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                        When did you start Modeling?

                        7382 views
                        64 replies
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                        123
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 7, 2003 5:45 AM
                        I started in the 50's with the old box scale Aurora kits. I dont remember which one was fist but I did the Me-109, P-40, Zero, Spitfire, the Vertol (remember that one?) and everything else I could get on my allowance. Sometimes you had to save for two or three weeks to get the one you wanted. We all thought that all fighters in the world had the same dimensions, cuz the models did. I also did some of the Pyro replica guns and still have them, as well as the old Aurora? model of the Arizona which I plan to repair(40 years stored in my folks cellar did it in a bit (still all the parts are there, so I guess I can do the rebuild).

                        Funny how the years pile up. It seems like yesterday when no one ever thught of detailing anything now we research everything. Guess we find it relaxing. (I do)
                        Report Abuse
                        klem
                        • Member since
                          May 2003
                        • From: Fall River, MA
                        Posted by klem on Wednesday, May 7, 2003 1:41 AM
                        My first kit was a 6" long Space Shuttle. All white, no paint, my dad had to put the decals on for me! I was 7 yrs. old, I'm 28 now and I think I've learned a little since then. Now I scratchbuild, enter model contests and win $! (Albeit tiny amounts) but the pride is all I care about! Evil [}:)]
                        "We the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible, for the ungrateful. We've been doing so much for so long with so little we are now capable of doing anything with nothing." Unknown
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, May 6, 2003 8:06 PM
                        Two years ago. my 1st kit was an Airfix/Smithsonian Harrier which i´ve nicknamed "Cow" because incorrect paint gave it a black-and-white camo scheme.
                        Report Abuse
                        propfan
                        • Member since
                          January 2003
                        • From: Netherlands
                        Posted by propfan on Tuesday, May 6, 2003 7:19 PM
                        Almost 12 years ago, thinking about retirement within the next 15 years or so, I had to find a hobby with suits me. Because I worked as an Aircraft engineer for 30 years, and the last 5 years as a Maintenance Controller I liked building aircraft models.
                        At that time I did found an Article in Finescale Modeler from late Les Sund about making metal polished models. And from that time on I became involved in aircraft model building.

                        Happy modeling

                        Bert   IPMS SIG Airliners and Civil Aviation 90002

                        Report Abuse
                        Anthony
                        • Member since
                          February 2003
                        Posted by Anthony on Saturday, May 3, 2003 1:53 AM
                        Mine was an 1/72 A-1 Skyraider from Airfix. Actually it was me and two of my friends built it in the early 70's. Each of us could not afford to buy one alone so we combine our allowance together. I built the fuselage, the other two built the wing and weapon.

                        The first one that was built by me alone ws the Airfix 1/72 Boulton Paul Defiant. No paint was used.

