What does modelling do for you?

[LSP_K2]

What do I get from this hobby? Lots of stuff; passion, excitement, hopefulness, anxiety, knife wounds, interesting paint colors on my clothing and shoes, depression, self-loathing, despair, frustration, hopelessness, disillusionment, a whole litany of things.

[Oldbaldguy]

16 minutes ago, LSP_K2 said:

What do I get from this hobby? Lots of stuff; passion, excitement, hopefulness, anxiety, knife wounds, interesting paint colors on my clothing and shoes, depression, self-loathing, despair, frustration, hopelessness, disillusionment, a whole litany of things.

And a thorough understanding of the fifty shades of gray used by the luftwaffe in case it ever comes up in polite conversation.

[Learstang]

1 hour ago, Oldbaldguy said:

And a thorough understanding of the fifty shades of gray used by the luftwaffe in case it ever comes up in polite conversation.

 

Only fifty? So, one of the ten variations of RLM 83 is no longer considered grey?

 

Regards,

 

Jason (gonna get a big dish of beef Chow Mein)

[Rick K]

Toy airplanes is definitely therapeutic for me.  It's a form of mental gymnastics that keeps my intellectual edge relevant.

 

My path to toy airplanes has been a fun journey.  I wrote this a few years ago.  Enjoy.

------------------------

I remember building my first model with my Dad, late 60's.  I was about 10 years old and the kit was Monogram Gulfhawk 2 (F3F).  Two things stand out was the retractable landing gear and those big decals on the upper wing.  We went on and built Monogram’s Phantom Mustang.  The working features just blew my mind.  Those were such fun times.

 

The Gulfhawk and Phantom Mustang are in my stash and I plan on building them in the future.

 

Monogram, Revell and Testors (those chrome P51, F8F) were always the kits I was building.  I stuck mainly to aircraft with a few moves to ships & boats.  Glue oozing out of seams, fogged canopies, brush strokes (sometimes Q-Tips) and backwards decals were my typical finishes.

 

Then around 13, I discovered balsa wood and tissue planes and those Cox 2 stroke internal combustion .049 glow plug engines.  Before I knew it, I was all about Control Line flying.  It was a life of building, crashing, re-building, crashing…repeat.  

 

Combat Flying was the next step.  The ease of building one giant wing with a skinny fuselage made repairs and new construction quick and painless.  Chasing a 10ft long piece of crepe paper was almost as fun as tangled control lines and spectacular crashes.

 

Touched on model rocketry with the Estes rockets during the Control Line flying days.  Gliders and Big Rockets with payload were the choice.  We had a launch program called the “Mouse-Mouse Series”.  That’s all I’ll say about that with exception after 23 launches there was never a fatal launch.  Noting there were several broken eggs during some test launches.

 

After reading my first copy of Scale Modeler Magazine I was ready to return plastic kits.  With my Badger bottle fed airbrush with a Co2 tank for air supply I was cranking on 1:72 scale planes.  Resurrected my Vac-U-Form for canopies, etc.  Scratch building cockpits, gun bays with wire, tape, bent hypodermic needles.  I remember my paint selection of choice was lacquer based Floquil.  Had this awesome mixing chart for all WWII planes both Allied and Axis.

 

My LHS always let me display my finished kits.  I even did several commission builds to help offset my cost for consumables and kits.  I was the only kid in the neighborhood who could buy glue without a note from parents.

 

When I discovered Squadron Shop I was doing mail order to the Hazel Park, MI shop on a regular basis for a few years until the Washington, DC (Georgia Ave in Silver Spring, MD) shop opened.   I remember chasing down the Postman on my bike to get my Squadron Shop delivery.  Every once in awhile I would make the trip to Silver Spring, MD to the Squadron Shop from my hometown Gettysburg, PA with a load of cash and load up on kits.  I spent almost every dime I made on models.

 

Like a large percentage of guys the models faded with the interest in Girls, Cars and trips to Maryland (drinking age was 18) there was a college town about 6 miles from my house.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

 

My interest emerged again in “toy planes” shortly after the birth of our first child in 2005.  I began picking up some 21st Century 1:32 scale planes.  They were pretty cool.  My sales territory was the South East and Mid Atlantic states and I found myself hitting Wal-Mart and Target when possible to pick up the latest release.  Amazed these planes were under US$20.  My plan was to paint a few and have some fun.  Then I heard 21st was going under so I started hoarding as many as I could.  I hit a Target in Virginia and picked up 10 planes at USD $4.00 each.  After about a year I have almost 80 planes.

 

In 2011 I decided to make a return to modeling so I posted and sold all my 21st Century planes on eBay and was able to finance stacking up on stash, tools and equipment.  And here I am playing with toy airplanes again.

 

My Dad passed in 2008 and I inherited a few kits he built in the 1980’s.  They were dirty, packed in boxes and covered with soot from years in his smoke filled HAM radio shack.  I decided to clean up a TBD-1 he built as a restoration project.  After the restoration I was hooked.   

