I've got stick and tissue models ... and I'm 23. That either makes you guys not as old as you think you are, or I'm way ahead of my time.

Josh

FastasEF

I've got stick and tissue models ... and I'm 23. That either makes you guys not as old as you think you are, or I'm way ahead of my time.

Josh

Or WAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY behind !!!!!!!!!

LOL! Ooo, ya. I never thought about that.

Josh

Woah! Been off line for a week and see there is catching up to do. Great stuff and looking forward to reading all the replies... Whats this about stick and tissue models? Interisting to say the least.. any WIP's?

I just got my 14 yr old son a stick & tissue model. He wanted to try an airplane model that actually fiies.

waikong

I just got my 14 yr old son a stick & tissue model. He wanted to try an airplane model that actually fiies.

Waikong, that is great!!!!! Now the real test will be to take him and buy a couple sheets of balsa, strip some of it, and make a masterpiece from just the sheets and plans that can be downloaded from the net. there are some really nice plans available!!!!!! I have started a Beech Staggerwing awhile back, and the balsa cost me less than $5 and got the plans from the net for free!!! Just needs to learn basic balsa building techniques and then let him ......fly

Man I feel underage now, I'm 19 been spending my time and money on models since my mom first introduced them to me when I was 9.

Life Lesson:  If you have a cat who likes to play godzilla, don't leave the door to your model room open.

Ok, I'll join in and continue the trend of bringing down the average. I just turned 27 at the beginning of this month.

Life's lessons for modelers: Try not to get too bogged down with the details, it can eventually frustrate you into giving up. Also, find a reason to build and remember that reason, because it will keep you going.

Great replies guys! Here is where this questionair is at:

Group #1 -  832 combined years divided by 21 modelers=39.62 average age

Group #2 - 276 ''                   ''        ''              by  9  modelers=30.67 average age

Group #3 - 188 "                   "        "              by  4  modelers=47.00 average age

Group #4 - 202 "                   "        "              by  5  modelers=40.40 average age

Group #5 - 180 "                   "        "              by  5  modelers=36.00 average age

Group #6 -  621 "                  "        "              by 13 modelers=47.77 average age

Group #7

Harshman II                            31

jseese                                      36

Dre                                            40

RTimmer                                 49

Aaronw                                    42

DerekB/85                               24

TheGlueBomber                    45

Gamewarden 5                      40

imactexman                           44 (happy belated BD!)

Michael B                                 56

guardsmen 22                        19

acmodeler01                           27

Total age                                           = 453 combined years

Divided by # of modelers       12  = 37.75 average age

average of all 5  groups                =  2752 total age % 70 modelers

Overall average                              = 39.31  years old!

Well the average is still close to milairjunkies origional prediction of 40 years old. Will keep this thread going untill we have 100 replies. Thanks again everyone, the modeler's life lessons are excellent!

Hiya,

Mike aged 42. Built as a kid untill my mid teens and then on very rare occasions untill Christmas 2008 when I thought 'sod it' I want to relax properly, empty my mind and that meant models , I asked for a kit for Christmas and away I went, Just finished my third and now I have an Airbrush I'm getting happier with the results.

Lessons........ Ummmm......A time to relax is important, Patience and when I feel the finishing 'rush' come on walk away and come back tomorrow.

Cheers....

Wow, do I belong here? Everyone is err older than I am.

I am 15 and have always loved this hobby.

I guess the best thing I learned was generosity.

This hobby has taught me to give kits out and introduce the hobby to others. My friends think I am weird this way, because I would rather build than play playstation.

42.

As for life lessons, eh ... perseverance, patience, a get-it-done attitude, and accepting a challenge to improve skills.  This is something I've applied in my career as well (programmer with several languages in my repetoire and at least a couple more to come in the near term).  Modeling has also led to a study of history, particularly with regard to the origins, causes and results of WWII and an ability to apply historical lessons to current events and to understand where events are either going good or leading to potential difficulties.

Just turned 61 My lession is share your knowledge with others and listen to what other modelers have to say.Your never to old to learn.

