# Tom Sasser is dying



## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

*Tom Sasser has passed.*

Our modeling brother, who was largely responsible for bringing us Polar Light's 1/350 Enterprise refit, and the master-modeler of Thomas Models and PNT Models, is dying of complications from diabetes. There's more info on this SSM thread:
http://www.starshipmodeler.net/talk/viewtopic.php?t=116773
...plus a link to a GoFundMe site if you'd like to help out his family.

I had good dealings with Tom in the past on some projects, and will always consider him a friend and a good guy. I still have a couple of boxes of "imperfect" resin parts from his Franz Joseph conversion kits. Sounds like a good time to bash some together as a tribute.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Dammit, 2015! 

I've never met the man, nor have I bought any of his work, but that doesn't stop me from unhappiness as I consider everyone here a kind of brother, this small community of clearly insane people. 

This shouldn't be happening. He's the second person in my 'circle' (if I may consider him as such, even at a distance) who has a death sentence from complications of diabetes. This is insane. It's the 21st century. People shouldn't DIE from this. 

As has been a theme going across the anime community for the past few years as we 50-somethings are dropping like flies, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES, PEOPLE! Get out and walk! Go easy on the soda and chips! Get a check up! 

My deepest condolences to his family and friends.


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## BWolfe (Sep 24, 2013)

Sad, too many good people are going away.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

It is sad to hear, Tom is the reason I joined Hobbytalk. We met at my front door, he was on a trip with his wife and stopped off to drop off an order of decals I ordered. He was shock I knew of him from my lurking here, and I joined afterwards. His decals were the best I ever used, and was disappointing when he closed down PNT Models and I could no buy direct. He is a great guy, and I considered a friend.

Let's not forget his love of Star Trek, and the props, and mini-sets he built for Starship Exeter.


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## edge10 (Oct 19, 2013)

Sorry to hear this. I am proud to own and have built his Franz Joseph conversion for the 1/1000 Enterprise kit.

I don't have access to that forum John, could you please post the GoFundMe link here?


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## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

I had a chance to talk to him once. He came up with a solution to a problem I was having on a TOS Enterprise project I was working on many years ago. I called the number on his old website and had a nice chat with him, great guy. My prayers go out to him and his family.


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## Garbaron (Apr 23, 2004)

Very sad to hear. He's a good chap.

Him, Carlos Zangrado (ArthuPendragon) and I had LONG conversations over differences of the Refit to the Ent-A when the PL 1/350 Refit was still in the making. Still got the 1/350 NX-01 I ordered from him. 

*raises bottle of blood wine* 

Have a save journey to Sto'Vo'Kor.
Quapla' brother


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Here's the GoFundMe link:
http://www.gofundme.com/f82hdh7c
The goal is to move Tom and his wife back to his home state to be with his family for his last days.


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## bigdaddydaveh (Jul 20, 2007)

Thank you for posting this John. Thom, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Looks like they are less than halfway to the goal. Let's get him home folks! I've personally been through this three times in the last year and it sucks. Folks, please, please, help them out. Thom and his wife need to be home.


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## edge10 (Oct 19, 2013)

John P said:


> Here's the GoFundMe link:
> http://www.gofundme.com/f82hdh7c
> The goal is to move Tom and his wife back to his home state to be with his family for his last days.


Thanks John. I was able to help a little. Hopefully those who are able and have enjoyed his kits can pitch in as well.


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## PixelMagic (Aug 25, 2004)

I don't know Tom, nor have I spoken with him, but I have followed his work from 15 years ago when I was a teenager. He has been an inspiration to me and others I'm sure.

I have donated to help him out. I hope others can do the same. An absolute shame we live in a country where getting sick can make you go broke. Despicable.


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## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

The governments nowadays on both sides of the border couldn't care less about the quality or the value of a person's worth and their contributions
to society.They are all being treated like a daily nameless commercial product instead as a truly valuable member of society with the respect
that they really deserve!

Thomas Sasser is such a rarity,my dad is also suffering from diabetes
too.


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## 1701ALover (Apr 29, 2004)

So sad!!  I've never had the pleasure of talking to him, but I've enjoyed his work all these years.

Sending good thoughts to him and his family.


