what makes you chose a model?
is it’s uniqueness (read oddball aircraft)
is it it’s origin (read country)
it’s history
it destructive ability
it’s looks
me i like planes that were concidered dogs or underdogs like p40 or buffalos planes that relied more on a Great pilot rather than the plane it self
For me it’s spur of the moment inspiration, sometimes from a picture, a book I read, a picture, a build I’ve seen on line, etc. My most recent build came from an illustration I saw that I really liked the camo scheme.
Of course there are some planes I’m more fond of, like P-40’s and Zero’s.
For a while, it was DogFights on the History channel. Saw something there I liked and decided to model it.
But then, I’ve also modeled the 2 planes from the movie Hot Shots.
And sometimes, it was just a group build that I saw here that cought my eye.
Guess it’s all kinda just mood-based.
-Fred
A lot of times, it has to do with the looks of the airplane or the paint scheme. I think it has alot to do with looks for me. If a kit looks “cool,” I’ll build it. I seem to be more attracted to the modern-day aircraft, but i certainly wont pass up a good WW2 model. 
The bi-planes, however, don’t really appeal to me.
For me it’s a couple things. One, recapturing lost youth. I like building models of vehicles I saw when I was in the Army back when I was a young man ('88 - '92). Those were the good ole days! I was with US Grant at Vicksburg!! [blkeye]
Two, I like building something unique. There’s TONS of World War II stuff and even M1 series tanks out there! I like something that will catch your eye. I built a Nike-Hercules, an SA-2 & a Type 89 multiple rocket launcher last year. I like putting them on a judging table at a contest and hearing someone go “Ooooooooh…” or “I worked on one of those when I was in the service.”
That’s just me though!
Richard S.
Many of the models that I build are of planes that I worked with during my AF career while others are just ones that caught my interest at the time. I have built several for friends that were planes they worked on or flew as pilots or crew members.
Darwin, O.F. [aln]
since my recent return to modelling i’ve found my interest to lie in a/c which have a local(ish) connection and since i live in the east of england i have quite a wide variety to pick from, heres a list off the top of my head of bases within a couple of hours drive
RAF mildenhall, lakenheath, marham, alconbury, bentwaters, woodbridge,cottesmore…etc.etc.etc
Similar to the above, I grew up in a low flying training area in the Scottish Highland & low overflight from anything NATO was a daily occurrence, Vulcans, Starfighters, Lightnings, Phantoms, Tomcats & the likes.
This gave me a healthy appetite for supersonic aircraft, tie this in with lots of WW2 bomber reading & you come up with a sucker for supersonic aircraft, preferably with a bit of load carrying ability - if you know what I mean.
Different reasons for most- some are things I served with or on, one day I plan to have all the different types of vehicles used my first unit, a Mech Infantry battalion. Others I build because I am fascinated by a particular piece of history, France/Battle of Britain, Market Garden, Midway, or Linebacker/Linebacker II. Or some because I just like the subject itself for whatever reason (submarines and destroyers!). And here and there I pick one for IPMS, AMPS, or online Group Build themes.
It used to be for me what I worked on in the U.S.A.F. Now it is the challenging paint schemes.
Mostly, I have no idea.
One particular aircraft I’ve developed a love of since childhood, the SR-71 family. In fact, when I was a kid all the way into teenage years I never cared for the plane and as a result, a 1/48th kit followed me around for years in the box. I never got rid of it because it was a gift. When I got older I started to really look into the plane and became infatuated with it, it’s capabilities and it’s story.
But everything else? No idea. I think maybe I was born in the wrong decade because I’ve dreamed of being in an air crew in WWII since I became enamered with Baa Baa Blacksheep on TV. It’s really strange to say but I feel a kind of peace when I watch old war documentaries. The gruesome and tragic loss of life in war is a thing that I wish man could figure out how to avoid but in an odd way, I get a comforting feeling when I imagine climbing into the cockpit of a frozen fighter at the crack of dawn, imagine the smell of the petrol and oil as the engine fires, hear the sounds of Glen Miller on the radio. See ships rolling in the waves, all guns a blaze.
When I see those old reels of footage I can almost feel the pain of the soldiers, feel the loss, feel the hunger, feel the cold and wet, feel the love for my fellow soldiers.
