The Ages of Modeling: What are yours?

This isn't about A Model, but about Modeling. Naturally, there are models as examples, but on reflecting on the hobby, I realized I had passed through some distinct phases in model making. Perhaps you have too.

THE FIRST AGE:

(1/72 Fokker Dr.I, painted purple, just like the box art appeared to me)

My earliest modeling memories are as a small child. My fathet and older brother both built models, and I enjoyed looking at and occasionally playing with them (supervised dogfights and tank battles; me vs one of them!) Models I built often used their assistance, particularly paintwork. As a I grew and had more under my belt, within a few years I was building solo, rarely trimming flash, twisting bits off the sprue, cutting off excess with a single edge razor blade. Paint was brushed if used at all, Testors bottles for less than 19 cents each, cleaned up with turpentine. Models were frequently 1/72 aircraft - larger scales were beyond my budget. Box art was a big influence on the finished look. An arms race with my school friends resulted in my first attempts at scratchbuilding, balsa wood for additional HO tanks,  and a cardboard version of the Lexington for my fleet, based on the hull outline of an old kit of the Missouri and photos from Queen of the Flattops (wish I still had that one ;-) ), with balsa 8 in.  batteries and cut nail barrels. As I grew older I added tools like ecscto knives, razor saws, pin vise drills, and my first single action airbrush, which ran off a bottle of compressed gas. Once high school and college arrived, my building slowed, and marriage and work put it on the shelf. Here ends the First Age.

THE SECOND AGE.

(1/72 Monogram F-105, airbrush, clean build)

A physical injury resulted in weeks of at-home time. Not being used to sitting down for extended periods, and completely unenthused about daytime television, how to stay busy, and sand, while I healed? 

Why not build a modrl or two? It's been years...

More kits available, and with adult resources available, better kits on larger scales! More and better tools! Books like Squadron and Detail & Scale meant I could really get these right! So I got back into the hobby, taking over my modest basement workbench with modelling tools and supplies. Maybe I could finally master airbrushing by getting a nice double action Badger and a small compressor setup. And my growing boys could build with me... 

But alas, they grow too soon, and the focus moves to auto restoration and other pursuits, and once again, modeling languishes. 

THE THIRD AGE.

Having been an empty nester for a while, my professional life reaches its apex and one of today's common M&A events results in retirement a little earlier than originally planned. Going to need to ramp up those hobbies and house projects. Should I pick up the Exacto and Airbrush once again? Let's throw in a pandemic - everyone stay home. Now I have LOTS of time to elevate my art.

(1/48 UH-1D on scratchbuilt beach, handmade decals, forced perspective outdoor photography,  etc.)

Where has Little Bro Gone?

September has been a busy time in the 1:1 world, leaving little mental bandwidth for heavy duty modeling projects. But it has not been without the odd hour here and there, working on repairs, cleans, and completes from earlier projects, and a few new adds to my HO empire. In no particular order...

This began life as a cheap used Bachmann F7. Sanded the nose, scribed panel lines, repainted and decaled everything forward of the doors, added grabirons. Still needs those windshield wipers...

Added a Sdkfz 251D to my Bolt Action 1/56 collection. Painted to match the Panther it supports.

This old 1/72 Thud was in for a cleaning and landing gear repair. Probably one of my better efforts in my Second Age of modeling.

Yes, there's even an uncompleted Gato class sub in the pipeline...

Monogram 1/48 TBF Avenger Update - 9/19/2021

This is a "Glamor" shot of the TBF built in December of 2020.  You can review this effort by typing in "Nostalgia" in the Search This Blog box on the right.  What follows is a wartime photo:

I found this photo AFTER I completed my build - believe it or not.  It was the number 16 that floored me!  Anyway, the reason I show this comparison becomes obvious with a little study.  The Monogram kit lacked some fiddly details in favor of operating wings, retractable gear etc.  That and the fact that my Dad had built this model lead me to build the Monogram as opposed to AM or other more detailed kits.  Although I had done a bit of scratch building on the Monogram I just could not get over the lack of the hydraulic gear retractor arm (yep that is the significant difference in the photos.)  So how do I add something like this ATF and give up the retracting aspect?  Well, here we go.

I began with 0.5mm styrene rod I had on hand.  Two lengths joined by thin cement (easy to lift from my glass work surface).

I etched some wine bottle foil and folded it around the styrene.  Cyano Gel holds this together.

I carefully pin drilled into the gear legs at the attachment points.

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More styrene rod for hinge pins.

Briefly let the Cyano gel dry and then snipped off the excess rod.

I test fitted and trimmed off the excess foil opposite the hinge pin and flattened it a bit to accept a drop of Gel.  Then I inserted the hinge pin into the hole drilled in the gear leg and pushed the foil end against the inside of the wing bulkhead.  Now I can paint with the interior green to match and add some hydraulic lines.  Below is a photo of TBM 17 at the Peru Illinois TBM Reunion this past summer.  You can see that the gear is painted with interior green and you can make out the hydraulic lines.

I will ad completion photos later, but now the lack of hydraulics will no longer keep me up at night😄

Painted and silver (wire) added.

Grainy historical photo of engine running and wing(s) extending.

Not bad - I will put it on my carrier deck and try and duplicate it for posterity and then replace this pic.