why do you model what you model ?

I just like miniatures. I especially like models of things I have seen like aircraft I've seen at airshows. I also model my cars and I plan to build a model of my house. But still, anything miniature. I even have a model of a water tower!

QUOTE: I tend to model things i cant see everyday.

That sentence struck a chord in me, I only model modern fighter jets, these I only saw a few times at air-shows when I was a young kid. You don't see it everyday and the roaring engine noise and the elegance of flying really grabbed hold of me, it's still exciting to this day. Also, growing up, the Swedish JA-37 Viggen made a lasting impression
I guess I model my childhood dreams...

I've always been facinated by WWII. there's just something about that period in time that i find mesmerizing... i can't explain it. As for my love of aircraft: i saw Topgun and Iron Eagle one too many times each...

QUOTE: As for my love of aircraft: i saw Topgun and Iron Eagle one too many times each...

Yeah, those movies really had an impact on me, I just couldn't get enough of them! I was in awe as I bought my first Italeri F-14 Tomcat a couple years later. "Look mom! This was Maverick's plane!"

My facination with the F-14 started with a short movie at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum. It showed an F-14 in a mock dogfight with an F-4. Then further solidified with the movie Final Countdown. That got me to build VF-84 Tomcat in 1/48 by revell. Sill have a pic of that 20 years later but the model is mercifully long gone.

I have always been interested in aircraft that seemed out of place in their particular era.
Like, the A-1, B-26K and C-47 in Vietnam and the, low and slow, A-10 in an age of faster and faster aircraft. They were in the process of removing the Hawg from our inventory just prior to the first Gulf War in '91 and it went on to redeem itself admirably.
And of course, helos. Worked with helos right out of high school and fell in love forever!!!!

Randie

Because so few people do it ('Guest' Craft from the Gerry Anderson series). On the face of it, it may look as if it's just chopping up F104 kits and adding other bits but craft such as the VG104 from Joe 90 are far more involved being based on no known 'real' aircraft.. Consequently, the full scratch build uses only 8 kit parts: pilot, seat and the wheels.

It's cheeper than smokes, drugs, booze and Zoloft....

I've worked on aircraft for the last twentysix (yikes) years and have been building models ten years longer then that. I've built just about every type. Cars just for fun. Tanks because my dad was in the Army. Ships for the history. But I build airplanes so I can have a small piece of what I did that's mine and no pilot to mess them up when I'm done working on them!
Dave has a good reason too!

I build WW II aircraft because of an early influence from my father. He flew B-24s (Ploesti raid-Operation Tidal Wave) out of North Africa, and P-51s (3 victories) out of Italy. When I learned more about the time period, I got hooked. The people of that age were truly members of "the greatest generation." I build in their honor.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Dave Toews It's cheeper than smokes, drugs, booze and Zoloft....

I second that- and add women in there too :)

Why do I model the things I do (military aircraft mostly)? Numerous reasons, here are some of them:
1) Childhood fantasies of being a fighter pilot thanks to Star Wars, GI Joe and Top Gun
2) Interest in things technical, I'm an engineer by day
3) An eye for art- Besides awsome machines, aircraft are beutiful and bulding them is a fine work of art
4) Keeps me home, quiiet, safe, and is relaxing

Because it's there! It's like the guy in the desert that took off all of his clothes and jumped on a cactus. When asked why he did it, he said, "at the time I thought it was the thing to do".

I like just about anything with wings, but have several favorites. I enjoy doing colorful paint schemes, like the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds. I especially enjoy building models of aircraft that can be identified with it's pilot, such as Dick Bong's P-38 or "Pappy" Boyingtons F-4-U.

Why? It's fun, relaxing, challenging, and a three dimensional learning experience. rangerj

interesting responses ,,all of them . Seems no one is in this hobby for the mere craft of it. Everyone has an influence of some kind. I dont believe theres such a thing as a hobbiest. :)
Anyhow.. i just got on to read the repsonses and to wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS. And may GOD watch over those that are serving today.

i think that is the best question ive heard all year, really made me think about why i do this ....and every reason i can identify with, the love of the planes/cars/tanks/ships, the theripudic factor, cause its cheeper than booze n drugs, (my favorite by the way), or because of relitives ( dad was an A/C mech), but i think its cause there just cool, and the possibilities are endless.

jim

Because I'm too sexy for everything else... Oh... [:0] You meant the plastic/resin models!

