I started modeling in 1956, as near as I can remember. During this time, I have been most active in the basic three, planes, ships and trains. Excepting the 2 years, 7 months and 10 days I was in the ARMY, I have been active as a modeler. Even when in the ARMY, we would go to places in Germany and watch folks flying R/C airplanes and I liked to go down town Stuttgart and visit the hobby shops there. When between 8-16 I was very interested in sailing ships and built many Revell ship kits. Also, during this time I was active in HO. Later, when I got out of school, I became active in R/C model airplanes and stuck with this hobby until the end of the eighties, when I lost interest in smashing up model airplanes and became active in model trains, again. How many of you have similar back grounds?
in my early years i liked to build plastic car kits, but since the age of 12 its been mostly trains for me
Besides HO scale railroad models, I have at various times been involved in:
- Plastic model airplanes.
- Plastic model cars and trucks.
- Plastic model ships.
- Plastic science-fiction models.
- Balsa wood model airplanes.
- Control-line flying model airplanes
- Slot cars.
I haven’t gotten into R/C airplanes, cars or ships…yet. But I do long to build a plank-on-rib ship someday…just because. And I have a few airplanes and one car waiting for teh mood to strike.
Spent a lot of my childhood doing military wargaming
then combined the military stuff with Railway modelling
Jon
Besides model railroading, I’ve done military wargaming in 15mm, 20mm, 25mm, 1/723nd, 1/76th, and 1/285th. I’ve also wargamed in several fantasy realms (Star Fleet Battles, Warhammer, D&D, Battletech)
I also built lots of plane and ship models in my youth, but all of them succumbed to my BB gun!
Traince since mid 1950’s
1/35 scale military models, mainly cars & trucks (all eras) and pre ww2 to early WW2 tanks since 1970’s.
Welcome back Mark.
It sounds like your other hobbies were much more practical for someone in the military, though I have heard of some personel actually managing to have train layouts over the years. Those are usually officers with stable assignments that have that luxury.
As for me, I have never really had any other hobbies, though I do like coins and stamps. I don’t spend any serious time or money on those, though.
Plastic models. WWII airplanes mostly german,love using the airbrush on the camo paint jobs. I get into reseaching the real plane and trying to get the model just like the real thing.
I too started model building in the mid to late 50’s. I started with plastic car models building Ford model-T’s and model-A’s kit-bashing them into “Hot Rods”. My Dad saw how interested I was in creating “Hot Rods” and helped me build my first car - 1927 Tall-T turtle back Hot Rod. Once I experienced 500 ponies hitched to a 1,000 lbs of sheet metal I was hooked - racing and custom cars is all I wanted to do.
I spent several years building quarter mile drag racing cars - the Tall-T (built for the street but raced it on weekends) a '58 Chevy 2-door (Super Stock Class), a '58 Chevy 1/2 ton pick-up which I ran in B/Gas Class and a Gas Dragster. Oh! the rush you get from doing 0-187mph in less than 9 seconds - WOW!!
After getting married, building 1:1 racing “models” became only memories. I went back to building scale models, this time it was remote control planes. I built a bi-plane - skin over balsa wood. After several months of building the dern thing and less than 5 minutes in the air I quit the aviation business and decided to stay on the ground!!!
I went back to vehicles, only this time it was R/C off-road models. I built a buggy from the ground up using the fastest motor, the best bearings, wheels, tires etc. While the Air Force had me in Europe, the second time, I got into a club and started racing off-road buggies. Yep, here I am back to racing. Our second child was born and I sold everything to buy furniture.
My third trip to Europe (BTW, I spent 11-1/2 yrs of a 20year US Air Force career in Europe) I got into modeling WWII stuff. I made a couple dioramas but soon became uninterested in WWII era modeling.
During one of my Air Force assignments (state side) I met a guy that got me interested in MRR. He gave me a Santa Fe GP38-2, a few freight cars, helped me build my first 4x8 layout and I was hooked! Then when I went to Europe for the last time I sold the layout to my neighbor but kept the Geep, cars, powerp
Back in the 50’s,along with trains, started modeling rubber powered airplanes, plastic airplanes, a couple of Revell ww-II war ships, building kit radios, a couple of carved wooden teather race cars power by Jet-x rocket motors, in the 60’s spent a lot of time building and flying control line airplanes, and finally settled into R/C airplanes and my HO trains. Took flying lessons back in the late 50’s and about 5 years ago started flying ultralights.
