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The Begining of the Addiction
- Thread starter Paulw
- Start date
Paul I think I was born with it. I can remember a couple of "first kits" and how many train sets over my childhood. I commandeered the pingpong table and turned it into my train layout. No one was really that good at ping pong. I can remember the many trips up the GSP airport to pickup or drop off someone, they had a huge model of the Milliken plant in Spartanburg. I was fascinated by it.
I did models up till I got married, our first house was not very well setup for a hobby room so I put my meager stash up in the hall closet till time came that I could setup a hobby room, guess I never heard of a spray booth because I probably would have gotten one to vent the place. But at that time I was head long into my other hobby, IT, because at that time it was just hitting the home market.
I picked up a copy of Fine Scale while on vacation up in Pigeon Forge TN and got hooked again. Got home and setup a work bench in the detached garage we have and it's been no looking back since then.
Reflection, yeah last couple of weeks have given me a lot to reflect on. I haven't had time or energy to get back at the bench any since my surgery, hoping so tomorrow, light day. I have a lot of lifestyle changes to make if I want my Triple to last but I will make time for the hobby, that's for sure.
I did models up till I got married, our first house was not very well setup for a hobby room so I put my meager stash up in the hall closet till time came that I could setup a hobby room, guess I never heard of a spray booth because I probably would have gotten one to vent the place. But at that time I was head long into my other hobby, IT, because at that time it was just hitting the home market.
I picked up a copy of Fine Scale while on vacation up in Pigeon Forge TN and got hooked again. Got home and setup a work bench in the detached garage we have and it's been no looking back since then.
Reflection, yeah last couple of weeks have given me a lot to reflect on. I haven't had time or energy to get back at the bench any since my surgery, hoping so tomorrow, light day. I have a lot of lifestyle changes to make if I want my Triple to last but I will make time for the hobby, that's for sure.
I'm much like Bob. I've always had the bug ever since I was a little kid back in the mid 80s 
ldguy My first kit was the old Revell snaptite B-25. I remember flying that little plane around the house for hours. Second build was a Revell USS Ward that ended up being used as a pool toy. I've pretty much been building off and on ever since. But the bug really got me about 5 years ago. Other hobbies have come and gone but this one is here to stay for me. I've also had some time to reflect over the past month or so, what with everybody going through surgery and such. It has made me really think about what is important in life. Basically giving me a swift kick in the butt and causing me to fill out the Fafsa and going back to college in the fall to finally get the education to go along with my Archaeology habit. I'm finding if a job doesn't challenge me intellectually then I get bored of it really quickly. Sorry went off on a diatribe there
ldguy My first kit was the old Revell snaptite B-25. I remember flying that little plane around the house for hours. Second build was a Revell USS Ward that ended up being used as a pool toy. I've pretty much been building off and on ever since. But the bug really got me about 5 years ago. Other hobbies have come and gone but this one is here to stay for me. I've also had some time to reflect over the past month or so, what with everybody going through surgery and such. It has made me really think about what is important in life. Basically giving me a swift kick in the butt and causing me to fill out the Fafsa and going back to college in the fall to finally get the education to go along with my Archaeology habit. I'm finding if a job doesn't challenge me intellectually then I get bored of it really quickly. Sorry went off on a diatribe there 
razordws
Well-known member
Mine started real early too. A friends older brother had a collection of models he had built and one in particular caught my eye, the Airfix BV 141. What a crazy looking plane. When I was 7 or 8 I remember my mom taking me to the toy store and gave me $20 to spend on whatever I wanted. I remember buying 3 ship models though I don't remember which ones they were. The addiction lasted into my early twenties, then got married, kids etc. etc.
I kept a few models (the good ones that didn't get blown up, burned or shot out of a tree with the pellet gun) and pulled them out once in awhile but didn't get back into the hobby until 2004 when we moved into a bigger house and I had the space to set up a bench. Shortly thereafter I picked up a copy of Finescale Modeler magazine and saw that they had a website which introduced me to the world of forums. That turned the solitary nerdy hobby into a wonderful community of like minded enablers.
I love building and creating things. Even without the forums I would still be building models but it is much more rewarding to have other modelers to bounce ideas off of and to learn from. My model skills went from pathetic to something that made me appreciate the hobby on a whole new level.
So thank you to all you talented artists out there who have helped me along the way. :geek :geek :geek
I kept a few models (the good ones that didn't get blown up, burned or shot out of a tree with the pellet gun) and pulled them out once in awhile but didn't get back into the hobby until 2004 when we moved into a bigger house and I had the space to set up a bench. Shortly thereafter I picked up a copy of Finescale Modeler magazine and saw that they had a website which introduced me to the world of forums. That turned the solitary nerdy hobby into a wonderful community of like minded enablers.
I love building and creating things. Even without the forums I would still be building models but it is much more rewarding to have other modelers to bounce ideas off of and to learn from. My model skills went from pathetic to something that made me appreciate the hobby on a whole new level.
