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What was your first model kit to build?


Rusty White

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I love the threads about the old hobby shops and what do you miss? Great memories guys. In that same vein, what was your first model kit that you built?

 

For me, it was the old 1/48 Monogram AT-6 Texan. My dad brought that one home for me and a 1/48 scale (Monogram?) Spitfire for my brother along with all the paints and brushes. We lived out in the sticks and hobby shops and dime store were too far away for us to get to on our own.

 

We also had a garage that was separate from our house that my dad built to do body shop work as a side job. My brother and I "built" a small build studio in the attic that consisted of some boards we nailed to the attic joists. It was equipped with an extension cord for power that we hooked up to a plug below. We would set up in the attic in the evenings under a light building models.

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Mine was the old Aurora 1/48 Me-109, followed by an Aurora biplane; the P-6E Hawk. A little over a year ago I finally found a bargain price on the old Me-109 and bought it and built it for nostaglia's sake, just as I had as a kid. I did use superglue this time instead of tube cement though! The decals weren't usable, but then I may not have put the "stickers" on back then either, being in a rush to fly it around the room! :smiley20:

 

 

006.jpg

 

 

Anyone who complains about "inaccurate" kits should have to build one of these! They'll never complain again! :smiley17:

 

GIL :smiley16:

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I started with a Gowland & Gowland car kit. I had several of them, but I seem to recall it was either the Stutz Bearcat or Stanley Steamer. Since I did not paint it, it was probably the Stutz. My Stanley has paint on it. Then came the Ford Model T. My first aircraft was the Hawk XF-92A Dart. My first ship was the Revell USS Missouri in 1/535-scale (a kit which is still on the store shelves today some 60 years later).

 

Ed

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Got the Monogram Tijuana Taxi kit for Christmas in 1971. My Dad helped me build it. Thought it was great getting to use all his paint and x-acto knife for the first time.

 

http://www.tomdaniel.com/images/85_tdkit_images/tijuana_taxI

Ken

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Monogram's Snap-Tite L'il Red Baron. It was the first one that I built all by myself. Prior to that, Dad and I built a Revell Wildcat together over the course of a few evenings. Back then, it seemed to take forever...

 

Ralph

Edited by Ralph Nardone
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As an aside to my first post, the first vac-formed model I built was the star ship Reliant available years before the plastic kit was on the market. The first ship I built was the Tamiya 1/700 USS Hornet kit. I have been building them ever since because I loved the delicate , tiny parts that made ships (for me) really different from any other type of model. My first resin ship was an MB Models kit of the USS King(?) I believe (the Fletcher with the catapult midships).

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My grandmother gave me this kit as a gift for what I believe was my 4th birthday. That would have been in 1970. She and I built it together on the kitchen table. We were so clueless we even glued the decals on with tube cement. LOL

 

I once put the stars and bars upside down on the fuselage of a 1/32 scale F-4J Phantom. That was soooo embarrassing (in good fun) when i showed off my treasure to the club. My model club to this day gets a laugh out of that one.

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Mine was the Hawk Vanguard satellite. I probably built it around 1967-68 on my kitchen table, and got it from a tiny Mom & Pop dept. store in the neighborhood. My next was the US Moon Ship from the same little dept Store. The one that basically spheres in a frame. Then I went on to build whatever I could - planes, tanks, before I saw my first Aurora Monster and dinosaur kits. Then I built just them.

 

Sadly it's all gone. As I got older (13-14) Dad thought it a good idea to give the "toys" to my younger cousins. So that was the last I saw of them.

Luckily the Vanguard and the Moon Ship were both repopped within the last year or so. You know I have 'em both on the top of my To Do pile. :smiley2:

Edited by Roktman
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1stkit.jpg

 

My grandmother gave me this kit as a gift for what I believe was my 4th birthday. That would have been in 1970. She and I built it together on the kitchen table. We were so clueless we even glued the decals on with tube cement. LOL

 

Great story.

I don't remember if I even knew to use the decals. But the tube glue... haha thats when I knew the model was done- when the tube was empty. :lol:

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My first ever model I built was a 1/48 scale Aurora F-86 Sabre Dog kit. My mom ad I built it on our kitchen table soon after we moved to Florida. I was six and couldn't wait to "fly" it around the house. Naturally I broke it too badly to repair. Soon after we moved into our new house (which was still being built when we moved to Florida) My mom got me a 1/72 scale MPC Profile Series FW-190 D9 since she felt that 1/48 scale was "too complicated" for a child my age. ( I was 7) I still have that model even today:

 

FirstOneFockeWulf.jpg

 

That was also the first model I painted.

 

 

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Hi, Mark,

 

You left yourself wide open to this one: Your mom was right; they are still "too complicated" for you. :smiley2: :D :lol: :smiley10::smiley11:

 

Ed

 

 

Of course! Why do you think I still ONLY build 1/72 scale?!! :gold-plane: :smiley2::smiley20: :lol:

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