There goes the neighbourhood, it's another bally swagman!

[Gazontipede]

G'day all,

My name's Richard and I hail from Adelaide, South Australia.

It looks like I may fit in with a fair bit of the demographic here. So I shall, with some trepidation, de-lurk.

I'm a product of the late sixties who grew up in the seventies on a steady diet of mainly 1/72 Airfix, FROG* and Matchbox aircraft. With the occasional Revell, Monogram and Hasegawa kit thrown in to spice things up. A surly teen in the early-mid eighties who, nevertheless, still continued a secret addiction to styrene whilst hiding it from all his 'cool' friends. By the mid eighties I wasn't building much at all. As Arkwright's Gra-Gra-Granvile put it: "Moving on from Airfix to Adult Pastimes"... However there was a return to a brief but intense Luftwaffle binge starting in the late eighties which is where my first kit-bashing career more or less finally ended by about 1993**.

Huh.

Now I'm here with a small, thirty-plus year old stash and brand new 1/72 Airfix Spitfire 22 & Tomahawk IIB kits staring accusingly at me...

The current plan is to go all acrylic and hairy stick as SWMBO would undoubtedly disapprove of lacquers, enamels or airbrushes in the house. (Fair call I must admit.)

So I suspect I'm in for a steep learning curve.

 

Cheers,

R.

 

 

*First kit was the FROG 1/72 Spitfire XIV & V-1 back in 1972 which my dad built for me. First kit I actually built myself was my second overall, also in 1972, the Airfix 1/72 Mosquito FB.VI, the one with the very greenish hued box art. I 'painted' it with textas...

**Last kit built in 1993 was the Pegasus 1/72 BV-155B1 (V1) high altitude fighter which I still have. Done up as a JG.26 wotif IIRC, and yes, I had moved beyond textas by that stage!

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Welcome to Britmodeller from a Yank. And as you will soon find out we all get called back to the hobby. Mostly aircraft mostly WW2 and coldwar types myself. If you need help or info you came to the right place. 

 

Dennis

[stevehnz]

Welcome from a Kiwi, there're a very diverse lot here , a real global melting pot. Your story is extremely familiar, I think my version is probably 12 or so years older than yours but roughly similar as are those of many on here, pull up a chair & get comfy.

Steve.

[Eric Mc]

Can't stop humming "Waltzing Matilda" now.

 

It's always good to see people returning to the hobby.

[Nigel Bunker]

Hello Richard

 

I too have gone acrylic and use a hairy stick. I have found the best way is to undercoat using grey auto primer in a rattle can (I do this in the garage in the interests of domestic harmony) then brush paint onto that. Acrylics onto raw plastic can be difficult in some cases, dependent on the paint & model manufacturer.

 

Regards

 

Nigel

[CurrantBunbury]

I'm another brush painter, using a mixture of Vallejo acrylics (which are great) and the Humbrol enamels I've had for years. Some people can produce stunning results with a brush - I'm not one of them, but I do enjoy the process. You'll have fun, I think. 

[Mike]

aboard Richard We've noticed the Australians... they come at night, mostly.

 

[TonyTiger66]

Welcome Richard, from an Englishman marooned in Canberra  

As Mike pointed out, I'm one of those regularly here, when it's 'night o' clock' in the good old home country.

 

My story is very much like yours, it just looks like it began a couple of years earlier. I like the Granville quote; I'm going to have to look for that episode now; my long suffering and very supportive wife will smile at it .

 

Looking forward to seeing how you enjoy the new paints and return to the hobby.

 

Best regards

TonyT

[dogsbody]

Greetings from deepest Kanuckistan! This place be great.

 

 

Chris

[Gazontipede]

Cheers mates, and thanks for the warm welcome!

• Dennis, looks like our interests are pretty much the same. I seem to be currently on a WW2 RAF binge at the moment though. Somehow a pair of 1/72 Tamiya Mozzies are on their way to me from evilbay, and I've barely started... Uh-oh.
• G'day Steve, SWMBO and I love NZ. We usually head over about once a year and spend a week exploring a little bit of it quite thoroughly. One day I'm going to weasel a ride on one of Air Chathams CV580s, be sure! We also attend the Classic Fighters airshow at Omaka as a regular thing. I dare say in 10-15 or so years we may even be Kiwis ourselves!
• Thanks Eric, perhaps surprisingly one doesn't hear 'WM' that much down here any more. It was suggested at one point, when we had one of our big Republic debates, that it become our new national anthem. Watch this space.
• Good tip Nigel, I've been experimenting a bit with my nice shiny new Tamiya acrylics on an old stash kit and they seem a bit finicky exactly as you say compared to the old Humbrol enamels of my youth. Mind you it could just be the horrible plastic of the old stash kit which is pretty horrible... (1/72 PM Model Fokker D.XXI if anyone's interested. It is my experimental victim test piece.)
• Greetings to another hairy stick wielder CB, I was not too bad with the things many years ago. At least that is how I like to remember it. I'd cross my fingers if I could see them properly!
• Ah, yes there's a reason for that Mike. In summer it is too hot to do anything during the day! Which is why we don't show up on infra-red either.
• Hi Tony, I worked in Canberra for most of the 90's and rather liked it. I've been back more recently and am not as impressed. Where did all those blasted traffic lights spring up from?!?  I can't remember the specific Open All Hours episode, so the quote may not be precise, but I think it is pretty close!
• Whew, last but not least, thanks for the welcome from Sunny Northern Alberta Chris.

Now I shall toddle off into the forums at large and make a nuisance of myself enter into the learned discourse.

TTFN

[spruecutter96]

Welcome to BM, Richard. 

 

Have a great time here... It's a very friendly place to be. 

 

Cheers. 

 

Chris.