Show us your.... childhood builds!

[Brad Cancian]

Hi all - not sure if this lives here, but I recently rediscovered some very old photos of some builds I did as a kid. As I start to approach the big four-oh, I find myself getting nostalgic towards my younger days, hence I thought it could be a laugh to scan and post them into their own thread, hopefully to inspire others to post pictures of their own efforts as a youngster.

If I cast my mind back, I started to dabble in the odd WW1 model back in the mid to late 1990s, when I was about 14 to 16 years old, having cut my teeth on jets and WW2 stuff before that. I think it was seeing "The Blue Max" and "Von Richtofen and Brown", hired from my local video store on VHS at about age 14 or 15, that inspired me to try some WW1 models. These are only probably a fraction of what I built, being quite a prolific builder as a youngster, but it's all that I could find... any ways, these pictures were all taken on a cheap old kodak point and click camera... you know the ones where you'd take a photo, wait until the roll of film was used, take the roll to the local chemist, hand over your hard earned coin, cross your fingers and hope that the photographs (on actual photogtraphic paper) that you received turned out ok, only to realise that half of them were out of focus or had a blurry thumb over half the photo? Kids these days wouldn't understand.... 

Here's one of my early ones, the old Revell 1/72 Fokker D.VII, in Goering's markings, no less. Built probably around 1995 at age 14:



And the old Airfix SPAD VII, in some fictional markings, built at about the same age:



The Hobbycraft 1/32 nieuport 17, again around 1995, in Guynemer's markings. I guess I hadn't figured out then how ailerons worked....



The old SMER DH-2, which I remembrer painfully rigging with wire, built maybe around 1996 at age 15 (it must have scared me, as I haven't built a DH-2 since!)



Here's part of a photo from probably around 1996, showing the Dragon Fokker Dr1 and Dragon Fokker D.V:



Lastly, probably around 1997, at about age 16 or 17, the Eduard Albatros DV - in fictional markings. My first attempt (probably) at wood graining, and with hand painted lozenge on the rudder:




I found quite a few photos of my non-WW1 builds also, but thought i'd at least stick to theme here.

I finished high school in 1998 at age 17 and joined the Air Force (and am still serving some 20 years later) - I didn't really get back into modelling until around 2005.  Twenty-some'n years later, it still brings a smile to my face remembering these builds, and others, from my youth.

Anyone else have their builds as a youngster?

Cheers,

BC

[lcarroll]

Great stuff Brad, I wish I had some surviving photos to add. It's great to see the quality increase with age and experience, the Eduard Albatros  is a beauty. I too enlisted at 17, had to wait to 18 to actually "take the oath" and commence training and sadly my album of model photos disappeared from home over the years. It would have shown black and white photos of the old Aurora 1:48 WW.I Series and a "gaggle" of the old Airfix 1:72 "Bagged" Kits which could be had for less then $1! (I left the nest in 1962 and served over 37 years) Like you most of my subjects at that time would have been WW.II and Jets.
   I hope other Members have photos or even just memories to add here!
Cheers,
Lance

[RAGIII]

Nice idea Brad. I love your "Old" builds! By 1995 I had been Modeling for about 30+ years  I have a few photos of My builds as a teen, just need to find them then I will add to your thread!
RAGIII

[RAGIII]

So here are Mine. From the late 60's to early 70's Around 15 to 17 years old. Some Revelle and Airfix 1/72nd along with one Revelle 1/28th Triplane and one Classic Vac? Fokker EV and an Aurora Halberstadt:
RAGIII

























PS: I was a lousy Photographer even then 

PPS: I had discovered aftermarket decals like ABT by then but obviously sanding seams was not in My building skills yet 

[kensar]

Great idea for a thread, but sadly, none of my builds have survived and no photos were taken.

[macsporran]

Likewise, my first models came at the dawn of time - buying the Airfix Albatros, Camel, RE8 etc as new releases around 1960 and searching the listings on the enclosed packing slips to see what else might appear!
None of the glass plate or daguerrotype images have survived!

Oh I suppose there will still exist somewhere a copy of an old Scale Models around 1970 with a 1/48 scratchbuilt FE 2b article of mine.

[Gisbod]

Love the winter camo Fokker Rick!

Guy

[coyotemagic]

Brad and Rick, what astonishing prehistoric collections you each have and beautiful work, both of you.
I'm afraid that in order to uncover any of my childhood work, an  archaeological dig in South Eastern Pennsylvania would be required.  There may still exist some cave paintings and petroglyphs in that region, but I doubt it, what with all the development that has occurred over the centuries.
Cheers,
Bud

[IanB]

I have some period photos somewhere but I have no idea where. These I took when I was home in June and cleared the old "stash" out of the loft and finally binned them all. There is really no reason for keeping them as they are were so bad they would not be worth the effort to restore.









Apparently coloured plastic was just as acceptable as painting it, and gaps were not an issue! Ahhh, simple times!

Ian

[Brad Cancian]

I'm loving the builds being posted here I'm recognising plenty of kits that I also built, and the similar 'approaches' to building that I took as a youngster! 

Keep 'em coming!

Cheers,

BC

[macsporran]

Did you guys not follow the time-honoured practice of dispatching kits with an air-rifle once they'd lost their prop blades and gathered a film of dust?
Variations included popping a 'banger' or 'squib' firework inside and trying to ignite it remotely with a good shot on a matchstick or similar.

[kensar]

A few of mine met their end that way.

Ahh, the memories...

[IanB]

Many, many of mine ended up that way. I collected the bits, glued them back together and shot them again!

Ian

[lone modeller]

Sadly I cannot provide photos of any of my models as I never photographed them in the first place! Not that they were any good mind yo. But i did paint the Hannover (Airfix) lozenge by hand, and made all of the Revell 1/72 collection and their 1/28 Fokker Dr I. I also built all 6 of the Inpact 1/48 models and rigged them with lack thread!! In my early 20' I started to build WW1 again more seriously, starting with the Revell Albatros which was the first model that I rigged properly, (with stretched sprue), and I went on to complete a conversion of the Airfix DH 4 to a DH 9 which I had started as a teenager. To recover any of my older models would need an archaeological excavation somewhere in the Blackwater valley in Hants/Surrey in the long infilled gravel pits which served as landfill in the late 1960's.

Stephen.

PS I have a copy of the 1/48 scratch build FE 2b article if anyone is interested - just need to get my scanner working but that can be done if needed. The article I have is dated around the mid-1970's (cannot check as the magazine is currently in the roof!).

[Rip Van Winkle]

Photo of  MPC Roland C.II built around 1972.  I was about 13 at the time.  Rigging is stretched sprue.  My parents have three other survivors,  another Roland C.II, a Revell E.III and a Revell Fokker Dr.1.  I also have a bag of airplane parts that I  can use for spare parts.  I disappeared from the hobby for over 40 years hence the name Rip Van Winkle. It is a miracle anything survived.