I build US WWII planes because of the marvel in technological advancement during those years. I mean, they were still flying P-26 Peashooters out of Pearl (yes I know the P-40s were around and other more advance aircraft) and by the final years they were flying P59 Airacomets, actual jets!

QUOTE: Originally posted by shrikes i saw Topgun ... one too many times...

Well, i've got the same "hit" from the greatest jet fighter movie of all times (for me, that is!!!), and i've seen it so many times, that i got all the lines from the first 15 min. and last 30 memorized, in English, even living in Portugal!!!

That movie really catched my eye, and my passion for the F-14 was love at first sight!

I therefore started to collect everything related to aircraft and figthers, starting with book, images, and after, kits.
My really first one was an Academy's 1/100 F-14 Tomcat!

There after it was that Apache movie, really good, with Nicolas Cage, i think, and i also fell in love with the little chopper...
But my heart always was with that F-14, and the more i learned, the more i liked the Navy aircrafts....
Soon i realised i couldn't build all them, even at a decent 1/72 scale, so i've decided to narrow things up, and come up with this mad task of creating a single aircraft type that were aboard USS Enterprise since 1961...

So, that's from where comes my "crazyness" for the USS Enterprise...

But you might ask, why not another carrier???

Well, the big E was the first carrier to have a squadron of F-14 onboard, see.... and we come up again to Maverick!!!!!!

"Let's turn and burn"

I model what ever I feel like at the time. Mostly it is modern fighters because I am an engineer and I always enjoy the latest and greatest technology has to offer. Sometimes it is just because the airplane looks good, other times it is just for historical significance. I try to keep things varied when I can, so sometimes I build an armor diorama because you can tell a story or I build something I hope to one day have, like the Porche 911GT3... still have a long way before making that dream come true.

I want to fly Wolrd War II fighters,fly in intestellar star ships and pilot huge humanoid robotic fighting vehicles -but I can't. Scale Modeling brings me closer to that. Also, my interest in WWII fighters broadened my intereset in WWII as a whole and the more I learn the more I want to model from it. Instead of just the basic American P-38, -47 and 51s I know collect Yaks and Macchis and I've just started collecting a few WWII armor kits

I build scale aircraft models because of my fascination with military aircrafts( WWII, Vietnam-era, present day). I can't afford to own the real planes so the next best choice is the model.

Model building is a stress breaker (Hmmm maybe not). Have built ship, armor, figures and aircraft kits in various scales over the years but no car/truck kits models. I use to build just 48th scale planes but now, somewhere along the line, I have collected a fair size collection of 1/72 and 1/32 aircraft models just waiting to be build.

Ha! That's an easy one... so I keep my hands off of my WIFE once in a while! I mean, she's a good sport, God bless her. But she needs a break every so often!

Did I just say THAT out loud?

I've been drawn to aircraft and armor for numerous reasons. Perhaps the greatest influence was growing up on the plains and the wide open skies could become a personal air show. We would often lay in lawn chairs with a pair of binoculars watching the parade of aircraft enroute to some far off destination. I too grew up during the Vietnam War and I can recall seeing military cargo planes often. Not to mention SAC often flew low level B-52 radar bombing runs over the county and F4s screaming over at low levels on recce flights.

In regards to history as a dying subject, I would have to disagree. What appears to be a lack of interest in the schools is in reality, the inability of others in teaching history. The key is to intertain as well as to teach. weave it as story, the eat it out of your hands. If you don't believe me, check the sales of Stephen Ambrose works. Strip away the accusations, the man knew how to weave a story and teach the public a little bit about their past.

Best Wishes
Steve

My dad has been an aviation nut most of his life...it started as a kid, and culminated in the air force where he worked in a C&G sqdn. on Matador missiles (in Korea). He also had the hand in hand love of modeling the planes he loved, he modeled alot and even belonged to the Eddie Rickenbacker chapter of the IPMS. Then he had kids, that put an end to modeling. As a kid I remember my older brother and I getting into a display case on his dresser and getting a P-40 and a F-5 in canadian markings out. We took out the models and played with them till they broke...but we left the first place ribbons in there...great kids huh. Although he didn't model anymore, he did share his love of aviation with us. We went to every airshow at Dayton Ohio, and here in columbus at Rickenbacker Air Base. When I was in 7th and 8th grade I went through the usual build'm quick and play with'm till they're in pieces faze. Then I stopped modeling. Then came high school and my own wife. Then last Feb. something happend, my dad called and he had seen in fine scale modeler ( we both still read it) that the IPMS chapter was having their model show (we had missed it for years), We went to the show last year, and I started buying kits again, but I was always "too busy to build them". Then he called me a couple of weeks ago and said..."Hey the model show is Feb. 21st, lets both build something and enter it." That's all I've been waiting for.
So I guess you could say my dad is responsible for my love of aviation, and I've always loved modeling because what better way to learn about a/c other than building your own collection of them. Thanks dad!!

