Hi ;
This is not a diatribe or anything .Just some thoughts about the world around us , where it concerns us and our hobbies . I turned seventy one , Mother's day and I chose to spend the day reflecting back on my hobby choices , what brought them about and where I shopped when I was young.
You've seen me mention here Broom handles and Dad's workshop . It goes further back than that though . It goes back to a warm summer in Arkansas and having nothing to do because all my friends were away at summer camp .Dad couldn't afford that , so I stayed home .
I focused on a small spot by an ancient ( to me , anyway ) oak tree and the hollow at the ground level between two large roots . It looked like the box canyons I'd seen in many of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry's westerns . It became , that , day the large gun emplacements seen in the " Guns at Navarrone " to me . One of my favorite little green soldiers was Anthony Quinn leading his team to de-commission them .
Where did the monster guns come from ? Try this .Way back in the fifties there was a large gun and transport kit put out by REVELL .I had two .Well to digress , they weren't in the best of shape and I don't even remember what happened to the tow vehicles ! They worked for this child's mind though
Now move forward to my Foster father who owned the Broomsticks I made submarines out of . He gifted me with the ultra rare ( Now ) spaceship and launch tower model from Revell . And got all my " Victory at Sea " kits from my Grandma , who'd put them away for me .
Hmmmmm I wish the ship wouldn't roll so hard sometimes .In the mess deck of the U.S.S. OZBOURN - D.D. 846 I am putting together ( or trying to ) the Airfix kit of an English destroyer ship model . I keep all the parts in the box till I need them and am grateful for the fiddlys on the table ( Fiddlys are the raised edges on a boat's or ships tables , To prevent your meal from going to the deck during a roll .) they usually worked pretty good too .I got the model done and gave it to a shipmate who was originally from Britian ( now the U.K. ) .he in turn Gave me a REVELL four Piper kit ( U.S.S. Cambelltown ). Flash forward , Again !
I am sitting at my desk in the office putting the finishing touches on a 1/16 scale car model for a show . This is some years later than the ( OZBOURN years ) The model looks great and I just loved hashing model talk with Jack Elliott , who , with his partners owned a hobby shop in Jacksonville , Arkansas . Now , my modeling has taken off big time . A successful businessman and father I had three ( Yes , Three ) medium sized barn storage buildings crammed to the rafters with models from the late forties to the present ( 1981 ). All bought at LHS facilities .
Jack Elliott was the only game in central ARKANSAS at the time and supported what happened next . So The Central Arkansas Modelers Society was born there too ! Yes , the shortened name was CAMS like in a car engine . This was intentional . We had a larger contingent of car modelers to anything else .I built them as well as ships . We also were the first club in the region to go I.P.M.S. . The planes , ships and cars as well as armor coming from the members was all memorable , especially the friendly competition between members to see what the " other Guys " in a genre built for the monthly contests . We had a fellow , Macon Freeman , legally blind by Todays's standards , that built absolutely amazingly well done 1/48 Bandai Armor ( sucked me in , he did ) who became a very close friend . I retaliated by getting him into ships .I didn't know there were so many iterations of Buckley class escorts one could build ( seems like , between him and I, we built at least fifty different types ! )
I moved after the tornadoes of December 1982 completely derailed my life and business ! Oh , those three Barns survived a roll down the steep mountain side lot we had ! After hauling them back to the road , we found that being packed so full , the contents were undamaged ! !
Flash forward again . Texas , today . I am on what will probably my last commission . Don't have those old kits anymore , Just a lot of memories of the changes in venue where one could and still can buy models at . Hobby Town comes to mind .45 miles and minutes away . Still not a Mom and Pop though . You can't buy models at WAL-MART anymore .( don't know about K - Mart ,It's to far away ! )
So Hill Country Hobby's it is . I am glad they are here . That's the one change as an auld phart I don't like to see .It's like a virus without a cure .LONG LIVE THE L.H.S. ! ! and Memories ! Thanks for reading this .I hope it helps fire your memories too . Tanker Builder