Well my first was a dinosaur kit of Styracosaur from Kmart. I've got a photo of the box around here somewhere. Wish I knew what it was, I assume Kmart just stuck their label on someone else's kit but it doesn't look like the Pyro or Aurora kits- Tamiya either. I'll see if I can find it. 

First aircraft was the classic Monogram 1/48th P-38 in this box. I'm tempted to pull the one in my stash out and build it again this year. Will be my third time, first time I slapped the thing together with no paint. Second one I built in my teens, used the Testor's square bottles- made a little bit of a mess. Maybe this one will look a little better... 

Another was this AMT/Ertl John Deere tractor, not sure if I was in this box though: 

My first 1/35th scale armour, and as I looked at it at the time my first serious kit was the classic Italeri Panzer IV in this same yellow box.  As I remember it was a pretty decent kit even by modern standards. I need to pick one of these up and build her again... 

My first one was a Spitfire when I was probably about 10 years old. My dad brought it from his trip to England so it was instantly Battle of Britain hero. Dad put it together and the funny thing I remember is that I didn't want it to have the radio antenna so I plucked it out. LOL, the funny thing that sticks with us. The landing gears quickly broke off and so did the propeller but it didn't matter, I played with it forever. It was followed by other kits, MiG 17, 21 and few others. The ol' Spit ended its career in my fleet when a friend somehow aquierd a rocket engine so we cut the tail off, put the rocket engine in and wooooosh. Fun times 

PatW

At the age of 8 in 1956 my father took me into a pram/bicycle/railway/toy and model shop and showed me a model kit in a plastic bag with a stapled on folded card with a picture of an Airfix Spitfire. As he had just de-mobbed from the Royal Airforce as a Flight Sergent after nearly 30 years service, he advised me NOT to buy any German or Japanese aircraft as they would not be allowed in the house!

It's interesting about the adverse feelings.

I have a friend named Neal whose father fought in the Pacific. Drove a VW, but disliked Japanese cameras.

My late F-in-Law who served in the MTO joked that I couldn't park my BMW in his driveway, but had a wall full of Sony equipment in his study.

Sometimes I think those guys were pulling our legs.

Bill

I began building when I was quite young, 5-6 with balsa planes and cheap toy kits. Other than those I don't remember the exact kit I started with, but I can remember building the Zingers semi truck. That one sticks in my mind more than any other. I remember building with tube glue and no paint. I started painting cars with rattle cans at about 7-8.

I would love to build another one, but good greif the prices peeps want for those is crazy.

BK

At the age of 8 in 1956 my father took me into a pram/bicycle/railway/toy and model shop and showed me a model kit in a plastic bag with a stapled on folded card with a picture of an Airfix Spitfire. As he had just de-mobbed from the Royal Airforce as a Flight Sergent after nearly 30 years service, he advised me NOT to buy any German or Japanese aircraft as they would not be allowed in the house!

I'm 74 now and still building!  

"You probably didn't notice Susannah York in a mens dress shirt..."

Bill...  Back then, as a boy under 10, girls were the sworn enemy.  Now...not so much.

You probably didn't notice Susannah York in a mens dress shirt...

Bill

A Spitfire back in 1970.  Dad took me to see Battle of Britain and my fixation with airplanes was cemented then.  I don't remember the manufacturer or scale but I seem to think it was 48th scale as it was fairly big (to a young lad) and I know it wasn't 32nd scale.  I probably had it built within half an hour or so of getting it.  The smell of tube glue fumes filled the kitchen and fingerprints abounded on the plastic.  Paint...shmaint.  All I knew is it 'flew' great (with the appropriate and obligatory engine and machine gun sound effects) and it performed many barrel rolls, zoom climbs, dives, split S's and turns as I ran through out the house.  I may do the same thing after I finish a build these days...minus the running part.

Me and my friends used to covet any catalog included with the kits we bought.  We would lie on the grass under the shade of a tree in the playground and proclaim what kit we would buy next (allowance money permitting of course).  With the blue sky above, puffy white clouds lazily drifting by, we were free to dream as we pleased.  Heady, carefree days.

