Plastic geekery

Went to the Old Dominion Open 2005 scale modeling event today with MRJ, who was an extremely good sport. Mostly men there (≈85% by my calculation), with several patient women and children as well. While the majority of the participants are guys with an appreciation for three-dimensional representations of historical military (and other) equipment and personages, there are always a few individuals there who are just a little, shall we say, off. You can usually tell who they are by the German military unit t-shirt (think "Hitler Youth World Tour 1939-1945"), for example. They are to be avoided, no matter how much useful information they might possess about the exact model you're working on at the moment. No matter what.........okay, if they happen to be vendors, and are offering a good deal on a particular kit, then that rule can be bent just a little, but only a little. The conversation can consist of: "How much for the infantry figures?" "Seven dollars." "Great. I'll take them. Do you have a bag?" End of exchange, with a relatively clear conscience.

I won a can of spray paint—Tamiya Light Sand, in case you're even remotely interested.