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Post by gwangiboy on Jan 20, 2008 9:42:27 GMT -6
... putting together the Allison engine for the Allison Thunderland ... this was the very first car kit I ever built, I was either 9 or 10 ... and here I am, 47, thinking "I built THIS when I was that age?!"  All these tiny parts! Now, maybe if I saw it again, I'd say "yea, that looks like it was built by a 9 year old!" ... and I remember the result of the car was a glue bomb (I even thought so when I was 12 or 13) ... but I also remember putting together cars that I now read adults think can be a real stinker -- the Lil Coffin, the Henry J, etc. But they weren't real problems to me back then, and I managed to get them together -- opening doors, posable wheels, etc. (although I do remember the Orange Crate and Eldon's Pink Panther being difficult) Maybe its the eyes, or stamina ... I still have the patience for the most part ... just wondering if anyone else sometimes feels that way! (but at least the FUN is still there ... that's the important part!) |
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Post by Pegleg (Hotwheels Bob) on Jan 20, 2008 9:48:24 GMT -6
So true, Amen
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Post by fredmellini on Jan 20, 2008 10:22:20 GMT -6
Yup, I remember killing a pink panther, lil coffin, mongoose funny car when I was a yougin'............especially the lil coffin, I could not get the steering to work or the door to line up right. That kit pi$$ed me off so bad that I did not even look at one for another 36 years.
I am now 44 yrs old and I built my second ever coffin last year and just built my third one last month. ;D
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Post by Alan Alexis (stavanzer) on Jan 20, 2008 10:39:20 GMT -6
Man, you got that right!
I look at the stuff I built then vs the stuff I build now....
No comparison. I do better work now, but I certainly built more back in the day.
Enjoyed it more then than I do now, but I am finding my way back to the FUN in modeling.
You are so correct about doing it for the Fun of it!
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Post by Brandon on Jan 20, 2008 15:22:10 GMT -6
Another thing... the finger size to parts ratio is much favorable to nine year old fingers. ;D
I now have the patience that I didn't have, and none of the free time. lol...
I used to get a kit from the store and have it sitting on the shelf in 30 minutes. (no or minor paintng...)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2008 15:45:57 GMT -6
So true so true - I think the glue smelled better back then LOL
Smeared paint - fingerprints - and the feeling of accomplishment - what could be better for a kid!!!!! ;D ;D Still have one airplane in my case from THOSE days......
Lance
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Post by dbash2006 on Jan 20, 2008 16:21:15 GMT -6
the Undertaker would be challenge for a 9 year old too I think...
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Post by Tim Nolan on Jan 20, 2008 18:02:06 GMT -6
Your right about that Allison. It's one time consuming lil' bugger, a model kit unto itself! I spent hours carefully assembling the one in the Martian Spider, scraping chrome and being careful with the Zap! It IS an incredible piece of work when done tho!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2008 19:48:03 GMT -6
I remember my Allison Thunderland from when I was a kid. I painted the body then accidentally sat on it. I thought I had salvaged the engine but looking at the new one I'm sure I never got past gluing the block together. I wish I would have remembered how bad the chassis was before I ordered the re-issue. I think I will use a different chassis.
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Post by gwangiboy on Jan 20, 2008 22:41:47 GMT -6
Your right about that Allison. It's one time consuming lil' bugger, a model kit unto itself! I spent hours carefully assembling the one in the Martian Spider, scraping chrome and being careful with the Zap! It IS an incredible piece of work when done tho! There's 30 steps in Section 1 to just put the engine together ... and then its only 98% finished, as you still need to glue a few other pieces to it in one of the later sections!! I finally finished it today! Another quick & dirty build ... I'll put a couple photos of it in the Completed section. It looks really skimpy when you start to put it together ... but once its finished, I have to say it looks a whole lot better. Great to have this one back again, as this was the one that forever got me hooked on building cars (the box art for this is great ... and different in that its just art on the front and no text ... I think that was what really grabbed my attention, because it made me curious to look to find out what it was by picking it up and looking at the sides -- and by then I'm sold on it!) |
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Post by Rodger on Jan 21, 2008 0:55:19 GMT -6
I just wish I still had my collection. Had most of the TD stuff and some others. My mum tossed the lot in the tip after I moved out of home  She thought I had grown out of them  |
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Post by bobpaeth on Jan 21, 2008 2:08:37 GMT -6
I don't really have memories like you guys have posted because when I started working with plastic kits, they were all very simple, the would be classified as promo's today with no moving parts. By the time (about) 1958 came around my own self-serving modifications prepared me for the more complicated kits that were beginning to be offered. This not to say that I have not ever had any trouble with assemblies. I think the hardest kit that I ever built was the IMC model of the Ford GT-40. I was old enough so that the terminology "glue bomb" did not enter the picture but I remember it took me about 6 hours to complete it and there was no paint or anything else added.
BTW, A little bit of kit history: I believe that the first "kit" in this modern day was a '57 Ford Fairlane 500 hardtop. This is probably classed as a promo, it had windows but no interior, but along with the car came a chrome sprue. It was "tucked" into the instruction sheet ( 2" X 2" ) and had one combination rearview mirror/ spot lite, one antennae, and one license plate
( with no engraving ). Not much for customizing but it was a start.
bob
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Post by Paul B. Canney on Jan 21, 2008 7:45:57 GMT -6
Another thing... the finger size to parts ratio is much favorable to nine year old fingers. ;D I now have the patience that I didn't have, and none of the free time. lol... I used to get a kit from the store and have it sitting on the shelf in 30 minutes. (no or minor paintng...) Same here! I couldnt build them fast enough! The screw chassis's were cool because you could swap wheels on them after they were bult. One thing I kept thinking when I was building my OSC entry was that the 1/20th scale kit must be like a 1/25th was back then (size to hands then and now) |
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Post by gwangiboy on Jan 21, 2008 10:23:44 GMT -6
One thing I kept thinking when I was building my OSC entry was that the 1/20th scale kit must be like a 1/25th was back then (size to hands then and now) always did like 1/20 ... like it even better now! and 1/16th too ... blurry eyes and fumbling fingers! Its a miracle I still have all 10 fingers! |
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Post by donculley on Jan 21, 2008 11:51:57 GMT -6
Yep, I built a bunch too , and made a mess out of all of them ! Of course at the time I thought they came out great. I was in the Model of the month cub, so I built anything they threw at me. Ahh, the good ol days, when I had all the time in the world to have fun !
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All these tiny parts!
She thought I had grown out of them 
