Hi all, I just realized that last year, on Oct. 12, I was home watching football while my girlfriend was out of town visiting family. I randomly wondered if the old hobby shop I'd been to as a kid was still in business, and when I checked Yelp, I saw that not only were they, but they were open, so I headed in and bought an Academy F4U-4 Corsair and an ICM Spitfire Mk. IX.
I assembled them, then painted them with Tamiya rattlecan spray paints. I had a lot of fun with them, and decided to revisit Finescale Modeler, which I'd subscribed to as a kid for several years. And I found this forum, along with a few sites/modeling blogs that reignited my passion for it.
In December, I bought an airbrush - a Badger SOTAR 20/20. This forum was amazing when it came to helping a newbie out with great facts like not thinning with water to way more advanced things (for me - I still have a LOT to learn).
As 2015 came around, I joined the forum, joined group builds, and started posting WIP threads[. With each one, I learned, and I had a lot of fun seeing the amazing work you all do. The critiques on my builds have been very informative, and really helped me progress.
When I think about what has changed since I stopped building almost two decades ago, there is a lot - kit quality, paints, a flurry of aftermarket products, and, most importantly for research, kit reviews and auction sites, the Internet. But the best thing about the Internet isn't the things I listed. To me, the best thing the Internet has done is move my scale modeling hobby away from being a solo endeavor to being a place where I can share it with others, see what you're all doing, and feel like a part of something bigger.
So now as I post pics of the builds I completed, I am not doing it as an ego stroke or a "look at me" post, but as a thank-you to everyone here who has helped me progress, and for all the fun of the past year.
My first two builds upon my return:
The first one I airbrushed (Hobbycraft 1:48 Avia S-199 - I don't have a completion pic on this computer, but it is done)
My next one was my first crack at Alclad - a Hobbycraft 1:48 Ha-1112 Buchon
My first camouflage job (and first time freehanding anything) and first time using a panel line wash - a Tamiya 1/48 Bf-109 E-4
Finishing a kit that I had been too scared to build when my parents gave it to me for my birthday in 1995 (age 12) - Monogram's 1:32 Phantom Mustang.
First time painting stripes and trying to use chipping and tonal variation to break up a monochromatic scheme (and first time painging the interior of a canopy) - Tamiya 1/48 P-51B Mustang.
This was a check-in kit to compare my work to the Spitfire I started with. It was also the first time using Cartograf decals and seeing how great they really are - Eduard 1:48 Spitfire Mk. VIII.
First time I tried to re-scribe panel lines. FOund out I have a lot to learn (at least they're on the underside?). 1:48 Tamiya Dewoitine D.520.
Another check-in kit - this time a Tamiya 1:48 F4U-1D Corsair.
My Airfix 1:48 Hawker Hurricane Mk.I - It was the first time I worked up the nerve to airbrush exhaust streaks over an already-decaled plane.
First time I used salt weathering and combined it with post-decal airbrush work and ground-up pastel chalks. Tamiya/Italeri 1:48 Ju-87 B-2 Stuka.
The first time I've displayed an open compartment that isn't the canopy. Eduard 1:48 Bf-109 E-7 Tropical (weekend edition with PE set for the cockpit).
And now my current build in progress, the 1:48 Tamiya P-51D Mustang. My first attempt at using different shades of Alclad for the natural metal finish. I still have a lot to learn on this, too.
Anyway, I pointed out on here that pretty much every kit I've built has been a test of some technique that's new to me. I learned most of those here, and I really think that trying new things has helped me grow and have more fun with the hobby.
Thanks for sharing all your tips, techniques and experience, and for answering my questions, even when they're as annoying and oft-repeated as "What is the Tamiya color for RLM 65?"
Now it's time to get back to the bench and finish this Mustang.
Cheers!
-BD-