So thank you to all you talented artists out there who have helped me along the way. :geek :geek :geek
ausf
Master at Arms
One of my earliest memories (I'm told we moved from that house in 1970, so I was 5 or less) was a demolition derdy model kit I got for Easter. I modeled steadily from then on, mostly whatever Monogram 1/48 WWII AC the local 5 and 10 had on the shelf. A treat would be to go to the good LHS for Pactra paints and possibly an Aurora kit if I had two weeks mower money saved.
Most of my birthday and Xmas gifts until I was in 7th grade were models, the 1/48 B-52 and B-17 stand out in my memory.
All were built at a card table in my room, an X-acto, file and Testors orange tube glue. I'd start off vowing to carefullt cut and file each part, but eventually blew through that and slapped 'em together.
Gave up when I started playing bass and discovered girls. Or more accurately discovered girls, then started playing bass so I could land said girls.
Flash forward a solid 20+ years, shopping at a train store for my son's Xmas present and at the register they had a bunch of 1/72 DML RC Tiger Is. It brought me back to kiddom, Saturday afternoons of listening to Olivier narrate World At War. Even though it was pricey, around $70, I couldn't pass it up. That was the coolest present that year, we played with it for hours.
I was jonesin' for modeling then and I thought it was out of the question, since I couldn't be around most solvents (had a spinal cord tumor), but looked into it and found a whole new world of acrylic paints, non-toxic glues, etc. So I eventually grabbed a Revell 1/72 Pz IV and did most of the assembly under the kitch exhaust hood. Hook fully implanted, I was done.
Moved onto a 1/35 Tamiya Tiger I RC with Aber, holy cow has the industry changed since I was a kid. Got on the FSM forum to research and made a lot of online friends. I was finishing my attic as a playroom for my kids, so I sectioned off a 9 foot section for myself, installed an exhaust fan for a spray booth and never looked back. Even started a small business around it.
Onto your second point, I'm not sure if it's the nature of the hobby or that many in it have similar back stories (build as a kid, rediscover as an adult with kids), but it is a perfect online/forum hobby.
It's easy to share with photos, has wide interests and truly opens up what is a solitary hobby.
I've been a member of a few different forums, for bass, RC stuff as well as came across a bunch when needing an answer for car/home repair, etc, but have to say scale modeling as a rule seems to be the most community oriented. I can honestly say I've developed friendships across the globe, even though I've never met these people face to face. My kids have received prehistoric shark teeth from Cape Town, Harry Potter stuff from the UK and postcards from the northernmost PO in the world all from thoughful modelers.
Think about it, how many online forums have Secret Santas beside modeling. I'm sure there are somewhere, but none I've ever seen.
Every time I click on a thread, I'm inspired to try something else.
Most of my birthday and Xmas gifts until I was in 7th grade were models, the 1/48 B-52 and B-17 stand out in my memory.
All were built at a card table in my room, an X-acto, file and Testors orange tube glue. I'd start off vowing to carefullt cut and file each part, but eventually blew through that and slapped 'em together.
Gave up when I started playing bass and discovered girls. Or more accurately discovered girls, then started playing bass so I could land said girls.
Flash forward a solid 20+ years, shopping at a train store for my son's Xmas present and at the register they had a bunch of 1/72 DML RC Tiger Is. It brought me back to kiddom, Saturday afternoons of listening to Olivier narrate World At War. Even though it was pricey, around $70, I couldn't pass it up. That was the coolest present that year, we played with it for hours.
I was jonesin' for modeling then and I thought it was out of the question, since I couldn't be around most solvents (had a spinal cord tumor), but looked into it and found a whole new world of acrylic paints, non-toxic glues, etc. So I eventually grabbed a Revell 1/72 Pz IV and did most of the assembly under the kitch exhaust hood. Hook fully implanted, I was done.
Moved onto a 1/35 Tamiya Tiger I RC with Aber, holy cow has the industry changed since I was a kid. Got on the FSM forum to research and made a lot of online friends. I was finishing my attic as a playroom for my kids, so I sectioned off a 9 foot section for myself, installed an exhaust fan for a spray booth and never looked back. Even started a small business around it.
Onto your second point, I'm not sure if it's the nature of the hobby or that many in it have similar back stories (build as a kid, rediscover as an adult with kids), but it is a perfect online/forum hobby.
It's easy to share with photos, has wide interests and truly opens up what is a solitary hobby.
I've been a member of a few different forums, for bass, RC stuff as well as came across a bunch when needing an answer for car/home repair, etc, but have to say scale modeling as a rule seems to be the most community oriented. I can honestly say I've developed friendships across the globe, even though I've never met these people face to face. My kids have received prehistoric shark teeth from Cape Town, Harry Potter stuff from the UK and postcards from the northernmost PO in the world all from thoughful modelers.
Think about it, how many online forums have Secret Santas beside modeling. I'm sure there are somewhere, but none I've ever seen.