Sorry if that went long and no one wants to read it...

I build anything with an interesting story behind. Sometimes a cool noseart or name can be enough.
Otherwise I build (or when I get back to building again, very soon) birds that were flown by pilots with like Anderson, Peterson, Johnson. Or have parents or grandparents that left Sweden for US o A like Richard Ira Bong, "Swede" Vejtasa etc.
Sometimes a cool noseart or name can be enough.
The Bong family live not far away from where I stayed in Sweden.
I'm also mad about anything that has to do with USS Yorktown CV-5 and 10.
Feel the same for USS Coral Sea CV-43, my dad had a cousin that served on her and another carrier during the Korean War, don't know which one though. USS Coral Sea was after the war.
Have a wee soft spot for carriers CV-31, 34, 38 and 59-64 too though.

So that I can go into another world and reality. I get to walk a quartereck of a 19th ship of war, reef the topsail of the clippership, overhaul a R3800 that powers the mighty Corsair, survive a mission in a B-17 over Germany, or just plain be a kid again.

I am also partial to aircraft carriers. Dad was on the Lexington (CVA 16) so of coarse there is model of her and all the airwings btween 1955 and 1959. I was on the Ranger (CVA 61) and again, have a model to show people and tell the same crazy stories my father always told.

I model what I model because I usually like the subjet...

Take a fighter jet for example, I love how they look, and they're fun to build too (I'm afraid to fly, though... Which sucks, I'd love to go in one, someday...)

Gundam, and most mecha: I just love giant robots... (Although they always seem to be treated as childs toys *shrugs* Ah well, I love it anyway )

Anything else: If I like it, I'll build it, no questions asked

Although, in think in the end, I just model because it's fun, and painting something up in your own scheme is fun, too (I rarely paint anything in the right colors, I swear.... )

I model world war II era aircraft because to me nothing compares to the sacrifices and patriotism that the men and women that built,flew and died in those warbirds faced. I model to honer the planes and the history that they stand for. some of my aircraft are depicted as just finished,no markings,to partially built, to famous and revered.Some are bland to the eye,some are done in as delivered by the WASP's livery and some are proudly wearing unit markings and colors.I model them as a way of showing my respect and thanks to those that gave so much,for some reason or other I have no Axis air craft only Allied air power.......perhaps I am biased ,but I like to model the "arsenal of Democracy" thank you Colleen

Well.....

I build models for a lot of reasons really. In no particular order....
It allows me to express my small artistic side (hey it sounded good)
I enjoy history....hence my NickName I chose....History to me has always been fascinating and while I cant give/repeat/remember everything I learn or read or watch I enjoy it.
I enjoy having things that I can build but cant own, I dont think the state department and Uncle Sam is to crazy about me owning an F-14 even if I had the money to buy one (which I dont!)
The list really does go on..........

I build all sorts of things. I have yet to do any Scifi stuff, though I have a few kits.
I havent built a ship yet....still waiting on a particular kit.
I build all types of AC except maybe commercial, just havent bothered yet.
I build auto's
I've even built a few tanks

When I was younger(read a kid, yeah I know to some of you old fart's Im still a kid) it allowed me to learn about various things I was building. What certain parts were on a car's engine and why they were there. What the difference was in some AC variations. ETC.....

Plus I just enjoy it. I dont build nearly as much as I would like to...and Im often away from the bench more than I should be, but when I do build I enjoy it....even though it frustrates the heck out of me at times. I still keep at it. I can plop down at the bench and tune out everything else......I can focus solely on my project and what it must have been like to fly/drive/own or whatever the 1:1 thing Im building. Thats what I like most. That's where the "kid" part of me comes out....and I enjoy it.

I love history.
I love anything small.
And I love getting my hands dirty.
Modeling is perfect.
Plus it is in theory relaxing. I say thing after having spent last night with a sheet of acrylic that is driving me nuts.