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I was born in Mays Landing, New Jersey, USA in 1964. I am half Italian & half German. I have been in the U.S. Army now for over 18 years as an enlisted soldier and I am a SFC/E-7 (SFC: Sergeant First Class).
I have been a 19D Cavalry Scout, 92Y Supply Sergeant and 21B Combat Engineer and have been stationed in Fulda and Nurnberg, W. Germany as well as Ft. Hood, Texas and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
I have been building models on and off since I was 10 years old. I remember my first kit given to me by a relative was a model of Spock from Star Trek shooting his phaser at a 3-headed snake. Don't know what happened to that kit, it has to be worth some money now!
My early interest were varied. I built sailing ships, warships, civilian ships. There was a stint with 1/25 scale cars, spacecraft and 1/35 scale armor. Then one day I came upon a bagged Airfix Stug kit, and that was what got me hooked on the small scale armor!
My best friends and I would build the old Airfix HO/OO scale kits and have mock battles with the figures and tanks. For some reason, I always wanted to be the Germans...Maybe because of how the Panzers looked?
I also started on the Luftwaffe kits all in 1/72 scale. I can't recall the exact time, but very early on I decided to only do 1/72 (1/76) scale kits of German panzers and aircraft. I think probably because of all the small scale kits that were available at the local hobby shops along with the pricing being fairly easy for a kid to buy.
I joined the U.S. Army after I finished High School and for the next 10 years modelling was far from my mind. After that 'short' break from model building I gained new interest when I noticed all the available 1/72 scale ESCI, Hasegawa, Fujimi, Nitto and Arii kits at a local hobby shop!
So here I am today, too many kits to ever be able to build (all of German design: Panzers, Aircraft, Wheeled Vehicles, Guns, you name it) in 1/72 and 1/76 scale plastic, resin and metal.
None of this would be possible of course without a loving and supportive wife!
Happy Modelling!
Tony "Panzer 1946" Ivey | 
