Interview with James Merrigan

LSP: Could you tell us a little about yourself?

JM: I'm a 69 year old retired Professor of Engineering Technology, I still teach a course once or twice a year. I am married 42 years and have two grown children, a son and daughter. We have two small dogs which make believe I'm the master. I've been building model airplanes since I was nine or ten. I'm attaching a picture of my wife and I.

LSP: What was your first model?

JM: My first model was a "Jack Armstrong" Wheaties P-40 Circa 1943. You sent in 2 Wheaties box tops and a quarter, and they sent you back 2 paper airplane models. There were 14 models in all, someone reissued them a few years ago, I bought them, built them , and they are downstairs with the rest of the collection.

LSP: How long have you been building large scales and what attracted you to them?

JM: I started building 1/32nd scale aircraft in the late sixties, there wasn't that many and I thought I could keep the collection small. I now have over 400 built.

LSP: You seem to build in most mediums, is there any type you prefer over another?

JM: As a kid I built in paper, wood, wood and tissue and finally plastic, so I'm comfortable with all, but would prefer injection molded plastic.

LSP: You build paper models which is almost never seen in scale, what attracts you to a paper model over another medium?

JM: First of all there are a lot of scale paper models out there especially from Eastern Europe. I belong to two web lists devoted to paper models and between them the have a membership of well over 2,000. I choose paper because it is the only medium I can get a particular model in. For instance I got a Fiddlers Green ME-109-R (the Messerschmitt record breaker) Scaled it up to 1/32nd scale, modified and built it. Then I bashed it into a ME-209. Without the paper model I couldn't have built either.

LSP: Is there any special techniques you use on paper models?

JM: Paper models do not do well with tight compound curves. My answer to that drawback is not to do them, all props, spinners, wheels, and other details are done in plastic. Fuselages and nacelles are coated with a thin coating of spackling compound and sanded smooth to smooth out the overall shape. Pick a subject that lends itself to paper modeling, for instance I want to build a WWI fighter, I would choose a Fokker DVII with a relatively flat fuselage over an Albatros DV with a rounded oval shaped fuselage.

LSP: Do you build other models besides planes, cars, tanks etc.?

JM: If it flies I'll build it, planes, gliders, rockets and even an Antonov KT which is a T-60 light tank attached to a biplane glider in 1/35th scale.

LSP: How many models do you think you've built over the years?

JM: I would say somewhere between 750 and 800 models.

LSP: Do you have any favorite tips you've learned over the years that you'd like to share with us?

JM: What ever your specialty is read up on it, I have an extensive aviation library that I use all the time in building my models. If you are a basher like me don't throw anything plastic away. I have built whole models out of plastic scrap and spare parts.

LSP: Do you have a preference for enamels or acrylics for the main painting job, for weathering, NMF, clear coat? Any special techniques you use?

JM: I use Testors enamels for the main paint job. I'll weather with an enamel wash or pastels. When the model is painted I overspray the entire model with Testors Gloss Cote, decal the model, and if the plane is military I overspray the model with Testors Dull Cote. If the model is a racer or some other aircraft with a gloss surface I overspray with a second coat of Gloss Cote.

LSP: which airbrush and compressor, and compressor settings do you use? Do you ever brush paint?

JM: I normally brush paint all of my models. When I do air brush I use a Badger airbrush and compressor.

LSP: Any preferences for filler?

JM: I use spackling compound.

LSP: Any preferences towards a particular manufacturer in the different mediums?

JM: I like the following: Injection molded-Revel, Vacuum form -Combat, Resin-Craftworks, Paper-Fiddlers Green, Wood-Guillows.

LSP: You've done some unusual subjects, how do you decide on a subject to do?

JM: When a new model comes out in 1/32nd scale (except for paper, that I can scale up or down,) I look at the model and say what can I make out of that? Then I go to my reference library and check out the possibilities. Sometimes a model will just yell out at you what to build, case in point Williams Brothers P-35 screamed Reggiane Fighters.

LSP: Do you (like a lot of us) have a stash of unassembled models? If so how many?

JM: You bet I do, I'd say about 200 plus.

LSP: Do you work on more than one model at a time?

JM: Yes I do.

LSP: How long do you spend on a model? Does the different media type make much of a difference?

JM: It depends on the model. I've had some that just took a few days to ones that took months. Sometimes I'll lose interest and stop work on a model only to start up again a couple of months later. I'd say the average build is a week to ten days. I think resins are the fastest builds, and paper models the slowest.

LSP: What's on your bench now? What future projects are you planning?

JM: In various stages of disassembly I have a Scratch Builders Boulton Paul Defient, a Testors Huskey helicopter and, a Guillows DC-3 which is going to be all wood and plastic. My next model will be AQJP's Caudron-Renault CR.714.C1

LSP: Do you have a favorite aircraft? Anything you care to model a number of times?

JM: The Curtiss P-40.

LSP: Are you an IPMS member? Do you regularly attend modeling contests? If so what do you think of the future of contests?

JM: I am a member of the NJIPMS. While I do not enter contests, I do attend them, they are a great place to get modeling ideas. I think there will always be contests, and that is as it should be.

LSP: It doesn't seem like kids are involved in modeling like when we were kids, what do you think of the future of the hobby? What do you think of the future of our scale in the hobby for all types of kits (injected, resin, etc.) and aftermarket items?

JM: I think today's kids because of the culture are into instant gratification, the idea of having to build something in order to enjoy it is foreign to them. We may go to virtual modeling I have already seen examples of this on the web. I think our scale is too big for most people. Large scale resin may price its self out of the market, but I think the aftermarket share will increase.

Thanks for the opportunity to be interviewed
James Merrigan

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