Hi :
No the title was Not a typo . Have you noticed how large some models have grown ? How many people can actually say " I have plenty of space to display these beauties " ? Many of us are very lucky to have the space to even consider building them ! My worktable was 8'by 4' and sometimes on commissions it's Not big enough . This is because I need to keep the paints for a project near at hand . The glues and EVERGREEN plastic near at hand too , Lets not forget the tools we all use . Now , there is , besides the large aircraft models of which I would like to own every one by every company , ships Like the large Enterprise , Arizona and now the Bismark , not to exclude the four " Anniversary Versions " of the " Titanic ! Thing is , how many of us have a " Model Cave " to accomodate these beasts . I had years ago ( over thirty ) an air conditioned mobile home of the dimensions ,14' by 76 ' , When we moved into the house that after eighteen years was finally finished , the wife told me this . " You can have model cars and armor on display in the house ,four of each . Now you can have one plane and one ship too .Choose carefully . " Why , well after all that time and seventies dollars ,we finally had our dream home , finished and exactly the way we envisioned , A lot of sweat equity there ! There were display areas which like the fish tanks were built into the walls .She made these beautiful ceramic dragons with all this pearly and metallic paints on them and she wanted to show them off too .
Enter the Mobile home .It was in excellent condition because we took care of our possessions . we taught the kids that too . Sooo , I put a motoryacht (scratchbuilt ) in one niche and a Steamboat (1865 southern river type ) in one also . Then some smaller planes that I valued . At this time I was building the gorgeous little 1/48 scale Bandai Armor kits , so quite a few fit in some of those niches in " Mini Dioramas " . Hmmm , Planes larger than 1/72 wouldn't fit and not many 1/25 or 1/24 model cars or 1/16 scale tractor trailer models ! Hmmm What to do ? Ah , the mobile home sitting there about a hundred and fifty feet away on the property next door . Lets see , curved drive , portico and nice air conditioning Phone , cable and Coffee Pot !.Well , needless to say it became , after a major internal re-model my shop and display area ( not to mention a small stash room ) . At one time my stash was big enough to fill two 10'by14' storage buildings to the rafters ! ! Much was used in creating little detail parts on commission models , and the rest went into parts drawers and file cabinets .
The display areas were the area where the kitchen , dining and living room were . The three bedrooms and two remaining baths were rurned into the work area with a fiberglass tub modified to be a " sanding sink " Of course , I kept the half bath for a restroom . Not to many of us of can make that claim .Well , that was years ago . NOW I share a space of 4'by4' with my landlady and her stained glass .Its hard , but I make it work . When she's working on her glass projects we get to talk and laugh together and time flies!
Now , back to those BIIG models .Have any of you figured out where to put your fully assembled model of the Large REVELL " Constitution " ? Takes up a lot of room doesnt it ? Now how about that REVELL F- 15 " Strike Eagle Kit you finished ? Are your ceilings high enough to hang 1/32 scale airplanes ? back to the larger models that we,ve coveted or managed to buy .How about AIRFIX ? Remember their 1/24 STUKA , P-51 or many others . How about REVELL'S 1/32 scale F-4 Phantom .You get my drift . I will say this though .I have seen up close and personal the newly released (last year ? ) Model of the P-47 " Jug " in that large scale by that Chinese company( I believe it's the" Jug ". I have a rare version of the same plane , same size , by company unknown I lost the box and factory instructions years back in one of my many moves . Both are beautiful , But technically and quality wise , the new offering is galaxies ahead in detail (molded in ) and finish , Not to mention the P.E. parts I have and metal landing gear etc . So here we are , at the end and the question still hangs there , Where do we put these Biig Models ? I share a house now and I am sure your better half doesn't want the neighbors to see the " Toys " you play with for hours . My landlady doesn't care as long as it will fit on a 6" by 4' shelf in the living room . How about you ? Thanks for listening and taking time to read this . Tanker - Builder