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John Ratzenberger


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I am retired US Army, living in Nags Head on the Outer Banks of NC.

 

I have been modeling, more or less continuously, since I was 6-ish, somewhere around 1951. My first kit was a wooden stagecoach, gotten I think with some number of box tops. I have had various interests in all these years -- covering a range of plastic subjects and kits and flying or floating wooden models. My time at the workbench has ebbed and flowed with real life.

 

I have long been interested in history and have over 1800 books in my personal library. Modeling and history go pretty much hand-in-hand and I enjoy doing research on each model subject even if I use little of it when building the model -- sometimes just resolving conflicting information provides more satisfaction than anything. Despite all this I am not a "rivet counter".

 

In the last half-dozen years, my interests have pretty well stabilized on British WW1 to early-WW2 aircraft with a smattering of British and US artillery, soft-skinned vehicles, and ships thrown in. I have no particular preference for scale or media and my subject selection is varied -- things I like or that catch my fancy.

 

I enjoy contests, but rarely enter them -- my modeling skills "peaked" years ago and I have little desire to improve them -- it's my model and I'll do what I want and the ten foot viewing rule applies regardless.

 

I joined IPMS sometime back in the mid-70's, dropped out after a half-dozen years, then rejoined as I got near retirement. I believe IPMS to be important to the hobby because the structure it provides allows local, regional, and national events that would not otherwise happen. For that reason I have decided to be active in the Society, just to give something back.

 

My club is Eastern Carolina Plastic Modelers in New Bern, NC, where I am the Webmaster and Chapter Contact. I am a National Judge, a member of the Reviewer Corps, the Associate Webmaster for Reviews, and as Director for International Liaison, a new member of the E-Board. I'm also a member of AMPS.

 

I am also the volunteer curator of the Dare County Regional Airport Museum that, among other things, honors the men and women of CAP Coastal Patrol Base 16 and the USN squadrons (including VF-17) that served there in WW2. If you are in the area, contact me for a guided tour. I also serve on several Town boards and committees.

 

Annette and I celebrated our 40th this year. She also retired from DoD. She is a better quilter than I am modeler -- we support each other's hobbies by traveling together, etc. It gets ugly when the UPS van shows up and we both try to get to the door at the same time. Our daughter is married, living in Seattle, and has given us an absolutely wonderful granddaughter. Our son will be married shortly and they will live in Topeka.

 

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Great to know you John. You've had a great life. Congrats on your 40th anniversary as well. I also see how well you strategically placed your kids so no matter which area the Nationals is held, you always have a family member there to visit during the Nationals. :smiley20::smiley2::smiley4:

 

Thanks again for posting.

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Thanks for the info John & Congratz on the 40th!

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John,

When you coming back out to the REAL coast? Need to bring some Nags Head sand with ya.

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John,

Glad to see another modeling/quilting couple out there. I'm in the middle of a land grab here at the old homestead. Oldest son is moving out and SWMBO has been moving her fabric, sewing machine and assorted "crap" into his room...a nice, spacious room with plenty of light and plenty of room for my stash and a spray booth....sigh, it's not to be....I snoozed, I loozed.

 

Still, with the cost of quilting fabric (per yard!) rivaling the current cost of a model kit, it does keep her from complaining too much about my hobby expenses.

 

dennis

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Thanks for the background John. Isn't it amazing that after you retire, you seem to run out of time very quickly. Congrats on covering lots of different areas and I'm glad to see that the wife has a unique hobby of her own.

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Still, with the cost of quilting fabric (per yard!) rivaling the current cost of a model kit, it does keep her from complaining too much about my hobby expenses.

 

dennis

 

If your wife is paying that much per yard then I have a whole closet of fabric for sale!! :D

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For those of you with quilter wives, you need to take them to the National Quilting Museum in Paducah, KY. It is amazing.

 

Wifey does Paducah every 2-3 years; kind'a waiting for the AQS show to make up it's mind on whether to stay or not. If it moves to Missouri, it'll turn it into a 3-4 day drive for her due to flaky road network and that'll be the end of it.

