Do You Remember Your First?

[Wurger]

My first models were of carton "Mały Modelarz" MS 406 and D.520. I bought them in 1972 when I was ten.

 

[Wayne Little]

man.....it's tooooo far back to remember my first....but one thing sticks in my mind...there is a pic of me holding a 1/72 B-29...I think, in a photo collage at my mums place....will have to go and check on the weekend now....

Yep!...was holding a B-29 and my baby brother...had to have been one of my earliest kits...Airfix I think! back in '71 or 72....?

 

[Matt308]

Hah...

I remember living in Dublin, Kalifornia, and at age 5 or 6 my next door neighbor hippy chick had a son in middle or high school. He built the Atlas 5 and had it in his room along with the Nautilus nuclear submarine with the exposed cutaway interior. I was so jealous and wanted those models more than the next three weeks of dinner.

And the Airfix B-29... made that one too. Fairly good kit, but getting her nose to sit requires a boatload of lead.

 

[vikingBerserker]

First plane I can remember was a 1/72 B-17 Memphis Bell. After several failed building attempts it was soon converted into a space ship and ended it's days on my napalm test range.

 

[Matt308]

I remember blowing up a model (can't remember what it was, but a small 1/72nd fighter) with a "cherry bomb". Supposedly 1/8th stick of dynamite. I was in 7th grade and my 9th grade buddy helped me set it up. Up until this time, I kept my cherry bomb 'hidden' on top of my Revell B-17 hanging on my ceiling.

We snuck that baby out to my front yard and put that poor model on top. Lit the fuse and ran like hell. Never heard an explosion louder. My buddy's mom ran out of the house and chewed his ass. Only found a couple of pieces of that model.

In hindsight, I can't imagine if I had encountered a short fuse (everybody has experienced this with a firecracker where the fuse burns immediately), I would have lost a hand or fingers.

Now I won't go into how I effed up my hearing by pinching a Picallo Pete (whistler) with a pare of pliers... that's another story.

 

[Airframes]

BANG!!
What was that?!!
Oh, it's just Matt playing again.......

 

[muller]

I remember my 1st, she was older than me and it was on the back seat of a Fiat

My first kit was either a matchbox or airfix 1/72 Gloster Gladiator, no paint, just glue and decals. I was hooked after that.

 

[Lucky13]

By the model or the girl?

 

[muller]

Models 1st, then girls, thats why there was 20 year building gap!

 

[Airframes]

Thank heavens! I thought you were going to say Fiats!!

 

[timshatz]

I can't remember my first, but I remember my brother making a balsa wood Spad. One of those jobbies somebody mentioned earlier that had tissue paper covering that was doped. He spent the better part of a month building this thing. Cut it, glued it, doped it, painted it. Not just hours, we're talking days and days.

Finally, he got it finished. Had the rubber band through the center for the prop to spin. He wound the rubber band way too tight and, "CRACK", the tail met the cowling!

The thing was complete for may 5 minutes.

Bummer dude

 

[muller]

Ouch! I bet he felt like I did doing my art exams in my final year in school. I spent 3 hours doing a pen ink drawing, 10 mins to go and I knocked the bottle of ink all over it!

I was looking at some balsa kits in the LHS today, a 1/32 scale Sopwith Camel, the photo on the back showed it assembled, just the framework with the what looked like a plastic cockpit and wheels, it looked cool. Might try one sometime.

 

[Airframes]

I fancy something like that too. There's been some recent adverts in modelling mags for the ??? balsa models, danged if I can remember the name now! Two have caught my eye, both I believe in 1/32nd scale (or possibly bigger!), a DC3/C47 and a B17G, and they aren't too expensive. It would be interesting to see what could be done to make one into a really nice, static display model. Hmm.......

 

[Sweb]

Making static displays from the Sterling, Guillows kits is really all they're good for. The bomber kits aren't meant to be flyers. The single engine kits are poor flyers with rubber power unless ridiculous dihedral is incorporated. Moreover, their landing gear and support structure doesn't get it. One landing and they're torn away or require repair at best. Last, because they are dimensioned as they are to get a decent static look you have to fill in between all the stringers with 1/32 sheeting. It's a real PITA. I turned an F6F into an electric flyer, landing gear simulated in (fixed) retracted position. It was a hand-launch and pretty dang zippy. The airfoil is standard Clark Y so they're good flyers but forget about that rubber free-flight silliness.

 

[Maglar]

I am so lost on my first, I started legos when I was a little tike and bought a model one day from the LHS. I must have been 9, I think it was either a submarine or LCVP. I still have both lying around today. At 12 I bought an overpriced airbrush and made a P38 [tail sitter ofcourse] which I also have, I can take pics if you want to see when I really sucked. Still fun though, I did have dormant years from then till now though.

 

[Airframes]

That's the ones Joe, Guillows! I see what you mean about the construction, and guessed they'd be poor fliers. Maybe the C47, with a lot of internal-structure modification, could be made into a decent static model though.

 

[syscom3]

Maglar, post the pic of it.

 

[syscom3]

Who here remembers this kit. I think it was only available for a few years from 1969 to 1972.

I bought mine in 1971. It cost me around $20 which was a big sum for an 11 year old kid back then.

 

[GrauGeist]

I remember those see-thru kits!

Reminds me that I had the see-through Wankel rotary engine kit by Entex, my friend had the V-8...

 

[Njaco]

I think my first was a 1/72 P-40, don't know the manufacturer. But then I switched to armour - I must have bought stock in Aurora tank kits when I was 10-11 years old!