A happy new year to everybody and here we go again. I’ll be finishing up a couple of projects first such as the ICM 1/35 BM-13-16 and 1/48 OV-10 as they need to be done for The Modelling News, I also have to write up some in-box reviews for Model Military Int’l magazine then I can get on with the stuff I want to do such as finishing the Hasegawa 1/72 Osprey and a couple of other builds that just need painting.
2022 also marks the fact that I have been in this hobby for 50 years (and you’d have thought I would be good at it by now too). It all started way back in 1972 when I was 8 years old and recovering from an operation on one of my knees. While recuperating, my eldest brother brought some kits for me to do, one of which was this set;
This set, along with a few other kits led me down the rabbit hole of modelling and over the years I have built a LOT of stuff. Most guys my age tended to grow up, get careers, get married etc and leave the hobby but I just happily carried on although some of those guys ended up coming back to the hobby in later years.
My main interest was German WW2 such as aircraft, tanks and uniforms (which started with that set of Tamiya German paratroopers) but I’ve built loads of other subjects in between. I even built a 6 masted sailing ship as a commission ( the Heller kit of the Preussen) many years ago which still gives me nightmares regarding the rigging.
The past couple of years however has seen my interest in WW2 German armour wane, due mainly to the intensive research I’ve done which can stall a project plus there are plenty of other subjects out there that are interesting to me so hopefully I will be able to look into these and also learn new techniques along the way. I’m also at a point in life where I know time and eyesight is against me so I want to get more stuff done while I am still able.
Although the hobby has changed a lot over 50 years, the basic practice of gluing bits of plastic together is still the same. What you do have these days is a HUGE reference resource (the internet) and something I would have loved all those years ago as all modellers had to rely on then were books, magazines or photo’s you had taken yourself at museums or shows. Also the amount of hobby related tools, paints, fillers etc is outstanding as the most modellers had back in the day was stuff such as Squadron Green putty (awful stuff it was too), paints by Airfix, Humbrol, Gloy and Testors and glue in a tube rather than the liquid glues we have today. Buying kits and materials was done at a local hobby shop when most towns and cities had at least one or mail order via the ads in model magazines.
Anyway enough reminiscing and time to start looking forward to what manufacturers are going to bring us in 2022 which after the past few years promises to be a lot.
Happy modelling!
Andy King's Model Blog 