Kits from your childhood

[Twokidsnosleep]

I am awaiting the SciFi Sig and not building anything, so have been perusing eBay etc for kits.
I came across a number of box arts that jogged my memory and took me back to 1977 or so at 10yrs old.
Well anyone remember their childhood??

After custom painting all my HOT Wheels cars, I graduated to models.
I destroyed this kit as a child, a very early model

Made this dopey VW Van

Loved this show and did a decent job on the plane, if I remember rightly


Made this completely useless blimp

F-16 when it was a new aircraft...made the multi color version

Remember doing black and silver auto paint on these cars...crazed the hell out of the plastic


Another very favourite tv show, made his Ferrari

This van was cool, they had a Charlie’s Angels pink version too

I made the Rubber Duck Truck...and still want to do this one again. Rare!

Has this but don’t remember finishing it

Another tv show I liked as a boy and I made the bike. I identified with John more than Ponch. I think I am going to get the Hasegawa version of this bike.

Last of my Revells




When I did the Indy car, I vividly remember being pissed at how poorly it fit together and the wheels didn’t work or turn...it was garbage.
My toy store started to carry F1 Tamiya kits and this Alfa Romeo started me off into better engineered models

Still would like a couple of these old time kits to see if I could build them.
I have kept Zero models from my youth and it was an era where film and video didn’t happen.
Well anyone remember their childhood??

[TheNordus]

The one kit I remember from my childhood is the Revell 1/72 scale Fairey Swordfish from the early 2000s. Still have a soft spot for that plane. Other than that I just built some jets that I don't remember the names of. The first really decent kit I got was a Tamiya King Tiger but that was only like 4 years ago at best.

[Gary30]

You were 10 years old in ‘77?! I didn’t realise time went back that far! What was the Big Bang like?

As for the original question, mainly 90’s Tamiya car kits, luckily they are all just about still available, so now I have a little more expendable income than I did back then (zero!) I can indulge my inner 10 year old and treat myself to a few!

[barrythornton]

Biggest disappointment of that time was when CHiPs started and I realized they werent riding Harleys .

[Twokidsnosleep]

You were 10 years old in ‘77?! I didn’t realise time went back that far! What was the Big Bang like?

Young whippersnappers

[Twokidsnosleep]

Biggest disappointment of that time was when CHiPs started and I realized they werent riding Harleys .

Very true...you can still find Harley cop bike kits, but they are pricey

[alextheblue]

Some cracking kits there Scott.

I got this kit when I was about nine or ten and loved it. Never finished it and it probably ended up being used as a target for my air rifle!!

[Strela17]

My first kit as a kid was Italeri's 1/72 Sherman... Yes, the one with the full interior! I did need my father's help for this one... Fortunately enough, I bought the same day a P-38 Lightning and a Mosquito, both by Airfix, which were easier builds.
However, the kit that reminds me of my childhood the most if Airfix's quad trailer and 25 pounder howitzer combo!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Good stuff guys
See if you can find a box photo on google and post it

[jmurphy18]

You were 10 years old in ‘77?! I didn’t realise time went back that far! What was the Big Bang like?

As for the original question, mainly 90’s Tamiya car kits, luckily they are all just about still available, so now I have a little more expendable income than I did back then (zero!) I can indulge my inner 10 year old and treat myself to a few!

ROTFLMAO! Gary30. To quote my old boss you are so wet be hind the ears you are still dripping
I was 22 in 77 to Scott’s 10 . I started making models in 68/69

[jmurphy18]

Scott I remember making some Revel kits my folks bought in 68 but I cannot tell you what they were

[Gary30]

You were 10 years old in ‘77?! I didn’t realise time went back that far! What was the Big Bang like?

As for the original question, mainly 90’s Tamiya car kits, luckily they are all just about still available, so now I have a little more expendable income than I did back then (zero!) I can indulge my inner 10 year old and treat myself to a few!

