Hello everyone!

Thank you Kevin, for allowing me to join. I hope that my newbie questions won't be too annoying - I promise to try to search for answers before asking 'stupid' questions (though I used to tell my students that the only stupid question was the one they were too embarrassed to ask!). My name is Phil Hendry. I live in Lancaster, in the UK. I've been interested in armies, and military history, for as long as I can remember. By profession I was a physicist, working in a university, but I retired a few years ago.

In the past I made 1:35 scale models, mainly of British WW2 subjects (and a few from the 1st Gulf War), for many years; including working for Accurate Armour for a while on a freelance basis, making master patterns, and components. Because of 'real life' issues, I stopped modelling ten or fifteen years ago - it became too stressful alongside 'real life' and I stopped enjoying it. Anyway, now that those issuess are in the past, I am feeling my way back into the hobby again, taking tentative steps into what is, in a lot of ways, a new world... So much has changed, particularly in terms of methods of painting, weathering and finishing, that I feel like a complete beginner.

I have long been fascinated by the IDF, but in the past it was very hard to find out good enough information to make 'decent' models - so I never even tried. A few years ago, neighbours of ours followed their dream and emigrated to Israel. We're still in touch (best neighbours ever, even with thousands of miles between us!). Now two of their children (who are similar ages to our kids) are serving in the IDF, and that adds to the interest, as well as giving a certain 'piquancy' to the interest - always hoping that they're safe.

I didn't want to restart the hobby with British WW2 subjects - in a way I know too much, and can spot the faults in models too easily - it would be all to easy to descend into the madness of 'Advanced Modeller Syndrome' and build nothing for fear of getting things 'wrong'. So the modern IDF seemed like the logical choice. And now I find that there are nice 1:35 scale models of IDF subjects; there are lovely books full of photos; the internet is full of photos of real vehicles and lovely models of them. I'll try to get things 'right'(ish!), but I am determined not to try too hard, and to allow myself a bit of 'Modeller's Licence'. So please don't be too harsh with me!

I look forward to chatting with you and learning from you.

Phil

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Current Project: M579 Macha"G
Future Projects: A Merkava of some sort; Puma
Possible Future Projects: many and varied!

Welcome brother
My only questions are what teams do you support, footy et al

cheers
kev

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Never forget, Never forgive, Never Again.

Hi Kev,

When it comes to sport, I've always been a doer rather than a watcher. I was a swimmer and water polo player (no jokes about horses drowning please) - and I still swim four or five times each week. Not very far these days - just 2 or 3km each session.

I've followed professional cycling for many years - I think because it's so different from anything I've done myself. Team Sky is naturally 'my' team I suppose - it's the UK's first really successful team. I also quite like Rugby Union, but can never decide which of three teams to support - England, Ireland or Scotland - because I'm a proper mongrel, and have ancestry in all three. I'm not a footy fan at all really. If forced to express a preference it would have to be Everton - my great-grandfather was a founder shareholder.

Cheers,
Phil

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Current Project: M579 Macha"G
Future Projects: A Merkava of some sort; Puma
Possible Future Projects: many and varied!