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Here's My Story...Keith Pruitt


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1967 or so…My first modeling experience…Frankenstein from Aurora's "Monsters of the Movies series"…purchased in Fambro's Five & Dime in beautiful downtown Canton GA…went on to build most of the series…Wolfman, Dracula, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Mummy, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dr. Jekyll as Mr. Hyde, Phantom of the Opera…even the Guillotine, which was eventually removed from the market for "being too gruesome"…at a buck or so each, what a bargain!!

 

 

1968…Started on Hot Rods & Customs…Red Baron, Boot Hill Express, etc. Built an occasional "regular" model car or an airplane, usually in a lovely shade of lime green…if I painted it at all! Got into the Aurora figures again, this time Superman, Spider-Man, Captain America…

 

1970…A family friend gave me a grocery bag full of paperback books, including a tattered copy of "1001 Model Airplane Ideas" without a cover...well, I was inspired to start building airplanes…jets and props, the Revell 1/72 "Fighting Deuces Series" (Tempest vs '109, Corsair vs Zero)…a few real space things (LEM, Command Module, "spacewalking" Gemini Astronaut model)…moved to the Aurora WWI fighters…built the Albatros, DVII, Sopwith Camel, SE5a, Nieuport 17… and an occasional car model…

 

1972 or so…Parents dragged me Christmas shopping for my new nephew, to Lionel Leisure City in Doraville, GA…and there, inside this gigantic toy store, was a full blown Hobby Shop!! I discovered the 1/48 Monogram WWII fighters, and built them all through high school. Also, I found Revell's 1/28 WWI Fighters (Sopwith Camel, Fokker Dr.I, and SPAD XIII) and 1/32 WWII fighters (P-51B, P-47D, Fw190D, P-38)…Again, an occasional car model…particularly when I got close to 16 and started getting interested in cars.

 

1976 or so…Dropped out of the hobby after high school, going through the college years…

 

1980…After college, I got married…and, on a rare occasion, I would build a model car, if something really caught my eye…

 

1982...graduated from Chiropractic College and opened my practice...that kept me really busy for the next few years!...and still does!

 

1987…Found FineScale Modeler magazine, December 1987 issue…subscribed, and bought all of the available back issues. Starting building anytime that I could find the time…a few airplanes, an occasional car, not much…but I read the magazine religiously, and wished I could build models like those guys could…(Steinbrunn's article in that first issue was a huge inspiration…Robert Scott's P-40E "Old Exterminator")…

 

1992…Wife and I split up, ugly story…started back building Muscle Cars, primarily as cheap entertainment…kits were readily available at local department stores, easy reference material in the Hot Rod magazines on the newsstand (no internet service back then)…with no airbrush, rattle cans held the basic colors I could use…occasionally built something different (airplane, dinosaur, etc) just to break the monotony…

 

1993…Did a one day at the Atlanta IPMS Nats, just to see what that was like…basically, it scared the crap outta me…Woof, could I ever be THAT good???...probably not, so why bother joining IPMS?…

 

1997…Backed out of the hobby again, due to lack of time…had re-married, my "honey-do list" was a mile long, practice was booming, got involved in community service organization (Optimist International)…and so on…

 

2004…Stopped by a friend's house for the first time, even though we had known each other for a few years…the shelves in his home office were lined with 1/72 model aircraft…the fever hit again, and since I always loved aircraft, that's the direction I took…

 

Spring 2005… Hobbytown USA opened near my home…saw a flyer about a Modeling Club trying to form, and I got involved with the club. Did another one day visit at the Nats in Atlanta, with my friend that built the 1/72 fighters. I joined IPMS in late 2005...

 

Fall 2005…Entered my first contest, the local Hobbytown USA Contest…we finally got our five IPMS members together, and received our charter, IPMS/Georgia Mountain Modelers… left a meeting early to pick up office supplies, and was elected President...and still am.

 

2006…Started concentrating on gaining & improving skills, getting the right tools for the job, and becoming a better modeler…got my first airbrush, and I'm still trying to figure out to use the darned thing (LOL!).

 

2007… Joined the Reviewers Corps…mainly because one friend, already a member of the Corps, just wouldn't stop nudging me in that direction…and I've had a blast with it, lots of fun and some good challenges that allowed me to learn even more…

 

2008…First time to participate in what I would call "serious" competition…attended two shows/contests that year (one of them was IPMS)…couple of awards (no bests, no firsts)…lots of good times and fellowship…actually had a couple of people pay me (real money!) to build a model for them, and how cool is that?

 

2009…Still here, still building. Am I getting better?...maybe. G-S-B or 1-2-3?...Doesn't matter that much to me. I enter to participate and support, visit my old friends, and make some new ones. Am I going to bring home a "Best of Show" trophy?...probably not. Did I ever bring home a "First Place" trophy?...yes, actually won two at the Region 3 Contest in June. I was approached, and encouraged, to run for an IPMS National Office...don't know if I'm ready to take on anything like that. Am I going to have some fun?...as much as I can, and when I can.

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Your story seems very typical in that we all seem to have been intimidated by IPMS the first time round. As for Steinbrun inspiring model builders; I too am a BIG fan of his! I've never seen anyone as prolific AND who still also manages to detail things to te nth degree! If you're out to have fun, then you've got your priorities straight! Thanks for the bio!

 

GIL :smiley16:

 

 

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Thanks, Gil, Michael, and Mandie!

 

Nice to meet ya Keith, so you were that strange looking guy wandering around the Nats in Atlanta...LOL :smiley17:

In 1993, yes...in 2005, I was with my friend...he was the strange looking guy!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Hiya Keith,

 

Nice to have you on board with the group. Great to see that you have a lot of diversity in your modeling history. Looking forward to seeing some of your work in the forums or gallery.

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Thanks, Keith and Jack!

 

I've had a couple of finished build threads here and there...and a couple of gallery submissions in the last year or so. Had a few on the old forum that were lost, but can't remember what they were to post them again.

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That's quite an into Keith! Thanks for sharing your info!

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