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## KUROK (Feb 2, 2004)

Geez this really bites!
I never met Thom in person but I also helped out on Starship Exeter like he did (loaned a hero phaser).
His models were an inspiration to me and I missed his input from these forums for several years. 
Godspeed Thom!!!!


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## fgf1012 (Aug 27, 2002)

Thomas passed away this evening.


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## Nova Designs (Oct 10, 2000)

Thomas Sasser was one of the very first people I met on this forum back in the late 90s and I had the pleasure of many interactions with him oevr the years, including working together on a few projects. His talent and drive were infectious and I was always very impressed with his artistry. Yeah he rubbed a few people the wrong way, but it was never his intention to do anything other that further this hobby and his love of Star Trek. Not all of us have a perfect arc of success, and we all make mistakes. At heart he was a really good guy, to those who really got to know him.

I for one am deeply saddened to hear of he and his family's suffering and hoe that now that he is at peace his family can work towards their own recovery with what small bit of help we are able to provide.

I encourage anyone who knew him or of him to open their hearts just a little bit and try to help out any way you can.

Rest in peace, Thom... I like to believe that his human adventure is just beginning. 

I don't think he would find that cheesy at all.


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

Sad to hear. He was always a good guy when I dealt with him! Very sorry to hear this!


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## Garbaron (Apr 23, 2004)

fgf1012 said:


> Thomas passed away this evening.




R.I.P. Thomas


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Dammit.


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## bigdaddydaveh (Jul 20, 2007)

If I had bagpipes, I'd be playing him Amazing Grace right about now. My prayers and best wishes are with his wife and family. Way too many deaths this year...


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## Hunch (Apr 6, 2003)

Wow that sucks. Sorry to here this as I too have diabetes. I'm sure the Elite have cures for many of these conditions (thats why they are all 100 years old!) but fat chance we will ever see them!
Crappy fake world! Really sick of it!
Jim


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

I first crossed paths with Thomas back in the late 80's? Early 90's? At the Creation ( I hate those creation guys) Star Trek conventions at the Dearborn Civic Center outside of Detroit.

In those early days, he and Tracey (of what would become Federation Models) shared a table and sold their wares.

They used to highlight a 4 engined Klingon battlecruiser at their table.
(I wonder what became of that model).

At the time Thomas was living in Lansing, Michigan, and I remember seeing his kits and parts for sale at the local 'Rider's Hobby Shop' on Michigan Avenue.

I will agree with the various sentiments about his talent vs. his business habits. As I can attest to this personally.

I also heard stories of his arrogance, especially around the time of the development of the 1/350 refit kit for Polar Lights.

Then there was a falling out between Tracey and Thomas that went on for years. Though, I was glad when I heard that they patched things up.

Despite all the drama, there is truly no denying, that he was one of the founding fathers of the Trek garage kit industry. And anyone who has purchased aftermarket parts or a resin kit, regardless of manufacturer, ultimately has Thomas (and I'm not forgetting Tracey here) to thank for it.


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## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

I take everything I said back when I criticized him when he created the new
line of Star Trek kit in 1/1000 scale.I really take it back!


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

A bit of history here... 

I had been into building models from about the mid 70s to the early 90s. For myself I was building Star Trek models, but for a while in high school I worked on commission out of my local model shop as apart time job (it was Coronado, so I was building Navy ships and planes). My interest in model building fell off when my mathematics education turned to doing research around 1994. I really didn't build any models or props after that for a long time.

I had gotten back into Star Trek stuff again around 2000, and became aware of Thomas Sasser when I found out about Starship Exeter. I quickly became a fan of his work!

I got back into models around 2004 when I offer to help Starship Exeter and they said they needed a shuttlecraft interior. I was put in contact with David Weiberg and Gordon Smuder of MNFX and designed the interior set based on chairs which had already been started. It wasn't until later on that I found out that some of this was replacing things that Sasser was originally building (honestly, I didn't want to know and didn't ask about any of it).

In late 2006 I was playing around with making CGI models (using really old software on really old computers) just to see what it was like. I guess Sasser had liked what I had done because he contacted me in 2007 and asked about creating a CGI model of a design he had put together for the fan production Star Trek Origins. He offer to supply me with current software to bring the design to life.

