes surely would have.
Thus concludes my ham-fisted introduction, which I trust will withstand the scrutiny of The Moderators.
Ciao,
Bolt