Sixty Year Old Newbie.

[genocon]

Been modeling since I was allowed to use glue. Not always ships, but most of the skills transfer. I have added some shots of recent builds. As I write this, I'm expecting delivery of my next, a Scientific HMS Bounty, that ought to keep me from pulling what's left of my hair out during this lockdown. 

 

In no particular order:

Scientific Cutty Sark. This one got started in Florida about a year and a half ago, then got packed away with the hull finished, but no masts, etc. because of a cross country move. Finished it while looking for a job in my new home.

 

One of those real cheap laser cut DIY models for 18 dollars. I wasn't going to finish it, because the planking was some cheap wood and may have been bamboo for all I know. My wife encouraged me to finish (she's happy to have me sitting quietly in the living room while she binge watches Mom reruns.) She said, "Have fun with it." The result came out ok for the piece of crap that it is. Yes, that's green gingham tissue paper on the hull. And I was also playing around with waves, which didn't come out as good.

Here are some non-ship models.

 

Guillows Curtis Warhawk P-40. Wood with rubber band motor. It flew, you just had to throw it really hard.

Monocoupe, not sure what brand. It had a lot of wood carving on the cowl and the wheel fenders. This one flew, too. It crashed a lot because of an overzealous pilot. Repaired and repainted many times. 

Guillows DC-3. Lot's of work. It's hanging in my bedroom like I was still twelve.

B-17, Hasegawa, plastic. Small scale, so not much detail. A Bit o' Lace. I tried to reproduce worn aluminum. The plastic was grayish, looked like gun metal. I dabbed on some thinned silver with a puffy brush. I looks more like zinc, but I am happy with the results. Next time, I'll get a larger scale. 

 

And finally, a car model. '55 Bel-Air Nomad. Everybody wants one, but who can afford it? I did the next best thing. And yes, the Velociraptor is driving. Who's going to tell him he can't?

As a side note, I wasn't sure if Modeling was spelled with one or two L's. Spell check didn't fire either way. For the record, it turns out Americans prefer one L, while the British use two. I'm going with the American spelling, because what do Brits know about speaking English? :). That ought to get me some really nice welcomes. 

[vaddoc]

60 years old in ID, 12 years old in the heart. You ll fit right in, a very warm Welcome Genocon! 

[ccoyle]

When I was a kid, my family had a '55 Bel Air. My dad sold it back in the days before it became a classic collectible, as opposed to simply being an old car. I've often wondered "what if" ever since.

[genocon]

My mother had a 69 mustang. I've often wondered about that car, how classic it would be. And yeah, what if I had it now? Oh well, we can always build models of them. I always wanted a volkswagen van, but how impractical would that be? And they're all over 20K these days. Revell makes several models, all under $20.

[Jim Lad]

Hello, and a warm welcome to the forum from 'Down Under'.

 

John

[JeffT]

Welcome to MSW 

[turangi]

Welcome, great models! You are a kid, I am a beginner at 71, loving it.

[genocon]

2 hours ago, turangi said:

Welcome, great models! You are a kid, I am a beginner at 71, loving it.

When I met my future father in law, he asked me how old I was. I was 35 at the time. He said, "Thirty-five? I've got boots that old."

 

[mtaylor]

Welcome to MSW.   I guess all of us are just still kids in our minds and hearts maybe.  Not so much in the morning when getting out of bed sounds like a bowl of Rice Crispies going "snap", "crackle", "pop".

[Balclutha75]

Back at ya - welcome from another newbie, at age 70 with no glue under my fingernails, yet.

 

I like your models - they do bring out the kid in us!

[BobG]

20 hours ago, genocon said:

My mother had a 69 mustang. I've often wondered about that car, how classic it would be. And yeah, what if I had it now? Oh well, we can always build models of them. I always wanted a volkswagen van, but how impractical would that be? And they're all over 20K these days.

I'm right there with you regarding the "what if I had kept that car I had way back then" like my mom's 55 Chevy Bel Air, my 64 Corvette, and my 69 VW bug and my VW bus. Then there's also the 66 Mustang that my then girlfriend, who is now my wife, had when we first met. All gone now  but not forgotten... 

 

 

[ccoyle]

20 hours ago, genocon said:

I always wanted a volkswagen van, but how impractical would that be?

My grandfather, who was as fastidious as they come, had an absolutely pristine 60s-vintage VW van camper conversion. I never had a crack at inheriting that car either 'cause it got T-boned at an intersection (happily no harm to grandpa).

[BobG]

32 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

My grandfather, who was as fastidious as they come, had an absolutely pristine 60s-vintage VW van camper conversion. I never had a crack at inheriting that car either 'cause it got T-boned at an intersection (happily no harm to grandpa).

I drove my VW bug and my VW bus for many years and never really thought about how dangerous they would be in an accident. The 69 Bug was what I could afford back when my hair was nearly as long as the car. They were essentially death traps with no engine in front of the driver and front seat passenger. I survived a multi-car freeway crash with only bumps and bruises. The car was totaled so, what did I do, I went out and bought a VW bus. Nowadays, I look for every safety feature I can find in a car! 

 

I loved the bus the most. I put a bed in it and we traveled in it all over the west every chance we could get for 15 years. We took dozens of trips to Yosemite and the Sierras and to other great western national parks and all over the northern California coastline. My son traveled with us right into his toddler years and he cried right along with me when I finally sold it. I even used to put him in my lap and let him steer the bus up and down our driveway. Memories that last a lifetime....

[ccoyle]

1 hour ago, BobG said:

I loved the bus the most. I put a bed in it and we traveled in it all over the west every chance we could get for 15 years. We took dozens of trips to Yosemite and the Sierras and to other great western national parks and all over the northern California coastline. My son traveled with us right into his toddler years and he cried right along with me when I finally sold it. I even used to put him in my lap and let him steer the bus up and down our driveway. Memories that last a lifetime....

Those are great memories, Bob. Our family had two VW campers; my dad did the camper conversion himself on the first one, and the second one was a pop-top. We did the same with the vacations all around Northern California. 

 

Sorry for hijacking this topic, Genocon!

[GrandpaPhil]

Welcome!

[genocon]

On 6/4/2020 at 12:00 PM, ccoyle said:

Sorry for hijacking this topic, Genocon!

Keep it up, and I'll have to report you to a moderator. 

[Jim in KC]

Welcome Genocon.  I love your B-17.  I'm a 70 year old newbie but built a B-17 as a teenager, but it wasn't as nice as yours.