Nostalgia with Plastic Construction Kits

TheScribbler

Hey does anyone remember the fun that was to be had in putting plastic construction kits together? While Airfix is still around, I also remember Frog, and Revell as well. It was always a treat to get a really big one for Christmas or birthdays.

Anyone car to share some memories

TheScribbler

Hi

I'm posting a second message about this subject in case no one saw my earlier note. The issues is simple. I'd like to hear from anyone who spent too many afternoons in the days of yore attacking plastic kits of aeroplanes, ships, cars etc when the only way of holding them together was neatly, and carefully applied polystyrene cement. Much of mine ended up on my mother's carpet or dining room table. The rest simply spilled over my clothes.

So who has memories of Airfix, Frog, Heller, Revell and the rest. Let's have a walk down memory lane. For the ladies among us well, your memories of this era will largely centre on the mess your brother(s) made.

vektarman

I bought an airfix kit every three or four weeks, I must have built every plane kit they produced:), the worst models to make were tanks, I could never glue those tank tracks, I even tried heating and melting the tracks, they always ended up in a soggy mess, needless to say I didn't buy many tank kits.

TheScribbler

Hooray

Ive just been into my attic and found a stack of Airfix, Frog, Heller and Revel kits that I bought when Gearys in Stephen's Green closed. That was nearly 40 years ago. They are still in their boxes and plastic bags

bullets

Revell was the brand I bought most.
I HATED the airfix brand the quality of their models
was and still is crap compared to other brands.

Yep was always treated to a Big Model at Christmas time.
One Year I got an F15 aircraft that was over 2 feet long.
Fantastic.

I had all the Jets, my favorite being the F14-Tomcat,
had all the secret stealth planes too before the official photographs
were released and model designers were only guessing what the aircraft
looked like, F19's, F117's and even the Firefox plane from the book/movie.
I never made tanks, and only had one Aircraft carrier that was cool.

With the Jets I always was fearful that the landing gear was too delicate so
always made the jet with the undercarridge up. Also bombs/rockets etc were annoying when it came to sticking them on swing wing planes like
the F14 and Tornado.

One year I got some Robotech/Macross models that actually transformed!

Some Models that I never had and always wanted were the early
Battlestar Galactica models.

~B

chewed

I just bought an Airfix spitfire last week and had great fun all week putting together with my son. I had forgotten how detailed they were and the amount of work required to put it altogether. My wife aint too pleased as I've taken over the kitchen table so it now looks like an airplane factory!

Me and my brother made hundreds of them when we were kids and had them hanging up by thread from our bedroom ceiling. Then one day we got bored (we had just discovered heavy metal and girls) and decided to smash all the planes with hurley sticks. My dad wasn't pleased as he probably did most of the work in building them!

carchaeologist

Revell were always the best quality.I remember i spent ages making a model of a sailing ship with all the rigging and sails on,then my brother smashed it up one day...grrr....i used to mainly do ships,Queen mary,Victory,Bounty,Graf Spee,Ark royal,Bismark,Titanic,maybe three of these i did in different scales.Its been maybe 10 years since iv done one now though.

Definatly a dying art in these days of wii...:(

vektarman

carchaeologist wrote: »

Revell were always the best quality.I remember i spent ages making a model of a sailing ship with all the rigging and sails on,then my brother smashed it up one day...grrr....i used to mainly do ships,Queen mary,Victory,Bounty,Graf Spee,Ark royal,Bismark,Titanic,maybe three of these i did in different scales.Its been maybe 10 years since iv done one now though.

Definatly a dying art in these days of wii...:(

I didn't have the patience for sail and rig ships, I stuck to the World War 2 ships, oh and congrats on your 5,000th post carchaeologist.

Fuzzy Clam

TheScribbler wrote: »

Hooray

Ive just been into my attic and found a stack of Airfix, Frog, Heller and Revel kits that I bought when Gearys in Stephen's Green closed. That was nearly 40 years ago. They are still in their boxes and plastic bags

And possibly worth a bit as well..:)

I'm eyeing an unopened Revell F1 McLaren Mercedes I have here.... Will I or won't I Bin a few years since I put together a model.

TheScribbler

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

And possibly worth a bit as well..:)

I'm eyeing an unopened Revell F1 McLaren Mercedes I have here.... Will I or won't I Bin a few years since I put together a model.

I think that the answer is don't. It is worth much more unmade