how did you get into modeling

Either I'm starting to get "old-timer's disease" early or you just have much better long-term memory than me. I'm 45 and I can barely remember things from last year, let alone when I was a pre-teen.

I really can't recall how or why I started building models. I can remember building a dragster and a sprint car early in my life, but can't say what kits they were. I built numerous models on-and-off throughout my teens and built my last early model in 1984. That was an F-4 which I gave to my technical training instructor prior to my first Air Force assignment overseas. Between then and 2003, I didn't build a single model. Upon "rediscovering" the hobby (which was simply a matter of visiting a hobby shop for the first time in over 20 years), I primarily have focused on WWII armor and have completed 23 or 24 models in just under 4 years...far more than I built in all of my youth.

My father taught me.  Started back in the late 50's (I'm 53 now).

First kit I remember building with him was the old Monogram box-scale PBY.

Mark 

I think I was a freshman in high school, so about 14 in 1969... 51 now... and my buddies and I picked up some airplane kits to build.  They had built before and I had not.  I had a 1/72 109E.  No idea whose kit.  The older guy was explaining to me what mottling was and he showed me how to use a sponge to go down the side of the fuselage.  Built models all through HS 'til 73 then a break 'til 1984 through 1986/7 then a break until 2 years ago.

I was probably 8 or 9 (around 1968 or 69) when one day (the last day of school, I believe) my father came home from work and put 3 models on the kitchen table - the Monogram 1/32 F-51D, the Monogram 1/48 P-40B, and a 1/72 Huey Cobra - not sure what company.  We didn't have any model glue or paints, so my dad mixed some epoxy and we went to town on the P-51.  He did a good amount of the work on that one, but let me do some stuff too - but he told me that since it was a model and not a toy, none of the 'action' features would be 'enabled' - landing gear was glued in place, bombs were glued to their racks, and the canopy was glued in place.

When we were finished we put the decals on, but since neither of us had ever done decals, we left them in the warm water until they started to float off of the backing paper, and then put them on the plane.  He didn't lkike the way the finished product looked, since the epoxy was very thick and left a lot of stains and residue where it oozed out and was then wiped off, so the next day he bought me a tube of Testors model cement and let me try the P-40 by myself (with him as a very active assistant).  That turned out probably not much better, with smeared glue all over the place, but it didn't matter - I was hooked.  I think I tried the Cobra on my own while he was at work and basically ruined it by not waiting for any of the glue to dry before moving on to the next step - but I did it by myself, and from then on I was a modeler.  Maybe not a good one or a smart one, but a modeler.  Like the time I was doing the Revell 'Fighting Deuces" F4U Corsair/Ki-43 Hayabusa combo, and got paint on the Ki-43's canopy.  I figured the easiest thing to do was to put some paint thinner in a small bowl and soak the canopy in it for a few minutes to get the paint off.  Lesson learned via the gelatinous goo that I pulled from the thinner that day.

Edit:  I just remembered that I had a model kit before the ones mentioned above, although I never built it.  My grandfather gave me a car kit - metal, with tan plastic parts as well as rubber tires and, I think, white plastic inserts for the whitewalls.  It was a 1930's-era car - Duesenberg, maybe, but I can't remember - and I would repeatedly try to fit the parts together, since I couldn't figure out where most of them would go.  My father had no idea how to do a multimedia kit (in the mid-1960's, no less) and of course I had no clue - so the kit never got built.  I'm pretty sure some parts got lost along the way, and I have no idea at all what became of it; maybe it went in the same garage sale where my parents sold my original GI Joe with all his accessories, while I was away at summer camp.  All I have left of Joe now is his knapsack, which had gotten misplaced on an attic shelf, and his footlocker.

I'm really not sure how I got started.

I think it was just one of those things boys did in the late 1950's. Also, it was one of those birthday or Christmas gifts a distant aunt or uncle would buy for you.

I do remember in elementary school art class we could sometimes bring our own crafts/projects to work on. Some of the boys would bring plastic models. I always wanted to but I never did because it wasn't near Christmas or my birthday and there wasn't enough money left to buy a project for school. I do remember the "Snark" and "1928 Lincoln" as being my first models. There were a few other cars but I do not remember what they were.

I really got serious into plastic models from age 14-18. At first I was into anything from WW II, mainly aircraft. At about age 16-18 my interest shifted to real space. (I'm now rebuying all those Apollo, Gemini, and Mercury kits!!!) Over the last 36 years my building has come in spurts. I'm sure I built more in my first 18 years than the last 36. The last 15 years I've bought and stored hundreds of models for the day I could begin building them again, mainly from Hobby Lobby and Modelers Vault ( I sure do miss these guys, where are they???). My current interest is in real space, sci-fi movie-TV related, and historic (Viking, Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria, Titanic, etc)

I was 10 (now 60) when I got my first model from my father. He was in the Air Force Reserve at the time. After the final inspection and parade he came up to the car and handed me a Lindberg Stinson 105 (yes I can still remember my first). Like most kids I had so much glue and personal signatures (fingerprints) all over it.  Did not have a no. 11 to remove the parts from the sprue so a lot of extra plastic that should not have been on the model. The decals looked like a a 2 year old had put them on and of course I did not know what paint was so the model was just red plastic with glue fingerprints. wish i still had that model to show how 50 years of modeling can do to improve the quality of your modeling.

