Paul S. Teixeira Model Maker
Who is "Tex Model Maker"? He is Paul Teixeira from Rhode Island. A middle age, married, family man who has been an avid model maker since age 10, or there about. The lovely women posing in the picture with him is his beautiful wife, Moira, together for over 20 years. She knows all about his modeling addictions and related hobbies and is a great support.
He is a guy with a passion for anything military, especially military history from WW2 to present. He even had a short stint in the military himself completing the USMC office candidate program PLC program in Quantico VA., then transferring over to the US Navy Aviation Office Candidate Program in Pensacola, FL back in the late 80's. His dream was to fly jets as a Naval Aviator, but this was cut short due to physiological issues.
His love for anything military, especially aviation, was developed during his early childhood years growing up as the youngest son of a WW2 Navy Aviation War Veteran. His earliest recollections are from time spent with his dad as a youngster listening to his stories of Navy life, and the realities of military life in the Pacific campaign during wartime. His dad was first assigned to test squadrons at Pawtuxent River NAS, MD crewing experimental navy patrol planes including the large seaplane "MARS" which only a handful were ever produced. He was then transferred to the Pacific war zone flying out of HI as a crew member on planes such as the: PB4Y2, PBMs, and PBYs, to name a few.
As a youngster Paul wanted to act out, and role play what he heard regarding his dad's time in the Navy. Obvious as a boy he played "soldier" with his buddies, but he also wanted to play with the machines he heard about from that era. To play with these machines he needed to 1st make them, and the toys of the time just did not provide for the accuracy and detail he craved. He wanted realism and the only way to get that was to build models. This was his primary motivation for building up until it just became pure addiction. An addiction that drives, and motivates him until this day.
Paul does not really play with his models anymore, but he sure pumps that out on a routine basis. He still craves as much detail and realism as possible so he constantly experiments , and develops new, cutting edge techniques and skills. He is at home with advanced scratch-building techniques, airbrushing, and the use of multi-media, after- market accessories, and add-on parts developed from the scale model industry.
He does not just build Navy airplanes anymore but is at home modeling most subjects to include: Aviation, Navy, Armor, Auto, and Racing. He also favors indulging in a diorama once in a while, especially portraying ships at sea, or a whole Naval base. He has even built a few kits for consignment being rewarded financially, as well as, the pure reward of building for the fun factor. This was a huge highlight in his modeling career.
Paul never did completely fulfill his dreams of being a fighter pilot, or even sustaining a career in the aviation, and/or military industry although he spent most of his adult life trying. He also spent many years in post secondary institutions obtaining the needed certificates, and educational qualifications needed to sustain an aviation career. This includes 2 years in Aeronautical Engineering while attending Wichita State University, and graduation from Colorado Aeronautical Technical Institute obtaining were he obtained his FAA Air-frame & Power-plant Technician License. He also found time to earn his FAA Private Pilot Certificate. This is in addition to his other education responsible for actually paying the bills, and supporting a family. This education includes a BA in Psychology, and a MA degree in Agency Counseling, nothing to do with his hobbies. Although he spent a year or two working in a small full service aircraft/helicopter repair shop he really earned a living working 20 years for the same, large, non-profit behavioral health agency before leaving in 2016 to pursue other adventures.
His other career goal is to someday own a Hobby Shop servicing and catering to the community, schools, and local youth programs. He wants a full service shop selling not only the best scale models, but also a leading vendor of RC vehicles, including aircraft, and drones. He is a member, and RC Pilot with a local RC flying club, and this is the only time he is building things other then plastic scale models. He believes it will become more and more difficult to achieve this goal as the internet challenges local shops, and vendors. In the meantime he will continue to engage in the hobby as actively as always, maybe even starting up a local IPMS chapter in RI. Maybe even obtain a part-time job in a local hobby shop although in RI there is only 1 shop with it's doors still open.
So this is "Tex Model Maker". He started this web-page in order to display his creations and share the hobby with others. He is often confronted by people who learn of his love for model building and want to see a sample of his work, or are just curious about what this hobby is all about. He also feels he does not have adequate space to display his current collection, and lacks a "man cave" to display his work, so he see's this as a "virtual display stand", and/or virtual man cave. He loves to talk models, learn new techniques, see what other modelers are up to, and just network with the model community. Maybe this is a good conduit to fulfill all these desires and goals, or maybe its just fun. He hopes you enjoy his models, and maybe learn a thing, or two about the hobby. He also desires feedback, news, and information regarding this hobby and related subject matter so please feel free to contact him using the provided contact infomation on this web-site.
