dusty_shelf Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 I believe I built my first model when I was about ten, which would have been somewhere around 1970 or so. Would have been a snap-together car kit. I also have specific memories of sitting at the workbench next to my dad, each of us building a model and him showing me how to use glue and to paint details using the point of a toothpick. My kit was a Model A Ford and his a VW Microbus. Somewhere I have his unfinished kit and a few vintage bottles of Testors and Pactra paints! This was back when the paints cost about 15 cents each. Perhaps it was my interest in WWII movies and playing with plastic army men in the back yard that had me transition to US and German armor kits and figures. Over the years, I spent a small fortune on these models and still have multiple cardboard boxes crammed with kits. My building days were halted, however, when my daughter came along. New priorities, little money to purchase, and even less time to build. My daughter is now 21 so you can see how long it has been! I did, oh so briefly, venture into Bolt Action war-gaming miniatures. Only built one jeep and a ruined farmhouse. I do not consider the venture a waste, though, because it had me pull out and dust off my old modeling tools, airbrush, super-detailing supplies, etc. This "romp" also introduced me to painting with acrylics. Love the stuff! Oddly, I seem to have lost my interest in WWII armor, but not in model building. Car kits offer a great alternative. Much of what I employed in assembling and super-detailing tanks and vehicles can be applied to cars. Having once owned a few real muscle cars and old classics, I find the era of the 1960s has a special draw. I was always and still am fascinated by gassers from that time and it is where I will begin this new phase of model building. I intend to build a 1937 Chevy coupe using the 1965 NHRA Drag Rules to guide me. I will soon be starting a new thread on this build. I am thoroughly impressed by the knowledge and skill exhibited here. I have only begun to scratch the surface in reading forum posts. Already, a number of them or the links they contain have been bookmarked. I anticipate asking questions and seek advice and criticisms as I progress. Regards to all. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Welcome to the forum Mike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Welcome to our plastic playground Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landman Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Welcome aboard Mike. You will like it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglia105E Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Welcome to MCM forums, Mike..... and your story is so close to my experience of scale model kit building that I can relate to every word. My daughter is now 24 years of age, and I was first drawn to collecting models around the age of 10 years myself.... started out with tanks and wargaming stuff, moved on to cars, and learned a lot from my Dad....... so this is all about arriving at where we are now, as I approach 66 years of age...... David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeatMan Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Welcome! Your story is similar to a lot of ours! I too started out around 10 years old in 1968, and walked away as I hit that age of real cars and girls. I had several false starts back into the hobby over the years. I still would cruise the model aisle at the toy stores and occasionally buy one. I amassed a small collection of maybe 2 dozen kits. Every few years I'd start a kit, then not being pleased with my results and progress, I'd pack it up again. Then I found Scale Auto Enthusiast Magazine at a magazine store while on a business trip to Boston in the late 1980s. I was amazed that there was a model car magazine once again! In the back of that magazine was a classified ad to join the Tri-State Scale Model Car Club in New Jersey. I responded and started attending the meetings. That was the jump start I needed. My problem had been whenever I started building again, I did so with my 15 year old skill set. As soon as I had a peer group, I learned tons and my models improved exponentially! That was enough to keep me interested and still building 30 years later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Another success story of a return to modeling fueled by these excellent forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusty_shelf Posted August 6, 2019 Author Share Posted August 6, 2019 Thanks to all for the warm welcome. I have already received some good tips and advice with regard to my "On The Workbench" post. One bit of my model building history I forget to mention in my introduction was the brief time I got into Hubley metal car kits. I remembered playing with the ones my dad had built and when I saw they were available again, I had to buy a couple of them. Not long ago, I was going back through some old family photo albums, one mostly of my mother's and father's wedding and honeymoon in 1960. Among the photos are shots of the wedding cake and gifts. Wasn't I surprised to see on the table full of gifts the Hubley Packard Phaeton kit! To this day my father still brings up the fact my brother and I damaged the car playing with it when we were toddlers! ---Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedotwo Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrod 97 Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Welcome to the forums, Mike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fivesuns Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 Hi Mike..Welcome from NE Mississippi. Whereabouts ya'll located? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusty_shelf Posted August 13, 2019 Author Share Posted August 13, 2019 2 hours ago, fivesuns said: Hi Mike..Welcome from NE Mississippi. Whereabouts ya'll located? I am in Clinton and work in Jackson. How about you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fivesuns Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 On 8/13/2019 at 12:54 PM, dusty_shelf said: I am in Clinton and work in Jackson. How about you? Corinth. Retired and modeling to keep my hands and mind busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldiablo78 Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 Welcome n have fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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