Tony Partlow

From the Queen City of Big Sky Country

models in the works

Trumpeter 1/350 USS Nimitz with a complete hangar bay and airwing

Trumpeter 1/48 F9F-2

Czech models resin 1/72 F-51H

Kinda, but not really surprising that so many of us seem to be in or around our 50s. After all, we did grow up in the heyday of plastic modeling when every true blooded American boy built at least one model every week or so. My earliest recollections of models were model cars that my older brother was building in the late 50's, early 60's. I also recall going over to my cousin's house one day. He had just finished the then brand new Monogram Me262 and was "flying" it around his living room. Funny, one of my strongest modeling memories is the smell of the paint- ah, those old lead based paints- they don't make them anymore.

As a child of the late 50s and early 60s, I was fascinated with jet planes, Steve Canyon, Sky King, and just about anything that flew. Although I built a lot of airplanes as a kid, I also built ships, hot rods and even one plastic bird model.

 After a 23 year hiatus, I returned to modeling at the age of 36. I remember it well because my oldest son, now 17, had just been born.  I was able to garner a couple of weeks off work, and woke up one morning with a compelling urge to build a model airplane. That was the first time time in 23 years I had experienced that thought... Been building since then and loving every, OK, almost every, minute of it.

Lee 

I started into modeling back in the 60's during my pre-teen days. Mostly Aurora monster kits (man, I loved those things!). I also did the odd car, mostly hot rods. Then the space race came along and I got into space vehicles. Once I got into my teens and discovered sports and girls, the modeling hit the back burner. Then about 3-4 years ago my longtime interest in WWII led me to a site that had some of the most amazing models of Tigers, Shermans, etc. I was hooked again.

Though it's nice to see so many old-timers like me (I'm 52) chiming in on this topic, it would be even better to see a lot more young people. This is a great hobby that helps to keep alive our history. Without the young people, eventually modelling will die as a hobby, and that would be a shame.

Like many of the men who have responded, I also am reaching the 50 year old mark (47 right now).  I started in the 1960's and my first kit was a 1932 Chevy.  I tried to glue it together with Elmer's glue.  Later I discovered Testor's and boy did that smell good!  As a boy I built quite a variety of cars and some military.  Painting was an adventure.  You're not supposed to use a whole can in one coat on one car?  I built the Mongoose, the Poison Pinto, the Baja Bug, the 'Lil' Van, a Chevy panel truck to give a smattering of what I did for cars.  For military my favorite was a 1/72 scale B-17, the battleships Missouri, New Jersey, and Wisconsin.  Hey, they all looked alike.  I did a couple of balsa wood planes but never returned to it.  I also did the Revell 1/72 scale PT 109 and pulled it behind the row boat to watch it cruise over the waves.

Anyway, I dropped off from modeling during my college and seminary years and I spent more time studying, dating, and getting married.  I resumed the hobby in earnest during my exile to North Dakota in the early 1990's.  What else are you going to do during those long cold winters?  I purchased a Tamiya 1/35 scale British tank which really impressed me.  I still have it but I had tossed the childhood models or actually told my mother to do so. Well, except for the ones we shot with the BB gun and/or burned.  I believe on the same day I purchased the tank I also purchased my first issue of Finescale Modeler.  It was then that I began to learn how to paint with an airbrush, weather models, use some after market products and discover where every hobby store within a 100 mile radius was.  Oh, in the Dakotas there were only two.  Since then I have moved to Wisconsin and I think I know every hobby store in Milwaukee, Madison, Oshkosh, and places in between and to my wife's chagrine, most of the owners recognize me too.  I build a wide variety of subjects but my favorites are World War II armor, ships, and subs.  Like many of us, I have several hundred unbuilt kits in the basement, several dozen started but not completed, and yes I am going to build them all!

My other inspiration has been the fellow members of the club I belong to and the encouragement that they give at the meetings and the espirit de corps that we enjoy.  My advice (if asked) is to hang out with other modelers and invite people to your club meetings if you are a member.

Mine is kind of a long story. I apologize if I bore anybody with this lengthy tale.

I started at age six, after my mother got me into it. I’m 44 now. She had built models as a kid. One day when I was bugging her too much, she gave me a battleship and two aircraft carriers that she had built as a kid just to shut me up and occupy me. Of course, while playing with them I broke them and came to her later and demanded in my six-year-old way to fix them. She told me to fix them myself, so I went and got a bottle of Elmer’s and sat down to fix them. I was so focused; my mother got scared and came looking for me to see why I’d been so silent for so long. That’s when she realized what captured my interest. Later, she came home with a 1/48 scale F-80 Shooting Star (probably Revell, but maybe Monogram, I can’t remember) and a tube of glue. We sat at the kitchen table and she helped me build it. I played with that plane for months and repaired it whenever it broke. Still, she felt it was a difficult model for a six-year-old, so the next plane was in 1/72 scale. It was an MPC 1/72 scale Focke Wulf plane that I still have on my shelf!