WillysMB

I started some 60 yrs ago with stick and tissue, probably Guillows but I remember my first plastic very well - the Revell 1/72 Fokker Eindecker. From there I transitioned to almost all 1/72 plastic. Went through the Revell line, discovered Monograms, then the wonders of Airfix, Heller, and Italerai

Very much like my modeling as a kid.

Bill

JoeSMG

 

the Baron

... and then played with it till it fell apart. 

The same fate as nearly all my early models. (One was eaten by a dog)

I remember some kind of car and some small jet obtained in a 'Santa's Sack' drawing in Cub Scouts, age 5 or so -- I was 'officially' too young at the time, but since Mom was the den mother, I got to do all the stuff my 2-year-older brother got to do 'on the books.' Dad 'helped' with those...i e., probably actually enjoyed himself once my 5-second gnat's attention span flamed out.

First one I remember building by myself was Hawk's cool 1/48 F-104 in its 'Authenti-plated' release, with pre-chromed fuselage parts:

I remember it even gave you the option (which I of course took) of not gluing the seat assembly permanently, allowing the youthful modeler to recreate an 'exciting' feature of the earliest Starfighter prototypes: ejection through the floor of the cockpit, rather than through the canopy. [In my blissful ignorance, I quite 'rationally' assumed this meant the seat module was something akin to a jet-powered air bike. My plucky pilot would exit south...scoot around to do tac recon or some other useful service (while the very smart plane apparently carried on unattended...then rejoin his a/c to finish the mission. (Hey, it worked on Thunderbirds, didn't it?? )]

That shining bird provided reliable air cover for countless backyard 'green army man' battles. Sadly, however, the Starfighter's evil reputation as a 'widowmaker' held true: plane, pilot (and secret jet air bike) suffered a flameout on approach...and all were destroyed in a fiery crash into my sister's 'Barbie's Dream House.' 

There is no 'I' in 'Hero,' gentlemen...

(...but not coincidentally, there are 2 in 'Idiot.' )

When I was eight my Grandmother passed away, we shared a very close relationship. I felt so bad that I recall it clearly today, 74 years later.

My uncle bought me a model to build, hoping it would help me to feel better. That was my first model ever. I'm fairly sure it was an Aurora, going strictly by memory I think it was a Lockheed XC-90 interceptor/fighter, or something close to that.

No paint, just glued together, (some of the glue actually ended up on the model,) but to my eyes it was modeling perfection. I wish I still had it, sadly it was lost on a combat mission, firecrackers were involved.

I can't really remember my first kit but when I was about six I can remember building this about 65 years ago.

That was when I realized that white glue just wouldn't work while doing a strafing run.

I've been at it ever since.

the Baron

... and then played with it till it fell apart.

 

The same fate as nearly all my early models. (One was eaten by a dog)

I started some 60 yrs ago with stick and tissue, probably Guillows but I remember my first plastic very well - the Revell 1/72 Fokker Eindecker. From there I transitioned to almost all 1/72 plastic. Went through the Revell line, discovered Monograms, then the wonders of Airfix, Heller, and Italerai. Slowed down after grad school but trying to get back in to tackle my somewhat overwhelming stash after I had to pause building but kept buying kits. In a fit of nostalgia, I had an opportunity to acquire the entire line of the series 100 Guilows WWI biplanes - sigh...

A Model-T, when I was 5.  I remember it as a Lindberg kit, but I may be mistaken.  I put it together with Duco Household Cement and then played with it till it fell apart.

My first kit with some help to fit the cockpit in was some iteration of Korean war era helicopter given to me by an unckle, I was about 8. It was an absolute glue bomb. My interest was more old cars but I built several airplanes along the way and buildings for my American Flyer train set. My second model was I believe made by Aroura, a 1/32 scale kit named 1932 Ford Jalopy. To this day I still keep my eyes open for one just for nastalgia sake. But that one I 100% built myself. The only stand out mistake is I got the front axle in upside down. But had gained control of the glue tube lol ! So it wasn't all marred up with extra glue. How or why the axle was upside down I have no idea. Then came various planes, AMT cars, boats. Stick models etc etc. Painting models started at about 10, by 11 I was spray painting. At 11-1/2 - 12 I won a local hobby store contest in my age category with an AMT 1949 Ford entry that was spray painted gold metallic, had engine wiring and felt upholstered interior.. I was on my way to model madness I think, I lived models. Working doors, suspension, steering. Chopped down coupes with transplanted enginess for circle track racers from stock kits etc.

