This place looks familiar!

[BobM]

Hey all!

Some of you “old timers” may remember me; for those of you that are newer.. Hi, I’m Bob from Southern California and I used to have a modeling problem. From 2016 to 2020 I was a regular participant here completing 11 builds (and failing at a few more) and even placed in a couple of competitions, you can find my portfolio in my sig. I’m not sure what happened in 2020, but I guess that COVID thing cured my addiction. Then in 2022 I had a slight relapse, that time in the form of model railroading, and I made a short lived return… For whatever reason that didn’t last long. In January of 2024 I retired from 41 years of software development and spent the next year learning how to be retired. And in 2025, that’s a year we don’t talk about… much…

Well, that’s all in the past now, and gone… completely gone. But that’s a story for another day.

Recently the cravings for plastic have started to return. So I sought out some old friends, and found them! Hey Scott, Matthew, digger, Stokesy, and others! Glad to see you all are still around. And glad to see you all survived an internet scare, I just caught the end of that… From what I’ve seen it looks like there are also some talented new builders, hi to you all; looking forward to enjoying your work and learning a thing or two.

I’ve been poking around for a few weeks getting inspired and formulating plans. This time around I’m starting from scratch, zip, zero, nada… nothing. No tools, no supplies, no stash, and very little room. But I have a plan (God, stop laughing) and the plan begins with… the 2026 Spectacular Summer SciFi Sig! More on those plans over there!

For now I’m off to get a kit, supplies, and the best part…TOOLS!

[digger303]

Good to see you back Bob and looking forward to many posts with the first being ....what DID YOU BUY ?

[Stokesy44]

Hey Bob!

Great to hear from you and a big hearty Welcome Back!!

Sorry things have been up and down for you but it sounds like you are making some headway now.

Looking forward to seeing you on the forum. There are some new faces, which is great, but the core of the insanity still remains. We still build kits and laugh at ourselves building kits. You get the occasion serious chat, mostly about the state of the hobby and trying new methods but for the most part its just the usual waffle.

We also have a couple of new features

A regular update on new kits coming to market, anyone can contribute.

A monthly discussion about the hobby, anything from how you got into it to what you like to build to what booze is your preference for a bench session.

See you in the Sci-Fi Sig!

[bfrd]

I only have 28 years of software development. I am practically a child! Great to see you back!

[Portman]

We've not met before but welcome to the forum!

[BobM]

Good to see you back Bob and looking forward to many posts with the first being ....what DID YOU BUY ?

Great to hear from you and a big hearty Welcome Back!!
….
See you in the Sci-Fi Sig!

I only have 28 years of software development. I am practically a child! Great to see you back!

We've not met before but welcome to the forum!

[DRUMS01]

Howdy saddle pal! I believe I remember you, regardless.. welcome back!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Hey all!

Some of you “old timers” may remember me; for those of you that are newer.. Hi, I’m Bob from Southern California and I used to have a modeling problem. From 2016 to 2020 I was a regular participant here completing 11 builds (and failing at a few more) and even placed in a couple of competitions, you can find my portfolio in my sig. I’m not sure what happened in 2020, but I guess that COVID thing cured my addiction. Then in 2022 I had a slight relapse, that time in the form of model railroading, and I made a short lived return… For whatever reason that didn’t last long. In January of 2024 I retired from 41 years of software development and spent the next year learning how to be retired. And in 2025, that’s a year we don’t talk about… much…

Well, that’s all in the past now, and gone… completely gone. But that’s a story for another day.

Recently the cravings for plastic have started to return. So I sought out some old friends, and found them! Hey Scott, Matthew, digger, Stokesy, and others! Glad to see you all are still around. And glad to see you all survived an internet scare, I just caught the end of that… From what I’ve seen it looks like there are also some talented new builders, hi to you all; looking forward to enjoying your work and learning a thing or two.

I’ve been poking around for a few weeks getting inspired and formulating plans. This time around I’m starting from scratch, zip, zero, nada… nothing. No tools, no supplies, no stash, and very little room. But I have a plan (God, stop laughing) and the plan begins with… the 2026 Spectacular Summer SciFi Sig! More on those plans over there!

For now I’m off to get a kit, supplies, and the best part…TOOLS!

Good lord you are back!!
I know the Kings have been terrible, but man you didn’t have to go into hiding
LOVE to see you posting and whole heartily welcome back
Sci Fi sig about to start June 21-sept21
Tamiya sig ends july 18th
Just in case you wanna jump in with both feet.
Really happy to hear you are well, always easy to suspect the worst .

