Scale Models

Who built them as a kid? Who still builds them?

I was pretty into the hobby as a 10-15 year old. When real cars became reality all that went away for me. Fast forward 30+ years and my older of two sons got me a 1:24 scale model of a 1969 Dodge Charger (it's the woke version of the old General Lee kit...research that elsewhere I don't want the negativity in this post). I decided to jump back in and try and complete it well. I have no idea where all my old equipment and supplies are. I am not the type to throw out such things but if I found it, it's likely all ruined anyway. A few clicks on Amazon and some Testors 0.25 oz. paints and a set of brushes are on the way. Oh yeah, ordered the body color in a spray can too. Should be here today.

Anyway, thought I'd share some pics of the new project along with some I did 40 some odd years ago when the little paint jars were $1.50 and the 3 oz. spray cans were $4. I never primed the trees of parts back in the day and not sure I did with the body either. I know I used to lay black into the door gaps before color coat to make them look like seams. I also clear-coated the color on the body but this time I primed everything to make painting quicker. I hope I can see good enough for this!

I did a lot of WWII airplanes as a kid.

Me as well.

I need to get to hobby lobby soon and do another one. Might have to upgrade my prescription glasses first.

I might get one of those clamp to the table magnifying lamps so I can see. The parts sure have gotten smaller.

Yup, very nice, GG! Bringing back lots of memories, and I can still remember the smell of the glue. Who remembers the wooden models? Boats, planes, stage coaches, etc.

I put several together when I was a kid. I remember several 5 and dime stores having a pretty good selection of all kinds of model car and planes to choose from. I had some planes hanging from my bedroom ceiling.

Scale models and model rockets, used to provide hours of entertainment

Built a few, didn't have a big collection. The last one was the most detailed model, was a Honda motorcycle. It was about 10 or 12 inches wheel to wheel. My younger brother took it out side while I was school. It didn't survive the trip.

Fighter jets is what I put together. And hung them from the ceiling via mono fishing line.

I did a few models, but always, and I mean ALWAYS, had parts left over. Switched over to HO trains, mo' better.

Bought my grandkids some new old models from the 70-80s at some auctions. My oldest is enjoying putting them together.

Those $2-3 kits from my youth now cost $25 and up!

do you still use the same glue as in the late 50's? loved that smell. I built hundreds of all kinds. I was very impatient and sloppy.

like JG hung the WWII planes from my ceiling with mono.

I don't think you can even buy the same glue as in the '50's Buzz. It's too much fun to use. I found some model glue in one of my junk drawers. Package is bare used so I am guessing I bought it in the last few years for something around the house.

The paint for the body came in over the weekend so I need to prep and put down the color. The detail paint jars will be here around the first week of February so I have time on the body. Paint brushes came in as well.

My Dad commissioned this.

I built model boats and cars to float on our pond with a cherry bomb or an M80 on board.

I may try this again. Might be good for cognitive learning.

My son and I would build models during the winter months and we both had lots of enjoyment. He would do the research on the armored vehicle we were building and try to match the model to a picture or as close as he could. We're both still building.

Awesome. Please feel free to post some pictures.

Body color came in...

got this, we'll see what kinda mess i can make

Yesss!!!

Pics regardless of outcome!

I will be getting something done on the Charger today.

I'm still in the hobby. It's a nice change from guns and keeps me interested in a variety of subjects. The parts and instructions have indeed gotten much smaller over the years so I went with a magnifying lamp. I don't know how I managed without it all these years.

Used to do many types, boats where fun, got into balsa for a while and those where fun as well.

I bought mine for cognitive learning.

What have you learned so far? I did a little paiting on mine Sunday. Might work on it a bunch tomorrow (Tuesday) if they call us off work.

I was working on another paint project Sunday too, Buzz. You still have a C8? Might wanna see it if so...

C8 is gone. I got one coat of flat black spray on one side of the parts and built the engine block. Weather has slowed my spray painting

I'm currently working on a Tiger II and starting the finishing touches now.

Pics ... Post 'em

Used to love making model airplanes in high school - mostly our then-current warplanes (F4, F14, B52, etc). All the planes I had hanging in the TV room were 1/72 scale, which family never seemed to understand - would get well-intentioned gifts in 1/48 quite often. Didn't want to seem ungrateful, but also don't remember ever actually using them.

Might be fun to start doing again.

I feel sorry for kids who actually want to get into the hobby. It sure has gotten expensive.

i think they were like $.98 in the 60's

Made some progress yesterday with work starting late and getting out early. The interior headliner and pillars are painted with the interior color and masked off for the cut in of the body color. Before the body color goes on, I use flat black to fill in the body gap lines so they look like gaps after the color is put on. First MOPAR here and I am not enjoying the factory body color paint on the firewall, underside of the hood, core support, inner fenders. All this should be black on a GM car. So there's a lot more body color items to paint. Cut in done on the purple. Body is next.

Built more than I can count from about 8 until my early 20s. I dragged them along through various moves that broke a few each time and at some point tossed them all in the trash when cleaning house. Dragging boxes of models and trophies from move to move began to feel dumb and I gave up.

I went to the MMA and it was right next door the Confederate Air Force in Harlingen so most of the models I built were old warbirds that I obsessed over because of all the time I spent walking through the Flight Museum and hangers. I would go over there nearly everyday.

Did a number of planes when I was young. Got a 1/72 scale B-52 for Christmas one year. Took a long time to put together and paint.
That thing was too big to really display anywhere in my room, so I didn't glue the wings in place. I think that was pretty common.