Then girls and hormones, real cars for a stretch there, took a few years off. But modelers never really quit we're like weebles, we may wobble or fall down but always get up lol !! So I've been building models since 1958ish.

great topic, below is straight out of my user profile:

"I've been building models since I was 7ish when my brother bought me two ship models (he let me chose) for my birthday, the Bismarck and Hood. That started me on a lifelong fascination with ships and model building in general."

 My first kit was the Red Baron show rod (first issue), in first grade.

As far as I can remember it was the Revell Seamaster when I was five.

The first model kit I remember getting was a 1/32 scale Aurora hot rod hot dog vending truck called "The Wurst". My dad built it for me. I also remember him building an Aurora Patton tank for me too.

The two kits I remember building myself was the Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Saber Toothed Tiger and a Lindberg hot rod car that I put the steering wheel on the wrong side.

One of the oldest model kits I still have is an Aurora MBT70 I built as a young teenager around 1974. I rebuilt it in 1996 using a parts kit I found on eBay. Many of the small bits had been vacuumed up by my mom over the years.

Another old kit I still have is the MPC R2-D2 kit from about 1977. It was very poorly built.

I don't remember exactly, but my first models included the Disneyland space rocket, the visible man, and a number of HO Plasticville buildings.

Bill

I remember building a few snap together kits back in 1970 - 71,  but my first real glue together kit was an AMT 56 Ford I got for my birthday in October of 71 ( I just turned 5 )

I totally mauled that kit, engine parts glued on top of the hood, windshield recieved my now trademark thumb print, lost interior parts, and I didn't cut out the x in the open doorways ( I thought they were supposed to be there as part of the roll cage.)

As for the paint, ... brushed on Navy Blue EVERYWHERE.( except the trunk which I left bare White plastic as well as the interior.... I couldn't  figure out how to paint the interior with it already assembled.) This was also the kit that my grandfather taught me to use Gasoline as a paint thinner..... something that was necessary  on the farm because trips into town were rare. ( I finally got to use real paint thinner a kit or two later.)

I then proceeded  to put colored  3 ring binder re-enforcement circles all over it.

My dad called it the " Fruit-Loop funnycar".

It suffered my usual " experimental " fireworks accident.

I have since then gotten another one from the 1971 issue, but haven't done anything with it .... except  sniff the 50 year old plastic  ... AAAAAAHHHHHH !!!!

Mine was a snap-tite Tom Daniel kit when I was 7.  

Never really stopped building since then- though there were a couple pauses.

My first model was a F-100 Super Sabre bought on a fourth grade field trip to COSI in Ohio. No idea who made it, very small, at least 1/100 scale. The first kit that got me back to building as an "adult" was the Revellogram P-61 out of the bargain bin at a DrugMart. Somewhere in my mid forties...

My first model was a Pyro Brontosaurus kit, built with my dad. Thinking back, I'll bet that he built almost all of it, with me helping however I could. As an adult my first model kit was the Tamiya 1/35 M151A2 gun jeep that I picked up at the AAFES Shopette when I arrived at Ft Polk as a brand new 18 year old infantry Private. That one I decided that I would do all the "advanced" modeler things such as remove mold seam lines and sprue attachment points.

Friends and relative started giving me model airplane kits when I was about five. But I could not read the intruction well enough to build the kits. They were all stick and tissue flying models.  Finally, when I was seven, I completed one, a Guillows Aerona.  Never got it to fly, but soon I did get others to fly.  I was hooked.

Dad found the first plastic model a few years later, a P-80. I think it was a Hawk kit.  From the on I built everything- freeflight, control-line, and RC, and plastic models.  When I moved to Minnesota, I found that the weather was not conducive for flying models, and began concentrating on plastic.  Been building for 76 years now.

This thread is terrific! I hope a lot more folks come on board and share their stories.