What are your favorite all-time builds—not the best build, but the kits you have, or would like to build again, or just have the fondest memories of, particularly from your early days?
First for me is an old 1/72 AT-6, molded in bright yellow, maybe from Hawk, I think. I must have built and played with a dozen when I was a kid.
Second would be the Revell F-89 Scorpion in 1/72—raised insignia locators, no less. I’ve got one or two in the stash.
Tied for third are the Revel SBD Dauntless (my best kid build) and TBF Avenger—the ones with operating parts.
Forth is the old Monogram P-38 in 1/48 that you could build in several versions. Loved that kit—built at least two—long gone now.
I’ve got fond memories of the first kit I ever built: Monogram’s 1/72 “Snap-Tite” F-4E Phantom. Had that sucker together in less than ten minutes of getting it home. After a couple of weeks I thought paint and decals might look good. That model flew a lot of living room missions.[:)]
Another early blast for me was the Revell-Crown 1/144 B-52.
More recently, I’d put the Academy Me-163 Komet into my favorites list. That was the first kit in a long time that I got together in a weekend. For kits that deliver great results for minimum fuss, you can’t beat that little gem.
All of the old Monogram 1/48 WWII aircraft, the P-40B, Spitfire, Hurricane, Avenger, Hellcat, Corsair, Helldiver, Wildcat, Me 109, Zero, Dauntless … loved the moving parts, folding wings, etc. I actually built a huge card house one day and then proceeded to destroy it with the Dauntless, which featured a dropping bomb … cool stuff for a 12-year-old.
Another was the original MPC X-Wing fighter. I probably built enough of those to form a squadron.
OK SO THAT MEANS YOU HAVE TO BE AT LEAST AS OLD AS ME BECAUSE YOU JUST DECRIBE ME AS A TEN YEAR OLD KID TO A TEE. I STARTED BUILDING THE MONOGRAM KITS BACK IN 1974. AFTER ONE KIT I WAS HOOKED. I CAN REMEMBER WALKING TWO MILES TO GET DOWNTOWN TO THE DEPARTMENT STORE. WITH THREE BUCKS IN MY POCKET I COULD GET TWO 1/48 SCALE MONOGRAM KITS. I WOULD USALLY BUILT THE HOLE KIT IN ONE DAY. ALOT OF THE TIMES I DID NOT EVEN PAINT THEM I USED THEM LIKE TOYS. LIKE YOU SAID THE LANDING GEAR WORKED CANOPYS WOULD SLIDE. I THINK MY FAVORITE THINK TO DO WAS MAKE SURE THE SHAFT THAT PUSHED INTO TO THE BACK OF THE PROP HAD PLENLY OF FISHING REEL LUBE ON IT AND HOLD THE MODELS INFRONT OF THE FLOOR FAN IN THE SUMMER AND WATCH THE PROPS SPIN AWAY. IT WAS EVEN COOLER WHEN YOU BUILT THE FOUR ENGINE B17’S AND B24’S AND GOT ALL FOUR PROPS GOING AT ONCE. WOW THIS POST JUST BROUGHT BACK ALOT OF OLD MEMORYS FOR ME THANKS FOR STARTING IT. I HAVE LOST ALOT OF MY OLD MEMORIES DUE TO SOME HEATH PROBLEMS. YOU WILL NEVER KNOW HOW HAPPY YOU JUST MADE ME IT WAS LIKE UNLOCKING A DOOR IN MY HEAD THAT WAS LOCKED FOR YEARS. ALL OF THE MEMORYS JUST CAME FLOODING OUT. GOD BLESS YOU!
I can’t remember the scale or manufacturer but I still remember building models of Godzilla, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Dracula etc. Godzilla had the glow in the dark spine.
Definitely my all-time favorite was the old Monogram 1:48 SB2C Helldiver, again with the retracting gear, folding wings, etc. It was around 1961 or 1962. It was the first model that I actually remember painting - green interior and gray undersides, and a pathetic attempt to paint stripes on the tailhook - all brush-painted of course. Was so proud of it - I took it to my 3rd grade Show & Tell, along with a library book I found with an article about armor-piercing bombs. Thought I was hot stuff.
Others (including a few cars) in no particular order:
1:48 Monogram Wildcat
1:48 Monogram Avenger
1:32 Monogram Phantom Mustang
1:48 Monogram P-38
1:48 Monogram Corsair
1:196 Revell USS Constitution (my first ship model - loved rigging it.)