                        The first serious one(involving painting, puttying and sanding) was the Tamiya 1/100 F-4E Phantom.
                        Report Abuse
                        jetmech
                        • Member since
                          February 2003
                        Posted by jetmech on Saturday, May 3, 2003 1:15 AM
                        It was the mid fifties and the kit was lindbergs Me.262.
                        Report Abuse
                        fuzzy
                        • Member since
                          May 2003
                        • From: Lewisburg , Tenn
                        Posted by fuzzy on Friday, May 2, 2003 7:43 PM
                        My first kit was a Monogram P-51B in1/48th. Followed
                        by the P-40, T6, Bf 109, P- 51D. Also remember building
                        the 1/72 Revell B-17F Memphis Belle. Found a matchbox
                        A-4 Skyhawk that 's decent. The rest had glue all over
                        and the paint was rough . But it was fun !
                        Just opened the new pro modeler A-4 and the
                        alternate decals are for the same Marine squadron.
                        Going down memory lane with a state of the art kit
                        and decals out of the box. Sounds like fun.
                        Fuzzy
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Friday, May 2, 2003 7:08 AM
                        When I was 5, my mum took me to see (The real!) Father Christmas in a department store (1974). He asked all the usual preliminaries (Have you been a good boy etc.) and I gave Santa all the correct responses. My reward for a year of good behavior was an Airfix 1/72 Douglas Dauntless. With a bit of help from my Grandfather, I soon had myself a top of the range dive bomber (Glue streaked canopy and all) and was wowing all the kids in the playground with it! After that, I was bitten and soon began to amass my own private Air Force. This state of bliss continued until around the age of fourteen, when I discovered Girls, but that's another story!
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 25, 2003 1:25 AM
                        Daaam.. I guess I was around 12 or 13, an aunt bought me 2 kits, both 1/72, one was a corsair, the other was a sopwhip camel, I built them straight from the bag -yes they were on a paper bag!!- it had glue all over, and one of the landing gears was broken in the process, and next came a huge 1/32 revell spitfire, I still have it, in a shoebox, waiting to get more detailed.
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, April 24, 2003 7:21 PM
                        The year was 1966 (I was all of 4 years old)and the kit was a Monogram 1/32 scale slot car body that was sold as a plastic kit.I well remember how amazed I was when I built Monogram's P51B that actually had things in the cockpit like a control stick and rudder pedals!Today really is the golden age of plastic modelling.
                        Report Abuse
                        MKelley
                        • Member since
                          December 2002
                        • From: Coldwater, Mich
                        Posted by MKelley on Thursday, April 24, 2003 5:46 PM
                        In 1965 with the Cub Scouts that I was part of then. Makes almost 40 years now. I think it was an F-86 or an F-84G.
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, April 24, 2003 9:23 AM
                        I started when i was about 5-12, woking on them with my dad. We built Corsair, Hellcat, Tomcat, SR-71, Shooting Stars, Hornet, Mustang, Thunderbolt, Phantom, ect....
                        Just recently at the age of 28 i am getting back into it. I built a P-47 and am working on the P-51. I am painting and detailing and learning all the techniques plus the ones I learned with my dad. Its a fun little hobby to get into.
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, April 24, 2003 6:17 AM
                        I started modeling last year after my daughter was born. Thianks to this sight I'm getting better with every new model I try.
                        Report Abuse
                        leemitcheltree
                        • Member since
                          January 2003
                        • From: Washington State
                        Posted by leemitcheltree on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 9:37 AM
                        Gawd - it must have been in 1965 or 66 - a friend of my folks bought me a three model set of the Nina, Pina and Santa Maria - they were only little - maybe 5-6 inches long each. That was a long time ago...................might have been before kindergarten. A lot of water under the bridge since then............

                        Cheers, LeeTree
                        Remember, Safety Fast!!!

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                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 9:21 PM
                        I was 6, and my Dad brought me home an Aurora P-40. That was Uh! 43 years ago.
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 7:50 PM
                        Way back in 1977, my still best friend, another friend then and I each picked up the Airfix F-14 Tomcat at Woolworth for 99 cents each. My poor father had to paint all 3 of them for us. There was no looking back since. It stucked.
                        Report Abuse
                        cnstrwkr
                        • Member since
                          March 2003
                        • From: USA
                        Posted by cnstrwkr on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 4:27 PM
                        I was probably 5 or 6 (53 now) I dont remember the manufacturer but it was a very old car with a tiller handle instead of a steering wheel. Model cement was 10 cents.
                        Tommy difficult things take time...the impossible, a little longer!
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 1:51 PM
                        Wow, it's funny... I used to build a lot of model airplanes back when I was little. I was bad at it, but I loved it. I probably went through fifty kits, mostly WWII planes and jets. I loved being able to see some of my favorite planes from documentaries in three dimensions. I have two huge boxes of broken kits, instructions, and unused decals. I'm sure glad I hung on to all those decals now that I'm getting back into it!
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 21, 2003 4:13 PM
                        I built the Monogram AV-8A 1/48 kit when I was 6 or 7. After that one my dad bought me the 1/48 B-17G for Christmas. But he decided it was to advanced for a seven year old and had the forward fuselage built by the day after Christmas. I think the 1/144 snap-tite B-1B with the white finish was model #2.
                        Report Abuse
                        armorman
                        • Member since
                          April 2003
                        • From: Charlotte, NC
                        Posted by armorman on Monday, April 21, 2003 11:06 AM
                        A Revell 1/32 MeBF-110G. The radar masts look like praying mantis' mating ritual and the horizontal stablilzer is certainly not horizontal. Hand painted camo that looks like a cross between a cheeta and a pine tree. It was a lot of fun and I still have it.
                        Next Up: 1/35 Tamiya Merkava 1/48 Tamiya King Tiger 1/35 Dragon M1A1 AIM
                        Report Abuse
                        Silverbird01
                        • Member since
                          February 2003
                        • From: Tobaccoville, NC
                        Posted by Silverbird01 on Monday, April 21, 2003 8:45 AM
                        I started at about 7 years old (62-63?). My Dad helped me with an AMT '63 Lincoln Continental. That started it right there!!!! I have mostly kept up in the hobby over all the years. Just took a little break during college(Cars, Girls...ect...)
                        During the summer I still work on my 1:1 scale,full size models in the garage,
                        (1967 Pontiac GTO,1965 Olds 442) while still playing around with my '01 TransAm. As Tim Taylor says..........."More Power"!!!!

