Datguy's Diverse Distractions

I'm not much of a fan of mainstream TV, and haven't gotten caught up in the popularity of Stranger Things, but that doesn't mean I don't get caught up in fads.  Of course, tending to the obsessional, those fads are usually of my own making. M88 recovery vehicle during cold weather testing (US Army photo by Greg Netardus) Right now, my fad is Smaller Things,  specifically 1/72-1/76 scale vehicles.  They are also stranger things in their own way: they are oddball vehicles.  But, really, what other kind of model would draw my interest?  Oh, I'm sure there are people who build tiny run-of-the-mill Sherman tanks and German half-tracks in innumerable quantities, but that's not for me.  I'm fascinated by things like airfield ground support equipment, armored vehicles that ride on wheels instead of tank tracks, and  recovery vehicles of all sorts. (For those not familiar with recovery vehicles imagine a bulldozery, tow-truckish kind of beast built out of

Sometimes a muse calls and you don't see it coming. It's a story worth telling as a New Year opens. I am often self-conscious about my geeky-nerdy interests in things like old railroads, airplanes, wonderful foods, and craft beers. I certainly post less about the scale modeling experience on open media like Facebook and share those thoughts more often with like-minded folks through other avenues like modeling clubs, e-mail blasts, on-line forums, and, more recently, t his blog. Fall 2017 Railroad Heritage Cover Art I came to a better understanding of my urge to write about my experiences when I read an article last fall, published in the Center for Railroad Photography & Art 's Railroad Heritage magazine by fellow academic Richard Koenig. He wrote: But photographs, regardless of the subject matter, are inert by themselves - they need to be viewed and interrogated by an audience to take on and impart their meaning  Koenig wrote about his engagement