A
Alf Tupper
Guest
Hello everyone!
I am nearly five decades old, and got into scale modelling before I was ten due to my recently deceased maternal grandfather; ex RAF, he was actually more into OO model railways, with a lot of scratch building. He spent hours on building locos and rolling stock, and I suppose that's what I wanted to copy. But my uncle on that side of the family did Airfix kits, early 70's stuff, and I followed on, cos we all wanted to be Wing Commander Gibson, and fly in WWII. It's best that this is the closest I ever got to being a pilot.
My own dad did balsa wood flying aircraft from plans, no laser precut stuff. I went to a boarding school where one of the things you did to pass your time was scale modelling, so it all sort of gelled from that. It's from the days of Humbrol vs Airfix... Tamiya and Revell were unknown to us, and we all lusted after one of Airfix's 1:24 models. Most of the planes we made had a wonky propeller, a bent gun barrel, and the clear cockpit glass looked like the pilot was smoking inside it. Liquid poly glue was new. Primer was something you learnt Latin grammar from, and if you filed something it meant you put it into a folder.
After a lot of fun modelling everything between 5mm war games armies via 25mm war games armies through to 1:35 Tamiya tanks, I don't think there are many things with wings, tracks, or a weapon I haven't modelled. Having always been on a budget as a lad, I did an awful lot of making do, building dioramas with bits and bobs, using household emulsion paints that looked about right, and so on. And bit by bit it wore off as job, life etc got in the way.
My girlfriend's kids are now 12 and 16 and I saw some Level 1 Airfix kits in the supermarket last Christmas..... and so it began again. The urge to make kits I always wanted as a kid, when Christmas and birthdays were the only times you ever got a treat, reemerged. We've still got a real model shop in Rawtenstall, which I know is a rarity now compared to when I was a kid. I'm relearning so many lost skills, but enjoying it. It teaches patience when things go wrong and the cat steps in the paint, or the small Part 34 goes ping when you cut it off and is now somewhere on the floor, but more likely inside the vacuum cleaner. It is a form of masochism, a process that is hard to rush.
Anyway - hello. Here to ask for help rather than give advice!
Simon
So I've done in 1:72 a Bf109E and a Spitfire Mk IIa for the kids, plus a Spitfire Vb. Just made a complete mess of a Tamiya 1:48 Mosquito IV and now admitting to myself that the eyesight and hands are not quite what they used to be.
I am nearly five decades old, and got into scale modelling before I was ten due to my recently deceased maternal grandfather; ex RAF, he was actually more into OO model railways, with a lot of scratch building. He spent hours on building locos and rolling stock, and I suppose that's what I wanted to copy. But my uncle on that side of the family did Airfix kits, early 70's stuff, and I followed on, cos we all wanted to be Wing Commander Gibson, and fly in WWII. It's best that this is the closest I ever got to being a pilot.
My own dad did balsa wood flying aircraft from plans, no laser precut stuff. I went to a boarding school where one of the things you did to pass your time was scale modelling, so it all sort of gelled from that. It's from the days of Humbrol vs Airfix... Tamiya and Revell were unknown to us, and we all lusted after one of Airfix's 1:24 models. Most of the planes we made had a wonky propeller, a bent gun barrel, and the clear cockpit glass looked like the pilot was smoking inside it. Liquid poly glue was new. Primer was something you learnt Latin grammar from, and if you filed something it meant you put it into a folder.
After a lot of fun modelling everything between 5mm war games armies via 25mm war games armies through to 1:35 Tamiya tanks, I don't think there are many things with wings, tracks, or a weapon I haven't modelled. Having always been on a budget as a lad, I did an awful lot of making do, building dioramas with bits and bobs, using household emulsion paints that looked about right, and so on. And bit by bit it wore off as job, life etc got in the way.
My girlfriend's kids are now 12 and 16 and I saw some Level 1 Airfix kits in the supermarket last Christmas..... and so it began again. The urge to make kits I always wanted as a kid, when Christmas and birthdays were the only times you ever got a treat, reemerged. We've still got a real model shop in Rawtenstall, which I know is a rarity now compared to when I was a kid. I'm relearning so many lost skills, but enjoying it. It teaches patience when things go wrong and the cat steps in the paint, or the small Part 34 goes ping when you cut it off and is now somewhere on the floor, but more likely inside the vacuum cleaner. It is a form of masochism, a process that is hard to rush.
Anyway - hello. Here to ask for help rather than give advice!
Simon
So I've done in 1:72 a Bf109E and a Spitfire Mk IIa for the kids, plus a Spitfire Vb. Just made a complete mess of a Tamiya 1:48 Mosquito IV and now admitting to myself that the eyesight and hands are not quite what they used to be.
We have all got skeletons in the closet and I haven't found a way to not stick my fingers together with Cyno. I'm still confident there will be help. 
