Hello everyone, I'm Shannon and just joined with a family membership with my wife and two youngest sons (Connor and Ronan, 8 and 5 respectively; my oldest is away in college, he's 20). My wife and I are both active duty military officers. She is a Veterinarian and I am a Strategist (basic branch Civil Affairs, formerly Engineers). Last weekend we attended our first show in Richmond. The boys each built a model and entered it into the Juniors category. Connor built a 1:48 B-29 and Ronan a 1:110 SR-71 (which placed 2nd!). They had such a great time at the show that they want to go to another right away:) We left the show with a trunk full of kits, by the way. We will have no shortage for some time. As a treat for the boys, when we returned from the show I signed us all up as members of IPMS.
As a kid, I used to build quite a lot of models to include some balsa. Mostly aircraft. One of my favorites was a north sea oil platform I built when about twelve. I'm not sure - after seeing how amazing the builds looked at the Richmond show - that I will EVER be able to compete so I'll likely just stick to enjoying building with the boys and helping them with their entries (I don't cut, paint, or join parts, I only help find parts, give them poor advice, and keep them on track in the instructions. Oh, and make all of the purchases). I will be searching the forums in the next few weeks trying to figure out which glue is best, some simple detailing tricks for the boys, and maybe the ins and outs of airbrush sets. My 8 year old used the basic Testors airbrush set with his B-29 and didn't do too bad to the amateur eye (mine!). Both boys surprised me with their attention to detail and interest in building the kits. They are seriously chomping at the bit for their next kit build.
Anyways, I am looking forward to spending more time on the forums, learning more about techniques, and helping the boys progress with their new-found hobby!
