Since I am considered a young person under 18, I can remember this quite clearly. Sorta a long story but here it goes:
There are about five diffferent things that connected that got me in this hobby.
A. My Grandpa built model airplanes (RC) and had a Tamiya A1 on the shelf (he flew them in Korea) and one day, he asked me if I would like to build it with him. I saidm sure and I still have that model sitting on the shelf, minus a propeller shot of by the North Koreans and the rockets and bombs have all been detached.
B.My Dad was flying RC models and as he was going through an old box, he found a bunch of old Revell and Monogram kits he had built as a kid and got me a Revell F-18 that we built together.
C. My mom had to take me to work with her one week so she had to give me something to do so she got me a Revell P-61 to keep me busy, I know, not the best kit to start with but it was fun.
D. I had read a lot of books on Military history before I started modeleing and had always been fascinated by the ehickles and weoponry.
E. I grow up in a house where there is no nintendo, Xbox, PS2, gameboy and no cell phone. All I have is a computer. Eventually, video games get boring. To me, making a diorama is like making a scene in a movie or game, And the best part is when ou sit down after a completed project and can say, I built that with my own two hands, the sense of improvement and accomplishment far surpasses anything that can be achieved by a video game I think.
I played started playing Combat Flight Simulator 2 and 3 and Medal of Honor. About a year later I got into modeling.
I heard about the hobby from family and from going to alot of train shows where they had modeling products sometimes. And going to the LHS with my dad to pick up supplies for his kits.
I was 9 when I started building models. If you want to get a son or daughter into the hobby, the best thing I would reccomend is maybe getting them a small 1/72 or 1/48 kit that doesn';t have to many fit problems and let them give it a try, the worst they can do is say I don't like it.
David
On the bench:
1/35 Tamiya M26 Pershing-0%
1/144 Minicraft P-38J Lightning-50%
Numerous 1/35 scale figures in various stages if completion.