I started into trains in 1953, and planes and ships in 1956, been at it ever since, mostly trains though. just getting back into ships and planes after being away for 10 years. BTW…Where abouts were you in Germany, my folks and I were at Simbach and Ramstien from 53 to 56. I may go back some day, but it’ll be after full retirement, when the company says we don’t need you to train anymore rookies.[:)][:)]I’m semi-retired at this point, just-a coasting and training rookies.
In the past I have been involved with building plastic model airplanes and military vehicles. There’s still some kits awaiting assembly but time is limited so I have decided to focus on model railroading right now.
Another hobby that competes for my time is playing guitar. It actually has the upper hand right now.
Charles
Hillsburgh Ontario
Emeraldisle, I was at Kelley Barracks, in Stuttgart from August of 70 to July of 72.
I also, still build an occasional ship and had a boubt of WW1 Airplane iteis, building 1/48 scale plastic WW1 fighters. I have around 20 of these little rascals. While I spent 20 years building and flying R/C, I also built a race car for R/C and had alot of fun with that.
Estes model rockets back in the 1960’s.I remember losing my Astron Streak on its first flight. Joe G.
Almost all of them. Planes, trains and ships
Plastic, wood, brass, carbon fibre, styrene and composite
R/C sail (1metre) and electric
Started with Lionel. went to Revell and Air-fix
Scratchbuilt and kit.
I may go back to model ship building as I have one or two models that I never finished and I need a couple of HO vessels for my harbour
Nope. No other modelling hobbies.
I don’t even know how many assorted tank, plane and ship models I have built over the past 25 or so years. The first one I recall was an M4 Sherman variant, way above my skill level at age 10 but great fun to build anyhow. I built one or two balsa rubber-band-powered planes but generally preferred plastic models. Many fell victim to fits of pique involving firecrackers.
I started playing D&D in 1979 and started painting miniatures for use in conjunction with the game. I still have a few.
Miniatures wargaming: I started playing STRIKER, a science-fiction minatures wargame, in high school. The 15mm miniatures meant for it were almost impossible to get but I improvised with kitbashed HO, 1/72 and the handful of 15mm models and miniatures that I could find. I painted some miniatures for WARHAMMER FANTASY BATTLE but never actually played it.
Got into Warhammer 40K when it first came out–I liked it more early on before a lot of stuff was available and gamers were encouraged to improvise vehicles from scale military models (again, lots of kitbashed models/toys.) When you had to buy the "official GW models I lost interest.
I was involved in the SCA for a while in the late 80’s/early 90’s and made a lot of SCA medieval garb, both for myself and others.
Later on I kind of parlayed my sewing skills into leatherworking, and sold leather goods at craft fairs as well as gothic/industrial and feti***hemed nightclubs. I viewed leatherwork and other craft-type hobbies as similar to modeling in that many similar skills and tools come into play.
Offcourse I build tons of AIRFIX model planes and boats and vehicles, and also used them for target practicing with a BB gun, I had to sell all my model RR stuff at 17 because my dad did spend more money than he earned
Then I started off in RC cars, four wheels on the ground- I saw too many accidents snake described happen with planes -build a buggy, methanol powered, and than took a brake from modelling for some years, I did a diorama like thing for an album cover for a dutch rockband wich made me realise what fun it is to build, and then my sons intrest in trains made pick up the old hobby again.
HO slot cars and Estes model rockets. It was fun shooting off the rockets in town, after allowing for wind, and get them to land in the yard. We were pretty good at it.
I did a great deal of custom auto models. Give me an AMT 40 Ford and an old kitchen knife heated on the stove and a few days later I would give you a chopped and channeled stock car. Or I would take a razor knife and lower the roof of a 49 Merc and fench the headlights and tail lights etc. It was fun but I have not made a car model in ten years. Now I build craftsman type structures and I find that more rewarding.