I never mastered painting them. The most advanced I got was rattle-can style spray paints — maybe masking a bit for a camouflage or what-have-you. Only when I got older and got back into plastic model building did I make the leap to air-brushing and really finishing models correctly.
So many YouTubers (Aztec Dummy comes to mind) have since showed me that assembling the model is more or less nothing. Painting, lighting the model is everything.
I can't complain though. There was a joy putting together the models when I was young. The smell of the glue of course — the spatial reasoning it fostered... It was like sculpture to my young mind — forms, shapes in three-dimensions. I grew to love the lines of certain cars, planes, spacecraft…
I think too it fueled a kind of designer mindset in me. I would soon draw cars, spaceships, etc. of my own design.
What a great hobby.
I'm saddened that it kind of seems like another hobby, like R/C planes or model rocketry, that has fallen by the wayside. I mean I feel like most boys when I was growing up had a model or two hanging from their bedroom ceiling. Right?
There are a lot of Warhammer models and the parent company "Games Workshop" is doing extremely well and expanding despite it all being built in Britain. One neat thing about Warhammer is that there are a LOT of books and video games as well, so the IP is very strong. There is always new lore coming out from the various factions too, so the models have special connections with the fans. I have 3 game stores in my medium-sized city that cater to Warhammer and there is always a game going on. Warning: it is a very expensive hobby.
There is also a lot of popularity with 3D printing. I'd check out thingaverse or other popular 3d model sites to see how many downloads are coming from WW2 and muscle car models to maybe get a feel why hobby shops are struggling.
Modeling never died. It just evolved a bit. If you were ever into the WW2 kits, I'd check out Bolt-Action if you're interested in wargaming with models. It's not as big as 40k, but people do play.
>Dear Mother,
I've grown a reputation among the men in my regiment as being both fearless and introspective. I never hesitate to go over the top, even when Jerry is close enough that we can smell him. But also the men are impressed with the play of light and shadows that I am able to accomplish on my Eldar Warlock using only mud and dog food.
When I thought to design and 3D print a model, I was not sure people actually painted their prints — it seemed mostly about just the printing. I've seen enough 3D prints go full paint-job on YouTube by now though to know it's a thing.
I still feel like the 3D-print-plus-painting modeling is kind of a niche thing. At the very least it requires young people to have access to so me pretty expensive stuff.
For what it's worth, the cost to purchase an army's worth of models from GW is between $350 and $800. If you're painting any real volume of models print to paint is less expensive than buying GW models.
There is always consternation amongst modelers about where the next generation will come from, but the Gundam/Gunpla scene is supposedly very large in Japan and growing in the West.
Adult-me recently took to designing a kit for a NASA "Space Tug" that never existed (only proposed "artist's renderings" from the 1970;s) [1]. It is so esoteric that no one made a kit for it — I had to learn to use Blender, ha ha.
I just wish more kids were into modeling.
[1] free to download: https://github.com/EngineersNeedArt/Space-Tug_3DModel
I had hoped that learning Blender would pay dividends in other types of pursuits as well since it is a fairly broad tool. And as you probably now, there are "mathematical" ways to use Blender — parametrization though is a bit lacking (without going down the plug-in rabbit-hole).
People are often too judgmental these days, and youth must make their own decisions about the world they want to live in.
If you know the history of how JPL started, than you can probably guess it is the "odd" ones that tend to change science for the better. =3
I'd argue that if someone wants to get started with building models, Gundam is the way to go. Painting optional, no glue needed, etc. Plus, giant robots are cool.
I think physical hobbies like modelling find it hard to compete with the instant gratification of online dopamine fixes. However RC planes and model rocketry are still a thing. If you know any school age kids interested in engineering or rocketry and they are in the UK, point them at:
The US, France and Japan have equivalent competitions.
It was really hard to paint with these old oil based paints if you are as old as me or older. I struggled with that too. The water based one sold by e.g. Games Workshop I bought years later was way easier to work with.