When I was a kid I went to a CAF airshow, 1982, with my uncle and grandpa. My grandpa was in the navy in WWII.
We were doing the airshow thing, looking at the planes, elbowing ourselves room at the front of show center. As the show got under way they played the anthem and over flew the missing man formation. As the third plane peeled away I happen to look up at my grandpa and he had tears rolling down his face.
That had an impact on me that I’ll never forget and to this day when I see that formation fly over I get all choked up.
I guess building these plastic models of those old war machines makes me feel a little closer to all those who gave so much for the country I live in and all of those who gave all, no matter where they came from or who they fought for.
It’s very rare that I stray from WWII subjects. The few that I have done have been mostly commision pieces.
I enjoy WW II and the weapons that fought it. I like props and honestly don’t care for jets…sorry. I like all nations, but find the Japanese A/C to be aesthetically pleasing and some carry some cool camouflage schemes making them unique. Something about those red meatballs on the planes too. [H]
Dad was a fighter pilot from WW2 to Vietnam and I was an AF brat… Grew up in the fighter pilot community, some of Dad’s friends & squadron mates were some of the guys you only read about now… Half m’ uncle’s were also in WW2 and/or Korea, and when I was a kid, it seemed that everybody’s dad was at least a WW2 vet… Plus, I grew up watching TV shows like Combat!, The Rat Patrol, 12 O’Clock High, and the all rest, and always watched John Wayne storming the beach in The Sands of Iwo Jima or blasting Japs outta the sky in The Flying Tigers, Van Johnson at the controls of thh “Ruptured Duck” in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, or Spitfires & Messerschmitts locked in mortal combat over England in The Battle of Britain (“TAKA-TAKA-TAKA-TAKA!”), well, you get the idea…
I also spent many, many summer days “playing Army” with my friends, or we were watching F-4s and F-101s in the pattern, or seeing B-52s taking off with the gobs of smoke trailing from their eight engines… That was also when I was watching Neil Armstrong step onto the surface of Tranquility Base in 1969, and the same year also watching the TV news with mom every night while she hoped to catch a glimpse of Dad while he was in Vietnam…
I went through my “Motorhead” phase in the early 70s, because their were dozens of muscle cars scoopin’ th loop and although too young to drive, I had my own visions of what hotrod or muscle car I was gonna have soon as I got my license, lol… (Actually, my first “Muscle car” was my mom’s 7-year old metalic brown Ford LTD 4-door… I did paint racing stripes on its hood though, lol)
I joined the Army at 17, and that’s when the armor bug bit me hard, especially with building kits of “Friendly & Threat” vehicles for “Armored Vehicle Recognition” classes, although I still built plenty of Shermans and Tigers… I had gobs of research material as close as the motor park too…
I started going to airshows a lot then too, that’s when I first heard of the Confedertate Air Force and got back into WW2 aircraft on a much larger scale, and later joined the group and met even more of the guys that flew & maintained these magnifcent warbirds, getting up close & personal with them, even getting flight time in some of them… By that time, in the 90s, Dad was getting up there in years and I had to start wringing info out of him about his WW2 years… I got more & more involved in that conflict from the historical perpective and it turned into research hobby as well… I wan’t all that interested in “modern stuff” anymore, it was all around me on a daily basis so it was kinda boring… (NOW, just about everything I worked with/on/around is in a freakin’ museum or parked on a slab outside the VFW or American Legion Hall…)
I think part of the reason I build what I do is also a chance recapture some of my youth… Like music, certain kits are a sort of time-machine… I’m putting the finishing touches on Revell’s 1/32 Spitfire or Monogram’s 1/48th P-51B and “whoosh”… It’s 1968… Except THIS time, I’m not going to use firecrackers on 'em afterwards…
Like several others in here, I wanted to build one of each aircraft that I worked on in the service. I’ve built most of those now, except for a couple of multi-engine types. Also have built a few others and maybe next will build one of each of the civilian types I have flown. Really don’t have much room for them, tho.
Ken
I guess mostly it’s just whatever catches my eye while I am in a store or going through a flyer or catalog. I usually build WWII but I’ve built modern also. Like props but just ordered a modern Russian jet because I like the forward swept wings. Always liked warships too due to 2 uncles in WWII, one a Submariner and the other a Merchant Marine. Build old sailing ships both plastic and wood. I just like to build and if I like what I see I’ll give it a try.
