What was your first model?

stona said:

The old blue plastic 1/72 scale Spitfire from Airfix. It cost two bob or ten pence in "new" money. My little brother had to make do with the Hurricane which at the time,though not now,I didn't think was anywhere near as cool as the legendary Spitfire
This was when model kits could be bought in the UK from local stores (Daliwell grocers in my case!) and cost,literally,pocket money. I'm sure many of you too remember when we didn't have social media,computer games,1000 TV channels etc.
Steve

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Yes, the drug store, (chemist), the five and dime, even the hardware store carried models!
My F4B came from the drug store, my brother had a thing for cough syrup. May be why he backed into the cop car!

My first kit was the Frog Mosquito at the age of 6. My self-sacrificing Mum had made a couple of Matchbox kits for me, a Gnat and P-12E, that we picked up at Woodford Airshow where I first saw the Red Arrows - they flew in at low level from directly behind us and the shock as they flew overhead left an indelible impression on me.

Some time later, I discovered that our local supermarket, Whelans, stocked model kits - I can only remember Frog but there may have been others. Somehow I persuaded my Mum to get me a Mosquito and she let me build it. In true 6-year-old fashion (in fact it's a problem I never outgrew), I didn't read the instructions correctly and failed to recognize the fact that different options were included in the kit. So...I glued the FBVI gun nose on top of the BIV clear bomb-aimer's window, and somehow managed to glue both the FBVI and BIV canopies on, one on top of the other. Needless to say the cockpit interior was invisible through the gobs of glue I liberally spread all over the canopies (plural).

The kit was finished in a couple of hours spread over 2 days - my Grandad helped me and told me to let the glue dry, otherwise it would have been done in one sitting! It was unpainted but I did put the markings on it - GB-E of 105 Squadron, which was supposed to be a BIV but my Frankenstein didn't quite look like the artwork in the kit. I also built it with the undercarriage down and somehow the propellors went on without damage.

I was so proud of my creation. I flew it around the house and shot down dozens of imaginary enemy aircraft. A few days later, we went to visit family friends and I just had to show them my Mosquito. Plenty of "Ooohs" and "Aaahs" were expressed, appropriate when a 6-year-old shows you their proudest creation which, unfortunately, looks like a huge ball of solid glue with some bits of plastic sticking out of it. Once again I flew it around their living room until the time came for lunch at which point I "landed" my Mosquito safely on the armchair and dashed off to the kitchen to grab my sandwich.

Food was always, and still is, a distraction for me. I was hungry and came back into the living room with my sandwich on a plate, wandered over to the armchair and promptly sat on my beautiful Mosquito. The undercarriage was wrecked and the props smashed to pieces but somehow the rest of the model remained intact. I was heartbroken. My pride and joy was destroyed after just a couple of days.

I did keep the Mosquito and played with it quite a lot. Somehow it managed to survive some of my more destructive games which involved setting fire to models that were packed with gun caps (always hoped for a huge explosion but never really happened). Some years later, I tried to restore it. I managed to remove the unnecessary FBVI components and was able to paint the model in something approximating to the correct camo for a 105 Sqn BIV. By this time, I'd read some articles about modelling and heard that one could sand canopies and then polish them with toothpaste. I attempted this on the remains of the glue-encrusted BIV canopy on my Mossie but it didn't really work. I hung it from my ceiling until I outgrew such fancies (yes, I did outgrow at least one boyhood trait!) and the Mosquito survived until quite late into my teen years before I threw it away. How I wish I still had it to show my sons today!

This is the first Me-109 I ever built. (Yes, I know,...Bf-109)
It is the only model from my childhood that survived my first wife.

The one, or those I remember is a Monogram '57 Bel Air and 1/32 Dauntless by Matchbox, built with my dad, still remember the size of the SBD-5!

You know...

It was a long time ago...but it could have been the "S.S. France", but these other kits where early builds too.

meatloaf109 said:

Killed off that many cells, eh?

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It's not that bad.

Here is the oldest model in my collection. The PZL P-11c was made about 40 years ago and re-painted in 80'.

I think my first was the Airfix Westland Lysander, at the age of 8, with the first 'proper' attempt being the Airfix Spitfire MkIX, shortly after. Bought from Woolworth's of course, packed in a poly bag, and costing Two Shillings (Ten Pence in today's money). So that would have been in 1960, when even 'expensive' kits were still within the realms of a couple of weeks' worth of 'pocket money'.

