UNUSUAL LOCATIONS

[John1955]

What's the most unusual place you've ever built kits at? I've got a few. I recall once when I was about 10 years old, my family went to a shopping center we'd never visited before, it was rather far away and there were closer places, but my father was told about a store there that sold railroad salvage stuff like tools and the like. They also had toys there much to our delight, and model kits. The kits were sealed and showed no damage and AMT Craftsman kits were just 49 cents each and they even had Pactra glue for 5 cents a tube. (We boys preferred Testor's, but for 5 cents, how could we lose?) The tubes were dirty and smudged but the glue inside was good. 

The 1/25th AMT Craftsman '60 Chevy wagon I got was molded in color and I actually had it finished in the car by the time we got back home. Years later when I was in the U.S. Navy, I built a few kits while serving onboard the USS Constellation (aircraft carrier). The ship's main exchange sold models and supplies and I spray painted them on the flight deck making sure the breeze was at my back. The warm breeze was actually caused by the ship moving and the hot Pacific sun dried them quickly, lots of gloss and virtually no dust at all. 

Then down a few decks is where I assembled them later near my bunk or sometimes at my duty station. I stored the finished models on top of lockers, they were safe up there as a heavy carrier has very little vibration even in rough weather. When I had too many, I'd carefully package them and send them home. Unfortunately, careful packing doesn't matter much when shipped that far and with military mail, so when I got out of the navy, I had a rather extensive collection of models in need of repair though some did make the trip unscathed. 
 

[HomerS]

Currently.....Discount DrugMart.  I never thought to check a small, regional drug store for kits but they used to have a decent selection at a decent price.  Last time I went (a few years ago) they were down to a handful of Revell kits and Maisto 1/24 die-cast kits.

Ever...independent kids resale shop.  A lady came in to purge her kids clothes and toys and there were about a dozen kits in the lot.  No wow factor but sealed kits at a few bucks each.

[youpey]

i used to work at a gas station over nights. it was always dead, so i started to work on the models at the key house, where the pumps controls were. anyway, i was able to build a full model in a couple of shifts, but i had gotten some spray paint on the table. the owner got mad, even though it just wiped off with some cleaning. he didnt care i built the model, but mad because of the paint. he said we could do whatever we want after 2am when the crowds were over as long as we stayed on site. 

 

there was a lot of free time there, so there was a lot funny stories (including a lot of police showing up because someone called them and told them i was dead, i was just sound asleep)

Edited May 14, 2021 by youpey

[Classicgas]

My last job. When it was slow my boss said we could work on personal projects, so I asked if I could bring in my model stuff. Yep. Unfortunately the company let go of over 10% of it's workforce, including me.

[Modlbldr]

When I worked for the railroad I did a lot of cutting, sanding and gluing of parts while going down the track in the engine. There was usually too much rocking and bumps to do any real detailed work.

Later-

[stitchdup]

On a ferry

[Snake45]

When I was 6 or 7, my mother had to go to an all-day meeting in the "big city." She had to take me. On our way into the office building, we stopped at a drugstore on the block and she let me pick out a model kit and a tube of glue. I picked the Hawk "Flying Leathernecks" double 1/72 kit of F4U Corsair and Douglas F4D Skyray. When we got in the office building, she found me an empty office (it was a Saturday), put some newspaper down on a desk and let me go to work. By the time her meeting was over, I had them both finished. And no tools! To this day I have a soft spot in my heart for both those kits. 

[Tom Geiger]

Carl, when I was 10 and I stayed with my grandmother, she’d drag me off to Bingo.

Held in the church basement, there was a luncheonette across the street that had Palmer kits.  She’d give me $2, which bought me a kit, a tube of glue, a bottle of YooHoo and a pack of Yodels.

I’d sit there and make a glue mess.. the Bingo ladies must’ve loved me!

[youpey]

5 hours ago, Snake45 said:

When I was 6 or 7, my mother had to go to an all-day meeting in the "big city." She had to take me. On our way into the office building, we stopped at a drugstore on the block and she let me pick out a model kit and a tube of glue. I picked the Hawk "Flying Leathernecks" double 1/72 kit of F4U Corsair and Douglas F4D Skyray. When we got in the office building, she found me an empty office (it was a Saturday), put some newspaper down on a desk and let me go to work. By the time her meeting was over, I had them both finished. And no tools! To this day I have a soft spot in my heart for both those kits. 

 

 

i was probably 8 or so when i started to build kits. i was only allowed to use the glue, no cutters and no paints. it wasnt until i was about 12 or so that i was allowed to use tools. since i didnt have paint or anything i would finish most models in 1 day, and they were all glue bombs because the tube glue would shoot out like 7 gallons of glue for every squeeze. my little hands didnt understand gentle.

it wasnt until i was living on my own when i was 22 that i started to really try to make models using spray paints for all the pieces to get rid of the brush marks.  the one kit that will always stick in my head was the revell 69 corvette coupe. i loved that car and it was the first car i had ever painted the body. i brush painted it using testors red paint. i hate red cars, so i dont know why i did it in red. probably the only paint i had. i recently started my love for the early corvettes again and picked up the 69 kit. i have plans to build it and paint it red as a tribute to that build. 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2021 by youpey