How Old Were You When You Built Your First Model

[stanleymsn]

well I was 13 wating to go into 9th grade it was a long summer!!!!

[Seattle Mike]

I started at the tender age of 5. The first model was a Hawk Mercedes 190 roadster, followed by Monogram's "Eager Beaver" 2 1/2 ton army truck. I couldn't read the directions at that point, but followed the photos as best I could. By the time I could read the instructions everyone switched over to the ones with only numbers!

[camaroman]

Can't remember how old, but it was AMT's '37 coupe.

It was built with an older cousin who was an amazing

builder. He helped my younger brother and i build

a pair of those babies. My brother's was yellow and

mine was a shade of dark blue.

The great irony is I still have my brother's car (he never really got into

building) but I have NO idea what happened to mine.

[cruzn]

I was Young and can't remember what the Model was.. But One xmas My Uncle Gave me a Lil Coffin model..

whatever year that was.

[Raul_Perez]

I can't remember how old I was, or which kit it was, but I do remember that Moses thought it was pretty cool!

I do remember one of my early builds being a Corvair that I built for a neighbor...

[Clay]

I was in elementary school, and it was a 1970 mustang. I wish I wasnt so destructive back then

[Billy Kingsley]

I really have two right answers here....Back in 1992, at Thanskgiving, my mom needed to keep both me and my dad out of the kitchen while she cooked, so she suggested we build a model. I really didn't do much...I just twisted the parts off the trees and handed them to my dad. We did that for a few years,, and the first is the only one that's gone missing.

From 1996-1999, nothing.

Then, on November 7th, 1999...I had been eyeing the 1994 issue AMT 53 Ford Pickup that had sat at the bottom of our basement stairs since 1994. With my mom's encouragement, I pulled it up, and built it over 2 days. The next day, I pulled out a AMT 1994 Mustang that I also got new, and had been behind my bed since 94. Once I finished those, we went down to Wal-Mart and I got a Revell 48 Woody and 66 GTO. I built them both and then it was time to get some more. Which I built instantly...Eventually mom let me get more then 2 kits at a time, and the stash began...The rest, as they say, is history!

I was less then one month past my 15th birthday in 1999 when I built my first.

[gasman]

I was 6, so about 91-92. I remember what kit is was, Monogram 1/32 Bronco

[HotRodaSaurus]

Well I recon I was around 7 years old and Dad helped me build a Boeing B17 Flying Fortress kit by Airfix. What turned me on to this was the fantastic box art and the fact that 101 items on it were operational.

My first auto kit was Tom Daniels Rommel's Rod. a sort of transition kit from militaria to cars.

[Paul Payne]

I was 6 years old, in 1959. It was the AMT 3-in-1 boat kit which was re-issued around 1996, and of course I bought one! It will get built with a cedar cigar wrapper overlay on the hull and deck, using the dual cockpit runabout version which is how I first built it. I might add an Etzel's Offenhauser. This engine was derived from a marine engine Harry Miller designed in the early 20's. The original boat is long gone, but I still have the trailer, the only model that has survived from my early years.

[MicroNitro]

We moved when i was 7 in 1969 i had no friends at the new house so i started building models. My dad drag raced and owned the speed shop in town so i did drag car models. My first one was a falcon i think i spray painted it metallic blue. I remember gluing two slicks together and bondoing up the gap to make super wide slicks. I remember it as turning out great but i bet it looked like ######.

[outsider]

7 years old and the first kit i built was a amt 40 ford coupe. it originally had a flathead but i got a boss 429 mill from a guy at school and i swedged it in. i took the kit to school once and some dude stole it. it was about 4 years later when i got the poor ford back in the mail with a note saying he was sorry. so i still got my first kit

[fury3]

I was seven, and the year was 1963. My parents had just bought my mom's first new car, a 1963 Ford Fairlane 500 in "Chestnut Metallic", with the 260 "Challenger V8", and the new for 1963 3-Speed all-syncro manual transmission. My father bought the "AMT" annual kit of the car, bought some touch up paint for it (maintenance) AND the kit. He was smart enough to know the lacquer would damage the plastic model, and did primer it, while teaching me how to spray paint. That build is still with me and can be seen in my photo bucket. The exterior and interior paint is original, but I've added BMF to it, and replaced much of the worn chrome. That 1.1 Fairlane was ONE of the best cars they ever owned, except for it's typical early Fairlane manual steering abilities. It always wanted to go anywhere with ease...as long as it was in a straight line! The second build was the "AMT Craftsman" 1964 Valiant in "Dark Blue Metallic", which was my father's new car that year. It is also in the photo bucket, and has been rebuilt in the same fashion as the Fairlane. That 1.1 Valiant was finally junked in 1986 by my aunt, with over 315,000 miles. The original 170 Slant six and drivetrain still ran well, but the floor had rotted completely through in a few areas. It cost my father $1,934.00 new in 1964! I think they both got their money out of it! Fury3

Edited February 1, 2008 by fury3

[ramonesblues]

I was six, in 1952. my first was a P 47 Thunderbolt .When i finished it, I took it back to show the hobby shop owner and she put it in the front window. I was hooked then and there.

[Darrell Gwinn]

probably 12 or 13 (which wasnt too long ago...haha) but I believe my first model was a 1/20 Baywatch Toyota truck... it was quite the build.

[bobss396]

I was either 5 or 6, which makes it either in 1960 or 1961. The model was the Black Widow by Monogram. I had seen other model cars that my friends had and I noticed that the tires were real big in comparison. When I see a real one built up or run across a tire somewhere, it takes me back to that day when I built it.