ROTFLMAO! Gary30. To quote my old boss you are so wet be hind the ears you are still dripping
I was 22 in 77 to Scott’s 10 . I started making models in 68/69

I love this forum, it's about the only place I can go these days and feel YOUNG!!! No wonder some of you were questioning whether I was allowed to model a Dinosaur in the Sci-Fi GB, most of you probably remember them roaming the Earth and didn't want the bad memories to come flooding back

Only joking of course

[Kevthemodeller]

A nice trip down memory lane for sure, I had so many Airfix kits during the 70's the list is just too long

Here's some of my personnel favourites not in any order
Fw198
HMS Amazon
Short Stirling
Skyray
C130K
Hurricane IIB
F-80 Shooting Star
F-4B Phantom
A-7 Corsair
Lunar Module
Saturn V
Vosper MTB
Honda CB750
Suzuki TM400J
Hussar

I could go on and on but............... I won't

Thanks for the journey Scott

[Tomcat64]

You were 10 years old in ‘77?! I didn’t realise time went back that far! What was the Big Bang like?

As for the original question, mainly 90’s Tamiya car kits, luckily they are all just about still available, so now I have a little more expendable income than I did back then (zero!) I can indulge my inner 10 year old and treat myself to a few!

ROTFLMAO! Gary30. To quote my old boss you are so wet be hind the ears you are still dripping
I was 22 in 77 to Scott’s 10 . I started making models in 68/69

I love this forum, it's about the only place I can go these days and feel YOUNG!!! No wonder some of you were questioning whether I was allowed to model a Dinosaur in the Sci-Fi GB, most of you probably remember them roaming the Earth and didn't want the bad memories to come flooding back

Only joking of course

You young whippersnappers don't know how easy you've got it

[Tomcat64]

F-16 when it was a new aircraft...made the multi color version

I had both of those as well

Same as Kev I went through Airfix kits quicker than kleenex when I was a kid (late 60s onwards for the dinosaur spotters )

My brother gave me this book as a gift a couple of years back - it's a bit rose tinted in terms of the kit quality but was an enjoyable read anyway


Early on there's this page and I have to say that most (not quite all) of them passed through the production line on my desk at some point. I remember the 1/24 Harrier being a major disappointment as the fuselage wouldn't close properly over the engine and the front wheel wasn't strong enough to support the weight with my limited skills.


I think the process went something like... get pocket money Saturday morning, buy kit, build it by lunch time, chuck humbrol enamels at it in the afternoon (as long as the colour looked close enough it didn't matter!) and have decals done by teatime

I also loved the Matchbox armour kits with the dio bases (now re-released by Revell) and moved onto Tamiya armour and Formula 1 cars. I built a few of the 1/12 scale ones as well as the 1/20 scale ones.

I've got the 1/72 Airfix Draken on my bench at the moment primarily as a test mule for some paints before I tackle the Eduard 1/48 version but it brought back some memories

[alextheblue]

Nice one Neil, that's exactly how my childhood modelling took place!

Remember getting these as a kid, although they never saw a drop of paint.





And I've got an Airfix HMS Victory half built in its box if I ever need reminding just how bad those old kits were!

[Kevthemodeller]

My brother gave me this book as a gift a couple of years back - it's a bit rose tinted in terms of the kit quality but was an enjoyable read anyway


Early on there's this page and I have to say that most (not quite all) of them passed through the production line on my desk at some point. I remember the 1/24 Harrier being a major disappointment as the fuselage wouldn't close properly over the engine and the front wheel wasn't strong enough to support the weight with my limited skills.

Same here Neil never got the Harrier or any 1/24 aircraft I couldn't afford them back then. For Christmas/Birthdays I'd worked out I could get at least 4 other 1/72 kits for one 1/24, no brainer for me back then.

