What got you interested in modelling?

I started building them as a kid because the toys that were available then were so lame. I think my first one was a Devastator. I played with them until there was nothing left to break off of them and then I'd go out in the yard and set them on fire and pretended that they had just crashed.

Now I just put them on a shelf.

Not as dramatic.

But they don't stink as bad.

-the fish

I'm not surprised by the many respondants who said their father was a major influence. I wish I could say the same about mine, but I can't. He never bought me one or helped to build one. Just slept all night. Even though my kids don't share my passion for modeling, I at least stirred some interest and shared some quality time with them.

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

For me it was when the Challenger blew up and my parents bought me a space shuttle kit. From there it was planes and cars. After a long break , got back into it and thanks to this forum now have found the enjoyment of armor.

When I was twelve I had to spend two weeks in the childrens hospital. I was away from home for the first time, my dad came to visit after a couple of days there he brought a snap-tite spitfire model with him. We sat they and started to build the plane together. It made the stay a little easier, when I was done at the hospital my dad came and picked me up and the first thing we did was go to a hobby shop and buy a kit and the rest is history.

Being handed an Airfix 1:600 scale HMS Daring when i was 8.That was 34 years ago and i'm still at it.I'm presently trying to get my 10 yr old nephew interested in the hobby.
Happy modelling
Pete

Hi everyone.

My dad got me interested when I was a little boy with gifts of 1/72 spitfires and phantoms by the time I got to my late teens my interests turned to fast cars and girls (what pleasent memories!)

What inspired me to come back to the the hobby in my mid-twenties was going to an airshow with a friend of mine who at the time was an avid model builder. After a full day of mavelling at the warbirds and jets screaming above me, I got to see his model collection and that was it. I've been hooked(some say obsessed) ever since!

Got started with Airfix figures and it grew and grew and grew for nearly 40 years. Now it just the relaxing part, i listen to my CD's while building.

I used to build models as a kid, although they were hot rods, but last December I was Diagnosed with Parkinsons, and I started to go crazy sitting around watching TV, So....... I decided to give 1/35 armor a try. Its definetly a task to paint but I think they come out pretty good, My supllier has offered to display my latest one when I finish it, when I figure out how to put my pics in my posts I'll show off my works in progress. It takes about a month & a half to complete one, but I get there :)
Antagonist

Well there was a great hobby shop a block from my Grandparents house(Rider's Hobbies) that I wandered into one day at the ripe old age of seven. The huge display cases full of models got me interested. I build planes, but it was a group of scratchbuilt WWI armour in that case that won me over to our wonderful hobby!

I got started during Kindergarten years or possibly before. It started with the dinosaur kits (was into dinosaurs at the time), and then the Godzilla and King Kong kits. I was inspired by the creature feature movies they played on the weekends. In 1st grade Star Trek was my thing and I built most of the AMT kits.
My parents bought me a lot of kits and I was hooked. In later years I became obsessed with aviation and soon my ceiling was supporting a big, swirling dogfight. I built a multitude of kits, but didn't get good at it until I found a hobby shop that carried instructional books and mags.

DJ

A couple of my dad's old friends were modelers who helped me get into building when I was 7 or 8. They gave me a few of their old completed models for which they no longer had storage space; a 1/72 B-52, a snowspeeder, and a tank (not sure which one). They also gave me my first basic airbrush and my first kit to build on my very own! They were great guys who inspired a life-long passion for models.

For me, modeling was just the next logical step up the ladder. By about one year of age I was playing with Duplo (large lego) and by about 3 years old, had graduated to Lego. Since Lego was limiting in both color and shape, I started building models for a "more accurate" finish (The USS Arizona with a sky blue deck comes to mind) and has evolved into my passion for armor.
PS: On the topic of Lego, in a couple of weeks I'll be posting pictures of some Lego WW2 models I made while bored one day. The inspiration came from this site: http://www.geocities.co.jp/Playtown-Yoyo/1699/hob.html I'm sure that Shermanfreak will like the motorized Sherman.

History. I was born at Selfridge Field, Mi. The second oldest AF installation and fourth oldest military installation in the country. I grew up as a military brat, went to work for the government , and then entered the military for a career. When I was young I grew up around aircraft. When not roaming the country(Uncle Sam)I was with my uncles out at Detroit city airport. I learned to fly at Marine City airport in an Aeronca Champ. Everyone should fly a taildragger at least once in their life. Iworked in motion picture operations and was on the "ground floor" when the BX/PX system took it over. In the military I spent my time around F-15s, RC/KC-135s, B-52s, A/OA-37s and A-10s. At Bitburg I saw the first F-15s assigned to USAF Europe and watched our last F-4 leave the base. It was not planned this way,but the property i bought while in the AF is exactly 7 miles south of our local airport/Air Guard/AF Res training site.

I got started with a love of history, given to me by my grandfathers and my dad. Hearing the stories of all my ancestors, all of which served our country back to the Revolutionary war. One of my grandfather's was a tail-gunner on B-24's and the other was a navigator on B-29's. The first kits I ever did was to try and recreate both their planes. Was a daunting task for an 8 yr old. I had em both done inside a week. Gaps, seems, glue everywhere, you name it! But both men acted as if I had done the greatest modeling job ever. Sure miss those guys. Anyway, that's how I got started.