 

Anyway, she just had a quilt on display at the Quilter's Hall of Fame in Illinois.

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Wifey does Paducah every 2-3 years; kind'a waiting for the AQS show to make up it's mind on whether to stay or not. If it moves to Missouri, it'll turn it into a 3-4 day drive for her due to flaky road network and that'll be the end of it.

 

Anyway, she just had a quilt on display at the Quilter's Hall of Fame in Illinois.

Didn't know that AQS is considering moving.

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John said:

 

my modeling skills "peaked" years ago and I have little desire to improve them -- it's my model and I'll do what I want and the ten foot viewing rule applies regardless.

 

A man after my own heart.

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Didn't know that AQS is considering moving.

 

They almost moved for 2009, decision ran right up to last minute.

Convention Center hotel is a mess; owner said he'd fix it up, but didn't do it by much, now have new owner. Actually need new hotel & Conv Center. So far talk is a move into MO, but it may just be talk to force owner, town, etc to do some serious overhauling of venue. It would be hard to move historically and emotionally, as you know ...

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  • 1 month later...
John, It was nice to have met you at this years Nationals...I was your OJT Friday evening.. Learned alot... hope to see ya again at another Nats.

 

Mark Sistrunk

 

Hey Mark, great working with you !! Glad to have you on the judging roster now !! Phoenix 2010 ?

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John,

Thanks for the background. As a New Yorker buddy used to put it, "gladtaknowya." I look forward to meeting you in person in Phoenix next August.

 

Steve

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  • 5 months later...

And I thought I had the the only wife with more fabric than I have plastic. Yes, I to have made the Paducah and Amish Pennsylvania trip for my wifey of almost 40 years.

J Edler

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And I thought I had the the only wife with more fabric than I have plastic. Yes, I to have made the Paducah and Amish Pennsylvania trip for my wifey of almost 40 years.

J Edler

 

Welcome aboard -- we are not alone -- several other guys here are also lesser halves to quilters ...

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Add another to the modeler married to a quilter ranks!

 

After toiling away in an unimproved Chattanooga attic for 4 years, I finally got around to finishing off a piece of the attic for my "space". Only after getting it framed, insulated and rocked did she then tell me it would be really nice if she could move some of her fabric into that space. If she had told me that from the start, it really wouldn't have been an issue at all to bump one wall over a few feet!

 

Oh well, other than that intrusion, she lets me play with my plastic and doesn't comment too much about all the styrene insulation, and I let her play with her fabric and don't comment about all the fabric insulation! It works.

 

Mike Moore

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Hi Mike,

 

Know the feeling well ... revamp a closet to hold the fabric stash, little feet to make a table higher when cutting fabric, a new sewing machine table (after the new sewing machine), etc, etc ... All I can say is I am thankful she is predominantly a hand-quilter so buying and making space for a long-arm machine isn't in the plans ....

 

John

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  • 3 months later...

As both a modeler and a quilter, I can say that the hobbies are equally enjoyable. About the space thing...well, we have a 500 square foot hobby room which started out equally divided. Half contained Les' ship kits & modeling area. Half housed my figure modeling work space & quilting area. However, as my figure kits, library and sewing materials stash expands - along with a new fancy quilting machine - so has my space - which now includes about 2/3 of the room. May have to build on an addition to the house just for Les.... :smiley17:

 

Patti

 

Hi Mike,

 

Know the feeling well ... revamp a closet to hold the fabric stash, little feet to make a table higher when cutting fabric, a new sewing machine table (after the new sewing machine), etc, etc ... All I can say is I am thankful she is predominantly a hand-quilter so buying and making space for a long-arm machine isn't in the plans ....

 

John

Edited by PattiWalden
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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm married to a quilter who paints figures. I started out with a large shop (holds about 3 cars) for my tools and modeling. Now, I have about a 1/4 to 1/3 of it. You'd think she was a Marine the way she invades and takes over. :unsure:

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