what was your "model training era"?

[RexCag]

I was looking at Monty's Crusader, and it got me to thinking about toolings from other eras before that kit came along.

So, I pulled a couple of boxes of Crusaders from before the stack of Academy kits came to live here with me.

Academy has F-8J releases of that kit. All they did is give us larger tailplanes for the J, without the landing gear mods. We have to remove the F-8E grease collars on the mains, ourselves, to build the A-7 type of landing gear used on the "rebuild group" of Crusaders. Ditto for the nose gear horns, we have to remove them ourselves, without any mention of those two changes in the instructions.

But, that is just a matter of a bit of extra plastic to remove, and those are very tiny changes, and very easy to do. Getting the "new design gear" squat change is a bit more of a challenge.

That got me to thinking about the other kits from before this. Heller molded theirs as an "F-8J or F-8E(FN)",,,but, with skinny main gear, and nose gear horns. Then they sold it as an F-8E later,,,,,with no changes in the plastic except the smaller tailplanes. Esci sold us the F-8E tooling, and boxed it as an F-8H, with no nose change. Revell once sold their F-8E, labeled it that on the box, and gave us F-8J markings on the decal sheet. (Esci, Revell, and Hasegawa and their cloners all gave us F-8E main gear, no matter what it says on the box)

So, did you "learn modeling" in the era where the little details were changed in the boxings,,,,or did you learn before that, like when Microscale sold us decals for versions that hadn't been released, and people just put A-4C decals on the Hasegawa A-4E or Airfix A-4A model. (at one time, those were the only two toolings available)

I learned during the "oh, good, someone besides Revell is selling an F-4" era,,,,,and now live in the "Sprue knock-outs for different variants" era, as Fujimi and Hasegawa do it.

[Fermis]

Details, like the ones you mentioned were never a big concern for me...especially when there's not a huge difference between A/B/C models. Ignorance is bliss! I'll get a bit more caught up in the details when there is a significant change between models...like a different wing, nose, tail parts you mentioned, etc...F-4 for example...however, at a glance, the F-4E/F/G all look the same to me, and would have no problem putting markings from a G on an E.

[CallSignOWL]

my "era" would be very modern, as Im not even half the age some you fellas are!!

But I started out with the Revell-Monogram boxings that my dad could get at Michael's/Hobby Lobby. Most were typical '70's and '80's vintage kits... Raised details, questionable fits, but I really enjoyed the detail that was included and how easy it was for me to build and learn. Then I learned about IPMS clubs/contests....and vendors. OMG! I bought up as many kits as I could, regardless of the actual quality of the plastic. Eventually I would try my hand and scratchbuilding and refining my building on these older kits.

A great example of my early models is this 1/32 scale RF-4 by Revell, I think? (I dont really remember)

Dad really really loved watching me learn about his favorite fighter plane, and to this day, still insists on showing it off to any guests that stop by! UGH. Its soo bad, you guys... so bad. Like I didnt sand any seams nor even attach the fuel tanks to freakin' pylons!





So my "training" era was probably the same as most of you guys -- kits popped in the '60s and '70's -- but 40 years after y'all grew up with them!!


While I still have a number of these "vintage" kits that I like working on, Ive focused on only buying newer kits with good fit and detail that dont require an associates degree in qizmology!

[Tojo72]

As an adult I started up again probably around 1982-1993.I didn't do anything between 93-99 finally started up again in 99 when I bought a house and was able to set up a small space in the basement.

My earliest memories were of Tamiya Armor with their vinyl tracks,and
Hasegawa Aircraft,of course I also tried a Tamiya Tomcat back in the 80's

Didn't really start picking up techniques,AM and all the products until the early 2000's

[Stikpusher]

