New and happy to be here!

HOUSTON! I lived there for a few years, VERY hot and humid. I hope it's a good promotion. You would be close to the coast and NASA though.

Thanks guys! Joe, good to meet you man. You know as luck would have it my boss just asked me if I'd move to Houston :-/ it's a big promotion but I reaaaally don't want to leave CO so I'm struggling with the decision. That's also why I dropped off and haven't been posting lately. I expect to be active all winter here though... Great forum and great people. Thanks again for the warm welcome :)

Man it's great to have another Joe around! I spent a year up there in Colorado at Pueblo at the Chemical Depot for homeland security with the Army National Guard. Pretty country once you get north of Pueblo. Lookin' forward to seeing you around bud, Joe

Colorado is one of our favorite summer destinations!  My wife and I might try a winter getaway up in the Rockies one of these days.  Welcome!

Tankbuilder your daughter is my hero!  I'm incredibly envious!  Thanks for the warm welcome.

Andy, I've been taking pics of my progress so i'll gladly post a WIP thread.  Im encountering a lot of problems but i assume it's just because it's my first build and im fumbling my way through it.  I can't wait to see how you'll tackle some of the challenges i'm having to work past!

Welcome Joe! I'm going to be starting the Revell A-10 as well after I finish up my hurricane...if I can wait:). Post a WIP (work in progress) and maybe we can help each other out. Again welcome to the site and a great hobby!

Hey Joe !

    I knew there was a reason I noticed your post . It wasn't the avatar . It was that very Bossy plane in the post . My daughter would go bonkers . She Flew that type . Me , I just love anything that looks that mean !  T.B.

Welcome aboard Joe!  Well, you have gotten the best advice so far from the great folks here on the forums.  Lots of knowledge and everyone more then willing to help out!  As for a "brand" of model....LOL!  Tough question.  Everyone here has their favorites and not so favorites.  Who's right?  Everyone!    Yeap, you should get a few different ones and try them out yourself.  Each person is different and non are wrong!  Now you may see a quality difference between manufactures, but as a modeler, you can work around that.  So jump in, try different ones, and have fun!

Eagle90

Hi JOE ;

    Welcome to our bunch . If you do like aircraft , you can start by building a model of your avatar . I think that's the cat's meow of modern fighters . 

I  do mostly WW-2 . Why ? Well , the thing is I like the looks of the natural metal birds we had . Most of mine are 1/48 , but I started , like everyone else probably with 1/72 . They were cheap ( still are in a way ) and the selection is good . Monogram-Revell is what I would recommend . Good basic tools and plenty of how to books .

      Pick something simple like a P-51 or F-16 or F-15 Strike Eagle . Build it Out of the Box with no do-dads then go from there .Again - Welcome .       Tanker - Builder

Welcome Joe!

If you're going for modern jets, 1/72nd scale is good.  Modern jets are rather large compared to WWII aircraft, and if space is a premium, then 1/72nd is the way to go.

I have some 1/48th scale F-4s and I just go "Geez! These things are huge!"

YMMV. 

Thanks Jim!  Just went and picked up my first kit... Revell 1/48 level 2 for an A-10 jet.  Im astonished by the huge number of tiny little parts. At first I wasn't even sure if they were part of the plane or just part of the plastic frame that holds all the pieces! Wow. I can't imagine it getting more challenging but this is plenty for me, it'll be a long time if ever before I try skill levels 3-4.  Thanks for the warm welcome.

joe

Welcome to the Forums Joe!  Glad to have you aboard!

I'd have to say "Ditto" to the advice you got above.  Try 1/48 first to get the hang of small parts then, if you feel comfortable with them, try 1/72. I'm moving from 1/72 to 1/48 myself because of the ravages of time (at 74 I have bad eyes and shaky hands), so I'm going larger.

Enjoy!

Jim  

Thanks for the warm welcome and all the advice guys! I really appreciate it. So Revell seems to be a favorite company? The ones I seem to keep coming across are revell, tamiya and italeri.  1/72 and 1/48 seem to be the common scales.  I'll try 1/72 as suggested.  With regards to the skill levels, I don't mind a little challenge but not so much that it takes the fun out of it so I'll start with 2 as suggested.  Patrick I really appreciate the list of basic supplies, I wouldn't have thought to get some of that stuff if you hadn't mentioned it all.  I was hoping to reply to everyone's posts below all your comments and I'm not sure if this will show up for everyone to see or just under Patrick's but thank you all for taking the time to share your input and for the words of welcome. And yes, a love for fighter jets is what spurred my interest in the hobby. I can't wait to start lining up model fighters on my desk at work!

cheers,  Joe

Welcome, Joe! By your name, you seem to be into fighter jets.

Many newcomers here have found that with the 40% off coupon you can get online, they've cleared the shelves at Michaels Art Supply, cheap, of good Monogram and Revell kits. Besides being clean, wellmade kits, they come with really explicit and easy to follow instructions.

Welcome Joe, you’re starting a great hobby and you couldn't have found a better forum than Fine Scale. Word of caution though, soon you will be looking at getting everything you can get your hands on. This however makes it easy on others during Christmas, father’s day and birthdays since they know you want a kit of some sort.
I agree with Patrick, although I would probably start with 1/48 myself. They are a little more expensive but easer to work with, although for jets, they are larger than WW2. Monogram and Revell (same company now) offers a wide range of subjects, relatively low parts count, and easy to build, as long as stay with skill level 2. Skill level 3 and 4 are increasingly more challenging.
Once you get going, try some Tamiya, Hasegawa and so forth, you will notice a difference. Start some WIP threads and the members will help you along if you desire with suggestions, shortcuts, painting help etc.

Welcome again.

Steve

Howdy and welcome, Joe -

Glad to have you on board, you'll find plenty to interest you and help you along in this great hobby. Perfect for when the snow flies.

First, some basic hobby tools. An Exacto knife with #11 blade, two small files, one round and one flat, some 600 grit sandpaper, cement, (I use Tamiya ot Testors liquid cement,) a couple of small paint brushes, one for paint, one for precise application of the liquid cement.

A few small clamps, like for sealing plastic food bags, and some clothes pins. They help to hold cemented parts securely while the cement sets up. That will get you started, the rest of your needs will be apparent as you progress and watch the "work in progress" posts.

Huge assortment of models and manufacturers to choose from, many are great values, accurate and relatively inexpensive, some are quite exotic and MANY $$$$$$$$$. The less costly would be best for getting started, I like pretty much anything from Revell/Monogram. I'd suggest some smaller scale models to get started, like 1:72. That will get you familiar with the do's and dont's of fitting, cementing and general building, plus they are a minimal expense.

This forum is a great place for learning, and many of the experienced modelers are happy to answer questions or refer you to resources for further information.

All the best for your future building.

Patrick