Walczak grew up playing video games, but his interest in the hobby waned as he got older.
“It was an awful game,” Walczak says.
He even ended up playing with his coworker online, going head-to-head in beloved maps like Blood Gulch.
The franchise ended up reigniting his love for video games.
“It was the peak of that gaming era for me,” he says.
“Nothing comes close.”
(“I just thought, I can probably build something like that,” he says, laughing.
“How hard could it be?")
“That’s definitely when it became real,” Walczak says.
“Before, I was just a guy with a few sketches.
After I wrote the check, I had a dilapidated old truck in my driveway.
I just thought, ‘What am I doing with my life?
I guess I’m actually building this thing.'”
It’s been a learning process for sure.”
Needless to say, it’s not for sale.
“Every price I’ve been offered would really just cover the parts,” Walczak says.
“There are things I would do completely differently.
But to be honest, I haven’t decided yet…People ask me to sell these to them.
It’s just wild to me.”
His ultimate goal of creating a drivable Warthog is within reach.
“I can see the end of the tunnel,” he says.
“It’s a strange feeling.”
“Honestly, it’s a piece of PVC pipe.
I think it’s doable, for sure.”
“People always say, ‘It’s too hard.’
Look, nobody said it was ever going to be easy,” Walczak says.
“Spend less time talking about it and more time learning.
Scratching ideas on a piece of paper is progress.
So you’re broke; that’s okay.
That’s the main thing.”
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