Airframes said:

I think my first was the Airfix Westland Lysander, at the age of 8, with the first 'proper' attempt being the Airfix Spitfire MkIX, shortly after. Bought from Woolworth's of course, packed in a poly bag, and costing Two Shillings (Ten Pence in today's money). So that would have been in 1960, when even 'expensive' kits were still within the realms of a couple of weeks' worth of 'pocket money'.

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They were indeed pocket money,or a soft grandparent. I remember my grandad pressing half a crown (12.5 p for the youngsters) into my sweaty palm. A model and a bag of sweets to keep me going all afternoon, at least. Don't get me going on mojos,white mice,snakes,sherbert dips with liquorice,those fruity chewy things that were three for a penny and the rest
I might be showing my age here!
Steve

Airframes said:

I think my first was the Airfix Westland Lysander, at the age of 8, with the first 'proper' attempt being the Airfix Spitfire MkIX, shortly after. Bought from Woolworth's of course, packed in a poly bag, and costing Two Shillings (Ten Pence in today's money). So that would have been in 1960, when even 'expensive' kits were still within the realms of a couple of weeks' worth of 'pocket money'.

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$1.50 in american? Because that is what my first one cost, I think.

I have no idea what we paid for my Frog Mosquito (as posted earlier) but I do recall Airfix Series 1 kits in cardboard-backed plastic 'bubble' pack holders. The price was 25p each. My "go to" shops were Dingsdales, a bike and toy shop about a mile from my house, and "Toy and Hobby" in town, originally in an old 3-storey shop, long-since demolished, with the models on the upper floor. To my young eyes it was paradise!

Sorry...nostalgia is kicking in, and hard!!!

At that time Paul, it would be around 40 or 50 Cents, I guess. The exchange rate was roughly $4 to £1, give or take a few pence/cents. Of course, 'American imports', such as the relatively rare Aurora kits, in various odd scale, were a little more expensive, at around 3 or 4 Shillings, so still less than $1.00 !!!

buffnut453 said:

I have no idea what we paid for my Frog Mosquito (as posted earlier) but I do recall Airfix Series 1 kits in cardboard-backed plastic 'bubble' pack holders. The price was 25p each. My "go to" shops were Dingsdales, a bike and toy shop about a mile from my house, and "Toy and Hobby" in town, originally in an old 3-storey shop, long-since demolished, with the models on the upper floor. To my young eyes it was paradise!

Sorry...nostalgia is kicking in, and hard!!!

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Yes, the greatest thing was seeing a kit that you had a buck and a half for in the store! The Me.109 was a great find for me, I was so thrilled, a feeling that has not diminished over the years. And every time I have found a kit that I really wanted, brings it back!
And I think it is that child-like excitement, that certain excitment, that thrill, a rush, if you will; that is the thing that brings us all together as a community. Everyone of us, all over the world,...
Well, Happy modeling to all of you, my brothers!

I don't remember, it would have been in the '50's and my uncle would have bought it for me. I never thanked him enough for starting me on this path.

I was into flying models long before I discovered plastic scale. Don't recall which was first, but the WW1 Airfix triplane in a bag cost me 49 cents at the Dominion store in Vancouver! That would have been about 1958.

Looking in old catalogues really brings it back for me, especially old Airfix and old Matchbox, they bring back some serious nostalgia kickbacks, with their boxarts!!

There is a site called oldmodelkits.com that has some great ones, some affordable, some pretty pricey. But I like looking!

My first was a Revell PB4Y-1 I build with my Dad when I was 6 or 7 Still have it in a box in the attic somewhere minus every small part that could be broken off

This was my fist kit. I was very young and built it with my dad. I played with it for some time. I've been trying to find it now so I can build it again but its kind of hard to find now and those i do find are well out of the range of what I'm willing to spend at this time

meatloaf109 said:

Ba-da-bump!
I was wondering when you would notice the straight line!

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I actually met her in 1959 when she was doing an outdoor play in Hemet CA.

I can't remember that far back..... but was prob a car...... I did a batmobile I remember at some point, a '56 Lincoln maybe. I did a few stick and paper planes, as there was a fella who built the old wire control planes in his garage and I used to pester the crap outa him. a 5 and dime store around the corner had kits on a shelf I used to pick thru. Them were the days.