Unfortunately by this time I had realized I didn't really care for CGI models, I really liked the physical ones. And I was wondering why he wasn't building a physical version of this for the production. He had already made a Daedalus Class model for them that looked awesome! I guess they wanted to go all CG for the effects.

During the few weeks that we were discussing all this we had a number of phone conversations and he sent me a ton of plans for the hero ship, the USS Yorktown. This is one of the simplified drawings of this ship...








... but the final plans he gave me went into incredible details about all aspects of the design. This, in my opinion, was one of the best fan designs I had seen. I totally love this ship!

I guess Star Trek Origins eventually found someone else to do the CGI and the design was modified to this, which seemed like a massive step backwards in quality.

With the plans Sasser had put together, I had often contemplated an attempt to build it... but I guess I had always held out hope that we might get to see him build it (which would obviously be way better).

My last contact with Sasser was in 2010. He supplied me with the decals I used on my two-thirds scale study model of the 33 inch Enterprise.

I had known about his work on the 1/350 Refit kit, the 1/1000 TOS Enterprise kit, and the Diamond Select TOS Enterprise toys, but had often wondered what he was up to recently. I often visited his website for inspiration and in the hope that he would post some new project he was working on. A lot of the ideas on construction I've been using for my studio scale replica of the 33 inch Enterprise are based on a 1/350 scale TOS Enterprise model he was building back in 2007 (the masters of which looked incredible, so I had always wondered if he had finished his work).

My heart goes out to Sasser's family, but I really feel sorry for the community at large. Some of us know to some degree the magnitude of what we have been robbed of with his passing. Knowing what he had done, knowing what he could do and knowing what we won't get to see... the loss of such an artist had truly made my world darker than it was yesterday.


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

Thanks for the heads up Mr. P
DAMMIT! 
I never had the chance to meet him...he sent me a big thumbs up on my
Spindrift build. Our thoughts are with him and his Family.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Back when he was working up the FJ dreadnought conversion kit, I mentioned (probably right here) that I'd done a painting of a DN in action when I was a teenager. He called me and asked to see it - maybe he'd use it for the box art. I happened to have it scanned, so I emailed to him as we spoke.

His reaction upon opening the JPG: 
"Oh. Um. I guess I'll use a photo of the model..."

:lol: At least he was honest!


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## edge10 (Oct 19, 2013)

Thanks for the story John.  Your teenage work couldn't be any worse than the early Starfleet Battles 'art'. 

I'm sorry Thomas didn't get to make it back to Michigan. 

I am grateful for the work he did on the 1/1000 line of ST kits and the Refit and the FJ PNT kits. He provided or helped to provide many cool distractions for this Star Trek fan.

Thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and family.


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## Sparky (Feb 21, 2004)

Though I had no direct dealings with Thomas since I came back to modeling in 2004, my impression of him has always been that he was an enormously talented and influential guy in our modeling community. 

If anyone would be willing to share, I would love to hear how Thomas became involved with designing the PL 1/350 Refit (one of the coolest and most intimidating kits in my "to build someday" stash).


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## onigiri (May 27, 2009)

The community lost one of its best. I knew he was on the decline but it was still a shock all the same. May the wind be at your back, sir. Godspeed.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

I've often seen his name appear on here over the years so it's sad to hear this. Didn't he have something to do with the proposed 1/350th K'Tinga as well as the Refit?


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## edge10 (Oct 19, 2013)

John, I borrowed some of your words (most of them) from your original post and reposted this at the RPF:

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=245610


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## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Tom Sasser was a talented man with an unquenchable enthusiasm for _Star Trek_ modelling. His resin accessories and decals helped many modellers do projects they would not otherwise have attempted. I have a few of his resin models - his 1/2500 _Miranda _compares favourably with R2's recent release, and some of his Starfleet Alternatives decals reside in my spare decal box His work with Revell on their reissued _Voyager_ and with Polar Lights spread his unseen influence to literally millions of modellers. He may have been a little prickly to deal with sometimes, but he was an invaluable resource for the _Star Trek_ modelling community and the modelling world is a little smaller with his passing.


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## jheilman (Aug 30, 2001)

I never met him in person, but WAY back when the 1:1000 scale PL TOS Enterprise was in prototype, Thomas contacted me about a 3D model I had made and asked if he could use those renders to promote the release of the kit at either a con or an executive meeting. As I remember, he printed different renders on foamcore and made them somewhat 3D. He sent me a free kit for my trouble. 