Bob

[CAL]

I think I was about 7 - early 70's. I built a IIRC 1/32 Gulf Porsche 917, with the help of my dad.

[mikelo]

I can remember doing snap models with my dad. I must have been around 6 when he worked a lot and I tried to finish one by myself (I am pretty sure it was a 1/32 scale duster funny car, orange with little wings on the sides). From there I joined a model club Monogram had at the time where they sent you a model every month. You never knew what you were going to get. My first glue kit was from this club and was a green T bucket. I messed it later as it also became the first car I chopped the top of. I built everything (tanks, ships, aircraft, space craft etc.) until I had my first experience with a local club. They are very specialized in military models of all kinds. They actually argued over markings on a model my dad brought that he made of one of the helicoters were he was stationed in vietnam. I figured they are way to particular and allowed no room for having fun. I really haven't gone back to anything other than cars since.

[Lyle Willits]

As a child I scratchbuilt an artillary cannon model and was extremely honored to be invited to the Whitehouse to present it to President Lincoln.

As I was leaving, I heard Mary Todd Lincoln say "Christ! Would it kill you to take me to the theater just once?"

[Ariel]

  Lyle Willits said:

As a child I scratchbuilt an artillary cannon model and was extremely honored to be invited to the Whitehouse to present it to President Lincoln.

As I was leaving, I heard Mary Todd Lincoln say "Christ! Would it kill you to take me to the theater just once?"

I was about to say as long as I can remember you have always been old (DaD)

[Howard Cohen]

I built my first model when I was 12 (1962). I was in the hospital recovering from surgery and my Mom's friend brought me a car kit. I have no idea what it was but I keep having this craving for an AMT Junior 1960 Chevy wagon snap kit When I got out of the hospital I got a few more kits, some car magazines, saw a race on television and only 45 years later, here I am.

[MrObsessive]

I got my first model actually on the Christmas of '68 (AMT '40 Ford?) when I was 7..............you couldn't get me to even attempt to buid it then because the multiple pieces reminded me of a puzzle which at the time I absolutely HATED!

Especially with all those nice and shiny new Hot Wheels to play with, why attempt a model?

It would be about another 10 years in '78 as a senior in high school that I would build a model for the first time................Monogram's then somewhat new '57 Corvette kit.

I was hooked and the rest is history!

[Rob Hall]

I was 8 in '78 when I built my first 2 1:25th scale glue kits---the Revell '56 Chevy 2dr sedan 'Bad Dream' and the Johan '60 Plymouth wagon. I had built a number of Revell and Lindberg 1:32nd snap kits for a couple of years before that, but those two were my first gluebombs..

For xmas '78, I got a number of AMT 'Countdown Series' kits (incl. the '66 Tbird, '66 Merc, and '69 XL) and then in '79 my older brother gave me a box of 24 '61-67 AMT annuals from when he was a kid... the rest is history, I was a styrene addict.

[BKIN10SECS]

Well, as far as the exact age I was....can't do that. But it goes sort of like this, my Dad (RIP) was sort of a rennisance man...he could do it all!!!! And my Dad always took what ever intrest he was into at the time to the extreme. Anyways my Dad was into (some of you older guys might remember these) Motoreffic cars, he also did slots, Cox cars and choppers and would build these metal kits of Dusenbergs, early Fords, Chevys etc. I would say this was in mid to late 60's. Even back then my Dad was scratchbuilding, painting the cars in a friends body shop and so on. Well....my Dad would do everything stock, and his son...dats me, liked everything... hot rod....so when he was at work I would take these cars and jack up the suspensions (that was the style back then), take wider wheels and tires from where ever I could get them ie. Hot wheels, old diecast cars and then proceed to destroy my Dads creations. I would then hide them This went on for some time....until.....my Dad found my hiding place Well after the initial a** whipping I got....my Dad gave me his entire collection and said....."go to town son". Here I am, now 47 and I remember that day that moment like it was yesterday....I loved my Dad !!!! and if my son was to do the same thing to me as I did to my Dad you best belive the way my Dad brought me up and try to instill good qualitys, morals, and to be that ever loving always forgiving family man....... I'M GONNA WHIP HIS A**

Edited February 6, 2008 by BKIN10SECS

[Nick F40]

  BKIN10SECS said:

Well, as far as the exact age I was....can't do that. But it goes sort of like this, my Dad (RIP) was sort of a rennisance man...he could do it all!!!! And my Dad always took what ever intrest he was into at the time to the extreme. Anyways my Dad was into (some of you older guys might remember these) Motoreffic cars, he also did slots, Cox cars and choppers and would build these metal kits of Dusenbergs, early Fords, Chevys etc. I would say this was in mid to late 60's. Even back then my Dad was scratchbuilding, painting the cars in a friends body shop and so on. Well....my Dad would do everything stock, and his son...dats me, liked everything... hot rod....so when he was at work I would take these cars and jack up the suspensions (that was the style back then), take wider wheels and tires from where ever I could get them ie. Hot wheels, old diecast cars and then proceed to destroy my Dads creations. I would then hide them This went on for some time....until.....my Dad found my hiding place Well after the initial a** whipping I got....my Dad gave me his entire collection and said....."go to town son". Here I am, now 47 and I remeber that day that moment like it was yesterday....I loved my Dad !!!! and if my son was to do the same thing to me as I did to my Dad you best belive the way my Dad brought me up and try to instill good qualitys, morals, and to be that ever loving always forgiving family man....... I'M GONNA WHIP HIS A**

nice!