The further I get on this, the dumber I think the modeler was that cast these parts. Spent half and hour on "machine work", angle-milling the Hemi heads and intake to have a resemblance of corresponding fitment. There's a lot more flash on the trees than I have ever seen. So much more prep work for simple operations is needed for this kit.

Got two color coats and one clear coat on the body.

I need new glue. The glue I have is not as old as the model examples above I built but dried up none the less.

I figured there'd be a lot of airplane builders but I expected more cars.

Post pics y'all!

By the way, I am enjoying this new/old thing as I actually have many more tools, experience, and patience than I did as a youth. Yet I still need encouragement because I would rather have it look perfect.

It's not.

still too cold to spray paint

I don't do it the right way, Buzz. I have a chicken lamp and a non-flame space heater in my garage with a custom ventilation strategy. Hoping the trap kit (drum set), vintage Mongoose BMX, reloading equipment is too dusty from the garage exit drier vent to get permanent overspray. Two minutes of spraying then crack the garage door on the south with a big fan blowing out. Repeat.

There's not nearly the trash in the paint as it looks here. Most of that is reflection, heavy metallic in the paint, and a bad job taking pics. But it is more trashy than I wanted. This is after two coats of color and one of clear. Film thickness is getting up there and will degrade details so I pulled the tape and will live with the way it is.

...and with a rough test fit, I have found the rear wheel wells are exposed to the underside of the interior bucket so they present as tan now. Not good. Also, the "firewall" piece I painted purple from accuracy doesn't extend side to side enough the hide front front of the interior bucket from an underhood view. Great. Lots more custom painting.

Cool. I did WWII planes as well back in the 70's. Still got a few of them around here somewhere, though all banged up.

got parts coated with base. More later

That looks like a nice kit Buzz. Frame separate from the floor is uncommon.

The glue I need that isn't carried in store by anyone but hobby shops now days (Walmart doesn't have model glue) will be in today. Kinda why my project has stalled. The rest of the paint will be here Monday.

I do...or did. Eyesight makes it tough, lol.
have the minimum requisite of untouched kits still in box.
and several partially started.
Mostly WWII Prop.
a few 60's era Jets.
have some Armor to build.
One Car - cheap kit.

honestly it's hard.. lol. desire to make it look awesome and all.
and have to many hobbies etc. Silly things like "Flying Model Rockets" haha.
and serious, oh so serious stuff like .... GOLF. dambit!!

here is one that I did complete lol.
TU-22


and here is Ted William's Korean War F9F

Very nice work. I am stalled waiting for paint that I ordered January 27 and was supposed to be here 2-1.

I assembled the "front" suspension. DAMM, the glue I bought suks and I think I need tweezers to do this. I need to go to Amazon for Testors paint the cheap azz paint kit and glue WalMart had is terrible.

Tried to build the trusty ol’ Mongram P-51 last summer and my eyes at 43 are not what they were at 36. I hadn’t noticed them changing, but the detail work sure let me know I’m not as young as I thought I was.

I did these 6 or 7 years ago. First I had built since I was in my teens:

Very nice. I have resorted to dime store reading glasses and an LED headlight with elastic band. Works for me and cheaper/more mobile than the magnifying desk lamp I was considering buying.

Paint I ordered from Amazon on 1-23 was moved back from 1-31 delivery to 2-1 to 2-8 to 2-13. Still hasn't shown up and as of this morning, it's not even on my list of ordered items. Never got charged but never shipped and no notifications. So I have to order it again and see if it ships.

Did RC planes and helo before, I enjoy building things. Time at the workbench with my tunes going is therapy for me.

Now just waiting on time. I have a few days off in the next couple weeks so maybe I will make some progress.

I've built a few over the years. The new kits take much longer than when I was a teen due to how complex they are.

Excellent!

one reason they are more complex.. is as Adults, we insist on making them 100% awesome. esp. Cockpits. right color, weathering etc. I have not touched my in progress builds in a good while, but I look around and see all the little bottles of paint. 4 air brushes..
well on of them is for projects other than sizes of kits. As in Large Model Rockets. WTH is wrong with my brain ?? LOLOL. lets face it we are just kids in disguise.

When I was young I had a few rockets of various sizes. Then I "grew up"... but not really...

Just recently I started to explore that again. This is the first of three, the smallest at a little under 15". The biggest is maybe 30" at most. These things are dirt cheap. Just like my guns, it'll be a while before I launch them. I hope somebody posts some super b4d@$$ rockets here.

are you DFW local ?
go check out website Dallas area rocket society

Houston and a few other cities have active clubs.

heck they launch on land where I used to coyote hunt lol

Ah geez that made my extremist-maximus twitch. Just what I don't need, another distraction. Resist urge.

Thanks for the compliment.

True, but I don’t recall kits as complex as the 1/32 Corsair or F-16 I posted. Each took close to 6 months.

Yes you are correct

I'm starting the F16 next week.

The Tamiya 1/32? It’s a great kit, but the decals can seem endless.

1/48, if I can do that one the 1/32 is next.

ya'll make my models look like a 2nd grader.

Beautiful work on the model cars, planes, and rockets! I’ve been cautiously following this thread because scaled models ended up being a gateway drug to 100 percent experimental flying machines when I was a kid.
A neighbor was flying this RC HobbyZone Super Cub on floats yesterday so I thought I’d try to get a few shots.

Paint arrived in February but without snow days, I haven't worked on it much.

Im selling my stash. Eyes and hands cant do it, have other interests.

please check for sale forum,