I got really good at weathering them using the watered down paint cleaner/thinner that runs into the folds and produced tiny cracks in the paint and then drybrushing lighter colors over areas.
I know I got it right because a shop in England selling those Tamiya models would give me a few of the kits for one painted and showcased them. good times
I had a conversion chart for Revell, Humbrol, and Tamiya colors (which were the ones around when I was building models as a kid). It was good enough for me. Perhaps if you were really good or picky about the exact color it wouldn't do.
My theory is that we adults feel bad when we know we are going to feel bad soon. Be it cold or thinner fumes. But children don't feel cold before they are cold.
I tried to put together a helicopter (probably an Apache) a few years ago, and got a couple of those classic Testor paint bottles to help finish it.
I had to put it all away. The fumes from the paint, my reaction to it was nothing like I remembered. I had no issues with them as a boy. But, today, yea they were making me loopy. I’m surprised the AQMD in California still allows these.
I’d like to try again with some modern acrylic, but the only place in my orbit is a Michaels, and they really don’t cater much to plastic kits. So opportunity has bumbled my way yet.
The other trick is to keep it me and not be intimidated by the YouTube experts. Easier said than done.
I use personally a mix of Citadel, AK and Vallejo, but for newbies or light uses I still generally recommend GW, or Army Painter for the rattle cans.
Then you discover washes and other techniques and it goes on 8)
I still have a scar in the side of my thumb where I stuck an Xacto blade into it, 45 years ago.
Anyway, my point is that if I didn't live just around the corner, I would never have known it existed. I'd imagine there are similar setups around the country. You do need quite a big space and a runway is presumably helpful, so it probably makes sense for them to be collectively run.
There are also some model rocketry clubs. However model rocketry is a relatively small scene in the UK, compared to RC planes.
Found some local spots where the council have designated it for non-quad flying which is great!
Thank you
You will need insurance and CAA flyer/operator IDs. This can be arranged through club, or directly via the BMFA above.
Some of the clubs can be rather .... err ... clubby - older members whose hobby has become running the club the way see fit, vs. flying planes.
I'd contact your local RC club and they'll help you get into it.
Getting the parts off the sprue, removing mold lines, getting the gap filler in the right places and sanding and sanding the filler down until you wouldn’t ever think that the part was anything but smooth.
I think the modeling is a much fun as painting for me.
- unless you go 1/45 which is less enjoyable to build, it doesn't scale well (pun intented) given the room needed to store your finished models.
- it is quite an expensive hobby
As an adult living in couple, you need either to have your "hobby cave" or a comprehensive partner. Scale models are nice for nerds who like them, but it makes your living room look like a toy store.
I often ponder if it was the main reason the 3D printing hobby gained popularity.
People that add more fun to the world are always needed in manufacturing. =3
Maybe there's just more hobbies available these days so fewer folks end up building the models.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/12/04/san-jose-hobby-store-...
I remember attaching three battery packs (instead of the standard one)—to make it drive at roughly 8 billion miles per hour, in the process ripping the tyres to shreds and pretty much ruining the car—because it couldn’t turn without flipping several thousand times.
Still, for those initial few seconds, it was glorious.
RIP Grasshopper and RIP Shunsaku Tamiya
[1] https://cdn.thingiverse.com/assets/8b/e7/0c/d6/a0/IMG_6201.j...
https://randomcompetitions.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/...
Absolutely loved that car, used it for hours and hours every week. The best 'toy' I ever had (other than my Amiga A500!).
[0] https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/58336/index.html
[1] https://tamiyabase.com/articles/46-technical/176-distinguish...
