clovis

My little one is now 13. This is her fourth model. I've also let her play around with a test kit that I have, mostly used for experimenting. I've worked closely with her on all of her builds.

Thank you, Danno. I don't want to build anything for her. I want her to learn how to build, Just as importantly, I want her to understand the little tiny lessons that can be pulled from a build, if that makes any sense. In my other threads, I used I/she/we interchangeably. Maybe I shouldn't have. There are many new things that I've read about on this forum, and lots of things that I wanted to try. I researched them to the best of my ability, and then carefully instructed her how to do it best. If I had a dollar for every time that I said "I've never done this, but I want you to try it....take this can....", I might be able to buy the new 1/12 Foose Camaro kit. I want to limit her mistakes, but if she makes them, even after I have tried to teach her of possible pitfalls, so be it. Experience is the best teacher, and if she gets a run in the paint, she can either fix it, or have to live with it. Our county also has open judging, meaning that you sit down with the judge, and he/she can ask you questions about your project. Let me tell you, they weed out the "my dad built it for me" projects really quick!!!! If you can't explain how you sprayed the model, or how you applied decals, or in our case, the salt and hair spray methods, the judge will see through that in a jiffy. I was REALLY proud of her presentation to the judge, and extremely proud of how she was able to explain every step, clearly and without hesitation!! He asked her some really pointed and detailed questions!!! She was a champ!!!

She basically built the whole thing, and painted it too, under my close advisement. The kit was badly warped, so I engineered around that. I also engineered around the wheel-to-frame attachment issues. The hoods were warped badly too, and I let her decide how the model should look. But I kept her fully involved during all of the processes. There were a few things that I tinkered with during the build, like drilling out the exhaust pipe. I also glued up the truck bed for her, since it was a little tricky. It was hard to keep my hands off the project!!! We worked side by side on this project. I tried to advise, coach and teach all at the same time, while letting her build the model. I learned a vast amount during this build. I tried 16 new things on this build that I've never tried before. I know that some folks may be critical of my help and advisement, but I hope they are not. I want to be the father who can teach and explain how to complete something, and also caution on the pitfalls of how it may be done incorrectly and how to avoid mistakes. I know many parents who have the attitude of "NO! Do NOT touch it. You'll screw it up and RUIN it!!!" with their kids. What good does that do, other than reinforcing an idea in their head that they'll never be good with anything in life??? Let me promise you...my daughter might never be able to remember to screw the cap down on a bottle of paint (lol), but she can spray paint better than most adults that I know! That girl can lay down the most even layers of paint, without build ups or runs.

Thank you for the kind replies!!! Chrissy is going to love them!!!!

I played with Legos as a kid too. I actually had a knock-off brand called Loc-blocks, or something like that. I thought the building blocks thing was cool, but when I graduated into models, I'm not sure I ever touched those blocks again. So, what gives? I know numerous older teens that love Lego's. In my day, you would have been laughed out of the community for ever being caught even talking about Legos at the age of 16. Other kids would have made fun of you so bad that you would have begged to get into the witness protection program.

My daughter won Reserve Grand Champion today at the county 4-H fair on her 1/16th Model A that I helped her build. She was pleased as punch seeing that pink rosette ribbon adorn her entry, and jumped up and down with excitement when she saw it sitting on the winner's podium. She won Grand Champion last year, and she/we worked extra hard this year to do the best that she could. While we haven't seen the official scorecard from the judge, I'm afraid that a tiny glue spot kept us from attaining the Grand Champion spot. I had her tack on an exhaust pipe using super glue the evening before judging, and I think that the super glue that was used created a small white spot. I am sure that the super glue caused this overnight, because I triple checked the model before I went to bed, even with a magnifying glass, and saw nothing. I would have definitely seen that whitish glue spot!!!! Yes, I know that this isn't an IPMS meet, or any other high end show, but I am proud of my daughter, and her perseverance to see this kit through completion. BTW, the model looks 1,000 times better in real life. Even though this iPhone camera is top notch, it doesn't do this build justice! Thank you for letting me share!

