Hello there

[GolfRomeo32]

Greetings all. Like many recent arrivals I am a lockdown returnee to the hobby after an absence of 12 years or so. My first experience of a model kit was finding an Airfix 1/76 Scorpion stashed in the living room cabinet when I was about 3. Not being able to figure out why it was in pieces or how I was supposed to play with it, it was swiftly returned to the cabinet and exchanged for a Lego set. Fast forward a few years and a trip to London (and Hamley's) produced an Italeri Fw190 and F117 stealth fighter which my dad built. 

 

The first kit I had any input into was the Airfix Spitfire starter set. I feel that building AZ-H is a rite of passage for most of us. My dad and I spent many happy years building kits together, primarily Airfix 1/72 WW2 aircraft with a couple of jets thrown in for variety. Into my teenage years I did most of the building but my dad still helped out with painting the camo schemes, I never did quite get the hang of it. There was always an excitement coming downstairs to see what paint had been applied overnight. I was just starting to discover other manufacturers and the concept of a stash was forming with the Italeri Hs129 and BAe Hawk and Tamiya Bf109 and Corsair along with a 1/48 Tamiya Swordfish that held my lofty ambitions of photo etch. 

 

Sadly at 17 my dad suddenly passed away. The last kit we were working on was the Airfix Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero. It wasn't a particularly good kit or an aircraft I had any particular interest in but it will always be special to me. I took me a good year to face completing it which was a bittersweet moment. After moving house the stash and most of my modelling supplies were either lost or binned due to a lack of space. A chance visit to an art store for a uni project resulted in the purchase of a Revell EC135 Eurocopter and a thought of 'why not'. By this stage just throwing a kit together and slapping some paint on it had been replaced with ambitions to fill gaps and attempt airbrushing. My desire for perfection was frustrated by a lack of skill but the build slowly progressed. Unfortunately due to the glacial pace by the time I got round to removing the masking from the transparencies it took a good chunk of decals with it. At another point in my life I may have attempted to salvage it but the kit was swiftly consigned to the bin along with my fragile mojo. 

 

I had no intention of ever building a model again, just a vague thought of maybe one day. By sheer chance my mother in law included Airfix's latest Spitfire MkIa as a stocking filler last Christmas although with a career in the emergency services and a 6 month old son I didn't see when I would ever have the opportunity to build it. The thought had buried itself in the back of my mind though which saw a return to lurking here on Britmodeller. Lockdown provided the final push and with the support of my long-suffering wife I set about re-aquiring all my supplies.

 

Everything seems to have moved on so much, the quality of even basic kits like the Spit is impressive. I have 'temporarily' set up my bench in SWMBO's craft room without any protest (the alternative was the dining room table) and she encourages me to go and spend an hour or two to rediscover my passion. I hope that my mojo is here to stay this time round. I will most likely return to what I knew, 1/72 aircraft but would love to give 1/48 and even some 1/35 armour a go. I hope to have a WiP thread soon to encourage me to get this first kit completed and on to the next one so thought it only polite to introduce myself here. My apologies for a long and slightly melancholy intro, but I hope the community here will help me return to the hobby with a positive experience and hopefully something I will be able to share with my own son in years to come. 

 

Cheers

Fergus

[ArnoldAmbrose]

5 hours ago, GolfRomeo32 said:

hopefully something I will be able to share with my own son in years to come. 

👍

 

Gidday Fergus, welcome aboard. Regards, Jeff.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Hello Fergus... from Chicago USA. Im sorry to hear of the loss of your father. Of that we kind of share something mine passed when I was four. Maybe one day you can re-attempt the SM.79 again to honor him. Until then if you need help please ask we’re all quite friendly here. 
 

Dennis

[TonyOD]

Ha ha AZ-H - that's the one!

 

Nice to know you.