I would call my "model training era" to be roughly 45 to 35 years ago. I started out like any other kid. Rip or twist the parts off the sprue, glue them together with Testors tube glue, maybe some interior painting, and Testors/Pactra enamel paints on the exterior followed by decals to top it all off. Most of my kits at that time were either Hawk, Monogram, Revell, Aurora, or MPC. Occasionally there were Airfix, Tamiya, Hasegawa & Fujimi kits. But more often than not they were made in the good old USA. In the mid 70s, Shep Paine flyers started coming in Monogram kits and gave an aspiring modeler like me something to shoot for. Around the same time my dad started taking me to a few local hobby shops and I saw what grown up modelers could do (as opposed to me and my similarly aged friends). In 1976 I joined IPMS and learned how to "correct" kits, although I did not have much to work with at that time. I soon started to learn to use putty and fill seams, as well as what FS colors were, along with camouflage patterns, etc. Polly S paints with their superb wide line was found and used. As well as the introduction of Model Master paints. I tried Humbrols, but did not have anyone to tell me how to master that fabulous line. I also began to work with sheet styrene to correct kit flaws or create my own conversions of versions that were not available. By summer 1983 that all came to a screeching halt. I was going off to the Army so all my stuff was boxed up until who knows when. Fast forward to Spring 1984 after training and I arrived at my first line unit duty assignment at Ft Polk. My first trip to the hobby section of the PX was one of those moments when a choir should have been singing- rows and rows of kits at prices better than any Hobby Shop, and all tax free! The Tamiya 1/35 (then) modern armor selection was incredible! What had before been too costly for me, was now easily affordable. And then I started my own "grown up" builds. I started removing mold seam lines, and painting everything properly. Kits were built over weekends or weeks as opposed to in a single afternoon or two. As well as being around much of the stuff firsthand I improved kit parts, and started finding after market items by mail order. Several years later I was off active duty, home again, and decided to standardize my model building based on my past several years- 1/35 armor and 1/48 aircraft....

[RexCag]

One question, I have seen many people talk about how great Polly S paints were.

Is that shorthand for Polly Scale? Or did people actually get the older Polly S stuff to work?

The old Polly S paints (and the first attempt by Model Master Acrylics) are what kept me off of Acylics for so long, I bought them and tried them and threw them in the trash.

Then I resisted Polly Scale at my LHS, thinking they were the same stuff. (which of course, I was wrong, the new stuff is fantastic paint)

[Stikpusher]

Polly Scale was a reformulation of Polly S paints to make them more airbrush friendly. At least that is how they seemed to me. But no, Polly S were a completely different paint line from the Floquil company- before Testors took over. They probably had the best metallics in Acrylics out there. Not translucent like Model Master Acrylic metallics or too large of pigment grains like Tamiya or Gunze... The original Polly S paints were very friendly to hand brushing, but a challenge to airbrush. You HAD to wash the bare plastic to be airbrushed, or prime it. Even using their thinner, it had peculiar properties when airbrushed. But once dried, it looked very nice. The stuff almost reminds me of water based latex paints. I still have a handful of their original colors left in my paint box.

[jelliott523]

My beginning in modelling was like most others, buy the kit, twist-break-bend the parts from the sprue and slop on the orange tube testors glue. Paint? what was that? I didnt start using paint for a few years, I was just a dumb kid putting kits together. Sloppy seams, glue fingerprints all over the model, crazed or foggy canopies. That was back in the mid-80's. I then progressed to getting paints and actually trying to do a decent paint job. I didnt have an airbrush, it was just a bunch of the old Testors enamel square bottles and some thinner. I marked out lines to be painted for camo with an old testors hobby knife, remember those? The cheap black plastic frame with a fixed blade that you couldnt change? I have many scars on my fingers from those damn things! Most of the kits I bought were things I could pick up at the local department stores back then. Mostly Monogram, Lindberg, AMT/Ertl. I would often go to the hobby shops and see Hasegawa, Tamiya and others and think, man, I wish I could afford those.
I built pretty steadily through my late teens and early 20's before putting down the hobby for about 15 years. Since I've returned, I've become a self-professed styreneaholic! I've bought more kits in the past 4 years since returning, than I probably put together when I was younger. Hello, my name is Jeremy and I'm a styreneaholic.

[KSaarni]

pretty much similar start..

My first "generation" of building kits, lasted until I was 13- 14 year. Mainly same way as Jelliott describes, twist-break-bend of the pieces etc,
Then my "2nd building generation" started, I got a modelling book from my parents and that changed totally my approach, started to paint and used some tools.. and of course weathering, dry-brushing etc. My sister had some oilpaints she used in her hobby... that I, her little brother, just took for my own purposes... :-)
I started to build armour, only Tamiya kits. Not that many, as they were expensive for a schoolkid with pretty little income... But then, as for so many others, I moved from home, went to study etc.. and stopped modelling... around year 1987 for many many years.

And now my "3rd builing generation" has started (or started on the 24th of December 2011) after 34 years of silence... with totally different pre-requisites than back in the 80's...

- Kari

[RexCag]

geez, I just realized yet another way I differ from "the average modeler"

I didn't quit at any time between when I started at 8 and now at 59