My name is Korkut Varol . I am a mechanical engineer, age 67, a car enthusiast ( which was the reason that I became a mech.eng.) living in Ankara, Turkey. I am happily married for 40 years and we have a daughter 37 years of age.

I love to forget about the business-rush with model-making. I work with plastic kits; but my specialty is scratchbuilding. I use whatever material it may be; but for cars the main material is sheet tin or brass.

I began modeling in the early-70's and after crashing a R/C plane, I decided that I'd better go on with 4 wheels- i.e. car modeling. My first model was made of cardboard with a plain plywood chassis. I kept on working with cardboard and plywood for some time, and then decided to continue with more realistic material.

It was in 1976 that I made my first sheet-metal based model. Tea cans served excellent for the purpose. I kept on working with my own designs because it felt good to change the design whenever I met a trouble in manufacturing. Nevertheless, those models gave me good experience in how to deal with anything.

It was in 1987 that I began with plastic models. I like to build classic cars and American cars of the 50 - 60's. It is very seldom that I buy a modern car model. In 1994, I introduced scratchbuilding techniques into plastic models; not for increasing authenticity but for building my concepts. The first sample was the Lancia Delta Integrale - the World Rally Champ car. I bought two 1/24 kits of Hasegawa to end up with a limousine and a pick-up.

In 1995, I began a 1/20 taxi ( Tofas - Sahin , which is a domestic make and very widely used ) out of scrap to challenge myself, since I would not be free  to change any detail if it proved to be hard to make. This model took 6 months.

In 1996, a 1/24 diorama of a car body repair shop was built, which took 4 months. Various models and dioramas followed from then on.

One thing I like most with modeling is that you have to learn more than what you build, especially if you are after authenticity. Modeling may be defined as a brain exercise that is made visible by trained hands. It is an art, a common language among people who feel the same way.
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