 Also,my Wife is 110% behind me and the hobby as long as I don't go overboard with spending and build what I buy.

Age... I am pretty close to the average age of modelers here at 39.3.  I will be 40 this June so I am 39.9 years old right now.  

Grew up building models and loved every moment of it but I stopped abruptly when I left for college at 18 years old.  I returned to my hobby after 20 years going thru career changes, married to same lady for 13 years and raising two boys... 8 and 10 years old. 

What made me return to my hobby?  Two years ago I helped my parents move out of the house where we lived in Buffalo for more than 35 years.  I found a large unmarked box in the basement.  It contained some of my favorite models I have built and it truly made my day despite the fact many were broken.  Mom thought she got rid of them when I asked her many years ago.  So from there I went right back into my childhood hobby...

Advise... !. Just enjoy!  2. Take airbrushing classes... one of best lessons I have taken... it was offered at Hobby Land.  3. It really helps me to use CASH to make purchases... untraceable even tho my wife supports my hobby but I don't want her to find out how much my hobby costs. LOL 

I'll admit I'm on the younger end, even if that may suprise some of my fellow modelers.

19 years old, no wife, no kids, and I'm living the college lifestyle(aka lots of fun)....and at times alot of work.

I found modeling a bit late, when I was about fifteen years old. Nevertheless, I went into it headfirst and it has now become a bordeline obsession. I have no plans on leaving the hobby, even though I'll be going to school for the next six years for my Master's.

i'm 33.  i have a daughter who is nine.  i grew up watching my dad build ho scale railroad.  he built a bridge out of match sticks and built me a 'hoth playset' in the same fashion he built mountains.  custom builder, he bought styrofoam, plaster, paint, and lots of shrubbery type lychen and moss.  made his own trees with wire and clay.  i sorta missed those skills, or i've not tapped into them, but i did pick up the love for the plastic and glue and paint.  mostly cause it could hide other 'verbotin' substances... i kid.  

anyhoo modelings life lesson, as well as raising children is patience. you have to learn it, and it is a constant lesson.

I'm a 52 year old cabinetmaker who retired due to health reasons.

My story's like most others, I guess. I built models as a youth, then life got in the way. Women & wine. The way I got back into modeling might be a little different. I use to shoot in handgun & rifle competitions. For some reason, I lost all sensation of feeling in both of my hands. I had to quit shooting, so I took up modeling to build up my dexterity. I have regained the feelings in my hands, but still have trouble with small parts.

My health is pretty poor, I guess my life's lesson is to live every day to its fullest. Cram in all of the smiles and laughs that you can, cause you never know when it'll all come to an end.

Art

48 and bored stupid with the need to be creative but dealing with picky customers and crappy materials and useless designers and............................................My models are mine and if it dont work nobody gets hurt. There is also nobody saying 'that aint gonna work" or 'thats not the color I wanted" aargh ,bang , zoom , to the moon.......................

to the moon alice!

insert gut laugh here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

take it easy on the nintendo!!!!!!!   i'm pushing 40 yrs, and when other trucker's see my "game cube", they laugh(ha-ha), saying " x box 360 is the shizzzz" !!!!!!!

 i drive my truck for a living, when i have some spare time i try to work with the plastic stuff. then the video games. then again, some have giggles when i'm trying to work on a project.

when my daughter has school holidays, she rides along with me(she'll be 12 next month). she's doing her best on a 1/48 acadamy f-16.

but even though she has one of those "x360"  at home, she finds time to work on that plane, then plays the ninendo while i'm driving, without a word that i have an outdated video game.

your opening statement pretty much said it all for me, but hopefully my daughter's age and many others will bring your average down....         cheers!

well said krow113, after your done dealing with those "picky customers", i need to get that product to them. the fun begins when they say ' well, you shoulda been here yesterday'.........