Later, when we moved to Florida, I started getting an allowance at seven. Every time my mom or dad went shopping, I took my allowance and went with them to buy another kit. I built several kits, but never painted them since that first Focke Wulf. Then at nine, I met a new kid who moved in down the street named Emmanuel. He had three times the number of models I had. He also had painted them and always built in a consistent scale: aircraft were in 1/72, and ships were in 1/600 mostly. I couldn’t get enough of his collection. He taught me how to paint my models and influenced me into keeping a consistent scale as well since that appealed to me. Whenever I got a new kit, I’d go to his house and we’d sit side by side at his workbench and build our latest acquisitions. This was also the time that Dungeons and Dragons came out, so we came up with an idea that would allow us to war-game our model collections without having to handle them. We took the dice used by that game and the hit/damage charts and we modified them to reflect hit probabilities and damage of ‘modern’ warfare. We drew up a set of rules and ROE’s and balanced them so that WWII equipment had a semi-reasonable chance of surviving against modern equipment. (We later improved our rules when Twilight 2000 came out, adjusting them to armored/ground warfare) Then we drew up diagrams of our ‘countries’. His father helped by bringing home a large clear hex sheet that was numbered from 000001 to 1000000. That became our ‘playing board’ that we’d lay over the top of our drawings and we’d war-game every other weekend or so. My model collection grew immensely as I tried to build up a sizeable enough force to beat him. Emmanuel and I only built aircraft and ships at this time so our wars were simply slugfests until one military force was wiped out or surrendered. When I was ten, a kid named Jason moved in and he had a huge collection, almost as big as our two combined. (probably got most of them from his big brother) One reason why it was so big: He had about 25 1/72 scale tanks and about 400+ 1/72 scale soldiers! He joined us in our battles and was always capturing Emmanuel’s country because his armor and troops would have no opposition! (my country was a series of islands and Jason couldn’t get past my Navy so I was safe) That is when I started buying and building tanks too, and also helicopters, which neither of my friends were building. I started winning with my armor and with my ability to utilize ‘vertical envelopment’! At that time we set up a second table with landscape to re-enact battles with our tanks

That lasted for three years, then first Emmanuel, then Jason moved away. I still continued to build in high school, and in college, and about the time I finished my two year college, I had about 450+ models. When I moved out, I put every thing in storage, and didn’t build again until two years later when my mother brought me everything I’d left behind. I’d forgotten how fun it was to build, and jumped right in enthusiastically. Since moving out to California, I have joined an IPMS club and learned a ton of new tricks and techniques for improving my models. It has also motivated me to build more and better models, a couple of which have won awards at a regional contest. I haven’t stopped building since my mother brought my collection down, (to the complete chagrin of my wife). I now boast a collection of over 1000 models completed. Anyone who wishes to see this collection can go here:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v483/Duke_Maddog/

I’m ready for another ‘Twilight 2000’ style war game, so whenever anyone wants a go, just let me know!

I got married on 7 November 1987 and on 1 December she was on a plane to Korea - already had orders (Army).  So to stay out of trouble the year she was gone I joined the Military Book Club, which at the time offered a 1/48 UH-1 model as a joining bonus. One thing led to another.

Last month finished the 1/350 scale huge USS Enterprise, hoot Mon!

Ahh, the good ol' days..  My dad was the influence for me.  At age 6, I watched my dad scratch build the Columbia Space Shuttle recovery vehicle.  He sat me down and introduced me to all of his cool (and wierd) looking hobby tools.  The following weekend, he suprised me with a 1/72 scale F-14 model...It was like I had won the lotto, Yee-Haa!!  30 years later, I'm building like crazy, with numerous award-winning subjects to show for all his inspiration.  Whats more is  I have recently started my own after-market resin accessories business "Modern Hobbies LLC."  Dedicated to neglected 1/72 scale US modern military jet builders, like me.  Sorry for the shameless plug guys.;-)  We open for business tenatively in April of this year.  Check ARC for the debut! 

I remember my older (5 years older) cousin having all types of models around his room. I think I was around 6 or 7 years old ('65 or '66) when he gave me my first kit for a birthday or Christmas gift. He gave me one for each for years to come too. It wasn't until I broke my jaw in 3rd grade (8 years old, '67) that I started building with enthusiasm, one model after the other. I built mostly car models, but did an occasional plane, ship (U.S.S. Constitution), space craft and monster figures. As time went on I started trying to build car models to look like the ones in Hot Rod Magazine. By Junior High I was building a mix of stock and street muscle cars. The model hobby died for me in High School where 1:1 cars took it's place. After High School it was off to the Army. After the Army it was fast cars, fast woman, Harleys, booze... Finally marriage and slowly straightening my life out. Having kids, working two to three jobs to take care of them... It was just a couple of years ago that my son sparked the interest again, we built a few together. He now builds while I sit and do my college homework at the same table. That way if he needs my help I'm right there for him. I am building my stash and have started a small part time hobby shop business. College won't last forever and then I'll have the time to build once again! I hope...