AMT 1964 Corvette Sting Ray Convertible
AMT 1963 Lotus Ford
AMT 1963 Watson Indy Roadster (my first contest model)
1:72 Airfix B-17G
1:32 Revell F-14A Tomcat (first model I can remember airbrushing)
Hi All With all those old kits being mentioned, it brought to mind one of my earliest builds, back in the days when you wanted the latest Airfix kit in the UK- you went to Woolworths, me and my brothers 2/6d pocket money (or 12 1/2p UK in toy money) bought each of us a series 1 kit inna bag, a pot of paint and one of us bought a brush and the other a tube of glue. I distinctly remember the old (and still current) Ju87D Stuka and painting white clouds underneath on the blue, if its camouflage on the top it should be cammod on the bottom so you cant see it when its flying right… stealth- whats new
My all time favorites were Monogram’s 1/48th WWII aircraft…the Dauntless was my favorite of the bunch…whenever I got a tip for being an altar boy (the best tips were always Italian weddings, any former altar boy from NYC can confirm that, lol) I’d run up to Nagengast Hardware and Hobbies (it’s still there thank God!) and get whatever I could. A good wedding: $10…two kits; a couple of funerals @ $3 each, one kit.
The best wedding tip I ever got was $50 (the bride’s father was a mobster,and I actually got the tip in a closed handshake!)…I walked into the hobby shop like a king, got the Monogram B-17, the Devastator, the Wildcat, my tenth Dauntless AND the Testor’s finishing center, and still had change!!
The only downside was I always got punished for ruining my mother’s butter knives…if you remember, the instructions told you to heat up a knife to melt the axle and trap the wheels so they could roll. I used a different knife every time, and left a nice glob of styrene stuck to the knife!!!
One summer, we made a carrier deck out of plywood (“commandeered” plywood, of course) and mounted it to the top of a radio flyer wagon…one kid would pull the wagon while the rest of us practiced traps, after which, naturally, we folded up the wings and parked on the front of the deck to make room for the next kid in the pattern.
I ran into that conundrum once while building a 1/700 USS Iowa. It was designed to have synchronized turrets and fire directors. When I asked my grandpa if I could heat up a butter knife to melt the turret pins he just chuckled and took me out to the garage and used a soldering gun to do the job.
My all time favorite build was my first 1/48 scale AC-130. I poured a lot of time and effort into that kit and thought it was pretty sweet. Looking back it was pretty amateurishly done, but I hope to rectify that when I build my next one.
Mine would have to be the old Aurora Aero Commander. My Dad and Mom flew one to Oshkosh for the fly in back in the 60’s. I had to stay home and go to school.(I was around 8 yrs. old) But I got to go to the airport in Long Beach CA. and see them off. My Dad said " Go inside the plane and sit in the pilots’ seat", … and there it was, a model of the same plane. Been hooked ever since. Come to think of it, besides flying, building models was about the only thing my Dad and I got a chance to do together. He spent alot of time in the air.
My frist air craft was an Auoura Zero Flota Plane. Thick yellow-orange plastic. I think it had 9 total parts .My Dad got it for me in 1966. I saw the same kit at a swap meet last year ,the seller wanted $50.00 for it and it was missing pieces. I would like to get a complete one some day. My frist jet was an F-104 Starfighter by Revell grey plastic with the stars and bars and USAF raised on the model, to show you were to place the decals. Got it as a class Christmas present when you would pick a fellow class members name to purchase a gift under $5.00. I think it was also 1966. Talk about Mr. Peabody’s Way Back Machine.
I remember many years back (enough years that I have forgotten the manufacturer, scale, and year I finished it) I built a plastic kit of the USS Constitution. My dad loves the tall ships, and I thought I’d suprise him for Christmas. Good thing I started it in late August, because I had no idea how much was involved in rigging one of those guys. Finished it with about a week to spare, and even machined a plexi-glass display case for it, because I knew there was no way mom was gonna attempt to dust it! He still has it, and displays it proudly. Brings back a lot of good memories every time I see it. [:)]
When was 12… I started with an airfix 1:72 Meteor…which was a very simple kit. I then got a 1:72 airfix Lockheed Hudson. The reason for these… the local newsagents had a choice of about 4 models [:(]
Funny thing is… the smell of the modelling glue instantly brings back these memories… ahhhhhh and the room full of enamel paint fumes. Funny how my parents didn’t say anything when I obviously had a room of noxious fumes [censored]
My favorites also include the 1/48 Revell and Monogram WW2 fighters. I have a bunch of them. I still enjoy building them now. I have built about 5 of the P-40B/C’s and have two or three more waiting to go!
I have gone back and built many kits again recently.
I am building a 1/72 Revell P-51 for the Memory Lane GB right now. It is one of the first kits I remember building. And like everyone else, I seem to remember getting it done in about a day…[:D]
I have to agree that building the original Monogram 1/48 scale fighter was a thrill because they were the top of the line at the time. I may be a bit older than some of you. I also have to admit that my first build was a wooden kit by Stombeck. I think it may have been called Strombeck-Becker back then…60 plus years ago. I not one to part with anything. I still have that model packed away somewhere.