Here is the stats as of sunday March 13 2010. Have 80 replys and looking for 20 more~

Group #1 -  832 combined years divided by 21 modelers=39.62 average age

Group #2 - 276 ''                   ''        ''              by  9  modelers=30.67 average age

Group #3 - 188 "                   "        "              by  4  modelers=47.00 average age

Group #4 - 202 "                   "        "              by  5  modelers=40.40 average age

Group #5 - 180 "                   "        "              by  5  modelers=36.00 average age

Group #6 -  621 "                  "        "              by 13 modelers=47.77 average age

Group #7 -  453 "                   "       "              by 12 modelers=37.75 average age

Group #8

Spike 190                                 42

raptordriver                             15

Aggieman                                 42

toysoldierman                         61

deaf panzer                              39

mg.mikael                                 19

uglygoat                                     33

artabr                                          52  side effects from shooting? Glad its getting better buddy

krow 113                                    48

humper 491                               40  keep on truckin'

Total age                                           = 391 combined years

Divided by # of modelers       10  = 39.1 average age

average of all 5  groups                =  3143 total age % 80 modelers

Overall average                              = 39.29  years old!

Thanks again for contributing everyone! The replys and lessons are excellent and enlightning. Only need 20 more for the perfect average and percentage of 100.

One lesson that I thought of today was learning a lot about paint, cure times and mistake fixing. One quote that I used on a Group Build was 'It ain't over untill the last coat of flat clear is on' That build I encountered some issues with color, mist coats and the pacience to wait a day or so to wet sand out the mistakes. Sometimes its the mistakes we remember and the cure for them, maybe I just learn the hard way yet its all skills I will never forget!

29.  I haven't been around long enough to give a life lesson. 

Really? I learned that going faster just hurt more by the time I was 6! And things are actually a lot higher than they look by 10.

Really? I learned that going faster just hurt more by the time I was 6! And things are actually a lot higher than they look by 10.

Ah ha! A young dare devil eh? Back' in 81 a snow storm hit May long weekend, friends and I were around 10 and for fun we jumped off the second story roof of the school into the snow drifts! All good untill I over shot the drift, wasn't hurt to bad but had a nasty limp on the way home!

Only need 19 more replys fellas to hit 100! So ya, your age and life lesson modeling has taught you ok? Cool

Hey all. Im probably going to lower the average a bit, beacuse I'm only 18. I've been building for about 4 years now and Im Hooked!!!  Started in High School when teh AFJROTC offered a Model Airplane Club and the first kit I built was a 1/72 Heritage Flight of the USAF Thunderbirds. The kit included 3 planes: an F-100, an F-4 and an F-16.

I cant really build alot of models right now due to college, but I work on them when i get the time. I have not been modeling as long as many of you guys have, but one thing it has taught me is that you are always improving. That, and most people dont necessarily like listening to you talk about your hobby....

39. Will be 40 in September. Modeling on and off since 1985. Have not actually completed a lot of kits, because I always messed something up or it became a wall missile!!!

Life lesson learned recently from friends at my hobby club. "Finished Is Better Than Perfect."

See ya

Scott

I guess I will help you to reach the 100% average. I started when I was 9 building model cars. Got hooked on airplanes in my teens. Found the girls and real cars left the hobby until 32. I have been busy ever since building mostly airplanes. My job does not have any creative outlet. It is nice to come home and have something to show for my work when I build. I am now 42

I've had the wonderful good luck to be on or near an Air Force base my entire life.  My father was an aviator and flying is the one thing in my life that has been intuitive.  How does modeling come into the picture?  The base-exchange at Minot AFB was always stocked with models and every kid on base built their Air Force, Army and Marine Corps units to do battle in the snow.  It was a grand childhood.  Took a break from modeling for college, cars and the ladies but picked it back up when my flying career started.  I'm not flying full-time anymore but it's amazing how many of my pro-pilot buds are modelers.  Oh, I almost forgot - I'll be 47 by the end of this year.  I'm a life-long bachelor but I've had my share of girlfriends who didn't understand the hobby.  Modeling and running/cycling are my medicine.  

My advise: Keep up thy airspeed lest the earth rise and smite thee. 

This post was a great idea, by the way.  It's been good to know who's jokes I've been laughing at all this time.