I was looking around my work bench wondering why it has taken me 3 years (so far, good thing plastic does’nt go bad) to finish my Bismarck. Then I remembered my first ship build, which was the USS Wisconsin by Revell the year was 1968. This was before the internet, modeling forums, and the DREADED Photo etch. I received my catalogs from Aurora, Lindberg, and Revell paged through them and hoped I’d reach my local discount stores and got the latest releases before my friends did. The good kits sold for about $2.00 each. That was a months allowance! So if anyone else remembers their first, please share with us!
My first model ever was the Airfix 1/600 HMS Victorious which I glued together in one evening at the age of 7 years old, ( build would give it too much credit and the event is now 46 years ago). One build had me pretty much hooked for life.
Julian [8-|]
Either Airfix KMS Bismarck or Airfix HMS Hood; don’t recall which was completed first.
Built both- perhaps 1965.
Revell’s 1/426 scale USS Arizona. Gave me a long-time love of the ship.
The Revell 1/720 Prinz Eugen. It must have been in 1970 or so but I still remember this kit being bought for me and building it with my dad. It could not have cost more that $2 or so.
My first model was made in the 50’s, and I do not remember what it was!
Had to have been Revell’s USS Arizona sometime in the late 70’s.
It was 1965, and I can’t quite remember if it was the Mayflower, or the Half Moon, but it was definitely one of the little Pyro sailing ships- those things were really great for 5 year old kids (I kinda wish they were still around!)
Revell Victory 1959. Turned out nice. Paul
My first was the Carrier Hornet, back in the very early '90s. 1/700 scale I guess, I remember the box art but have no idea what company made her. I still have it too (and the B-25 Bombers that came with it) after all these years and a big move to another continent! Sure, some bits have come off and are lost forever, but I still have her!
Mine was the Revell hospital ship Haven, in 1956 (when it was new). My first sailing ship was the Revell Santa Maria the following year (when it was also new). I hate to think what they must have looked like when I got through with them; I was born in 1950, so do the math. But my parents and my older brother thought they looked fine.
“Zuiho”
Memory is finicky thing, but I am quite sure the first ship was the Revell 1/426 Arizona. I did a number of other WWII vessels after that, but I only clearly remember the Arizona. The first sailing vessel was the Revell Cutty Sark. I was all of ten at the time back in 1970. However, as fragmentary as the memories are, they are recalled with fondness. Glad to be back in the hobby now. Cheers!
My first ship was either a Guillows or a Scientific kit, a Revenue Cutter. This would have been mid-fifties. I was already an experienced model airplane builder. Second kit was Constitution, from one of those vendors. Neat thing about Guillows and Scientific kits is that they were affordable for teenagers, though the fittings were pretty poor quality. Blocks were little plastic eyelets. The wood was okay (these were carved hull, not POB.
My first ship, or model period, was the Revell USS Sullivans that someone gave me for Christmas about '64. As several have said above, I was hooked! First ship I bought was the Revell USS Arizona 1/426, because we had just moved to Arizona a couple years before and I thought that was so neat that a battleship was named after the state I was living in! Then I read about its history and it immediately became, and still is, my favorite ship.
You always manage to mess with my brain John, I was born in 1956 and you were already building ships…[8-|]
Julian
Yeah, for better for worse I started at age 5 in 1956, with the brand new Revell DC-7. I shudder to think what a mess of it I must have made.
Very sorry to have messed with your brain, Julian. I sure wish I could figure out who’s been messing with mine. The other day I tried - hard - to memorize the names of the 22 people in one of my courses. (I sat there with class roster in hand, looking intently at those young people while they were taking a written exam. I warned them in advance: “If you see me staring at you it may be because I suspect you of cheating, but it’s more likely because I’m trying to memorize the roster.” The next day I was able to recall about six of their names. I used to find that kind of thing downright easy. Now, it seems, I simply can’t do it. On the other hand, I think I can visualize all the parts of a Revell Buckley or a Monogram Dauntless.
My wife, who teaches psychology, assures me that this isn’t an unusual phenomenon: as people get older their short-term memory gives out, while their ability to recall things that happened years or decades earlier actually improves. That’s reassuring, but the problem sure gets frustrating.
BTW, Dr. Tilley, It seems you are the guy that is frequently crtiizing your memory. The one who remembers that 1956 hospital ship and a 1957 Santa Maria. That is not bad for such a failing memory. I cannot remember my first, but I have found memories of that white plastic hospital ship. By the time I built it, I had a fleet of ships, an air force, and an army!
Professor Tilley, if your memory is bad, mine is even worse at age 73. Somertimes, when I wake up in the morning, I have to think what is my real name. No not really yet, but pretty close. Often times, I have to ask my wife, who is 25 years younger than I, and who’s brain is more lucid than mine, help in trying to remember an event, or other matters.
My first ship model project in the early 1950s, was the clipper ship FLYING CLOUD, which I was very proud in accomplishment. Unfortunately, my model was wrecked when my late mother’s friend and her 9 year old son came to visit our home while I was absent. While the ladies were busy gossiping in the livingroom, the young lad had the bright idea of taking my model into the bathroom, filling the tub full of water and attempting to make an imaginary sail around Cape Horn. Needless to say, my proud model made her final port of call in the trash container. This event did not dampen my love of model building. I’m still at it more than 50 years later.
Montani semper liberi ! Happy modeling to all and every one of you.
Crackers [8-|]
Revell Campbletown. I was about 8-9? So long ago…