Wow...thank you for the replies! This has become an interesting thread! When I was a kid, back in the 70's and 80's, I fell in love with building models, especially WWII airplanes. When I look back now, I realize the reason that I loved to build those planes gave me a new dimension to my love of war birds. In those days, the absolute best a kid could do was looking at black and white pictures in a book from the library, and an amazing thrill was to see a 8 second clip, in black and white too, of a WWII airplane on TV, possibly shown on a news clip. In today's world, kids have that extra dimension to whatever they are interested in. Whether it is cars, anime, war...there are 82,000 videos on YouTube. And honestly, IIUC, don't most of the video games allow the player to create whatever subject they want? I have a nephew that is now 10, and I kid you not, is a single track mind that is addicted to video games. I recently tried to get him to build a model with me: Me: Hey, let's build a model together. We'll build whatever you want. Him: No thanks. Me: You don't want to build a model? Him: No. Me: How about building a car. I'll get you a car model, and just the two of us will work on it. How about a Ferrari? I've got a kit right now. Him: Why would I want to do that?????? I can make any car I want on the ____________ game. See what I mean??? I have a theory that video games have fulfilled that extra dimension that we used to seek out in the interests that we have.

Okay, I have to admit that I am confused. I used both Testors Dull coat lacquer in a spray can and Testors Glosscote lacquer in a 80's era vintage bottle in a recent build over Testors Model Master enamels, and it worked fine. The Glosscote did 'melt' the Tamiya acrylics that I had applied, and caused them to run. Are the clear coat lacquer finishes different than lacquer paint????? Thoughts???

I recently read a modeling tip on my Facebook feed about how to highlight details on a model by using a lighter shade of paint than you did on the background. The builder who was sharing the tip builds mostly airplanes, but I wondered if anyone here used the technique on cars. He used it mostly in the cockpit and on bolts. The close up pictures of his builds look awesome. In order to get the lighter shades, would I need to mix the paint? Anyone using this technique on their builds?

Great post, Tom! It is funny, like you said, about the differing reactions of those looking at kits and supplies. Most of the time, I don't say a word, but on occasion, if I see someone, I'll ask "What do you build?" A few like to chat, but sometimes, they act like they've been caught on a TV news show with a hidden camera about grown men looking at children's toys, LOL.

Awesome story, Tom!!!! I think I'm going to go wake my wife up and tell her that I've never seen a Tesla.

Despite the number of threads and posts about the forthcoming doom and gloom of model building, I am always surprised to see how many people visit the model aisle at Hobby Lobby. I've been in our local HL about 5 times in the past two weeks, looking for building supplies. There hasn't been one single time that I've visited that at least two other people stopped in the aisle to look and browse, On my last visit, there were five of us in the aisle at one time, which makes it pretty crowded. I realize that kits aren't flying off the shelf, and there aren't crowds of people fighting for kits, like you might see on a Black Friday at Best Buy, but I am at least encouraged. I haven't always been in HL at peak shopping times either. Often, my visits are in the middle of the afternoon, on a weekday. The selection of kits at the local HL never appears to change, and if it does, it isn't really enough to notice, IMO. I did see three kits sold this week though. Our local HTUSA...their stock does seem to change, but I rarely see any other builders during the odd times that I'm there. Most of the time, that store is like a ghost town, but they always have at least 4 employees on the floor at all times, so they must be doing something right to keep the doors open. Sure, these are small signs that the hobby is alive, but it is still encouraging!

Saw a 29 or 30 Model A truck today, in my home town. I tell ya, that was a thrill to see. Yesterday, my daughter entered a model of a '31 A truck as her 4-H entry, and the judge liked it. I thought my daughter was going to jump out of her seat when I pointed it out to her!

I also saw a two door business coupe being trailered today. Extremely nice car, with an inch of dust on it. Surprising to see how well dust sticks to a car that is being trailered at 70 MPH. I have no idea what year this car was...I don't know prewar makes and models.

Saw an early 70's Cutlass Hurst 442, maybe a 1971. Crazy nice restored condition, parked at an antique mall. I actually came face to face with the owner, but I got the "yeah, I KNOW it is a nice car, and I am tired of answering questions about it" thing.

