Hello to Kent Kirkpatrick

With Michael Benolkin stepping down last month, I've been wondering how the rest of us here at Internet Modeler were going to keep up with the workload. Not all is lost, however, and this month we want to welcome Kent Kirkpatrick as our Armor Editor. I've known Kent now for 11 years and consider him a best friend. When I was younger I really enjoyed looking at the articles published in the old US Military Modeler magazine that dealt with Small Scale Armor (SSA), usually 1/72nd or 1/76th. I dabbled a little in SSA as I was reading those articles but could come nowhere near the level of modeling ability those articles imbued. Most of that was because I was younger, but some of it was also because I truly didn't "understand" Small Scale Armor.

Flash ahead a number of years (sorry, no numbers here) as I move to Des Moines, IA, USA and join the illustrious Hawkeye Modeler's of Hobby Haven. I mentioned about dabbling in SSA to the group and that's when I met Kent. Aside from wanting to run away screaming (no, just joking) Kent proved himself early on as someone willing to take a less-than-stellar SSA modeler and show me the ropes. He would usually mention "maybe you want to thin that" or "how about this way" and those comments would always be spot on. I have him to thank for each and every win at any and all contests and the overall improvement in my SSA modeling ability.

I have the utmost confidence that Kent will excel as our newly appointed Armor Editor. He likes to dabble in 1/35th and has already brought on a new reviewer for Internet Modeler. His modeling is top notch, award winning, and his writing displays those qualities as well. So, welcome Kent!