What does everyone do for a living?

[GirchyGirchy]

Originally Posted by MidMazar

It's not hard and you can buy pretty much anything but you have to buy them at a supply house. Most plumbing supply houses sell to the public. Most supply houses only sell to licensed techs only. Once you get to ac refrigerant that's where you need a license to buy. I think the main reason for that is job security for the industry. Although I don't understand it either when you can buy anything else.

If all else fails, eBay to the rescue.

Some things I can buy locally, but other things not, even something like a furnace circuit board. I doubt they'd sell me a gas valve either. I had to replace my ignitor recently and had a heck of a time just getting one of those! Can't use eBay when you need it immediately! I might do what my coworker did, he bought one of each of the innards online - ignitor, flame sensor, gas valve, circuit board, etc - and stockpiled them.

/Thread tangent off, sorry guys!

[Archibaldi]

CG artist, 20 years of experience,
currently - 3d model making for films, ads, and so on.
Catch a "model bug" in middle 80's, have an
25 years of oblivion, and now back in, making up
with the modern tech and materials

[exhaust smoke]

Chartered Building Surveyor.

Model making began at a young age assembling Airfix aeroplane kits my Dad brought me from the local newsagents when he picked up a paper. I have always been a car enthusiast thoguh and when I realised that there were model kits of cars available, the switch was immediate.

[Harry7]

Working for the Shipping industry, financial and business development positions. Studied Electronics Engineering in London, UK, a father of 2 small kids that take over most of my free time now. I was introduced in the hobby at the age of 12, from a father of a schoolmate. Started of with building 1/72 scale airplanes and 1/24 cars. I left the hobby for more than 20 years and three years ago I slowly started buying kits again, renewing also all of my equipment and tools. The only thing I am missing now is time!

[generationx]

Design engineer in the motorsport industry, but started building kits when I was four years old...

[tonioseven]

Gaming commission officer at a casino full-time; retail clerk part-time. Model car builder since I was around 6 or 7. Car nut ever since I can remember.

[icon_modeler]

Started out building models when I was 5 or 6. I used to go into my Dad's room and open the closet just to look at the models way up on the top shelf with my brother until one day my Dad finally gave my brother and I a kit each to build. They were 1/72 aircraft kits. I don't even remember what type but I do remember it was nothing more then a glue bomb when I was finished.

Never the less I was hooked.

It did not hurt that my Mother worked for a well known model train structure manufacture doing all new kit development and design. I was subjected to models from an early age and never really had a chance. She used to drag us along to all the trade shows as kids. Damn that was rough

Somewhere along the line I decided cars was what I wanted to build and eventually zeroed in on Tamiya kits. My brother went the route of armor and also eventually decided Tamiya was his maker of choice.

My first paying job at 14 years old was a part time position at the local hobby shop. Surprisingly enough that shop has changed hands a couple of times but it is still around today though selling mostly diecast models some 35 years later. While working at the hobby store I made little or no money as it all went into kits I bought.

I guess you could say it was models that lead me into the area of work I spent the majority of my life doing thus far.

While still in high school I worked in a body shop doing paint prep. I worked in that industry for 3 years eventually working my way up to painter before moving on into a position as a mechanic on an offroad racing team. I actually started there sweeping floors for the most part but eventually managed to gain enough respect to be able to be allowed to work on the cars. When I left there after 4 class championships I was lead mechanic as well as head fabricator for the team.

I milled around in the Offroad arena for another couple of years before I went to work as a fabricator for the Nissan factory GTO racing team in the IMSA series. I worked for Nissan for one season before moving on to work for TWR on the Jaguar GTP cars. After winning the Daytona 24hrs and Lemans 24hrs in 1990 I was let go due to a personality conflict with the head engineer. "Bolt Neck" the team used to call him because he looked like "Frankenstein", Ian Read was his name.

From there I did a little Indycar racing and then back into Offroad racing. I've done a few stints working for Robby Gordon in both Offroad and Indycar. I've also spent a lot of years in the restoration world restoring old aluminum bodies Porsche race cars from the 50's. After many years fabricating I decided to try and learn something new that could also expand my net worth in the motorsports industry. I learned how to make 3D cad models with the help of a good mentor named Stan Robinson and a program named Solidworks.

Now I spend most of my time drawing in 3D doing special vehicle design for a civil and military defense company in Scottsdale AZ. I also make resin scale model tires for sale. That really is my only link to the hobby anymore other then frequenting the forums. I don't have as much time as I'd like to build anything. Seams like the older I get the busier I get. I thought it would be the other way around

[Kaj45rpm]

Great story! I hope 'Bolt Neck's not into modelling!! I would dream to work in the motorsport industry. Robbie Gordon's Hummer is an awesome piece of kit. He is a strong competitor, I would love to see him get a good result on the Dakar. It's a not to be missed viewing every January.