Hi
I feel like sharing this little experience with you.
My 14-year-old son and his friends spend the summer between video games and the internet and don’t take their eyes off the screen.
I have always done modelling myself and my children have rarely approached this activity.
But last week he approached me saying that a friend of his had received a Tomcat model to assemble instead of already finished.
He offered to help him with the assembly!
I was happy to lend him my travelling model set so that I could help him rescue his friend.
He came home with the Revell model more or less assembled. Of course he asked if he could use my (sacred) airbrush.
‘I said, ‘I’d better give you a hand, as these are not easy colours’, also because I know the disappointment if the model you have assembled with so much ‘care’ is then thwarted by a smear of paint.
I never had the colours to colour an aircraft let alone a boarded Tomcat!
We made do with what I had so much the fun was in doing an activity together and in the same way we attached the decals.
Conclusion: we had fun. Maybe he’ll feel like making more models with his old dad
Maybe, with any luck, this experience will open the door to an intrest in a hands on hobby for you and your son. I tried several activities with my son to no avail, sadly he just wasn’t interested in spending time together, I hope you have better success. The Tomcat came out nice, looks like they did a nice job on the build.
Cajun 
This is the most important part. Looks the part to me. 
Of course I want to see a photo of the side profile and tail art.
Nice story… It would be really nice it he started modelling for himself too. I think that they did a nice job assembling the plane. Specially for a first time!!!
NICE! I tried getting my son into models way back in the early '90s. I helped him with this old Testors Komet, I believe the old Hawk kit? He was big into video games back then Sonic, Mario, Captain Skyhawk, Dragon Warriors all the old 8 bit games. He did a good job but sadly never built another model. He is 40 now and faster than grease lightning at the new Dragon Warriors game…oh well I tried.
So time keeps moving on. What will the Zen masters of video games be up against when they have kids? What will the new thing be that moved beyond video games and makes it difficult to connect with?
Karma?
You never know what spark will light the fire of curiousity and imagination in a kid. My son, like your’s was in the beginnings of the video game revolution and LEGOs, and therefore, didn’t engage much with me on model building. I did, however, engage with him on his persuits including RC cars. During those years I had extensive business travel and that didn’t help.
Enter the grandsons. We moved to Louisville in 2009 when they were 7 and 5 respectively. I built a substantial workshop in the great house we bought and the boys helped. Since I was now retired, I had lots of time to build models and work with them on a vast number of projects including their help on my large model railroad. While both built models with me, the oldest showed the greatest interest. But… you never know what sinks in.
Both boys took engineering in college. The oldest is out working as a systems engineer living in a nice flat in Chicago. The youngest is entering his junior year in mechanical engineering. Both boys have told me and others that they chose engineering because of the experience of working in grandpop’s shop! Their dad, a very successful orthopedic surgeon in town, of course, would have liked them to go into medicine, as he followed in his father’s footsteps. But as I noted, we did a lot of stuff in the shop. It was wonderful!
Due to my grandson’s prodding and the mother of one of his friends I ran two, 10-session, “Grandpop’s Scale Model Workshops” at the Jewish Community Center when they were in Middle School. I’ve been recently asked if I’d do that again. The answer is, “Yes”!
Well, We have seen your work and it is sorta like grandpa Einstein helping with my physics homework. They worked with engineering at a level most would be jealous of. They were fortunate and your example had an obvious effect on them. My grandfather didn’t have much. Because of that he had to take scraps and make many of the things he needed. That too had an effect on me as I often will make something I need and I think about the knives, tools and empliments he made.
Guys great stories. Each of our sons occasionally build a model as they saw what I did in the 80’s and 90’s. They also built their wargaming tanks and space marines of WH40K. I would offer advice and occasionally help.