I built models as a kid, then women and cars got in the way.
The last twenty years I've been building GT race cars and mostly
WWII aircraft. I'm not a contest winner but from a few feet away
they look pretty good to me.
Now that I have about a hundred kits in my stash, I have enough to
last me the rest of my life, until I buy ten more.
Anyone else build models?

In addition to working on my diorama in the Winter, I build plastic kits as a change of pace.

I rarely build them right from the box, but modify them to represent vehicles that aren't available as kits.

The picture is a '51 Chevy 3100 built as a NAAPCO 4WD conversion.

My skill level is a few notches above your average 12 year old, but several below the real pros. I do try to make each one better than the last.



The log truck started as an AMT Autocar dump truck. Pretty much everything but the cab and engine was scratch-built or modified using parts made on my 3D printer.

I did until I got married. I just didn't have the space for it. I could build them but not airbrush anymore.
I basically model WW2 planes and tanks but will do jet aircraft I like.
I do like ships but no space. One of these days I would really like to build a wooden ship like the Constitution.

PHPaul I saw you post in another website, I like your dioramas,
I was wondering if you would chime in. Great work!
I'm working on a Honda Repsol bike driven by Marquez.

quote:

Originally posted by Schmelby:

I'm working on a Honda Repsol bike driven by Marquez.

There are some amazing motorcycle kits out there. Not sure I'd be up to the challenge of working with that many small parts.

I sure do. I built some when I was young, and picked it up again after retiring. I'm not a production builder, so a kit may take 6 months (or more) for me to complete. I enjoy the fine detail work.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

quote:

Originally posted by Schmelby:

I'm working on a Honda Repsol bike driven by Marquez.

There are some amazing motorcycle kits out there. Not sure I'd be up to the challenge of working with that many small parts.

Yes, the small parts. My arthritis in my hands are getting worse. To retire and then not be able to do the things you love.
I'll just do the best I can.

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:
I sure do. I built some when I was young, and picked it up again after retiring. I'm not a production builder, so a kit may take 6 months (or more) for me to complete. I enjoy the fine detail work.

Many times a build may take several months. I usually have about three at the same time, if I get frustrated with one I work on another for a while. It keeps me out of trouble!

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

quote:

Originally posted by Schmelby:

I'm working on a Honda Repsol bike driven by Marquez.

There are some amazing motorcycle kits out there. Not sure I'd be up to the challenge of working with that many small parts.

It's daunting sometimes, I'll have to learn how to post pics again. Yeah, I'm pathetic

I did up until I lost interest a few years ago. Mainly WW2 military. 1:35 and 1:6 scale.

When I was a tween/teenager I pumped those things out like a factory. I can still smell the Testors paint and plastic cement. My favorites were ships, particularly aircraft carriers, then military airplanes, with a handful of vehicles thrown in. Each one got better than the last but none were museum quality. I tossed almost all of them when my dad died and we sold the house. I kept some parts of the ships and ended up using them in our son's Pinewood Derby cars. First we made a battleship from USS Missouri parts, then next year an aircraft carrier with the tower and some planes from USS Nimitz I think. Both won the Most Patriotic category that year.

My biggest was probably the 1/72 Monogram B52. I disconnected the wings and kept it.

In my younger days they met their demise with gasoline and black cats or M-80's

Not since I was a lad, built a bunch, hot rods, drag racing vehicles, remember getting lots of testors paint and glue on my fingers.

^^^^

Pretty typical of the way kids build. We all went too fast, got our fingerprints melted into the plastic and gobbed on thick layers of paint that completely obscured any detail.


Most adult builders are very different. Researching subjects to make sure the details are just right. Hours spent perfecting the fit of a seam, scribing in panel lines that might be missing in the kit, finding or mixing perfect color matches and airbrushing in weathering, staining, and wear. Yes, we're still putting together little toy plastic airplanes, but it is taken to a much higher level than most would imagine.

I have built model cars from the time I was a cub scout in the early 1960's. I still remember the first one, a 1/32nd scale Ferrari from the early 1950's. I don't want to think about the number of unbuilt kits I have purchased over the years that await completion!

About 40 years ago, in addition to model cars, I went down a very different modeling rabbit hole -- assembling and painting military miniatures. Mostly 80 and 90 mm figures from the Napoleonic period. Research material was hard to come by, so little by little I purchased books of color plates of British and French military units, mostly published in France or the UK. Forty years on, I now have a pretty extensive library of reference material. Aging eyes now require a magnifying visor, but my painting skills have gotten way better with practice, to the point where I now mostly paint 1/6 scale busts (from the shoulders up). It is most challenging for me because it is 90% face, something that forty years ago I would have never contemplated!

I tried for a while, then went off the 1/24th scale deep end.

A lowrider Dodge van with a dragster chassis. Cutting out the glovebox and console to put them on hinges.

My latest was to be a two door Jeep Cherokee pace car. The doors and back opened up, and I hid the batteries in the gas tank.

Got all the way to the part of painting it, and put it back in the box many years ago.

Built lots of cars and airplanes as a kid.

Just gave away several unbuilt 90's era Revell and Monogram model kits of Desert Storm era planes but kept a few WWII aircraft and some car kits for "someday".

As a kid, I took a couple tours of the old Revell-Monogram factory.

quote:

Originally posted by tartan427:
I now mostly paint 1/6 scale busts (from the shoulders up).

You have my utmost admiration for that. I've been airbrushing for years but I
don't think my skills are up to painting a face. My son collects horror figures,
I've been thinking of getting a bust to paint for him. Do you have a good source for busts?
Recently finished a U Boat for my brother, 95% of the time was weathering, turned out surprisingly well.

Not since my teen days, unless we count Lego.

Below are two on-line retailers of large scale military figure busts. I have recently ordered from both.

Each company makes highly detailed resin castings that are a joy (and challenge) to paint. There are plenty of painting reference sites on line. Just google painting faces and you will find literally dozens of places.

Picking a painting medium is the first step. I started out decades ago using Testor enamels. I tried oils, but while the ability to blend is outstanding, the drying times are too long for my patience. I ultimately ended up painting with acrylics, either bottle or tube. Blending times are somewhat short, but I have developed a technique using multiple washes to blend color changes. Don't be afraid to try it. All it takes are some good quality brushes (a No. 1 size brush is your friend, those 000 fine detail brushes may look cool, but don't hold enough paint), good quality paint, a good light and for me an Optivisor magnifier. Find a period of history you find interesting and order one!

Here are the retailers websites"

https://unitedempireminiatures.../michael-miniatures/

https://www.mitchesmilitarymodels.co.uk/shop