I think the process went something like... get pocket money Saturday morning, buy kit, build it by lunch time, chuck humbrol enamels at it in the afternoon (as long as the colour looked close enough it didn't matter!) and have decals done by teatime

It most certainly was mate, the rate I built back than, now it spend a week just assembling a cockpit

I also loved the Matchbox armour kits with the dio bases (now re-released by Revell) and moved onto Tamiya armour and Formula 1 cars. I built a few of the 1/12 scale ones as well as the 1/20 scale ones.

I wasn't keen on the Matchbox kits, think it was the box art just wan't up to Airfix standards, even today their box art is stunning. I also discovered Tamiya in the same way as my pocket money increased and the paper round funds

I've got the 1/72 Airfix Draken on my bench at the moment primarily as a test mule for some paints before I tackle the Eduard 1/48 version but it brought back some memories

Got nothing on the bench Airfix wise at present but somewhere in storage I've got about 10 Airfix kits and a couple Revell cars/bikes.

Lets not for get these Waterloo or these Russians

I had hundreds of them if not a thousand or so, All the WW1, US Civil War, all the Waterloo and at least 3 packs of each, I think I had pretty much all of them. Up until the mid 70's when I stopped playing with them and just built kits

[Gary30]

Do we think that being involved in this hobby ALWAYS originally stems from building kits when we were kids? Or has anyone picked it up in later life as they were intrigued?

I know some people (myself included) spend YEARS not building anything at all, but all the stories I hear always seem to have started with building kits as a kid?

[Tomcat64]

Remember getting these as a kid, although they never saw a drop of paint.

Yeah I had that one and the Cuirassier and remember the disbelief that they supplied a template and a vinyl sheet for cutting out all the webbing!! How the hell was that supposed to work!!

Same here Neil never got the Harrier or any 1/24 aircraft I couldn't afford them back then. For Christmas/Birthdays I'd worked out I could get at least 4 other 1/72 kits for one 1/24, no brainer for me back then.

Oh these were definitely Christmas/Birthday presents! But I went the other way and decided I could get through enough 1/72s in the year so went for the big bang items when I could... From memory I tackled the Hurricane, Stuka and that damned Harrier.

I wasn't keen on the Matchbox kits, think it was the box art just wan't up to Airfix standards, even today their box art is stunning.

You're not wrong about the artwork - I did some digging on the Draken kit and here's the original box (top) and the 1989 rebox that I'm working on at the moment. It's definitely the original moulds though as there was a 1970 imprint on the inside of the lower fuselage.

Lets not for get these Waterloo or these Russians
I had hundreds of them if not a thousand or so, All the WW1, US Civil War, all the Waterloo and at least 3 packs of each, I think I had pretty much all of them. Up until the mid 70's when I stopped playing with them and just built kits

Oh yes - there were hundreds of the Waterloo figures around the farmhouse A schoolmate and me used to have pitched battles with our own made-up rules because we couldn't figure out the complexity of the "official" rule books that were on the market back then.

Do we think that being involved in this hobby ALWAYS originally stems from building kits when we were kids? Or has anyone picked it up in later life as they were intrigued?

I know some people (myself included) spend YEARS not building anything at all, but all the stories I hear always seem to have started with building kits as a kid?

Definitely the case for me - my Dad got me started sometime towards the end of the 60s with this one (and yes I think it was in a bag too)


I still built occasionally in my late teens and early twenties but then work and life took over as it has a tendency to do but came back to building a few years ago when I realised I needed to do something creative as my job entails staring zombielike at a screen for most of the day.

Here's a couple more old timers that I have in the stash (I'd forgotten about the Matchbox multi-colour planes!)

[Twokidsnosleep]

Do we think that being involved in this hobby ALWAYS originally stems from building kits when we were kids? Or has anyone picked it up in later life as they were intrigued?

I know some people (myself included) spend YEARS not building anything at all, but all the stories I hear always seem to have started with building kits as a kid?

