My modeling, influenced by a great number of factors, centers around two scales primarily. 1/35th, in which I do quite regularly, and (here ya go Carl) 1/160th, or N Scale, in which I find myself drawn to in respect of my father.
99% of my modeling is chronologically based in the future. I became interested in this time period long before I ever heard of Twilight 2000, and it's emergance is quite appealing as my modeling reflects a post-apocolyptic world focused on my own Lake County, Il.
Influencing this focus is my interest in Global conspiracy theororizing, sword collecting, art, woodcraft, carpentry, leathercraft and writing. My participation in Renaissance Faire activities for the last 12 years has lead me to meld the ideals of the past with a picture of a future, after the firestorm, with clan-type dwellings and families banding together to suppress a "bullying" world government. military presence in Midwest America.
Neat storylines, huh?
My REAL story of why I choose to model military is my two Brothers, Mathew and Daniel Berger.
My brother Matt did two stints in the Army, working first as an Infantry radioman, in Germany and second, working on Cobra gunship radio systems, again in Germany.
My brother Dan, on the other hand, Joined the Marines in 1979 and wound up going to tank school. His training led him to breaking in the NEW M1 Abrams tank for the Marines. Unfortunately, in 1982, the M1 he was commanding slid sideways down a sandy embankment at Camp Pendelton, California, and flipped over, killing him and the gunner.
This, obviously, ended my interest in joining the Marines myself. An interest I seriously wanted to pursue up to that time. I now settle for modeling military instead.
Strangely enough, the accident with my brother sparked my interest in Government conspiracies, because a week after my brother Dan died, I had a VERY vivid dream where my brother came to my window, and said he wasn't actually dead, he was re-assigned as "Black Ops", a phrase that, as a 13 year old, I was unaware of. During the funeral, my mother insisted my surviving brothers and I put his baby blanket into the casket with him, which we did. Looking back, the bag inside could of contained anything, not neccesarily my brother.
To this day, I have a hard time finding ANY particulars on the accident. No-one will talk, no paperwork exists that I can find except the newspaper clipping that originally reported the accident.
Very odd indeed.
That's as much as I can think of that pertains to my modeling. I hope is was enough, and also not too much.
Awaiting my duties, Carl.
Pig #143,
Cuhail