I too had heard stories over the years of drama and anger, but, in our very brief dealings, he seemed like a standup guy. RIP.


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## StarCruiser (Sep 28, 1999)

bigdaddydaveh said:


> If I had bagpipes, I'd be playing him Amazing Grace right about now. My prayers and best wishes are with his wife and family. Way too many deaths this year...


Somehow, it does seem to be appropriate to let the bagpipes wail after this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euWfTiYwRB0


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## Jim NCC1701A (Nov 6, 2000)

Rest in peace Thomas.


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## tardis1916 (Mar 24, 2004)

This is very sad news. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

I'm in the process of a trio of refits, looks like I have a little more motivation to complete them in his honor.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

SUNGOD said:


> I've often seen his name appear on here over the years so it's sad to hear this. Didn't he have something to do with the proposed 1/350th K'Tinga as well as the Refit?


He basically had it completely designed. I have a parts breakdown exploded view somewhere. When Racing Champs bought out PL, they told him to send them all his files, and cancelled the project. RC wasn't really interested in spaceships.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Sparky said:


> If anyone would be willing to share, I would love to hear how Thomas became involved with designing the PL 1/350 Refit (one of the coolest and most intimidating kits in my "to build someday" stash).


I don't know how he became involved, but I know we have him to thank for RC following thru with issuing it.

The project was completed when Polar Lights was bought by Racing Champs. The kits were already manufactured and sitting in the factory in China, waiting to be shipped. I think they were waiting for final payment or something like that. Tom told me that he was aware of this at the point the company changed hands, and then he heard nothing for a while. Frustrated, wanting to see his kit in his hands, he called Racing Champs and asked the status of the PL 350 refit.

RC Person: "The what? Wait, let me... oh, that thing. We're cancelling that."
Tom: "What!? It's _finished_! It's _manufactured_! 5,000 (whatever) of them are in China waiting to ship!!"
RC Person: "Really? Hm. Okay, maybe we'll go ahead with that."
:freak:

So if Tom hadn't made that phone call...


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## Sparky (Feb 21, 2004)

Thom's obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/lsj/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-sasser&pid=175672328

John: It is great to know that Thom gave RC a kick in the behind to get that kit out. It would have been a great loss if the 350 Refit E had not been issued. Rightly or wrongly, I have always figured the success of the 350 Refit E a major factor in getting the 350 TOS E produced. Thom did some work on the design of the 350 K'Tinga kit? More than ever would love to see it produced as well.


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## arvison (Mar 14, 2002)

Long time reader, very little poster here. I purchased an order of Trek detail parts and decals from Thomas Models back in 1998. The order took longer than expected to arrive. But when it did arrive, the package contained extra detail parts and decals with a note saying that the extra parts were included to compensate me for the delay in shipping. On top of that, Thomas called my home about three weeks later to inquire as to whether or not the order had arrived and if I was satisfied with his products. We spoke for about 30 minutes, discussing tips and techniques for finishing Trek models. I was honored to have the opportunity to speak with this Trek modeling pioneer whose work I had long-admired on the World Wide Web (as we called it in those days). I used the originally ordered parts and decals in builds but somewhere I still have the unused complimentary ones in the original packaging and shipping box. 

May you rest in peace, Thomas. Thank you for your tremendous contributions to our hobby. I, for one, will always remember my brief, but pleasurable, conversation with you. 

Jim


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## eradicator178 (Sep 3, 2008)

ClubTepes said:


> I will agree with the various sentiments about his talent vs. his business habits. As I can attest to this personally.


I must agree his talent in the modeling field was unsurpassed. His business ethics were sometimes questionable as I can also attest to personally. But none the less the modeling world has lost a great talent.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

John P said:


> He basically had it completely designed. I have a parts breakdown exploded view somewhere. When Racing Champs bought out PL, they told him to send them all his files, and cancelled the project. RC wasn't really interested in spaceships.