I have to often explain to customers after a certain price point (for me ~$200+ AUD) you have to turn the speed trim pot down for it to be enjoyable at all
Similar to what Gran Turismo 7 players have realised with EV “Vision” Cars - car enjoyment greatly diminishes with speed after a certain point - instead of plateauing
No-name Chinese build quality is actually a lot higher than I’d’ve anticipated though - brushed thick aluminium and even steel chassis are pretty common now
Otherwise if you just want something Ready to Race just whatever is cheapest and most available in your area
Don’t be suckered into a $200-600+ RC car until you’ve beaten up something cheap - same advice I imagine drone enthusiasts give
Tamiya was the top end stuff. I would go to Hobby Town at eastpark (the downtown original store had more stuff though) and drool over them. So I would get the other ones there were in my price range and go 'some day' well now I have other hobbies. Still have my eye on that f14.
Did you never graduate to the rc10?
I don’t know anything about Japanese tax law but if an American did this I’d assume they were just trying to get a sweet tax deduction on a new Porsche. “Oh sure, that was 100% a business expense”.
It's a shame it's not as popular -- it worries me a bit that we're so... online. I was more into Legos, but I wandered into the kids section for the first time in ages the other day at the local big box retailer and it feels like the kits are simpler now, and they're often branded to tie in with movies rather than being a generic thing like space, or pirates, or... space pirates.
Anyway RIP dude -- true hacker, had a passion and pursued it.
Tip: You can often buy random loads of Lego for cheap from Ebay or similar. Put it in a string bag and wash it in the dish washer on low heat. Good as new.
When I was a kid I was quite interested and I could have reeled off the manufacturer names easily (um... Airfix, Revell, Heller, Frog, Tamiya, I want to say Haya-something-or-other, others). I will still look at the displays in hobby stores on occasion and many of them survive, so they've been doing this for 50+ years at this point.
I have no particular point, I just find it cool. I wonder if there are rock-star like artisan mold makers known to everyone in the industry. "Ah, this 1-50 scale Messerschmidt BF-109 vertical stabiliser is unmistakably the work of Pierre McFloogle ... chef's kiss!"
With railway models, there's a selection bias because people tend to model a coherent scene. If you've decided to model Quebec in 1952, you probably can't find a way to fit in a British Rail class 66. But most other model hobbies don't have that restraint going on.
Hasegawa?
Tamiya chairman Shunsaku Tamiya dies at 90 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44655946 - July 2025
[0]https://tamiyabase.com/tamiya-models/58144 [1]https://tamiyabase.com/tamiya-models/58065
RIP Mr. Tamiya
There was always that thing that kids would do where you'd get the OK from your friend and then pick up their car to about 5cm and drop it to test the suspension. Then you'd all nod sagely as if something important had been decerned.
Silly but happy memories. RIP Mr Tamiya.
>July 24, 2025 at 5:39 pm
>My first Tamiya model…nothing to do with cars or aircraft. Apollo Lunar Lander with base and astronauts. Super impressive back in early 1970s. Need to find one again
My grandmother got me one of these before the first moon landing. I carefully put it together and she proudly displayed it for all her visitors.
I remember the awesome picture instructions of Tamiya models. They were and are better than IKEA instructions.
I fondly remember working on a Tamiya model on my grandfather's garage workbench (around the San Jose / Los Gatos border) with the garage door up while snipping, gluing, and sanding each bit according to the meticulous instructions.
The biggest advancements I've seen are around batteries and electronics (LiPo and cheaper/better radios that don't need a crystal), more access to parts (3D printing and cheap overseas CNC'd stuff), and some minor improvement in other accessories/electronics.
POV cameras seem to be much more popular in R/C aircraft - but the drifters and crawlers really seem to be embracing it.
Many of the brands still exist but a lot of them have been bought-up and are now competing with no-name bottom of the market stuff.
Kids still seem interested but I've noticed a big resurgence in adults that can afford to buy the stuff they couldn't get when they were younger. Maybe I haven't looked hard enough - but there's not a ton of open-source support controlling R/C vehicles or "vehicle platforms" that you can hack and build yourself. I think a lot of people want a reliable chassis and parts so they can focus on customizing the body/appearance.
Much respect.
