I was born at Cheyenne, WY, in 1952, and (in spite of what you might think) I had a pretty normal childhood.

I developed an early interest in the monster movies I saw on TV and at the Saturday matinees.  These movies fascinated me.  I began to collect trading cards and other memorabilia about the monsters, and I was excited when Aurora began to release their plastic model kits.  I started with the “Frankenstein” kit and eagerly awaited the next release.  It wasn’t long until I had them all.  Over the years I have built each of these kits at least two or three times.

As a young man, I dabbled in HO scale railroads where I practiced modifying existing kits to get the look I wanted, and experimented with weathering techniques.  I had one visitor to my fledgling railroad layout who was very experienced in the hobby.  He complained that all of the vehicles were too new looking and that they needed to be weathered to look realistic.  He said, “You would never see bright and shiny cars like that in real life.”  The next time he came over, I had weathered all the cars--except one.  It was sitting at the exit to the newly installed HO scale carwash.  It sat there, “bright and shiny”, just to show that nothing is absolute.  Even today, my intent in my modeling is to get the right look and feel of the scene, not be 100% technically accurate.

My current foray into modeling scale dioramas began when I discovered the 12” figures of the Universal Monsters offered by Sideshow Toys.  I bought their “Frankenstein”, and was impressed with the detail and quality they offered for a reasonable price.  As they became available, I purchased more of their figures, and I have not been disappointed.  (I would also complement them on their Customer Service Department, headed by Mia Morgan.  She is a very nice lady and a great help in answering questions and solving problems.)

The first 1/6th scale diorama I did came from my interest in “Jack the Ripper”, using Sideshow’s “London After Midnight” figure, featured here.  And my interest in the Civil War and Custer led to doing a scene with Sideshow’s “Custer”, also shown here.  (To see those figures, use the button on this page to go “Home”, and then click on the buttons labeled “The Ripper” or "Custer".)

After those projects, I looked at the other Sideshow figures I had, and I felt that just displaying them on stands didn’t have the impact I wanted.  I decided to make dioramas for them, too.  For each figure, I tried to model a scene that was the most memorable to monster movie fans.  Generally, those scenes were the first time the monster has a featured “close up” in the movie (e.g., Frankenstein’s creature entering the laboratory, the Phantom being unmasked, Dracula at the castle door, etc.)

Making these dioramas is an outlet for my creative side, and I find it very satisfying to see my ideas “come to life”.  It is also a challenge experimenting with different techniques and materials to get just the right look.  I enjoy “the hunt” for the accessories I need, buying them, or making them from common household items, or even resorting to building them from scratch.

I have more projects in process, and some still in the planning stages, so check back often to see what’s new!

My other interests in life include computers, reading, Renaissance Faire, anything English or Scottish, playing the drums, and traveling.  I currently live in Southern California with my wife of 27 years, Peggy, and my Scottish Terrier, Bonnie Jean.