Richard Baker Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 I have been building kits of all kinds for decades, now I am a proud father showing my son what I have learned. I had no one to teach me and with an eager 13 year old looking at what I have done it is great to have someone to share with.This is his third glue kit. He was given it for a Christmas present a while back and it sat in the closet since. When his Mom and I got married, he wanted to build models like I have done and so we started off with simple kits and have worked ourselves up. I have a 'realm' downstairs where I keep all my personal stuff, we worked down there and while building I had the movie 'Battleship' playing in the background for inspiration. It has some excellent BluRay features so we watched the walk through featurette as well.My Son's USS Arizona is now complete. It may not be 100% accurate to the actual vessel and it's markings, but for me the important thing is that he enjoyed himself while learning how to expand on his skills. The wire rigging is an approximation- he wanted it as a final touch and the references were a bit contradictory so we went for a look and feel of it. We may revisit this kit later and add hull decals and the flags, but this project has taken forever and he wanted to get it finished so we could move on the the next one. http://i.imgur.com/ciHPmlP.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Dfi4trC.jpg http://i.imgur.com/KCQZ3AD.jpg The great thing is that he has a lot more confidence in himself as he works on these kits- this was his third glue kit and I remember how terrified he was on his first one, so afraid he would make a mistake. AS to accuracy, he is 13 and if he wants to paint something green it is up to him. As he progresses he can decide if he wants to be accurate and to what degree, as long as he is having fun that is fine with me. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve27752 Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Looks really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Pass on my congratulations! That's far and away better than anything I managed at 13 years old! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ngr172 Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Very nicely done. I'm with James, much better than I could have done at 13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard G Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Nice work there. It's good to see a classic old kit built, as you say it might not be 100% accurate and the (very) old kit is a bit clunky but so what, if he enjoyed it then that's all that counts. What's up next? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitzer Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Nice job on an old classic kit. I've build that kit twice in my time. It's a rite of passage into ship building. I saw that kit yesterday at our local craft store and gave some thought to tackling it again. The whole purpose of this hobby is to enjoy yourself, it's not and competition to see who is more accurate. The minute that happens, I'll find a new hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Baker Posted September 12, 2016 Author Share Posted September 12, 2016 The toughest thing about the kit was tying to understand the instructions- they were not very well done and the parts being slightly off did not help. The carpet monster ate a sacrificial detail pieces and all was well. When I am building I tend to avoid duplicating the hero ships down to the last nuance. There are plenty of perfect builds out there anyway and it sort of becomes work. If I have a client who wants that I can do it, but I like to build for the enjoyment of building, not some sort of 'measuring contest' to prove something. Of course most of my building was before the Internet so the models just sat in my room and others rarely saw them. The next build is going to be the Ertl/MPC Millennium Falcon. After the Arizona I figured it was time for a more relaxed build. It will be the first kit of his that will feature an aftermarket part- the MMI Engine Grill set- https://starshipmodeler.biz/shop/index.cfm/product/8282_131/172-millennium-falcon-egg-crate-engine-detail-set-for-mpcertl.html The stock kit just has those clear arc pieces and we are not going to light this one up so those grill units will look great in a powered down state. Another reason for this kit is that it is a great one to learn about weathering techniques. Lots of panels to streak and half the hull is hidden so there is a good practice field. Thank you all for the kind comments- I am going to share them with him tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longshanks Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Great job, looking forward to further builds. Enjoy Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieselweasel Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 very nice and well done to your son, hope he keeps his interest, i think that letting him build a variety of kits and in different scales is a great idea. Keep them coming. Good job Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murdo Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Wow! Rigged as well! Excellent stuff! I know what it's like keeping them interested at that age but this looks like an exercise in patience and is very well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Baker Posted September 13, 2016 Author Share Posted September 13, 2016 My son has Dyslexia but when he is engaged with something physical he can really focus. Adding the rigging was his idea, he wanted to do something to take the model up a notch or two. This build took a lot longer than anticipated- the kit is an older one and the parts do not fit together as well as current kits. The instructions were also pretty frustrating- when he was done we had a small ceremony at the shredder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul178 Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Very well done pass my praise on to him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 Great job! That is a confusing kit even for an adult. Good luck with the Millennium Falcon kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Baker Posted September 29, 2016 Author Share Posted September 29, 2016 Thanks from both of us! It is a rather confusing kit- the fact the parts do not fit well even when you get them in the correct position didn't help. He would be working along, get into bind and ask me where something went- we would spend time looking at the instructions, the box art and finally googling references. If I had know the kit was like this I would have gone with something else for his next build. The Falcon is going to be a relaxing cake walk after this :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob 1 Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 That's great, and very well done, particularly for his age. Any time we see a new generation making a start in our excellent and fulfilling lifetime hobby is a good sight to see. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Baker Posted September 29, 2016 Author Share Posted September 29, 2016 People complain that ours is a dying hobby with builders getting older and young people more interested in video garbage, but if each of can find a one or two kids to learn the art of building and the joy of making something unique all your own, this hobby will never die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Monkey Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 Great work! Best wishes on his next build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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