House of Models

Welcome to

"House of Models" by Lotsawatts

What does this have to do with Andre Norton? - You Ask:

And the short answer is, absolutely nothing.

The long answer is - Well, it's my website and I need a place to show the "Modeling" I have taken up over the past year plus. You see, for many years as a kid and young adult I built models. Models of all kinds, everything except figurines, I still can't paint well enough to do them justice.

I grew up in Edmonston, Maryland. Right next to the Northeast Branch of the Anacostia River. At the age of 10, I and friends would build models of US Navy Warships. We would build Firecrackers and M-80s into them, paint them all up and go down to the river. There, we would light them on fire and cast them off to float down the river belching putrid black smoke and then exploding when the fires reached the fireworks. We had competitions and a whole lot of fun.

As a teenager and young adult, I pretty much stuck to cars and planes. Somehow, they always ended up getting destroyed and nothing from then survived, except my Robert E. Lee Mississippi River Boat. It was made of wood, and I spent over a hundred hours making it. It alone survives today. I gave up modeling for about 10 years, once my kids were getting old enough to demand my attention. I started back with cars in the mid 90s but did mostly antique and classic cars from the 30s. Sadly, none of them survived either. At around age 45 I stopped making models, due to Arthritis and Cataracts. After getting my eyes fixed and getting use to severe Arthritis I decided I would try and build another model. So, in March of 2023 I purchased the first of what has turned out to be a whole bunch of model kits. I now have a big fancy work bench, airbrushes and a compressor, bunch of specialty tools and a lot of paint.

After being bugged for a while about showing people my models, and social media being the wrong place for it. I decided to create this section. I think I'm good enough to show them but will never win any competitions. (I won't ever try to enter one) So, come on it and take a tour of the modeling I spend my time and money on. Each page is another model kit with pictures. Some of the pictures are not the greatest for in the beginning I had a very old camera that no longer worked very well. I have gone back and redone only a few; I try now to document my creations the best I can, including some work in progress pictures. I still have improvements to make. Between what I have done and what is pictured in "Things to Come" you will see that I build a wide variety of things.

Below is a list of Model Kits that I have completed since the beginning of 2023 up till now.

The first group of 5 posts are models that have managed to survive over the years. The River Boat has managed to survive some 40 years, every time it moved it got packed in a fish tank. The Blue Satellite was made for me by a friend, it's a replica of my 1st real car. The red Mustang was built by me in or around 2003 and was put in a case on a bookshelf and never touched. The Star Trek models have survived because they are hanging from the ceiling. Of all the many trees I ever did, I kept 4.

Then we come to the listings of models that I have done since March of 2023 (39 so far in 14 months.) As you may have figured out, I do several at one time. This is because after you paint parts you have to let them sit for several days so the paint will cure before handling. Something I don't think I did years ago, maybe that's why they always looked like crap.

The Lime Green Bronco and Dune Buggy convinced me to continue doing what I have now grown to really enjoy. Well, at least the end results. Click on the pictures supplied to see all the pictures of each with some comments (maybe).

"Things to Come" is a collection of kits I have to still finish. Am I done acquiring kits? - No!

But I have decided to slow down in purchasing anymore until the list gets cut down by at least half.

What's on my Workbench? "Things to Come"

1982

Mississippi River Boat