Gotta Catch 'Em All!

[Brad Cancian]

Hi everyone.

My name is Brad and I have a problem. Well, I have what is probably going to be a problem as time goes on. I'm becoming a bit of a collector. There, I said it.

As I get older, I am finding myself drawn to the kits of my childhood. My early entry into WW1 models were the classic old Airfix and Revell 1/72 kits. I remember quite vividly the Airfix Vintage Aircraft series of WW1 aircraft, all lined up on the shelf at my local toy store (which was all we had as a hobby shop in my home town back in the late 80s and early 90s). These kits were released in around 1987/1988, and were reboxes of the old 1950s and 1960s Airfix moulds. What I loved about these was the combination of box art, and the link to history - the kits had pictures and stories of famous pilots adorned throughout. That made the kits a history lesson as well as a fun build.

I was also inspired by some of the old advertisements, seen here in some of the '88 issues of Windsock:



I certainly didn't build all of them, but I distinctly remember building the Triplane, SPAD, and Roland (I particularly liked the dynamic pose of the kit pilot in the Roland).

Well, I picked up a couple of these kits at a swap meet a little while back and it fuelled my interest again in these older kits (I am building the 1957 vintage Albatros at the moment, see here: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11345.0 ). This compelled me to complete my little collection of kits, for no other reason to admire and smile at (I said I had a problem, didn't I...?). These are still quite cheap and readily available, so it wasn't going to be a big outlay. Yep some of the boxes are a bit crushed, but here they all are - a representation of what would have been probably several months of pocket money for me as a child back in the very late 1980s  :





I am indeed happy to have this little collection complete. I'll probably pick up some better quality boxes as time goes on.

It got me wondering - am I the only one who collects just for the sake of collecting (and no I don't mean hoarding - I mean actually collecting something specific, to get a set of something, for no other purpose than to satisfy some strange itch)?

Yeah, it's probably just me...    But anyways, I thought this might bring back a little nostalgia for someone!

Post your 'collections' here, even if only to make me feel better and not alone, haha!

Cheers,

BC

[Jeff K]

i wouldn't say i did anything resembling a good job on it but i certainly adored that Biff as a kid.

my Albi was a Revell, and it was how i found out who Voss was. it turned out a bit better, wings and struts aligned almost correctly. didn't even think about riggin' em though.

[macsporran]

Hi Brad
My name is Sandy and I am an addict.
I grew up with the original Airfix releases back around 1960 and remember the excitement of discovering each new Airfix release on Woolworths' counter on a Saturday with pocket money burning a hole in my pocket.
However this was soon eclipsed by the bigger, better Aurora kits which started my WWI addiction and sent me scouring every department store and fancy goods shop to find these more elusive (in the UK) treasures. Two coloured plastic, crew figures and bases, nameplates - be still my beating heart!

I dropped the hobby at University, then marriage, then kids, then...... modelling reappeared with my children catching the addiction.
This is where the collector took over as I strove to reacquire all those beautiful Aurora biplane.
I managed to build a full collection of every aircraft they released including all the ones I never found as a kid - especially the Gotha!
I built one of each - even painting lozenges on the Fokker DVIII wing as per the Joe Katula box art! And I kept a mint boxed copy of each one too. This was in the 1990s.
Alas, marital discord, divorce, house sale etc and all the models and model-making had to go. The new eBay facility soon sent all my treasures far and wide.

Until...
...
...
I attended a model show ten years ago and somebody showed me this brand new box from New Zealand of an SE5a (favourite plane of all time) from an outfit called Wingnut Wings. And The Addiction Started All Over Again. Aaaargh.

Now I've got all the tools again, a cabinet full of built models, three or four on the go, and a stack of WNW goodies to last me forever.

But.....
Your post makes me think back on all those seductive Aurora sirens calling me back to my first love......

I wonder if there's a metallic red Aurora Gotha on eBay today.......
Sandy

[enathan]

I have a similar ‘problem’. 
As a kid I used to buy every WWI kit available in my country - some of the Airfix bagged kits, a few by Revell and an Entex Nieuport 17 – that was it then. I bought a number of each, built most of them and even ventured into some modifications – a Nieuport 24bis from the Ni.17, an Albatros D.II from the Revell D.III, and scratch built a Fokker E.III and a D.H.2, based on the very restricted information and poor materials I had then.

It all stopped at a certain stage of course, and family and career took over.

Three years ago, in a time of personal changes, the interest arose again. I still had some of the old kits but my main interest was not in building them, but in acquiring kits that I could only dream of when I was young.

