Why I model.

[centaur567]

I recently bought a book called "Hidden Warbirds".

Then it dawned on me. As a kid growing up listening to my dad's stories of being in the South Pacific during WWII, I was hooked on history. My dream was to recover WWII aircraft hidden in the jungles of Guadalcanal. So to me modeling is just that. We take a bunch of parts that were hidden in a box and recover a historic piece of history. That's about it in a nut shell. Thanks Gary

 

[helios]

I hear ya Gary.

What you said got me thinking... Back in high school I built models of fighter jets & cars because they were cool. I did start to develop a bit of interest in history as me and my mate would build some Vietnam era aircraft like the F-4 or F-105. But since my modeling "rebirth"...the historical ties are very strong. I no longer build current aircraft, they lack any historical tie that grabs my interest. I prefer the aircraft of a bygone era...and for me it's currently the Cold War era that has a strong grip on my focus. I enjoy learning some of the background of a particular unit (or subject) as much as building the actual model itself. I've even read a couple non-fiction Cold War based books (which has been the first time I have voluntarily picked one up) recently. Intriguing stuff for sure.

Cheers. :drinks

 

[centaur567]

Did you ever read the book "Red Storm Rising" by Tom Clancy ?

Even when I see an old truck, I want to bring it home, and there are a lot of them around here. And I'm not a truck person. Gary

 

[helios]

Did you ever read the book "Red Storm Rising" by Tom Clancy ?

I have not...and only recently heard about it over at Britmodeller. I'll need to track down a copy here in the near future. It sounds like it's pretty good from the chatter over there.

 

[Paulw]

Have you heard me sing?

 

[ausf]

I'm trying to wrap my head around that cover photo.

Is that a real 17?

If so, how big is that grass?

If been through a lot of wild in my days, I've gone through cane fields, jungle, grassland, even some wild bamboo forests, but I've never seen grass that wide and tall.

 

[RichB]

I'm trying to wrap my head around that cover photo.

Is that a real 17?

If so, how big is that grass?

If been through a lot of wild in my days, I've gone through cane fields, jungle, grassland, even some wild bamboo forests, but I've never seen grass that wide and tall.

That is B-17E 41-2446. It made a forced landing in Papua-New Guinea on 22 Feb 1942 returning from a mission against Rabaul. They were short on fuel and spotting an open field the pilot made a wheels up landing. Only then did they realize it was a swamp and not a dry field they landed in. All the crew survived and were returned to Australia about a month later and eventually to flying duties.

The aircraft remained in the swamp gradually being overgrown by kunai grass (grows up to 10ft tall) until re-discovery in 1972 by the RAAF. It was salvaged in 2006, moved to Chino in 2010 and since 2013 is at the Pacific Aviation Museum in Hawaii.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[moon puppy]

Good deal, Thanks Rich.

I really don't know what got me hooked, just always been hooked on it. Guess I was born that way.

 

[lupanzer]

This book must be fantastic

Luiz

 

[Iron Mike]

Red Storm Rising is one of Clancy's best, but don't get Moon Pup started on Clancy, trust me.

 

[moon puppy]

Red Storm Rising is one of Clancy's best, but don't get Moon Pup started on Clancy, trust me.

Or Cussler

 

[Heavens Eagle]

I picked up a set of 20 Clive Cussler audio books (Dirk Pitt series) a while back (for not very much) and have been listening to them while I work on watches. When done with those I have Lee Childs Jack Reacher series to listen to.

Listening to "Atlantis Found" at the moment.

 

[SA Dave]

I picked up a set of 20 Clive Cussler audio books (Dirk Pitt series) a while back (for not very much) and have been listening to them while I work on watches. When done with those I have Lee Childs Jack Reacher series to listen to.

Listening to "Atlantis Found" at the moment.

I have been listening to Jeremy Clarckson book and really enjoying it.

 

[razordws]

I'm trying to wrap my head around that cover photo.

Is that a real 17?

If so, how big is that grass?

