josephbw
Active Member
Back in 1956 I received my first 1/25 scale model car kit that I built. That Christmas I received a 1/8 scale Chrysler slant six engine kit. It took me several weeks to complete, but this thing was super cool. You could remove the manifolds and watch all the innards rotate, move up and down, and even the little red bulbs glowed as the distributor touched the proper contact in the cap. I was hooked at that point. I started building model cars with a vengence then. Then I got a real car and models took a back seat. Then in 1978 my wife got me a Tyco Chattanooga Choo Choo for Christmas and that prompted my move to railroad models.
I'm now building a layout in the basement and have built many, many kits. I enjoy the whole process with kit building at the top of the list. Given that, I do have some pet peaves about models in current production. Walther's used to be my go to company for structures, but since they shifted production from Europe to China, quality of the parts and especially the directions have gone right in the toilet. But there are even issues with US made kits from smaller manufacturers, such as horrible directions, and drawings, and laser cut parts that you have to trim and shim just because they were too lazy to correct their cutting program.
But given all that I do still enjoy building models, just not as much as I used to. Some of the enjoyment has been tempered with age as my eyesite isn't as good, my hands aren't as steady, and my memory is a little more fuzzy than it used to be. But then I'll be 70 this month, so maybe my expectations are a little too high.
I'm now building a layout in the basement and have built many, many kits. I enjoy the whole process with kit building at the top of the list. Given that, I do have some pet peaves about models in current production. Walther's used to be my go to company for structures, but since they shifted production from Europe to China, quality of the parts and especially the directions have gone right in the toilet. But there are even issues with US made kits from smaller manufacturers, such as horrible directions, and drawings, and laser cut parts that you have to trim and shim just because they were too lazy to correct their cutting program.
But given all that I do still enjoy building models, just not as much as I used to. Some of the enjoyment has been tempered with age as my eyesite isn't as good, my hands aren't as steady, and my memory is a little more fuzzy than it used to be. But then I'll be 70 this month, so maybe my expectations are a little too high.