That's it of course and I think I've got that parts breakdown saved somewhere too. If they ever release a new K'Tinga in 1/350th they should include a tribute to him somewhere on or inside the box.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

I am sadden that he did not make it home to be with his family. I will miss him, he was a great guy to know and a friend. His love of Star Trek knew no bounds, and we benefited from that love. I always marveled at his model work, and his decals were the best I ever used.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Steve H said:


> Dammit, 2015!
> 
> I've never met the man, nor have I bought any of his work, but that doesn't stop me from unhappiness as I consider everyone here a kind of brother, this small community of clearly insane people.
> 
> ...



This is a real bummer. The guy was only a year older then I am.


He was an excellent artist.


You are definitely right about how this shouldn't be happening in the 21st century.


In the end, the thing that will kill most people are the makings of a food industry that 
puts sugar in everything so you are constantly hungry and tired!


Then to get going you eat and drink more of it, over and over and over.
All of which makes everyone from the food industry, your dentist, and the medical
industry insanely rich!


Processed foods and sugar are way more likely to kill you then a natural disaster, Ebola or a Zombie Virus!


But as usual, I ramble. Mainly because I find it so shocking that someone only a year older then me has died this way . . . 


Thomas was an excellent artist, who I believe suffered with many problems to produce and accomplish what he was able to accomplish.


At least his suffering is over. The Trek community is less one more talented person who should have lived to amaze and tick off many more people before passing. 


I hope his wife, children, family and extended family find solace, hope and prosperity going forward.


Personally, I'd like to imagine he's somewhere bugging the heck out of Matt Jefferies right now.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Thomas enjoyed his work, and that is important in life.


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## StarCruiser (Sep 28, 1999)

Art Asylum put up a notice on this as well:

http://www.artasylum.com/2015/08/in-memoriam-thomas-sasser-model-maker/


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

What a shame, a real loss for the Star Trek modelling community. My condolences go out to his family.


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## ccbor (May 27, 2003)

RIP

Bor


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## Nova Designs (Oct 10, 2000)

StarCruiser said:


> Art Asylum put up a notice on this as well:
> 
> http://www.artasylum.com/2015/08/in-memoriam-thomas-sasser-model-maker/


That's really nice.


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## MHaz (Aug 18, 1999)

Y'know, it's been _years_ since I posted here, but I popped in every now and then to see how things were going. I got out of plastic for a while after college, got a job, had a family, and all those other things we do. When I got back into the hobby, I gave Thomas a call to ask if he still had some stuff of his I'd always wanted available, but couldn't buy at the time (limited college budget...). That conversation lasted almost 2-1/2 hours, and he still remembered me after the time I was away.

We talked from time to time, about models in general and Trek in particular. He was very eager to encourage me when one of my other modeling buddies in Huntsville, AL, proposed starting a decal line (Vagabond Decals, USN/USAF aircraft, mainly), and had plenty of advice when it came to techniques for drawing art, wading through setting up accounts with printers, etc.

Tom definitely had his rough edges when it came to business, and he freely admitted to many of his mistakes to me, but could he produce some incredible things with his modeling skills and his computer.

I still have the very first casting of his lower saucer window bay for the Enterprise-D kit, that he sent me while I was in college, as soon as his master and mold were finished. Think it's high time I dug that kit out and finished it.


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

Are you the same guy that did USS Green a bunch of years ago?


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## MHaz (Aug 18, 1999)

ClubTepes said:


> Are you the same guy that did USS Green a bunch of years ago?



Yup... That was my first attempt at using resin conversions. Model didn't survive it's first cross-country move.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Really nice Art Asylum tribute, indeed!


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## publiusr (Jul 27, 2006)

Lloyd Collins said:


> It is sad to hear, Tom is the reason I joined Hobbytalk. We met at my front door, he was on a trip with his wife and stopped off to drop off an order of decals I ordered. He was shock I knew of him from my lurking here, and I joined afterwards. His decals were the best I ever used, and was disappointing when he closed down PNT Models and I could no buy direct. He is a great guy, and I considered a friend.
> 
> Let's not forget his love of Star Trek, and the props, and mini-sets he built for Starship Exeter.


I met him one time at Piggly Wiggly (now Winn Dixie) in Clay.
I always thought he would be around.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

John P said:


> Here's the GoFundMe link:
> http://www.gofundme.com/f82hdh7c
> The goal is to move Tom and his wife back to his home state to be with his family for his last days.


Any updates on his family's move ? 


Still shocking that he passed at such a young age.


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