Good question Gary
In my case I returned to modelling doing stuff with my kids, especially my son.
I don’t think I would have come back without his influence and interest. He did a bit of modelling since, but I, as we clearly see, went nuts full on back into models.
I would love to say modelling just brings back fond childhood memories, but more like it explains my introvert coping mechanism as a kid. These box pics of kits are like old friends...not around anymore and you would rather not spend time with them and their problems as they were terrible kits.

[Kevthemodeller]

Remember getting these as a kid, although they never saw a drop of paint.

I had all of the the Waterloo, American War Impedance accept George Washington

And I've got an Airfix HMS Victory half built in its box if I ever need reminding just how bad those old kits were!

Had a few of those Classic Ships HMS Victory, Endeavour, Royal Sovereign, wanted the St Louis never got it, those naff sails and rigging rat lines were terrible

[Kevthemodeller]

Here's a couple more old timers that I have in the stash (I'd forgotten about the Matchbox multi-colour planes!)

One of my all time favourite Airfix kits and it was a good kit, step change for Airfix.

[Kaj45rpm]

One of my first exposures to modelling was at Primary school when the teacher brought in the large scale Spitfire kit for us to build. It was a great kit but I don't remember it getting a camouflage paint job.
I used to get a 1/35 tank or armoured vehicle kit to build every Saturday night. Happy memories.

I also remember building the big Airfix Suzuki scrambler and the Datsun 240Z race car (which I still have! )

[Twokidsnosleep]

One of my first exposures to modelling was at Primary school when the teacher brought in the large scale Spitfire kit for us to build. It was a great kit but I don't remember it getting a camouflage paint job.
I used to get a 1/35 tank or armoured vehicle kit to build every Saturday night. Happy memories.

I also remember building the big Airfix Suzuki scrambler and the Datsun 240Z race car (which I still have! )

Old model kits can bring back some warm fuzzy memories from childhood for those of us that escaped reality making them as a kid
I am positive this is why I model now

[tg18083]

All the old MPC profile series, but, this one in particular.

[jmurphy18]

very cool old Kits

[GMahaffey]

One that I remember that got me into modeling was a Ferrari Testarossa, I believe it is a revell kit if my memory serves me right. I also remember doing A-7 Corsair, again don't remember manufacturer of kit. Another was the F-82 Twin Mustang from Monogram. Plus, most if not all of the earlier Revell-Monogram kits and the Revell US models.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Dragging up an old thread.
Seems there is a pattern I have been buying some of those kits from my childhood

Today’s order was this horrible AMT kit, one that drove me to Tamiya

Super livery and I saw someone do this up very nicely.

Maybe 2023 will see more old school old kit construction with attempts to improve on my sins for destroying models in my youth

Was thinking we may have lost jmurphy to Covid He had not been around for quite a while
I am saddened looking at old posts and seeing all the good guys who have moved on

[Tomcat64]

Maybe 2023 will see more old school old kit construction with attempts to improve on my sins for destroying models in my youth

I'd be up for that if you fancy trying it as a GB or buddy build

[RangerNeil]

Ooooh - what a topic!!!!
Being somewhat older than Methuselah I must have started, aided and abetted by my dad - probably to shut me up, aound '64 and went through to around '73 when I joined the TA and started playing with real toys. From memory I got through most of the Airfix 1/600 ship kits, a fair few 1/72 aircraft , 3 of the 1/24 scale aircraft, all the 54mm figures and a 1/24 car:
Ships - 1/600
HMS Hood
HMS Nelson
HMS Victorious
HMS Fearless
HMS Hotspur
HMS Ark Royal

KMS Bismark
KMS Scharnhorst
KMS Graf Spee

CCCP Moskva

RMS Canberra
RMS Queen Elizabeth II

Airfix Classic ships
Royal Sovereign
Cutty Sark
HMS Victory

1/72
HMS Victory (Heller)
Vosper MTB (Airfix)
S-Boot (Airfix)
Flower class Corvette (Matchbox)
LCVP

