Scale model builders?

[Mindflayer]

Very much non-firearm related, but I figure there's a few of us out there that enjoy military history. I've decided to build a scale model for the first time in 14-15 years; I was into it for a short span to help with work stress for a while. I'm building a 1/350 Gleaves-class destroyer for my future father-in-law. My fiancee's grandfather served aboard the USS Thorn during WWII.

In the last decade and a half, things have changed - lots of the model paint companies were bought out by Testors and discontinued, which stinks. I preferred acrylic paints since they were a lot easier to use.

Now it's time to get back into it and start cranking through all these warbirds I bought!

[m4a1mustang]

I used to be big into building 1:24 scale models of cars, including a lot of scratch built parts. Did a lot of leather work in 1:24 scale as well. Fun.

Gave it up a few years ago, though. No time for it.

[Tweaker]

I built near 50 as a kid. I have a few real special ones I want to complete for cars and planes that I have since operated/owned as a (bigger) kid.

I want an airbrush set up before I start because I HATE that thick ass Testors enamel paint.

Also, no time for it. By the time I have time, I will prolly have terrible eye sight and carpal tunnel.

[Eutaw]

I was pretty young when Jurassic Park came out, so I made dozens of those wooden skeleton models. Actually saw one of the kits at Woodcraft last week. For a second there I thought about taking the afternoon to build it for old times sake.

[kanata67]

I did a lot of warhammer and D&D miniatures, as well as robotech, battletech, macross, etc. Did a fair number of custom toys as well. For a while I liked merging spawn figures with transforming toys. Won a few awards/contests for all of the above. Car accident + nerve damage - no more painting tiny detail for me [also the same reason I like bipods for my current toys].
I agree new paints suck but I was never a big testors fan. I highly recommend the original citadel water based acrylic paints as clean up was easy and they were hard to F'up with if you shook them first. The original easy pour top paints are hard to find now-a-days but I found a seller on ebay a few years back who sold me 40 pots for $50 which was a steal compared to the current price for import products, much less being what I actually wanted rather than a newer substitute. The citadel paints worked great in an air brush as they were water based and the original ink line made staining/weathering a model easy and beautiful. If you used the citadel acrylic clear sealer they held up very well. When I say very well I mean I made a snow globe with water based acrylics that lasted at least 10 years. Maybe much more but eventually you lose contact with ex girlfriends and calling them out of the blue to ask questions about paint fading seems in poor taste

I highly recommend anyone avoid testors and go citadel. Much like zippo is better than bic, estwing is better than kobalt, and a toyota is better than a pinto. Harder to find but worth the effort. Twitchy b'stard that I am I still won't sell my paints or brushes.

[Jakeiscrazy]

I have never build a simple model anything. I guess I get more of a kick out of building something that serves a purpose or runs in some form or fashion.

[Diomed]

I used to avidly build scale models, planes, ships, and Star Trek. Unfortunately when I got out of college I didn't have time for it, and now I have too much essential tremor and eye issues to be able to detail paint like I used to.

It's a shame, because there are some fantastic kits out there now. I bought one of the new Trek ones in the hopes that maybe one day I'd be up to doing it, and I just had to open it up and take a look at the parts on the trees - it was like looking at the freaking Grail, amazing detail work. The kits of the '70s and '80s, which was what was around when I was building, were Lego sets compared to the amazing stuff that's out there now.

[Mindflayer]

I have never build a simple model anything. I guess I get more of a kick out of building something that serves a purpose or runs in some form or fashion.

Building a model serves as a historical lesson, a stress reliever, and a bit of office decoration.

[m4a1mustang]

One of the problems with it, though, is that if you really get serious it becomes just as expensive as many of our other already expensive hobbies. You start looking at airbrush setups, paint booths, special paints, specialty tools, etc. You start trying to build 2, 3, 4, maybe even 5 kits at once. You come up with the brilliant idea of trying to scratch build an entire 1:24 kit of some custom car you drew up. After a while your social life starts to suffer.

I ended up giving it up because I just didn't have the time to do it. It was fun, though. Nice stress releiver and it was educational... you gained some fairly intimate knowledge of the subject you were building. Especially if you made an effort to get it as realistic and period correct as possible... that involved a lot of research.

[Chasbo00]

I was lucky enough to drive, fly and shoot many of the real things in the military - had a blast doing so.

[Chasbo00]

Double post again, sorry - I need new mouse.

[AppleaDay]

I do a little woodworking here and there but I did make a Coehorn mortar once.
It shoot golf balls pretty well.

[Palladin]

That is sweet, Apple!

[Mindflayer]

I do a little woodworking here and there but I did make a Coehorn mortar once.
It shoot golf balls pretty well.