Random thoughts

One of my favorite lines from one of my favorite movies: "Stop trying to hit me and hit me." I wrote about that idea recently—this nagging feeling that our hobby events are so focused on getting things right, on not upsetting anyone, on protecting what we have, that we've forgotten to actually swing. The opportunities are sitting right there in front of us and we're still standing in the same spot we've been standing in for thirty years. Let me be clear about something before we go further: this isn't a criticism of any show, any organizer, any club, or any person. I have genuine love for this community and the people who pour enormous energy into creating events. Running a model show is hard, thankless work and the people doing it deserve real credit. But I do this for a living. Community building is my profession. And when I look [...]

If you've been following along with my Clubmobile design/build project this year, you may be excited to buy your very own Clubmobile t-shirt! I have bought a bunch of shirts from this company and always like their output. As I write this, I'm wearing a very comfortable blue version of this very shirt!

It’s taken a few weeks or me to find the time to share my thoughts about the second Rocky Mountain Hobby Expo (RMHE) and the fantastic approach Scott Gentry and team have taken with this event. I truly believe their approach is the future of local scale model events. Doog shared his thoughts last year and in addition to a hardy “ditto!” to everything he said, I wanted to share my own experiences and thoughts too. RMHE is a different kind of show: You bring as many models as you want and put them in your spot on the table. No categories, all your models in one place. You have a big ass name plate that makes it wickedly easy to figure out who built what. The judges pick your “best” model, according to what they think is your best work and they judge just that one model on a  gold/silver/bronze [...]

I recently picked up a Glowforge Aura laser cutter/engraver, thanks to a smokin’ hot deal on Facebook Marketplace. It’s a small, entry level 5w diode laser. It does a great job for a great many things. It makes cutting things like MDF, basswood, paper, fiberboard, and even acrylic super easy. And overall the machine is well designed, the software good enough to be functional, and an all around fun experience. One of the reasons I wanted a laser cutter to fill out my holy triad of maker tools (FDM 3D printer, resin 3D printer, laser cutter) was to be able to cut my own stencils. I’d seen the 1 Man Army stencils and wanted to do the same stuff for my own custom and often offbeat projects. Unlocking the stencil game is a way to make life much much easier for custom paint and marking jobs. Obviously I wanted to use [...]

Let me first say that I’m a HUGE fan of the ecosystem of scale model podcasts. I truly appreciate the time and effort and energy all y’all podcasters are expending to bring us such fun, fulfilling content. In the last few years, I’ve gone from listening to a few modeling podcast episodes here and there to listening to at least some amount of modeling podcasts every couple of days. I've even had the distinct pleasure of being invited to be a guest on a number of shows. And as amazing as this podcasting experience has been, after a few years I find myself craving variety and innovation. I was thinking about some of my ideas and feedback points and captured a quick list. The Ideas Before I share any ideas, please know that I'm not necessarily saying anything that any podcaster hasn't already thought about. And this entire post will hopefully be [...]

NOTE: This page is under construction. Check back often! As usual our first thought was "when do we eat," and as if in answer to our thoughts, up rolled an American Red Cross Clubmobile with hot coffee and donuts. We were beginning to love the Red Cross, it seemed like whenever we needed coffee the most, they were on hand. When World War II erupted, the American Red Cross (ARC) sought innovative ways to support U.S. troops stationed overseas. Among their most impactful initiatives was the Clubmobile—a mobile service unit designed to bring a touch of home to soldiers on the front lines. These vehicles, converted from standard buses and trucks, became a symbol of morale-boosting support, offering fresh coffee, doughnuts, and a friendly American smile wherever they went. Why donuts and coffee? Because both were deeply "American", prompting an immediate sense of home. And both were relatively easy to make [...]

I had the absolutely honor of being invited onto the Small Subjects podcast with Barry and Jim, two great dudes creating a great show. The topic was "Artificial Intelligence and Modeling". It was a fascinating conversation and I would love to hear your thoughts about AI, the discussion on the podcast and AI + scale modeling in general. Are you using AI? If so, how? If not, why? To listen, grab the show on your podcast app of choice or play it below.   https://open.spotify.com/episode/2DZQnxlz3MsSol5ECbGso9?si=1lLqpmxRRp6RZVCgaS-AkA&nd=1&dlsi=a8e4371e9b384bbf

Ingredients for four dozen doughnuts 5 cups flour 2 cups sugar 5 tsp. baking powder 1 tbsp. salt 2 eggs 1¾ cup milk 1 tub of lard Powdered sugar Combine all ingredients (except for lard) to make dough. Thoroughly knead dough, roll smooth and cut into rings less than a quarter-inch thick Heat the lard, drop rings into hot lard, turning occasionally When browned, removed doughnuts and allow excess fat to drip off Dash with powdered sugar, let cool and enjoy.