Great (or other) Moments In Modeling History

[LokisTyro]

So, what are they? Facts, myths, mysteries, tragedies, personal experiences/favorites... Let's hear them. Modeling has been around far longer than I and many others have been bounding around the world. Take us to school!

[sjordan2]

Anything by Gerald Wingrove, Juha Airio, Fine Art Models, Misko, Roger Zimmerman, Ken Foran, from the top of my mind.

Edited August 24, 2013 by sjordan2

[Harry P.]

A lot of older guys will tell you the release of the AMT 3-in-1 kits in 1958 (?) was one of the biggest events (if not the biggest) in the history of injection-molded 1/24-25 scale car model kits.

[timc]

The day that Moebius came to town.

[trogdor]

For me as a kid in the sixties it was the AMT annuals.

[Craig Irwin]

Rebirth of the hobby with the release of the AMT 66 Nova around 1987.

[peter31a]

The rebirth of the hobby by the introduction of Scale Auto Enthusiast Magazine back in 1979(?) bringing many lapsed car modellers back into the hobby. Other great magazines have followed including Plastic Fanatic which eventually became Model Cars under Gregg's leadership.

[Foxer]

I agree with all the above ... and add the first NNL in, well, I'll use Toledo.

[CJ1971]

There are new "moments" being made as we speak, with the introduction of 3D scanning. This IS going to be 1 of the biggest in modeling history, not just for the auto modeller but all genres of modeling.

Cliff

[Jantrix]

The day in '86 I found my first model magazine and discovered that it was art done by artists and not just stuff for kids to build badly. What was then my guilty pleasure became my passion.

Edited August 25, 2013 by Jantrix

[Ramfins59]

We can't forget Bare Metal Foil... Not having to try to paint side and window trim and moldings with either a teeny, tiny brush or a toothpick, and never being able to keep the lines straight.

[ToyLvr]

And Rich, don't forget that we have some "survivors" we built 40 or 50 years ago where the Testors silver enamel we used on the trim *still* hasn't dried. ;-)

Andrew, heck of a thread you started, but very subjective...

Some will consider the late 50s/early 60s as the "Golden Age". Still others will consider today - right here and now - as the Golden Age, what with the accuracy of the more recent kits (Moebius) and the availability of PE detail sets, etc., etc.

My greatest moment in modeling history? When I built an AMT '70 Impala back in the day, spray painted it and tried to really do it up right, and my old man took notice & told someone that his kid was really starting to get the knack of it....

Despite all of the innovations in the hobby, when you get right down to it, it all revolves around the personal magic that takes place at the work bench.

[Watertown]

I agree with all the above ... and add the first NNL in, well, I'll use Toledo.

I have to agree, NNL's have done more to revitalize the hobby than probably anything else. Magazine coverage of these events is what keeps my fire stoked.

[slusher]

How about Johan going under.? I think today is a big moment for the model hobby with all the after market options and the new tooled kits that continue to be released...

[ChrisBcritter]

When resin casting came into its own with the Modelhaus.

Also back around '74 when Jo-Han issued its USA Oldies series.

Edited August 25, 2013 by ChrisBcritter

[southpier]

it's taken for granted today, but model magazines didn't always have color on every, or any, page.

was a big deal in the early 60s when R&C Models had a centerspread with color pictures.

[disabled modeler]

Great moments to me are the following....

Johan kits

60s to early 70s kits by AMT,MPC,IMC

3 in 1 kits

[southpier]

reliable body putty. ever try getting plastic wood to stick to styrene?

[cobraman]

One piece bodies.

[Dave Toups]

My personal favorite model car moments are:

Discovering Scale Auto magazine in 1981: Before that I had no idea what guys were doing with models. Most of my childhood building was between 1976 & 1982. Probably the worst years for the hobby!

1989 Toledo NNL / Dayton COMA meeting : This was the first big show I ever attended. Got to meet a bunch of folks I'd only read about. I even ate Pizza at Randy Derr's workbench. It doesn't get any better than that!

1989 MAMA World of Wheels contest: Winning an award there was great ,but the following 23 years as a MAMA member have been even better!

[Scott Colmer]

The HOT ROD magazine contests and kit re-rereleases are some of my favorites. Throw in the R&C and Street Rodder coverage as well.

[glusnifr]

how about this right here,..great forums..as a kid i always built alone,.. never really knew what anyone else was doing ...now we get to share anything we're working on ,,,get inspired by the eye candy others share with us ,,ask questions ,learn new ways of doing everthing ,,get great opportunitys to trade for kits or parts ,,..and to understand that we are not alone .doing what we love with this forum and youtube im having my favorite modeling times right now ,and i've been building on and off since the sixtys so thats saying something.....just my 2 cents worth...jim

[Art Anderson]

Hmmm, great moments?

It's hard to pick just one, but I can think of several:

While the first few model cars I built were, uh, OK, as they were a pastime for a very bored kid forced to spend a lot of quiet time recuperating from rheumatic fever...but things sort of took off when I was given my first 1/25 scale kits--merely knocked-down AMT promo's ('54 Pontiac Star Chief Catalina, '54 Ford Crestline Convertible and a '54 Studebaker Commander hardtop)--those were model cars that my 10yr old hands built, and they were sturdy enough for quiet play on the floor (nothing like revving up the flywheel--friction--motors and making black tire mark burnouts on Mom's freshly mopped and waxed kitchen floor!

The coming of AMT 3in1 customizing kits in 1958--those were cool! By then, Testors' little square bottles of paint were in the variety store where I got my AMT kits, and life became even cooler!

Summer of 1959: AMT's '32 Ford Roadster, the scion of that neat family of Trophy Series kits, along with the '40 Ford coupe, and the release by Pactra of their first Soft Spray 'Namel rattle cans--now I could (in my 15yr old mind anyway) do paint jobs on model cars to rival anything in a new car showroom (Oh well, at least I thought so!).

Fall 1961, and the first kit I bought at built many of--the AMT '25 T Double Kit--now that was a model car kit!

Labor Day weekend in 1962 and going to Indianapolis, to the Murat Shrine Temple to see the NHRA Hot Rod & Custom show (an event back then which piggybacked onto the NHRA National Drags out at Indianapolis Raceway Park), seeing and snagging the first of Revell's Challenger I, Roth's Outlaw and their '56 Ford F100 pickup. But the real highlight was meeting and getting to talk with THE KAT from AMT himself, Budd Anderson (same last name as me, but no relation)--now that was a happening any model car builder back then would have jumped at the chance to be a part of).

In 1975, being asked to build "box art" models by AMT Corporation--that was hard work, but often a lot of fun, and certainly neat to show my wife and family the results of my work on store shelves around here. The "inside looks" at AMT and learning a lot about what it took to design and tool a model kit was fascinating.

In the very early 1980's, sensing the rebirth (almost from what seemed to me in the waning years of the 70's the death and burial of this hobby) of model car building, with the coming of Scale Auto Enthusiast, and the renewed stream of very nicely done model car kits.

A lot of milestones, a lot of "model car minutes" down through the past 60 or so years for me, to be sure!

Art

[Dr. Cranky]

For me one of the best moments was discovering PAT COVERT's book and work and realizing that I had already wasted too much time not coming back to the hobby.

The other personal moments occurred when decided to come back to the hobby and I walked into a Wal Mart and saw the AMT 1950 "STREET MACHINE" Chevy Pick Up. That kit really a number on me in a positive way, of course.

[Daddyfink]

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