I enjoy the research part of modeling, delving into all the minute details before you start the actual building (but never enough to avoid the inevitable screw ups, it seems!). Another reason I like to do a particular ship is that it just makes the whole thing seem more ... personal, I guess.
So it was with my recently-completed APA build, which I finished as the USS Lenawee, APA-195, mainly for the cool Measure 32 camouflage scheme. While doing the research I discovered her former crew had a reunion planned for October, so I sent a few photos of the completed diorama, which showed the Lenawee in San Francisco getting ready for her first WW II deployment, along with a note thanking all of them for serving their country in whatever war or conflict they had served in.
The reunion organizer was kind enough to send me an e-mail afterwards, which said in part, "Your pictures were a big hit at the reunion and drew a lot of interest, particularly from the men assigned to the Peter boats ... Thanks so much for thinking of us." Which made me feel very, very humble, indeed.