                        Steven
                        Steven
                        Report Abuse
                        TEISE
                        • Member since
                          January 2003
                        Posted by TEISE on Monday, April 21, 2003 8:17 AM
                        QUOTE: Originally posted by huskerguy

                        Wow...this makes me the REAL senior citizen of this forum. I can remember building several Ryan STs out of solid balsa, and also some wood and paper kits. I have to admit this goes back to the late 30s and very early 40s. After about a 50 year hiatus, i got back into again...with much more patience and loving care. I have enjoyed all of your remembrances of your first models.
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 21, 2003 7:38 AM
                        It's hard to remember back that far, but I believe it was a Sherman Tank. Don't remember who produced it. I know that it was put together fast and added to my big brothers collection of models. No paint just glue, and I've been stuck to models ever since.
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, April 20, 2003 4:58 PM
                        I was fourteen when i first started modeling , my first model was the revell Hawker hurricane. Threw together and paint slopped on!
                        Report Abuse
                        Keyworth
                        • Member since
                          January 2003
                        • From: NE Georgia
                        Posted by Keyworth on Friday, April 18, 2003 7:50 PM
                        Ray, I was there from 59-62. Went to Sukiran Elemantary. The rice and gravy was pretty good, wasn't it? Caught all the latest monster flicks at the post theater on Saturdays; saw Godzilla and the Mysterians and Gamera before anyone Stateside ever heard of them. Ahhh, the good old days. :) - Ed
                        "There's no problem that can't be solved with a suitable application of high explosives"
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 18, 2003 3:44 PM
                        i must have been 6. By 10 my wall was covered with planes. The paint jobs sucked but the kits were affordable and the box art, esp Hawk, was cool. Back then you could buy everything in Woolworth or dept stores. I'm actually building a diorama that resembles the first one I ever saw: a WW1 plane wreck using a bent and modelled piece of metal as the ground/base so it was very hilly, not flat like most dios tend to be.
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 8:12 PM
                        Aurora Indian Chief was my first. Gave it to my grandfather and he willed it back to me upon his death. It sat on his mantle for more than 40 years and now sits on mine.
                        Report Abuse
                        Gervasi
                        • Member since
                          April 2003
                        Posted by Gervasi on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 3:27 PM
                        In 1975. Got a 1/72 scale P-40 by Revell. I remember this
                        kit because the parts were on one sprue! You had to cut
                        (in my case break) the sprue to get some of the pieces
                        off. Due to the fact I had just seen TORA, TORA, TORA again,
                        I painted it to look like the Army planes at Pearl Harbor.
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 10:10 AM
                        Started when I was 6 back in the early 70's. Built a Mongram 1/48 scale P-51 Mustang with help from my Dad. Dad helped with the Decals...

                        Did not paint it. I remember the body was dark green...
                        Report Abuse
                        123
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