Every time I click on a thread, I'm inspired to try something else.
Swordsman
Active member
Well I started off as a child ..... can't remember for sure which Kit was first it was either a Lindberg B-58 Hustler Or a Renwal Thomas Jefferson nuclear submarine ..... that shot missiles .... But I built up until I graduated High School I guess .... then off the work & living in the world .... after I hurt my back calcium spur on my spine ..... I started putting together a F-111 ..... One my Dad worked on .... He was in the Aircraft industry ..... ever since I knew Him .... then I lost My whole world over in Dallas ..... walked away from a 100,000 dollar home in Grapevine, Texas & a cheating wife ..... I moved back to the farm my Dad owned ..... He let Me set up a old Mobil Home on the place .... and I re-booted ..... I still worked on color-separation equipment .... only I was in competition with the company that had gotten rid of me after the Back-thing ..... :fencing 
:facepalm ...... Well that lasted for a bit then I started House remodeling & became a cabinet builder cuz I was fairly good at woodworking ..... since then I've built 2 steel framed Homes ..... My family sells Log cabins .... and with the family discount ..... why I live in a double-wide Manufactured Home is a mystery ..... having been diagnosed with Cancer right after I met the love of my life and going through 3 years of testing & probing the Doctors said He's cured !!! that was 17 years ago and I do have my Queen of My Double-wide .... the best thing that ever happened to Me ..... So anyway I was bee-bopping along doing this & that what ever I felt was the Lord's calling because the Cancer was a wake-up call for Me.... When I ended up owning & running an antique store .... well I started selling antiques on eBay and I got very good at it ...... when the guy who had the train store & Greenville Railroad Museum wanted me to come down and list 30 items a week on eBay for Him ..... and run the train shop ..... I did that the crooked Business partner I took in to help with the antique locked me out and all I was left with was running the 125 year old Greenville Katy Depot Railroad Museum ... And train store I was in Hog Heaven ..... soon we were selling plastic model kits also ..... So I started building again as a way to promote the Hobby ..... then The guy I was working for shut it all off because He got hooked on Lionel Trains and When He needed one .... It didn't matter that the guy making Him the money needed to be paid He bought the Train ..... and He got so far behind when He shut down He owed Everyone in town .... So I took about 5K in back pay in Hobby supplies trains, kits, and other things ..... He moved and I tried to make a go of the place ..... I was doing good until I met another business partner ..... Who claimed to be a modeler got me into a on-line forum about building model kits ..... I was hooked after I found out How the old OOB had changed with all the aftermarket bits & whatnot I was floored ..... So I started Greenville Hobby Depot ..... about the time that Wally-world quit selling model Kits ...... Now if I could just get the money flowing in Here ..... being in a small town doesn't help ..... if I was in Dallas I would be much better off ..... I've traveled all over the place and came back Full circle to the town were I started off as a Child so here I am with the worst part of the addiction I buy at Wholesale !!! ..... ldguy
:facepalm ...... Well that lasted for a bit then I started House remodeling & became a cabinet builder cuz I was fairly good at woodworking ..... since then I've built 2 steel framed Homes ..... My family sells Log cabins .... and with the family discount ..... why I live in a double-wide Manufactured Home is a mystery ..... having been diagnosed with Cancer right after I met the love of my life and going through 3 years of testing & probing the Doctors said He's cured !!! that was 17 years ago and I do have my Queen of My Double-wide .... the best thing that ever happened to Me ..... So anyway I was bee-bopping along doing this & that what ever I felt was the Lord's calling because the Cancer was a wake-up call for Me.... When I ended up owning & running an antique store .... well I started selling antiques on eBay and I got very good at it ...... when the guy who had the train store & Greenville Railroad Museum wanted me to come down and list 30 items a week on eBay for Him ..... and run the train shop ..... I did that the crooked Business partner I took in to help with the antique locked me out and all I was left with was running the 125 year old Greenville Katy Depot Railroad Museum ... And train store I was in Hog Heaven ..... soon we were selling plastic model kits also ..... So I started building again as a way to promote the Hobby ..... then The guy I was working for shut it all off because He got hooked on Lionel Trains and When He needed one .... It didn't matter that the guy making Him the money needed to be paid He bought the Train ..... and He got so far behind when He shut down He owed Everyone in town .... So I took about 5K in back pay in Hobby supplies trains, kits, and other things ..... He moved and I tried to make a go of the place ..... I was doing good until I met another business partner ..... Who claimed to be a modeler got me into a on-line forum about building model kits ..... I was hooked after I found out How the old OOB had changed with all the aftermarket bits & whatnot I was floored ..... So I started Greenville Hobby Depot ..... about the time that Wally-world quit selling model Kits ...... Now if I could just get the money flowing in Here ..... being in a small town doesn't help ..... if I was in Dallas I would be much better off ..... I've traveled all over the place and came back Full circle to the town were I started off as a Child so here I am with the worst part of the addiction I buy at Wholesale !!! ..... ldguy