March 2020. A nation goes into lockdown and all of a sudden, spaces around homes become impromptu offices. Life slows down (for most of us) and revolves around a few rooms. This will only last for a few weeks we all said; how little we knew…..

A consequence of the slow down is time to think, and that’s dangerous. Time to think allows procrastination, or nostalgia. Or both – for that’s where this story starts.

When I was a child, I loved to make models – specifically Airfix model kits. I guess that came out of being in a household where Dad made model steam engines, Mum did sewing/quilting, and my sister was also artistic. During the time to think, I remembered the X-wing I made on the kitchen table (with significant help from Mum), the F16 Fighting Falcon (my first independent model), and the wonderful Mosquito. I also remember the disasters – the 1:48 scale Harrier, the rushed Wellington bomber – the less said about those the better. Above all, I remember the fun, anticipation and satisfaction model making brought. What if I started up again, would I replicate the disasters, or would I make something to be proud of?

And so in April 2020, I took the plunge. Thanks to online shopping, I got myself a starter kit, some basic tools and set up a spare desk in my “office” as a work bench. Thursday night’s became modelling time and slowly but surely, something began to emerge from the sea of plastic.