Ralph Nardone Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 I'm Ralph Nardone, I'm a modeler and stash builder....also an out of work avionics technican, but I'm working on correcting that. I'm currently living in the Upstate/Midlands area of South Carolina with my model-building wife and our rivet-counting feline. I was 8 or 9 years old when I was introduced to the hobby by my father--we built a Revell 1/32 F4F Wildcat on the kitchen table over the course of about a week. Dad built models--wood models--as a kid, he was bedridden with rheumatic fever and the models helped pass the time when he wasn't doing school work (I guess that means he was more or less home-schooled). He wasn't a fan of plastic models ("no challenge", he said), but he showed us (me and my younger brother) how to build 'em--and boy, did we build 'em! My brother built models for a while, then graduated to BMX and RC boats. I stuck with plastic, although I built a large-scale Guillow's Spitfire in around 1981 just to show the old man that I was capable of building a "real" model. My first "serious" model was a Monogram 1/72 B-52D that I got as a 10th birthday present in 1974--dang thing took TWO days to build! I discovered what "serious" models were in 1978 when I read my first issue if Challenge Publications' Scale Modeler. Before that, I had no clue about putty, airbrushes, and decal setting solutions. I had my eyes opened further in 1982, with the advent of FineScale Modeler. I went to college the same year, but built models throughout my 6 years of indentured studentude at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. I first joined IPMS/USA in the mid 1980's, but left when it became a matter of roof over my head or IPMS (this happened again in the early 1990's). I joined IPMS/Flight 19 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL in 1988, and by the time I moved to South Carolina in 2001, I had served as Chapter Contact, Chapter VP, Chapter Newsletter Editor, and Chapter President for seven years. Of course, with my duties as a Chapter Officer, I re-joined IPMS, and I've been a member (with small breaks in service of one or two months when I forgot to renew!) ever since. My first contest was an event my college roommate and I put together at E-RAU in 1983. I placed fourth with an Otaki George--the judges were the Officer Cadre from the AFROTC Detachment, so I didn't fare well against all the F-15's and F-16's on the table (First lesson--know your audience). I attended my first IPMS National Convention in 1999--I missed the Miami Convention in 1990 because I got called in to work on a 1:1 PBY. I think I'd have rather been at the convention. I've attended the Nationals when I've been able ever since. My interests are fairly cosmopolitan--in other words, I'll build pretty much anything as long as the subject intererests me. My main focus is aircraft of all kinds--1/144 and 1/200 airliners, 1/72 and 1/48 war planes, 1/24 and 1/25 automobiles, 1/700 and 1/350 ships, and 1/35 armor. I've been known to tackle a miniature or two as well; I tend to stick to the larger (90-120mm) sizes for those and most of mine depict combatants from the American Civil War (aka The War of Yankee Aggression :) ). On the bench at present is a 1/48 Revell A-10A, a 1/48 Hobbycraft A-4N, a Special Hobby 1/48 Macchi C.200, an Italeri 1/48 OH-13, and a 1/700 Dragon CVL-24 Belleau Wood (CVL-24) that I'm building as the USS Cowpens (CVL-25). The funny thing is that I mostly build jets and helicopters in 1/72 and ships in 1/350! The A-10 is for a former Myrtle Beach AFB Crew Cheif, and the Bell 47 was done for a former work landlord. The Cowpens is in 1/700 because I wanted to build a ship model without a lot of fuss. On deck are a pair of Tamiya 1/48 Block 52 F-16's for former work colleagues who serve with the South Carolina ANG. Ralph Alive and Well and Living In.... (let's see who gets that reference....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bun E. Carlos Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Hey Ralph................Good Job.......................BUT, if it's who I think it is (I won't give it away).......I saw "them" at the Chicago Stadium...........when "he" played a long version.....on one leg, standing like a MINSTRAL :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghodges Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Ah yes, Scale Modeler! You bring back memories Ralph! I remember when a buddy told me about it...."You mean there's a MAGAZINE? Just for plastic models?!!" I too was greatly inspired. Funny how your perspective changes over time. Those great looking models of the mid-70's in Scale Modeler had given way to the less than impressive builds in Stale Modeler by the time they closed down in the 90's! Glad to say I contributed to their downfall....Thanks for the trip down memory lane Ralph! GIL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Nardone Posted July 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Hey Ralph................Good Job.......................BUT, if it's who I think it is (I won't give it away).......I saw "them" at the Chicago Stadium...........when "he" played a long version.....on one leg, standing like a MINSTRAL :) I regret that I have never seen them live in concert--I would have loved to have see them around 1980 or so, although I understand that their more recent shows are fun, too. R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Nardone Posted July 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Ah yes, Scale Modeler! You bring back memories Ralph! I remember when a buddy told me about it...."You mean there's a MAGAZINE? Just for plastic models?!!" I too was greatly inspired. Funny how your perspective changes over time. Those great looking models of the mid-70's in Scale Modeler had given way to the less than impressive builds in Stale Modeler by the time they closed down in the 90's! Glad to say I contributed to their downfall....Thanks for the trip down memory lane Ralph! GIL Yep--I subscribed for 10 years (1978-1988), by which time you could get more out of the article by reading the photo captions. There were some minor improvements after that, and for a while in the early 1990's there was some good points--the regular vacform articles and conversions were nice to see. I do remember some of your articles--War Eagle A-4B or A-4C