Saw the King’s Speech the other night. There was a scene of King George working on a kid’s model airplane.
Here is a newspaper story about the Kings interest in modeling. It is about a man who was commissioned by the King to build British model soldiers. It is an interesting story and shows some pretty impressive models.
http://www.thespec.com/living/familyparenting/article/480263--tea-with-george-vi
Sorry you will have to cut and paste.
Here, made the link “hot” for ya:
http://www.thespec.com/living/familyparenting/article/480263–tea-with-george-vi
I’m pretty darned sure that it was “American History X” that I was watching a month or so ago. In it, Edward Norton’s character was in his room (or his kid brother’s room) and, hanging from the ceiling, was at least one model airplane. It didnt’ really SHOW them working on models but there were hanging there just as plain as day.
Makes you wonder where they get them from. Does the director have someone make a model or two specifically for the movie or do they just fish around to see if anyone has a built-up one lying around that they can donate for the cause.
Eric
Heh heh. I watched “In the line of fire” again last week. John Malkovitch casts the pieces for his home made pistol from resin. And Clint refers to modelling as a “weird little sub-culture” They eventually find out the assasins real name (Mitch Leary) by speaking with his old modelling buddies. Watching Malkovitch beavering away at his cluttered workbench gives you an insight into the life of every modeller. (although we only use our powers for good, not evil, right ?)
There was a thread a while back about modelling as portrayed in the media and movies. Very interesting.
Rodney Dangerfield built an ME 109 in the flic ‘Easy Money’.
Anyone know where this message board thread is about model sightings in movies?
A while ago in an issue of FSM, wasn’t there a picture of Jerry Van D-yke with a model boat or something like that? I would love to one day find out that some huge big name actor or actress is big into modeling (and I mean the good kind, not the fashion kind).
Could you picture Denzel Washington sitting down with a 1/48 B-26? Or Liam Neeson being so happy when his Squadron catalog shows up in his mail? Or Reese Witherspoon admiring her newly completed 88mm flak diorama?
Eric
There is a scene in the movie Ronin in which Michael Lonsdale labors over his diorama, painting and placing small figures with great care. I suppose that counts. Great movie too.
Bob
In 40 days and 40 nights,Josh Hartnett takes up car modeling to get his mind off “other things”
That was a pretty good flick. I noticed a 1/32 Stuka, and 1/48 HE-111, and a couple more, looked like they were just slapped together for props.
One of the kids in “The Butterfly Effect” had his room full of models as well. Of course, he was the “dorky” kid!!!
In “The Lovely Bones”, Marky Mark’s character build ships in bottles.
I know Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart enjoyed building models together. According to Wikipedia:
“When Henry Fonda moved to Hollywood in 1934, he was again a roommate with Stewart in an apartment in Brentwood[72] and the two gained a reputation as playboys.[73] Once married, both men’s children noted that their favorite activity when not working seemed to be quietly sharing time together while building and painting model airplanes, a hobby they had taken up in New York, years earlier”
Oh I just thought of another movie. In “The 40 Year Old Virgin”, Steve Carell’s character painted figures. If I remember correctly, there were Testors bottles all over his work bench. I keep a couple of small models on my desk at work. One of my co-workers tells me that’s how he pictures me when I’m home working on my models. I laugh and cry all at the same time when I see those scenes in that movie.
Eric
Not a movie, but a TV show. In Two-and-a-Half-Men, Alan starts building model cars while between steady dates. When he blows off dating Rose, and she super-glues a Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am to his, er, lap.
Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas
There was a brief apperance in the T.V. show Nat Geo has on Taboo. It was about dudes that live with life size plastic dolls. Needless to say my wife reminds me of this every time I talk models.
Can’t believe nobody’s mentioned Battlestar Galactica (the new one). Several times throughout the show’s run, we see Bill Adama working on an intricate sailing ship model. Only to destroy it in a drunken frustation rage…
Uggggh! Maybe because it’s just too painful to mention! The destruction of a good model is almost as painful as superglueing a Trans Am to your lap!
Eric
Too funny!!! My wife and I saw that show, her comment was, “I bet those guys build models too”![:|]
She does pick on me and my level of dorkdom, but she’s glad to know that I can be found in the basement, rather than out in the bars.
[dto:]
My wife has no room to talk. We’re both dorks, just in different ways. My tools are overpriced modeling crap, and hers are overpriced sewing and scrapbooking crap.