My wife has been telling me to put something together to "tell the story" behind my builds for many years now. I got started on that this week by printing out business cards with each of my build's information - name, kit, year built, anything of note about the build - and them running each card through a laminator. I've already set up all the cards for the builds that are displayed on my shelves, but the ones hanging in my workshop were a bit more work.
I attached line to each card and then found a place to hang the card from each build. I discovered that my workshop is very dusty, so I took 14 of these builds down to clean them as best I could prior to returning them to their perches; while I had them down, I thought it would be good to photograph each of them, as I don't have photos of most of these.
When I was looking at them up close for the first time in many years, I could see my own progression as a modeler. I could also see that no matter how good I thought I had done on a particular build, the climate in my workshop is really not good for these - many had flaking decals, or discoloring of decal film, and a couple even had some spots of unknown source.
Another reason for these photos is the wife and I have been talking, in general terms, about things we may like to do once our youngest is out of the house and we have retired. Downsizing is definitely on the table, and so is acquiring an RV to tour the country in. Both of those make keeping all my builds iffy at best, but I could easily keep a photographic record of all the builds while donating them to whoever might want the actual builds. But all of that is a decision for another day.
So here are the first set of dusty builds I have photographed.
AMT/Ertl A-20B Havoc 1/48. This was the second build I completed when I returned to the hobby back in 1995, and the first for which I utilized a very rudimentary single-action Testors airbrush. All-in-all, I thought I did a decent job on the Havoc (but oh how I would love it if ICM continued in their current release phase that includes its younger brother, the A-26, and kitted a new A-20 and B-26).
Monogram B-58 Hustler 1/48. This kit was a much-desired one for me, but prior to this re-release, I had not known it even existed. So of course, when I saw it in the Squadron catalog around about the year 2000, I snapped it up. Built in in 2004.
Monogram B-17G Flying Fortress 1/48. This was the big Christmas present I got in 1975 when this was first kitted. I built it again a few years later when I was in junior high (I still have that one, in pieces, in a box in the attic). This build was my 3rd effort at Monogram's classic, and I have another original release in the stash, courtesy of eBay.
Monogram B-52D Stratofortress 1/72. Another childhood Christmas gift in maybe 1974, although all I have of that is a photo of me holding it up over my head in front of the tree, still in my pajamas and a big grin on my face. I acquired this kit from eBay, the "Big, Bold and Beautiful" line of re-releases, and built it circa 2007.
Monogram B-36 Peacemaker 1/72. This beast was the one that got away. I was in 8th grade and had really lost most interest in building models, but we found ourselves in a shop that sold models (not a model shop, probably something like a Target or perhaps a toy store), and there was this simply gorgeous box art. I remember hemming-and-hawing over the thought of dropping the $20 for it (yep, $20 got you a lot of kit in 1980), but I ended up passing. This bugged me for years, even during those years when I was not interested in building. It was re-released in the late 90s I believe, but even then I didn't get it - because I did not have room for it. Once I got my current house, which is well-equipped to display such monsters, I grabbed it from eBay. I think it is an RB-36.
There is actually a story behind this build. I printed custom nose-art for it - an Indian woman for one side and Texas Squaw for the other. This is a reference to a book that I have attempted to write for many years now, that tells an alternative history of WWII that has the *** defeating much more of the world than they did and turning their attention to the US; and the US ultimately must launch bombing raids against Nazi Europe from the continental US. Life has consistently gotten in the way of my progress on this book, but I'm still putting together ideas for it. This Texas Squaw is going to feature in the book should I ever be fortunate enough to actually complete it.
Monogram F3F-3 1/32. Another kit that I build as a kid that I jumped on when I saw it re-released in about the year 2000. I messed up the toy-like feature of the working landing gear during construction, so I glued it in retracted position. I have two more of these in my stash, an actual original issue from 1960 of the Gulfhawk, and a slightly newer baby blue box of the warbird version of the F3F.
Monogram B-26 Marauder 1/48. This is one that I built in early junior high, but that build did not survive the coming years for whatever reason. This is another re-release from about the year 2000 that I snapped up when I saw it available. I found a great photo of a B-26 with all kinds of oil and exhaust stains on the nacelles that I attempted to replicate on this build.
Monogram B-26 Mitchell 1/48. I believe this was one of the first kits that I got when I returned to the hobby. Built some time in the late 90s
Monogram PBY-5 Catalina 1/48. I grabbed this around the year 2000, as it was another much-desired kit; I had only built the ancient box-scale kit from Monogram that was first released in the late 50s. I recall using sheet styrene to add some details to the interior, but I have no photos of any of that.
Monogram Pro-Modeler B-24D Liberator 1/48. This is an upgraded release of Monogram's original 1976 release, with a full crew complement and details such as gun belts and assorted stuff like that. A couple of stories about this one. I was living in an apartment at the time that I built it in the late 90s, and as I was proceeding to the wings a while after having completed the fuselage, I noticed a bulkhead still on the sprue that I'd overlooked while doing the fuselage. Many years later, my oldest and I were doing something in the work shop with hammers, and my kid, 6th grade at the time, for some reason felt compelled to jump up toward the ceiling with a hammer in hand. The result was contact with both the heavies I had on display at the time, the B-17G and this B-24D. The Lib took the brunt of the blow, but the only real damage was a dislodged tire (that was all I had noted until tonight when I handled it for the first time in a long time, something is rattling inside; and I replaced that tire tonight as well).
Monogram Pro-Modeler A-26B Invader 1/48. I honestly don't recall ever having built an Invader as a child, save for perhaps the ancient Monogram box-scale kit. This one was one of the first I picked up upon my return to the hobby, and I built it in 1996. The decals are in pretty bad shape these days on this A-26. I have my eye on ICM's release.
Monogram Pro-Modeler Junkers Ju52/3m Tante Ju 1/48. Here is one that I definitely never built as a kid but since I always found it to be an interesting aircraft, I grabbed it when I saw it on the hobby store shelf. Built this one in 2004, and I think it was my first attempt at weathering bright colors such as the yellow fins. I had to repair the wing, which was breaking away from the fuselage after this many years of hanging.
Revell B-1B Lancer 1/48. I recall the old Monogram 1/72 B-1B that was molded in white and had red and blue decal stripes as being the last model I built in the early 80s; it was another Christmas gift. At that time I went through the motions of putting it together, but didn't really care about it one way or the other. This kit is ridiculous. It is the biggest one in my workshop. I could barely get it onto my workbench to photograph it. I believe I built this one about the year 2010; I chose to do an alternative to what you most frequently see for B-1 bombers, the dark grey, and went with an almost SEA camouflage scheme that I found in a photo of a B-1A from the 70s right before President Carter cancelled the program. I also generated the nose art for my wife, a gorgeous red-head herself.
Trumpeter Focke Wulf Fw200C-4 Condor 1/48. I built Revell's 1/72 Condor a few years ago, but jumped all over this bigger and much more detailed model when it was released. I probably built this one in the late 2000s, perhaps even as late as 2010 or even 2011. The Condor was always a favorite of mine from looking at photos in the various WWII books I always had as a kid.
I have roughly 20 more kits hanging in my workshop that I intend to do the same cleaning and photo shoot for in the coming days, despite the outrageous 100+ temperature out there.