1/24 Aircraft (all Airfix)
Spitfire Mk1
Me-109E
P51 Mustang

1/72 Aircraft
Defiant
Spitfire
Whirlwind (fighter)
Typhoon
Tempest (Frog)
P51
P47
P61
Hurricane
Meteor
Vampire
Hunter
Lightning
Buccaneer
Folland Gnat
Jet Provost
DH Chipmunk
DH Beaver
Sunderland
Catalina
Walrus
Bulldog
Camel
RE-8
Roland
Albatross
Fokker Triplane
Eindecker
Lancaster
Halifax
Stirling
Draaken
Viggen
J29
Wellington
Me109
Fw-190
Me262
Me410
Do-17
Ju-88
BV-161
He-111
Phantom
Crusader (Hasegawa)
OV-10
Skyraider
Mig 17
Mig 21
Seaking
Wessex (Frog)
Scout
Whirlwind (Helicopter)
Rotodyne
BN Islander (and another converted to a Trislander)

[ b]Airliners[/b]
Concorde
VC-10
Trident
TriStar

1/48
Pup
Camel
SE5
F2B
FE2
Sopwith Triplane
Spad
Albatross
Pfalz
Eindecker
Gotha
Fokker Triplane

1/24 cars
Pontiac Transam (Monogram)

1/35 cars
Sierra XR4i
AC Cobra 427

1/35 armour
Tiger
King Tiger
Tiger (P) Elefant
Panther
Panzer IV
Flak-88 + tractor
Skdfz 231 + Nebelwurfer
T34/85
KV-1
KV-2
Crusader
Churchill
Comet
Centurion
Chieftain
25 Pdr + limber + Quad tractor
SAS Jeep
Pink Panther
White Halftrack
Ford M-131 Armoured car
Dingo
Brengun carrier

1/72 armour (for war caming)
Sherman
Churchill
T34
KV1
KV2
Tiger
Panther
Panzer IV
Matador + 5 5" gun
25 Pdr, limber & Quad
Flak-88 + tractor
Opel Mauleteer

Space/Scifi
2001 Clipper
Saturn 5
Eagle moonlander - 1/72
Space:1999 Eagle - 1/72
Space:1999 Hawk - 1/72
USS Enterprise A
Romulan Warbird

A few too many for box art I think. These are ones I remember - there are probably many more as my memory seems to be going AWOL these days.
One other I do recall - I have no idea now who made it, possibly Revell? - was a kit of a US ballistic missile submarine that opened up to reveal interior detailing. Anyone else remember this? Fairly typically for the era the first pair of missile tubes would "launch", activated by pulling rods that protruded from the bottom front of the sail......

[aur0ra145]

Dragging up an old thread.

Was thinking we may have lost jmurphy to Covid He had not been around for quite a while
I am saddened looking at old posts and seeing all the good guys who have moved on

Yeah, I've noticed a lot that aren't posting any more. Maybe they moved to Facebook?

As for me, I'm still on an extended work trip; but, it's coming to an end soon. Then it will be back to modelling!

For old kits from my childhood... I always remember the Revell 1/72 F4U1 Corsair kit. Specifically this kit.



Additionally, I think I had a couple of the Monogram Snap-tite F4 Phantoms. Very fun back in the day.



And you can't forget the U-2.



I also remember doing a USS Missouri, though were that kit went I have no idea. There's also a 1/48 F-16 I did at some point. The polystyrene was white, don't remember who made the kit. Also a 1/48 F/A-18C that I found when rooting around in my parents attic last Christmas. There was also a 1/72 B-17 that I guess was a Revell kit. All the windows are fogged and the landing gear was put on backwards.

Additionally I did some Star Wars modelling back then. This kit. I'm trying to find an unbuilt one to get.



I think I've come a long way from what I did back then. Heck, when I was a kid, I didn't even bother painting the kits or decals either.