[BobM]

Howdy saddle pal! I believe I remember you, regardless.. welcome back!

Yeah, you sound familiar. As I’m browsing through threads I’m seeing more and more names (and attitudes) that I remember. I’ll get there eventually.

Good lord you are back!!
I know the Kings have been terrible, but man you didn’t have to go into hiding

Hey! You know, he who lives in glass houses…..

LOVE to see you posting and whole heartily welcome back
Sci Fi sig about to start June 21-sept21
Tamiya sig ends july 18th
Just in case you wanna jump in with both feet.
Really happy to hear you are well, always easy to suspect the worst .

Sorry about falling off the face of the earth. A bit of burnout but mostly other interests and life demands took over. Health has been good, well except this getting older aches and pains. As I alluded to, 2025 was a rough year for our family. Without going into it, look into major Southern California news in January of that year… if you all want to hear details, I’ll share. But suffice it to say, we are all fine, doing well and moving on.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Howdy saddle pal! I believe I remember you, regardless.. welcome back!

Yeah, you sound familiar. As I’m browsing through threads I’m seeing more and more names (and attitudes) that I remember. I’ll get there eventually.

Good lord you are back!!
I know the Kings have been terrible, but man you didn’t have to go into hiding

Hey! You know, he who lives in glass houses…..

LOVE to see you posting and whole heartily welcome back
Sci Fi sig about to start June 21-sept21
Tamiya sig ends july 18th
Just in case you wanna jump in with both feet.
Really happy to hear you are well, always easy to suspect the worst .

Sorry about falling off the face of the earth. A bit of burnout but mostly other interests and life demands took over. Health has been good, well except this getting older aches and pains. As I alluded to, 2025 was a rough year for our family. Without going into it, look into major Southern California news in January of that year… if you all want to hear details, I’ll share. But suffice it to say, we are all fine, doing well and moving on.

Oh god fires
Don’t tell me you guys lost your home…and your stash?

[BobM]

Oh god fires
Don’t tell me you guys lost your home…and your stash?

Yup. All gone. Stash wasn’t that big, biggest lost was the Enterprise I won in the SciFi SIG some years ago. But the tools… oh, the tools…

For me the biggest losses were King collectibles and memorabilia. I had a newspaper signed twice by Gretzky after he broke the goals record. And a plaque that I had collected signatures from about 80% of the 2014 team. Well, there was lots more, but those are irreplaceable.

But we got out ok and insurance has been good. Still deciding what to do with that place. In the meantime we’ve moved an hour away into a much smaller house; so no space for a work bench. Well, I think I’ll set something up in the tiny garage. I’m also considering adding a small room here.

Nothing to do but move forward.

[digger303]

Oh god fires
Don’t tell me you guys lost your home…and your stash?

Yup. All gone. Stash wasn’t that big, biggest lost was the Enterprise I won in the SciFi SIG some years ago. But the tools… oh, the tools…

For me the biggest losses were King collectibles and memorabilia. I had a newspaper signed twice by Gretzky after he broke the goals record. And a plaque that I had collected signatures from about 80% of the 2014 team. Well, there was lots more, but those are irreplaceable.

But we got out ok and insurance has been good. Still deciding what to do with that place. In the meantime we’ve moved an hour away into a much smaller house; so no space for a work bench. Well, I think I’ll set something up in the tiny garage. I’m also considering adding a small room here.

Nothing to do but move forward.

That was a horrible time, it got a lot of air time around the world....utter desolation.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Oh god fires
Don’t tell me you guys lost your home…and your stash?

Yup. All gone. Stash wasn’t that big, biggest lost was the Enterprise I won in the SciFi SIG some years ago. But the tools… oh, the tools…

For me the biggest losses were King collectibles and memorabilia. I had a newspaper signed twice by Gretzky after he broke the goals record. And a plaque that I had collected signatures from about 80% of the 2014 team. Well, there was lots more, but those are irreplaceable.

But we got out ok and insurance has been good. Still deciding what to do with that place. In the meantime we’ve moved an hour away into a much smaller house; so no space for a work bench. Well, I think I’ll set something up in the tiny garage. I’m also considering adding a small room here.

Nothing to do but move forward.

That is devastating.
Kits and tool loss would be killer for me
Stuff you cannot replace. Insurance never helps enough.
But move forward I suppose. Glad everyone made it out safe.
S