ey there everyone. My name is Jason Mattingly and I design and build scaled models. I’ve worn many hats in my life that has given me some very valuable skills. Some of these I’ve continue to develop to this day, while others…not so much.

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    ut the single most important one for this website is my background as a drafter. I have roughly 12 years experience in mechanical and architectural drafting. I won various awards throughout those years, was one of the first 100 people in the country to work on the first 3D software (not develop) for non-military applications, and developed new methods and practices for early AutoCAD use for my region that was able to move away from cumbersome tablets. (Note: Back then, tablet were about 30x30” and wired to a “puck” to select little pictures of all the commands). Now, I’d like to say that I helped develop these shortcuts, and though my teachers did submit my suggestions to the company, I have to assume that I had nothing to do with the company-wide process. But I can say with certainty that I did change the methodology from my region.

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    nd, like all things in my life, I got bored and went in a different direction. <sigh>

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   ast forward through failed relationships and continued bad career decisions, I found a calling in film making. But it was expensive as all hell! But I found this unbridled passion for storytelling that I realized I have since childhood (and how it originated with Dungeons & Dragons). Now, I won’t get into all the ups and downs of that whole thing, but let’s just say that even though I wasn’t bored, I got…distracted. Mostly frustrated. But distracted nonetheless.

I love being behind the camera, but really stress in front of it. Seeing just one of my YouTube videos should easily corroborate this fact. But I’m good at research. So, I dived into research. To find that perfect formula for creating the perfect character in the perfect story. A naive idea. And slightly overstated. But I loved (and still do) the entire process of storytelling and can spend weeks talking off the heads of the random passerby, if I believe for a moment they may listen.

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    fter a few years and countless hours, I was able to develop an easy-to-use card system for developing character personality. And that “eureka” moment occurred when I realized that it wasn’t about how someone did something, but rather what brought them to that decision (and yeah, that seems pretty obvious in hindsight). Combining major principles of psychology, a heavy dose of astrology and new age practices, and an instruction set that read like a DnD manual…I finally created, “The Storyteller’s Zodiac”.

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  he work I put into that project made me look at storytelling in a whole new way. And, admittedly, ruined some movies for me along the way. I saw my method working in everything, from film to tv to games to DnD itself.

2019. A lot of things happened. Some I had hoped for. A lot I wish hadn’t. My passion for film continues, but there are only so many script rejections one gets before having to take a step back and reflect. I decided that I was going to take a different approach to things. I was never going to be one of those social media influencers (again, look at me in ANY of my videos). Film projects were taking years to finish. I was discouraged. With my origin story steeped in design and various art mediums, I needed something that I could do and be proud of in a month or less (sometimes more). I needed that quick fix. I think it’s something that ever artist needs, except that I had only just realized it. I needed a sense of accomplishment. So, armed with loads of drafting knowledge, a warehouse of 80s references, and a passion for micro machines, I started Swords & Sandals on YouTube.

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    ow, what does building scaled objects have to do with all of this? Good question. And it may not look like it right now. But, I can promise you that I have a lot of ideas right around the corner and my concentration is fixed (as much as it can be).

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    ut first, I need to get my skills up to a level where I can actually do the things that I have planned. And I’m getting there, but I’m not sure I’m completely there yet. YET. But I’ve expanded my skill set tenfold and now I just have to improve on them. And along the way I’m hoping to create some pretty awesome things for people to watch and help build for themselves.

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    o I press forward to attain my goals. And hopefully, along the way, find a whole lot of like-minded people to have faith in me and my creations and help me make all my plans a reality.

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   ntil then, I’ll keep building.

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