conversion, one of Farris Brown's Classic Castings kits, and a (IIRC) Wings BT-1 to name but a few. I came into a stack of back issues from the early years, and I am still amazed how the hobby has progressed from sticking the parts together to painting then sticking the parts together to sticking them together, filling the seams, and then sticking them together. Some of my favorite authors were Jordan Ross and Lee Scow--they had a way with model building that appealed to my tastes. It served to open my eyes to the advanced techniques that, once you learn them, become second nature. By the time they shut the magazine down, they were repeating articles with alarming frequency. R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bun E. Carlos Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 I regret that I have never seen them live in concert--I would have loved to have see them around 1980 or so, They were very good......this was around 73-74.........The Band was very tight and he was a madman :) No opening act...........I do remember how cold it was outside, there was a Blackhawk game that we were at, saw the line...........asked, "who's comin'?"...........the kid replied, "Tull." Needless to say, it was a long wait till 9am :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghodges Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Now there's a guy who was a decade (or two) ahead of his time...Farris Brown and Classic Castings 1/48 resin kits. I built the P-26 and the Tigercat. Both were EXCELLENT! I'm still trying to track down one of his A-17 kits and KICK myself for not buying one way back when.... The other guy ahead of the curve back then (the early 80's) was Chris of Medallion Models. His conversion and detail sets were very good. His 1/48 P-36 is still considered the best one available. I heard he got into doing car stuff and dropped all the a/c stuff. But what ever happend to Farris...? He could sell a TON of A-17's! It is still the only 1/48 one ever made (to my knowledge). Thanks for jogging the way back machine! GIL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Nardone Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Now there's a guy who was a decade (or two) ahead of his time...Farris Brown and Classic Castings 1/48 resin kits. I built the P-26 and the Tigercat. Both were EXCELLENT! I'm still trying to track down one of his A-17 kits and KICK myself for not buying one way back when.... The other guy ahead of the curve back then (the early 80's) was Chris of Medallion Models. His conversion and detail sets were very good. His 1/48 P-36 is still considered the best one available. I heard he got into doing car stuff and dropped all the a/c stuff. But what ever happend to Farris...? He could sell a TON of A-17's! It is still the only 1/48 one ever made (to my knowledge). Thanks for jogging the way back machine! GIL I managed to get the Classic Castings BT-13, but (as Maxwell Smart would say) "missed it by that much" on the A-17 and P-26--the Peashooter was Sold Out and he just sold the last A-17 when my order came in. His Tigercat came out close to the release of the AMT kit, IIRC, and you know what that means. In any case, he was a true gentleman and stood by his product. I don't know what became of him, but I believe he's still in Alabama. Funny story--Farris must have pulled the wing that wound up in my BT-13 kit and put it right into the packaging material, because the staple he used to close up the light foam sheet punched two neat holes right into the wing. They're easily fixed, but I did drop him a line to let him know. He offered to send me a new wing, but I told him that a bit of microballoons and soem CA would fix it nicely. I'm with you--I'd buy a 1/48 A-17 and an A-17A if it was a decent quality kit that didn't empty the bank account--two things, incidentally, that made Classic Castings' kits so attractive. Chris Etzell apparently isn't doing the cars any more. Shame, because he did kits of some of the legendary Indy cars. His stuff (both aircraft and automotive) were very, very nice indeed. I read something on one of the car digests that Chris now keeps a low profile.... I still have fun going through back issues of Scale Modeler and FineScale Modeler--you can gauge from the ads when the aftermarket stuff really kicked in, and you can see when the companies started to come out with someof the less-mainstream subjects by the disapearance of the "cottage industry" kits of the same subjects. It can be fun to read ads that don't have a URL in them somewhere. Also, the old Squadron ads were truly a time capsule--between the art and the prices, it makes you kinda nostalgic. R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimHortman Posted July 26, 2009 Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 Thanks for sharing Ralph! Best of luck with the job front (not too sure on things myself here in NEPA) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Nardone Posted July 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 Thanks for sharing Ralph! Best of luck with the job front (not too sure on things myself here in NEPA) Many thanks....it's tough out there. Ralph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimHortman Posted July 26, 2009 Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 I know! I've been working as a temp for a year and a half waiting for a full time job. I guess the good news is that most of the other temps have been let go & I am still working... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Nardone Posted July 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 I know! I've been working as a temp for a year and a half waiting for a full time job. I guess the good news is that most of the other temps have been let go & I am still working... I finally managed to land a part-time gig doing retail sales. It will at least get me out of the house for a few hours every day. I'm still looking for something F/T that has benefits; until then I'm thankful for a large tax refund, a lot of vacation pay, and the fact that my 401(k) didn't tank--without that, I'd be a hurtin' pup financially. This is the worst I've ever seen it in aviation, nobody's hiring unless you want to deploy overseas. Were I younger and single, I'd give it thought. Unemployment is a joke, too.... R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts