X = Kit Choice +Age ?

Nope, I've been pretty consistent during both modeling phases of my life.  From the time I was 5 until I was 15 and from 33 onward, I've always been about "reality" - even when building sci-fi kits.  I can't seem to get into goofy looking kits like Rat Rods or egg-planes.  To me, they're too toy-like and it goes against everything I've tried to accomplish as a model builder.  Maybe it's a minor OCD-like condition.

But, I am, by no means, a rivet counter.  I'm not one to hack up a kit because it's scale fidelity is off by +/-3mm.  But I will add detail that I know is missing and try to make it look as real as I could possibly muster.  I was never happy with brush painting exteriors because I always felt it looked ridiculous, with the brush strokes or gloppy application.  I was so much happier when I finally moved up to rattle cans.  At last, I could finally get a nice, smooth, even finish.

I have no desire to go back to the dimestore kits I used buy as a child, with my allowance.  I have a job and when I have the disposable income, I'll buy a nice kit.  But I won't buy a $3 POS just because I want a model.

-Fred

Yeah.......its called senility...

I am in a similar boat. But for different reasons. I fond myslef trying my hand again with my current skills on kits I built as a kid. I like picking up some of the Revell and Monogram re issues, and also trying my hand on some of the Daves Deals/Old School kits just for nostalgic value. I also ahve been eyeballing some of the movie monster kits I used to build back as a kid. As far as painting goes, once i got an airbrush, I really got away from area hand brushing, although I think I had that technique down nicely. But my skill there has decined thru lack of use. I never cared for rattle cans and only used those a few times and was not impressed or keen on the results.

A lot of my purchases now are from the same manufacturers I bought from as a kid, too.  That's Monogram for 1/48 and Revell for 1/72, some Aurora and Lindberg thrown in, for much the same reasons as other nostalgia builders-I enjoyed them back then, and I still enjoy them, and I like to tackle them with the skills I've learned over the years.  But I do buy newer kits, too, Accurate Miniatures, Classic Airframes, Eduard.  And I have a mixed bag of ship kits, in 1/700, Hasegawa, Fujimi, Tamiya, but also Hobby Boss and Trumpeter.

I'm not a competition builder, I build what I like, and I like to try scratchbuilding and superdetailing, so I'll tend to the older kits, since they're often a good starting point for that kind of work.  And I think Monogram's 1/48 line reached a very nice level of detail in the 70s, with the large bomber kits, and kits like the TBD, the B-25 and B-26.

Manstein's revenge

Yeah.......its called senility...

Experience leads the way....

It's no secret that I prefer the old kits, 60's-70's-80's, bring 'em on... I love 'em, both for the price and the nostalgia, but also for what they DON'T include, which means I gotta MAKE it...

For me, "X" doesn't equal kit choice + age, but rather the Age + Huge Spares box + Imagination = kit choice... My thing is taking the afore-mentioned "3-Dollar" kits and making them look like a "30-dollar" one without spending the additional 27.00...   Detailing and super-detailing should be fun AND cheap and the only real cost is time... And I got plenty... I'm retired military, got a civilian cake-job that lets me make my own hours and I don't even have to leave the building to go to work (I'm an apartment building super).

Y'all can have the 120.00 TrumpeDragomiya 1/32 P-51 with 400 parts and a pound of brass... Gimme an old Revellogram Wildcat for 12.00 and my spares boxes an' I'm happier 'n a sow with new mud...

Hans von Hammer

For me, "X" doesn't equal kit choice + age, but rather the Age + Huge Spares box + Imagination = kit choice... Gimme an old Revellogram Wildcat for 12.00 and my spares boxes an' I'm happier 'n a sow with new mud...

Due to changing kit choices I've also built up a large spares box which I intend to use for the latest kit purchases.

One advantage of picking the kits like Rommels Rod and Messa-Schitzel is that I can add parts from a variety of kits that are completely unrelated to the subject so long as the end result looks like it fits the spirit of the original design.

Unfortunately, I've found the 1/24th DB 601 is a bit too big to squeeze into that Rommel's Rod engine compartment. Perhaps not completely impossible but some shoe-horning and hood alteration will be required.

Seriously, I see your point about the Monogram kits and the present crop of releases now have good quality decals which keep cost low.

I hope to make resin castings of any detail scratch building I intend to do on an old kit and store the molds for future work as a time saving feature.

As I have a number of Revell 1/32 F-104  kits needing work- making duplicate parts will result in a sort of F-104 assembly line. Too bad I can't make it into a diorama.

Hans von Hammer

...an' I'm happier 'n a sow with new mud... 

I'm disappointed in you, Hammer.  A real nostalgia builder would want old mud.  

the Baron

Hans von Hammer:

...an' I'm happier 'n a sow with new mud... 

 

I'm disappointed in you, Hammer.  A real nostalgia builder would want old mud.  

Only if you're an old sow that's building with mud....  Reckon that's what m' first ex-wife would do...

As I have a number of Revell 1/32 F-104  kits needing work- making duplicate parts will result in a sort of F-104 assembly line. Too bad I can't make it into a diorama.

Why not?  Even if space is a limitation, that particular kit's wingspan makes it doable with a much narrower base than an ordinary 1/32 scale bird...

Hans von Hammer

  Even if space is a limitation, that particular kit's wingspan makes it doable with a much narrower base than an ordinary 1/32 scale bird...

As a kid, I preferred non-military land vehicles. Now I'm building armor and aircraft, plus the odd car; some of my car kits will probably never be built. I guess my tastes now run toward models of vehicles that are prohibitively expensive in 1:1, and that I can't legally operate anyway.