Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 10/99) - When Yellowknife architect Gene Drouin finished restoring his 1966 Chrysler 300 convertible, he looked for a smaller project to work on.

Drouin poured over $55,000 into restoring the old Chrysler and really enjoyed the more intricate details of the job and began thinking back to his first hobby.

"As most kids, I started off building model cars," Drouin recalled.

"Mostly the cars you'd have seen on the roads in the mid-'60s. The Chevies the Dodges and the Fords."

"It wasn't until the late '60s, I started getting into German aircraft and German- armoured vehicles," he continued.

"Of course at 12 and 13 you just don't have the money, the technology or the technique you need to, to get the authentic detail."

Drouin has spent thousands on kits, tools and equipment for his hobby. He said the kits are affordable to anyone, but the detailed models he works on range from $80 to $300 US.

So far he's completed a dozen of the replicas, but has over 150 of the kits stockpiled for long winter nights to come. He says the model assembly is just part of the hobby.

"Most of the fun in building kits lies in doing research," he said. "Just like rebuilding cars. You look at finishes, theatre of operation that tank might have been in, uniforms, season of operation and who operated that vehicle. It's fascinating when you get into it to this level."

To conduct his research, he's built quite an extensive library.

"I've probably spent as much money on books as I have on anything," Drouin said.

"Before I even start I know what it's going to look like," he said, adding, attention to authenticity is key, he said. Weathering the finish and even getting the paint colour just right can be a daunting task.

"There's quite a technique in scaling down from one-to-one scale to one-thirty-fifth scale," he said.

"Even the paint looks different, so you have to cut the paint with a white filler or it will tend to be too dark."

The fine detailing of the kits include wiring, metal screens and grates and even rivets require assembly.

Although his hobby is a little expensive, Drouin said his spouse doesn't seem to mind.

"When she heard how much I spent restoring the car, she didn't seem to mind the few thousand I spent on model kits," he smiled.