If been through a lot of wild in my days, I've gone through cane fields, jungle, grassland, even some wild bamboo forests, but I've never seen grass that wide and tall.

That is B-17E 41-2446. It made a forced landing in Papua-New Guinea on 22 Feb 1942 returning from a mission against Rabaul. They were short on fuel and spotting an open field the pilot made a wheels up landing. Only then did they realize it was a swamp and not a dry field they landed in. All the crew survived and were returned to Australia about a month later and eventually to flying duties.

The aircraft remained in the swamp gradually being overgrown by kunai grass (grows up to 10ft tall) until re-discovery in 1972 by the RAAF. It was salvaged in 2006, moved to Chino in 2010 and since 2013 is at the Pacific Aviation Museum in Hawaii.

Cheers,
Rich

I took this picture of said bird about a year and a half ago at the Pacific Aviation Museum.

 

[moon puppy]

Is that how they have her displayed?
It's an E model also, I don't thing there's any E models flying.

 

[Hawkwrench]

I agree with moon puppy. It's just been in my blood. My dad and my brother both built models for a time, so it was a family thing.
On a sidenote, my wife was explaining my hobby to my granddaughter the other night, and she called me a nerd because MOST guys don't do this hobby. Explaining to her did no good.
She overheard another wife at the nationals last year tell her husband that we look like a bunch of nerds.
Well, I guess I'm a nerd!!!
:geek

Tim

 

[moon puppy]

At least we don't...well, give me a few minutes...:geek

It's a hobby! AS I have said, it's cheaper than drinking (in some cases). Made my Bride mad once, used that line on someone and they turned out to be deacon at the church. He agreed! :drinks

 

[iambrb]

Ok for those of you who saw a two letter response to this, I was about to post, and dang cat stepped on the keyboard and goofed it all up, so now I get to try again!

Ok so for me, modeling took a convoluted start. I have always been a gun guy, as in 1:1 scale, real thing. Always really like the military surplus stuff. In fact , for some years I worked ’freelance’ for a set of investors, going around the state and then some, buying collections, and along the way managed to find items that are now in public & private museums & collections, including one sale to the royal family of an Arabic-oil-producing-country.
Researching all that led to books printed often by modelers, along with a voracious appetite for reading. One fateful day I bumped into old friend Moon Pup at a local Lowes, and a few conversations later, the die was cast!
I mostly really like the modern armor. Some WW2, but mostly late war, along with Vietnam stuff. When I built as a kid I did not have an airbrush and felt good to have paint, so I really enjoy the painting aspect of it, hence my love of camo and producing it.

 

[iambrb]

I noticed youse-guys are mentioning books & authors. for some time I hased a resource called ABE books (google it). They are a link to bookshops areound the US and overseas, you can find pretty much any book there, really neat!

Red Storm Rising is good, but IMHO Clancy's ego outweighedn his knowledge. He was really a first class researcher with some woroting ability. he also understood how to mass market his name as a brand.

MP & I feel the same about Cussler. The jack reacher series is actually pretty good stuff.

Hey, for you armor guys, here are a few fiction books you can find on the cheap that do a very good job of using actual tactics in thier depiction of modern combat. Both these are based on a NATO Vs, Warsaw Pact scenario.
1st up is one depicting a US Abrams squad fighting it out in the Fuld Gap. it is called TEAM YANKEE
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=coyle&sts=t&tn=team+yankee

The second would be RED ARMY by Ralph Peters, it depicts several scenarios of Spetsnatz, Infabtry, tanks, etc, for the same scenario, but from the USSR side
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=peters&sts=t&tn=red+army

 

[Duke Maddog]

I've red both those stories: "Team Yankee" and "Red Army". Good books that really capture the essence of modern combat. I did like "Red Storm Rising" where he described the intense combat on the Western Front with helicopters and jets zooming in and fighting in among the armor. The Iceland saga was also a load of fun to read in that same book.

Why I got into modeling... well it's a long and convoluted story....