Up until then I had just sat and watched as he built and hand-painted his truck models, occasionally I was allowed to sort out the sprues or even trim some parts off. When he put this new kit on the bench and asked me to cut the seals and open it up, I was over the moon! This was the first kit that I actually played a major role in building, I was about 7 or 8 years old. I remember it was white with a red interior, the doors opened and the wheels turned and I was in heaven! Where it ended up I have no idea, lost over time as my parents moved house, divorced etc.
I have been looking around for this kit for years now (at the right price that is!), to have another go at it, and thanks to a Facebook Buy/Swap/Sell group, I found this about 12 months ago and stashed it away.
Most of the parts are off the sprues, but from what I can see it is complete, unstarted and undamaged.
I am aware of the inaccuracies and problems, I believe that it was originally a Renwall kit from the mid-60’s, but I am just so happy to have one in the stash now.
Part 2 of my nostalgia trip will be here on Aeroscale. The first kit that my father bought for me to go solo on was the Airfix Short Stirling in 1/72 scale. We went to see the original Midway movie when it was released in the mid-70’s, and that sparked an interest in WWII aircraft that hasn’t dulled to this day.
I managed to pick up a pre-loved unstarted kit in the original boxing from when I first built it, and I can’t wait to get started on both of these classics!
My father passed away on September 11, 2017. The cancer finally won the battle after many years of ups and downs. My plan is to make a start on building both of these kits on this September 11, and finish them 12 months later on the fifth anniversary of his passing.
The Mercedes Build Log thread is linked below. Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing - Monogram 1/12 Kit - Automotive / Cars - KitMaker Network
This is me at about 2 years old with my dad and his dad.
I have a Minicraft B-17G in my stash to celebrate my dad. He was a ball turret gunner/strike photographer in the 8th Air Force flying out of Suffolk. He had to " hit the silk" twice but managed to complete his 25 missions intact. Ended up in Utah at what is now Hill AFB as an aerial gunner instructor.
A while back I pulled out and sorted all of the parts and unfortunately found a few items AWOL, so I trawled the Facebook BSS sites and found a cheap 1978 boxing to use for spares. This will give me extra tractor and bomb carts to clutter up around the base with as well!
The original instructions are very yellowed and brittle, but mostly intact. The decals from the '66 box are missing and from the '78 boxing are suspect, so I might just use them to cut masks and paint the markings and insignia.
And the first casualty of the build. I’m not putting the figures in, because I can’t imagine that they had the full aircrew on board while they were bombing up, so the poor navigator had to be surgically removed from his seat
The fuselage halves have quite a warp in them, but because they are so long, not much pressure was require to straighten them out. I clamped up the bomb bay inside the starboard half and after an overnight sleep it looks fine.
Doing some test fitting, the movable sections are held well out from the fixed sections which leaves quite a big gap. I’m inclined to remove the rod from the slot in the movable section and fix it in place to get a better fit.
Glad to see you adding more ingredients to the modeling stew . We are kindred spirits I know . I have tried to embrace issues in old kits as nostalgic but it never works - I have to try to improve them . You do too , don’t you ?
Is it a blessing or a curse?
Cheers- Richard
Apparently so ! In addition to the slight changes here, I’ve just started carving the molded-on details off the engine on the 300SL to replace them with copper wiring for the fuel injectors.
A bit of both my friend, but as long as I’m enjoying the process, I don’t mind either way