Jim[cptn]
I have always been fascinated by aircraft and even more so by military aircraft. Just the idea that you can take a hunk of metal weighing several tons, fling it into the air and it flies! I understand all the dynamics of flight and how lift, drag and all that work, but when I witness something like an F-15 shoot down a runway, the pilot pulls back on the stick it climbs straight up into the sky, it’s almost…well it’s nothing short of a miracle to me. As a bit of irony, I am a bit of a coward when it comes to flying and heights, so modeling these incredible machines is my way of bringing a bit of that thrill safely into my personal space…
Besides, I am a person who can not sit idle in front of a TV for hours on end. I have to be doing something with my hands.
Oddly enough, my Dad was assigned to an anti-aircraft unit in WWII and had even been credited with shooting down a couple of German planes, a Stuka and a Messerschmitt if I remember correctly. He passed away many years ago, and I eventually did build some WWII planes later and always regret that I couldn’t have shown them to him and say, “Hey, remember these?” They had been trained to recognize these planes profiles on sight as to friend or foe.
As a kid I started building military a/c because I thought they were great. Back then I built everything, planes, ships, cars, trucks, trailers, subs. Now that I’m retired from the canoe club, my mission is to build an bird from all of my commands, the carriers that I was aboard, and at least one bird from every CAG I was in. So far I’m off to a good start, I’ve got the two flat tops ( MIDWAY and SARATOGA ), I’ve got the birds that I’ve worked on, and a really good start on my CAGs. But I love to build birds from WW2 thru today. In my own way I guess I kind of dedicate the birds I have connections with to the people I served with, and all of the others to the maintenance guys behind the scenes that did all of the work to make all of the flight ops possible whether it was in war or peace time!
For me it’s always been WWII warbirds. My mother tells me she read WWII aviation books to me while she was pregnant with me, which explains my life-long fascination with these airplanes apparently. In any event, I built my first model when I was 3 (unless my memory is failing). It was a P-40B (Monogram kit). I am certain that I would have picked that kit off the shelf because of the nifty artwork on the boxtop and that shark mouth.
As an adult I have typically remained true to my life-long interest in WWII aviation but have discovered that there are other equally fascinating eras. I have built nearly every aircraft from WWII that I have an interest in - well, I say that then inevitably discover a kit that I have never built and just have to have! I love the post-war jets; while I have built modern aircraft, I do not find them to be as compelling. I have a few pre-war aircraft in my stash but probably the one that I am most interested in that I do not yet have is the P-26. I would love to build a Gotha bomber and an Albatros fighter, as well as a few of the Allied fighters to go along with my eventual Sopwith Camel build.
So for me if it flies, I’ll probably want to build it.
Additionally, I have intended to build kits from other areas as well just to break the monotony of painting yet another R2800. I have completed a couple of cars, simple Revell kits but might like to investigate what Tamiya has in terms of really fast-looking sports cars. I have finished one tank, a Sherman, and have on my agenda for this year to build a Tiger tank. I’ve considered adding a flak gun to my armor collection but haven’t done so yet. I really want to build a WWII US aircraft carrier in 1/350 but have not yet made the decision to part with the $$$$ necessary to acquire one of those kits. When I got into the hobby again, I built a couple of figures - Darth Vader and an alien (from ALIEN). I haven’t had a lot of interest in doing other figures to this point. And finally, I have built a simple AMT-ERTL X-Wing fighter with an X-Wing, Y-Wing, and TIE Fighter from Fine Molds in my stash. To which I’ve considered adding a snowspeeder, a Jedi starfighter and a Slave One - and only too late did I decide to get their expensive Millennium Falcon, now out of production.
For me if its got a prop, I will probably build it one of these days, especially if its WWII vintage!
Like many as a boy i use to make them , now getting close to my retirement and coming back to what i liked to do, i will have more time i always like small things. After buiyng some magazines i was amaze to see where it is now , i have started one recently and just loving it . Like many i will try to push myself in this adventure , for me this is also an art form . It is relaxing keeps your mind going and this bit of scatchbuilding wow an all new world and the dioramas .For now i love the second ww2, it has change history but i try to keep an open mind and you never know what challenge this hobby brings
Denis