First were the F.E.8 and Morane L, which had always been favourites. I ordered them from Choroszy Modelbud and Ardpol in Poland, and then some kits from Hannants in the UK, and it went on and on. Without planning it I became a collector, finding the best sources, following sellers of rarities on Ebay etc.

The plan had become to have one of every WWI airplane produced in 1/72 scale, including sub-variants. I now have some 300 kits, and counting.

And yes, it is terrifying…   

[Brad Cancian]

Great stories guys - I'm glad I am not entirely alone It goes to show how the hobby, and specific kits themselves, leaves a warm place in our hearts.

Though I do now find myself trawling ebay for older kits now... it's started....!

Cheers,

BC

[Brad Cancian]

Hi all - another 'set' complete - the Dragon / DML "Knights of the Sky" kits.

These were released throughout the mid 1990s, and consisted of 9 different kits of four aircraft - SPAD XIII, Fokker Dr1, Fokker DVII and Fokker DVIII. Some came with resin busts. There have been variations on some of the boxings themselves, but they've remained centred on these 9 boxings, 5001-5009.



I always found the "Knights of the Sky" boxing appealing, as I loved the old Microprose game of the same name from ~1990. I still have it on my old 386 PC, which i've had since way back in 1992.




Cheers,

BC

[Gene K]

Hi all - another 'set' complete ... .

Congratulations.

Great post!!

Gene K

[Sosenka]

Hello, I'm also an addict, but now with these Airfix, the Revell, the ESCi and with the Roden.  It's good to see to know what it would be like if it were...

[WD]

I used to be a collector, but realized it was taking up too much room, I had no means to display my collection, and I had just as much fun enjoying the collections of others, so I sold everything.

Thanks for a great thread!

WD

[Brad Cancian]

Hi all - another from the 'way back' machine. I picked this one up recently:



I remember seeing this set as a kid in a hobby store whilst away on holiday with my parents, but not having the pocket money immediately to hand at the time to buy it. I was wowed by the full set of amazing fighter aircraft and drooled at the possibilities and mock dogfights I could have with these ones. Alas, I didn't see it for many years afterwards, but I did see the individual kits themselves (and picked one up here and there). When I saw this recently, I had the pang of nostalgia, and the 'I remember that!' moment (misidentified aircraft and all). This time, I had enough pocket money, so here it is, the set of Esci flghters! Tally ho!



Cheers,

BC

[hrcoleman66]

Saw a complete collection of the early Revell WW1 1/72 boxings on FB Marketplace the other day.  Thought of you Brad!

Cheers,

Hugh

[Brad Cancian]

Hi Hugh! The hoarder in me would have been interested in that for sure...! The older I get, the more of a collector I find myself becoming... 

Cheers,

BC

[hrcoleman66]

Must have been snapped up.  Went looking for them again this morning and they are not there...
Would have sent you a link!

Cheers,

Hugh

[KiwiZac]

Well, I was rather misled by the title so I won't share my wife's Pokemon model builds after all! 

[Brad Cancian]

Hi all - a slightly different 'collection' to share today.

Back in the early 1990s, I was introduced to Fine Scale Modeler magazine. I remember first issue I ever purchased, the September 1992 issue (I was 11 years old, and had been building probably for around two years at that point). It has a spitfire on the cover, and was clearly eye-catching enough to grab my attention. 



I was inspired by all of the magnificent models showcased therein, as well as the tips and hints. I was also blown away by the products that I had no idea were available. I remember dragging the magazine to school with me, and reading it over and over. I still have it to this day, even if it is virtually falling apart. There's even still amusing little drawings that I put in the margins (it must have been a slow school day!).

I continued to buy the magazine on and off for a couple of years, and eventually my news agent would hold copies for me (a number still have the newsagent's stickers with my name on them, haha!). I did this until I left high school to go to university at the start of 1999, but I continued to buy the magazine here and there (and still do). I also held onto all of the issues that I bought over the years.

Recently I came across someone selling a number of these from the '90s, and I decided to try and 'catch' all of the '90s issues (93 in all), as this was my most formative modelling decade. I've now completed my 90's collection of FSM magazines:








Yes I know that these are all available in electronic format now, but in an era where everything is going electronic, there's still something wonderfully tactile with being able to thumb through a real magazine They also still have some really great and relevant tips and inspiration. It's also amusing to read the new kit reviews for kits that we'd now consider 'old classics' 

I'm also slowly collecting the editions from the 80's too (thankfully there's only 44 issues of FSM from the '80s).

Anyone else collecting things like this?