[Panzón]

I've been trying to remember the plastic model kits I built as a kid. There weren't very many, and I'm relatively certain they were all built between Dec., 1962 when my family returned to the States from Japan, and Sept., 1968 when I started high school, since I don't remember building any models in Japan or during my high school years. Anyway, these are the kits I can remember building (thanks to Scalemates for their excellent model kit database). I think this is the order I built them in, but I don't remember the years they were built:


I know I absolutely butchered the Corvair's paint job, painting it with a cheap brush and either Testor's or Pactra-namel paint.




Another butchered paint job. I remember mixing my own tanned-flesh tone for this one, but apparently the paints I used were incompatible because the paint got all grainy and the colors separated on the model, making the poor gladiator look like he had a skin disease.


This was actually a diecast kit, but many of the parts were plastic. As I recall, I used spray cans to paint the "Doozy" white with black trim.

Having learned that I was not very good at painting models, I only painted a few details on these last three kits, since the ships were molded in gray, and the 'copter in olive drab:

[digger303]

I can't remember what I built as a youngster. I do remember they were jets maybe that's why I build tanks now... There were only 2 or 3 when I was around 10, but I do know this I have a big enough stash and not enough time to mess with crappy kits from that era. Sorry boys , but they haven't gotten any better and rebuilding them isn't going to improve the memories from then.....


Ps... I do remember they must have been 1/72 and that the local supermarket didn't have a lot of choice.

[DRUMS01]

After reading this string I could identify with many of the models listed. Now one thing I noticed is that what some people call older childhood kits being 25-35 years ago. Those are still not vintage or older to me simply because I've been modeling since the 60's. For those who remember, that is when I flew tetradactyl's to school.

Many of the models I built in my childhood were made by companies that have been gone for decades. Here's a list of some of them:

IMC - Ferraris, Lotus, Porsche, McLaren
JoHan - 60-70 autos
Renwall - Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Submarine
Pyro - 1:1 plastic guns, the human body
Lindburg - 1/8 Big Red Rod
Monogram - 1/24 Rommel's Rod, Beer Wagon, Dragon Wagon
Airfix - many 1/76 tanks and military vehicles
Matchbox - 1/32 car kits
Hubley - 1/25 classic metal car kits (Packard, Duisenberg)

Two of those I remember the most was my 1974 Revell big scale USS Constitution. Though I completed it while still in high school, I can be certain that it was not painted the best and the rigging was not to ship builders standards. But I was sure proud of that kit along with my 1/8 Big Red Rod, street Rod that had an internal electric motor and "C" or "D" cell batteries in the fuel tank that worked a functioning gear selector to go forward and reverse.

That was when you built straight from the box, because there was no after-market. You considered the build "good" if everything opened or worked as it should. And there really were no rivet counters.

[Johnj]

I was 9 in 77 scott. I remember the f-16 well around that time. The other that i remember that hasnt been mentioned yet was the Airfix skeleton. Painted in glow in the dark paint.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Some awesome box art photos of old
Great stuff

[DRUMS01]

A few more photos of a time gone by:

[RangerNeil]

A few more photos of a time gone by:

That submarine is, I think, the one I remember.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Honest to god I am insane
I posted getting these two kits and now the real story


The AMT Indy cars were the last domestic kits I built as a pre-teen. The suspension and wheels were so crappy I had to glue the wheels in. Now they wouldn’t roll, no steering whatsoever and usually I have them broken before finishing.

Then I found Tamiya F1 kits and never looked back. Rolling wheels, turnable rubber tires, detailed engines that came with wiring. It was amazing and I never looked back.

My insanity dwells in returning to some old Revell and AMT and the like and trying to better those kits into decent projects by upgrading them. I have collected some, like a stack of Revell dragsters that are cool but need metal frames inside the bodies and much more engine detail.Have a number of Revell 1/32 aircraft kits from the ‘60’s like my spitfire project, to re build and make better. Not like I don’t have enough new things to build, my head wants some old school