Thank you for all of the replies!!!!! I glued this latest build up using CA on 90%+ of the model.

Thank you for the replies so far!!! I thought of two more 'firsts' that I experienced on my last build: 15. First time ever using Testors Dull Coat. 16. First time ever using Testors Glosscote, out of an 80's era vintage bottle that I found in a thrift shop, but thought that I would never use.

Also, Harry, did you cut the wide plastic strips holding the two sides of the fenders (on the fender frame assembly), before attaching the fenders to the frame? I almost removed those wide strips, but then chickened out. My skills are improving, but I was too worried to try it on this build.

On this kit, the cab, frame, and the fender/body assembly was warped badly. The wheels were a nightmare! The two part hood wouldn't fit, and neither did the radiator assembly. 90% of the sprues were warped too. Maybe I got a bad kit...I sincerely thought about giving up on it multiple times. It is a good think that we built a rusty junker, and didn't try to build a nice shiny example! If you ever build another one of these kits, I'd LOVE to see you do a tutorial on it!!!

For real? I really struggled with this kit in a big way. I'm not certain that there were any parts in the entire kit that weren't warped.

Brett, Thank you! That is a GREAT thread!!!!

I have so many interests in life that I have an odd philosophy about kits and model building. I have sworn myself to only buy one kit at a time, and not buy any more until I've completed the current build. So far, with the exception of a Revell kit that I found at a thrift shop, I am good to my word. At the same time, I am not cranking out builds like the average builder on this forum. It is cool to see the mountains of collections that many people have collected...I've just decided to not collect kits.

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the AMT 1955 Chevy Nomad in 1/16.

I had been away from modeling building for 25+ years, and recently returned a few years ago. Unfortunately, I don't have tons of time to build, nor the space to build, but I've missed this hobby very much. Today, we entered a Mincrapft Model A truck as my daughter's entry into the local 4-H fair. I enjoyed this build, and at the same time, wanted to pull my hair out with this model. I experienced many modeling firsts, at least for me. If anyone understands, it might be you builders... 1. First use of a pin vise in a build. How did I ever live without that tool?? 2. First time of drilling out an exhaust pipe. 3. First use of Tamiya spray paints. (Tiny can, BIG price!!!) 4. First use of Tamiya bottle acrylics in over 26 years. I wish that Testors had a similar product line. 5. First use of sanding the primer coat with 1,000 grit paper. 6. First use of using a non-model plastic to fix a problem. I used slices of a Bic pen barrel as a spacer for a wheel issue. 7. First major use of CA glues on a model. I probably glued 90%+ of the model together with super glue. 8. Created a new faux rust finish using a brush and bottled paints. It looks awesome!! Dr. Cranky would be proud!!! 9. First use of pigments on a model. Lots to learn about using pigments, but this stuff is cool! 10. First very successful use of Scotch tape to mask off paint lines. (A tip that I got here.) 11. First use of multi-colors with pin washes. 12. First time ever painting shadow lines on a car seat...and it looked great!! 13. First time making realistic duct tape for the model's seat. 14. The Minicrapft kit was full of warped parts. First time using hot water to try to bend warped parts back to normal. I'm sure there are more 'firsts' for me. I know that most of these things are either old hat or juvenile to many of the outstanding builders on this forum. I also want to thank everyone on the forum for their help. I am a better builder because of you all!! A majority of my 'firsts' list was learned on the MCM forum. Anyone have some 'firsts' that you want to share?

We just completed a Minicrapft Model A for our daughter's 4-H entry this morning. I am getting tired of fighting the numerous problems of vintage kits. I am super seriously considering buying the new Revell Foose Camaro as her 4-H entry for next year. I'd love to have your review of this kit before I drop $55. How is the fitment of parts? How are the instructions? How is the finish of the parts? Is anyone experiencing problems with the plastic? Is it a good kit, overall? Is it pretty easy to get a nice looking model, if you try? Are there any pitfalls or problems that I should be aware of, before I buy the kit? THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!!!!!!!! I APPRECIATE YOUR HELP!!!!!!!!!!!