 

I am amazed on several points in this hobby:

 

The Internet has provided me with an incredible amount of intel for my return as well as to build friendships on a global scale.

 

Quality of engineering of todays kits Tamiya, Hasegawa, ZM, WNW, etc just blows my mind.

 

Aftermarket…holy crap!  PE, Resin Upgrades, Decals and Paints.  Now 3D printing!

Our local hobby shops have taken a hit due to internet sales.

 

That said, here I am having a blast with my return to my childhood hobby.  My kids have given modeling a try with much success.  Best is sharing the experience with them.  My daughter has no interest in models anymore.  She applies what she learned with paints and airbrush with other artistic projects.  My son is on and off with building. 

 

He’s got a pretty busy schedule with his buddies, ice hockey, tennis and his lawn mowing business.  He’s got one WIP on the SOD.  He’ll get around to it.  I’ll never push him.

 

I’m having a blast with my builds and really enjoy connecting and chatting with other skilled builders.  Frequently, I’ll walk away a little smarter after a conversation or text session.

 

Radio Control Planes?  Not at this point but will not rule out.

 

 

 

[LSP_K2]

Being serious now, for me the answers seem to be too complex for me to put into words. Suffice to say that one way or another, modeling, and the related history aspects, have been a very big and important part of my life for decades, starting when I was just a child, and seems to offer a sort of satisfaction that I get from no other source, and probably never will. For that, I am very grateful and happy.

[JeepsGunsTanks]

Thinking about this a bit, there is another aspect I forgot to mention. There are so many cool little tools and paints involved, to satisfy my tool collector side. Of course, I have all kinds of little tools I have never used, but they are there when needed. I have all kinds of tweezers, files, x-acto knives, Knippers, clippers, pliers, sanding sticks, and all kinds of tape! 

 

I have to say, the really nice sprue cutters, good brushes, and diamond files have been the best of the tools I've tried out. 

 

A workbench has been ruled out for the living room... so I got little racks to replace most of my cardboard box creations...  You would think a workbench would be better than a folding table, and wooden boxes on a stool, but who understands women?

[MikeC]

On 1/7/2024 at 7:26 PM, tomprobert said:

And even when you get one of those frustrating days at the bench, looking back I’ve still learned something (usually what not to do!) and can then take this forward into future builds. 

That's prompted me to recall something else about modelling: it is a source of learning.  Even a failed build that ends up in the bin will teach me something, even if it's only what to avoid next time I attempt that kit.

 

It also taught me something else: back in the day, the old Airfix instructions were narrative form, and generally used the correct terms: I learned a lot of aviation terminology from them, not least the correct names for the various parts of an aircraft; and, of course, the historical narrative contained in the instructions. 

[mozart]

29 minutes ago, MikeC said:

…………the old Airfix instructions were narrative form, and generally used the correct terms: I learned a lot of aviation terminology from them, not least the correct names for the various parts of an aircraft; and, of course, the historical narrative contained in the instructions. 

I’d forgotten that Mike; on the bagged kits, take out the staples, unfold and read thoroughly….and no ambiguous “what the hell is that supposed to mean” symbols!  Who knows how many young lads found motivation to read at that point when perhaps otherwise they wouldn’t? Those were the days! 

[RNoAF]

I get to play with my self a bit.........................................

[MikeMaben]

On 1/8/2024 at 3:42 PM, LSP_K2 said:

What do I get from this hobby? Lots of stuff; passion, excitement, hopefulness, anxiety, knife wounds, interesting paint colors on my clothing and shoes, depression, self-loathing, despair, frustration, hopelessness, disillusionment, a whole litany of things.

Let it all out Kev ...

 

[Grant_T]

Great question. For me it is all about getting my head into a space where I have some focus that is not instrumental, but done for it's own sake. I'm mid career, and so this year has been ridiculously pressured to get things done which aren't by my own design. Unfortunately I haven't built a 1/32 in a couple of years just because I'm so busy right now.

[dutik]

On 1/9/2024 at 2:35 AM, Rick K said:

 

Touched on model rocketry with the Estes rockets during the Control Line flying days.  Gliders and Big Rockets with payload were the choice.  We had a launch program called the “Mouse-Mouse Series”.  That’s all I’ll say about that with exception after 23 launches there was never a fatal launch.  Noting there were several broken eggs during some test launches.

 

So your launches were much more succesful than the Iranian Space program (yes, they did it ).

The Iranians crashed 12 out of 12 launches, then dropped the whole space program forever

 

 

Anousheh Ansari, the only Iranian astronaut ever, is a different story

 

Regards

- dutik

[airscale]

I do it because I think it makes me attractive to women...

[Shoggz]

Yeah, I hear Hugo Boss are bringing out a range of 'Tamiya Extra Thin' scented aftershave this year...  

[JayW]

I like the challenge.  I intentionally pick difficult projects where there is problem solving involved.   As old as I am getting, I think it helps keep my mind active.