I started modeling at a young age and remember my dad spending late nights at the living room coffee table building some WWII planes and some Star Trek models. It rubbed off on me and I modeled up until I joined the Navy in 1990. I abandoned the hobby over the next twelve years or so and re-joined it around 2002. Shortly thereafter I joined Armorama and then became the aircraft news editor. I was still in the Navy at this point but a change in jobs forced me out of the hobby again in 2005. I left the Navy in late 2006 and after having settled into a new life in Jacksonville, Florida am ready to start building again.

I started out in the Navy as an enlisted sailor. I attended Naval Nuclear Power School in 1990/91 and served onboard submarines (USS ALEXANDRIA (SSN 757 and USS SEAWOLF (SSN 21) for about six years before getting commissioned as an Officer. As an Officer I served onboard surface ships (USS GUAM (LPH 9), USS VELLA GULF (CG 72), and USS BARRY (DDG 52). Onboard the ships I held the positions of Main Propulsion Assistant, Air Defense Officer, and Operations Officer. All of my deployments were to the Mediterranean. These deployments saw me visit most ports/countries in the med plus many outside (including Scotland, England, Nigeria, Senegal, The Saychelles, and visits to the Persian Gulf on two different occasions).

I mainly model WWII planes but do experiment a little in armor. I know it seems odd with my background but I've never modeled a ship. I don't know why. I have modeled a couple of submarines but that was over 15 years ago.

hello Bryan,
welcome to the site.over here at Model Shipwright we have a Group Build you might be interested in,it is about Amphib forces called called Gator Navy.you might want to check it out,as you served on a LPH.
if you have any questions please ask,
cheers,
Bruce

Welcome Aboard Bryan!

Quite a background you have, should make the ship builders happy with someone they can get some more info from. Look forward to seeing some of your builds.

Cheers
HastyP

Hello Bryan, I would be hard pressed to tell you why I model the subjects that I do. My tastes are ecclectic to say the least. I have always liked small craft as well as DD's,DE's,CA's, and BB's, but never cared much for the carriers. I build armor, ships, figures, sci-fi, and aircraft. About the only thing I don't build are cars. When I was younger I prefered WW2 aircraft, (with the occasional F-86 thrown in) but not jets (what,?missiles,no guns!). But now I've grown to appreciate the lines of a Phantom, Voodoo, or some other manned missile . Some subjects appeal to me for their historical significance, some just because I like the way they look. After I recently built a model of a German U-Boat I read the account of a British armed trawler that was sunk by this particular sub. I somehow felt bad about my choice of model. Without getting too philosophical about a hobby, I just wanted to say build what you like and like what you build.

Welcome back Bryan Missed having you around

Hey Brian,welcome back!
Cheers for treadheads!

Welcome Bryan,

This is a great site. Help is just a click away if you ever need it.

Be sure to check out the campaigns. They are usually a lot of fun to participate in.

hi and welcome