My Good Deed for the Day

Typically I am not one to brag about myself or point out things that I have done for my own gratification; however, yesterday I did something that I actually felt really good about, and that was to help spread the word of scale modeling. Here's what I did: I happened to stop by the new Hobby Lobby that recently opened near me. I wanted to check out what kind of model selection this store had in comparison to the other store that I had been going to. While I was looking over the kits and supplies, I noticed a young lady looking at the aircraft kits while talking on her cell phone. I was not trying to listen in on her call, but she wasn't being overly quiet either. I kept hearing her make comments like, "I don't know; what would he like; what is the difference in Skill Level 1, 2 & 3; should I get him a plane or a tank or a boat....and other questions like this". I waited for a few minutes and continued to look at the paint selection. (I might add I was actually fairly impressed at the selection). After she got off the phone I made the comment that she seemed confused and wondered if I could point her in a certain direction. She stated to me that she was shopping for her son for his 9th birthday and wanted to get him a model. I asked if he had put models together before and she pointed to the Level 1 kits (snap-tite) and said that he had put one of them together, but it seemed pretty basic. She picked up the Monogram A-10A and asked if it was a good kit, I told for a 9 year old, it would probably be a challenge; but that it would also make a nice model. So that is what she was going to get. Then I mentioned paint...the look on her face was priceless! She thought that the picture on the front of the box was what it looked like when he put it together. I explained to her that once you get out of the snap-tite models, they are molded in usually one single color and would require paint. Eventually she found a model that wouldn't be too complex and looked cool (to her and me), set her up with some non-toxic Testors cement, Testors Acrylic paint set. I explained to her that when it comes to paint, there are several varieties out there and there is a huge difference between enamels and acrylics. She like the thought of acrylics for a 9 year old for obvious reasons. Anyway, to sum it up, I felt that if I can help a mother get her son interested in building models and maybe spend less time in front of the TV and build something that he can also learn about the better.