Learn. Grow. Expand. By following your passion.

When I was a kid, I liked learning new things, yet I couldn’t wait to get home from school and work on my models. It was one of my passions. I had a blast opening up the box and building it piece by piece to match the box’s image. I was a big fan of vintage airplanes and exotic sports cars. I was also a big fan of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s custom cars and monster model kits, but I never built one.

Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, was a Southern California artist, cartoonist, illustrator, pinstriper, custom car designer and builder who created the hot-rod icon ‘Rat Fink’ and other characters. If you’re a fan (or want to be), there’s a good documentary about Big Daddy Roth’s origin story on Amazon Prime Video “Tales of the Rat Fink.” 

To this day, I am still a big fan of  Big Daddy Roth! Recently while on Pinterest, I explored some Big Daddy Roth model kits, specifically his monster collection like Mr. Gasser. A friend noticed this and surprised me by sending me a Mr. Gasser model kit. Yeah, folks, that is a good friend! I had a blast putting it together… like when I was a kid, only this time, I didn’t rush through it—the passion of a child mixed with the patience of an adult. The final result looks better than what my younger self would have done. Trust me :) Thanks again, friend!

I had a blast putting it together… like when I was a kid, only this time, I didn’t rush through it—the passion of a child mixed with the patience of an adult. The final result looks better than what my younger self would have done. Trust me :) Thanks again, friend!

Building the Mr. Gasser model kit inspired me and expanded into one of my current passions,  creating 3-D digital models. It also led to a collaboration with a buddy of mine to develop and build Samurai Sammy. 

Samurai Sammy is an homage to Big Daddy Roth’s custom monster kits. Smoking tires and all! No work order or client request…Just a fun project for fun’s sake. 

3-D modeling has a significant learning curve. Learning all the components and techniques has developed my knowledge and imagination to new levels. I learn, grow, and expand my skills and abilities while having fun creating characters based on my rough pencil sketches. I can tell it is my new passion because I lose track of time, and it feels great to be in the moment! 

I see the connection from childhood to now. Kid me: “Always be creating something cool while learning something new.” Adult me: “Always be creating side-hustle passions to stay inspired through the demands of life.”  

What’s my next passion project? Something fun. :)

 What is your latest for fun sake project?