Art & Inspiration hobby shops, models, and juvenile car enthusiasm

im 43 and have been building model hot rods since i was ten. i think the net has more models and resin cast parts than ever, but hobby shops are dying out here too. it was a great way to learn about cars as a youngster. check out the scale model group here on the hamb, its one of the biggest (if not the largest) socail group here.

 

They're all 25th scale. The wire wheels on the roadster are photoetched assemblies. The trim rings are done with Bare Metal Foil.

 

heres a couple of pics of my secret sickness.

 

Can I come over and play, NUTS. Thanks you guys. Great collections! Slim

 

I think we all have to remember that time and life constantly change. We can't make today's kids live in our childhood. That being said we can introduce them to our hobby. I take my Road Runner to all of my son's baseball practices and games and encourage the kids to come look at it. My 55 Plymouth once running will make the same trips. I also take my son to model car swap meets. Even if he sits and plays his DS for an hour he still spends another 2-3 hours looking at the models. Even though my wife hates it, I build model cars at our kitchen table so my son is exposed to what I am building. My passion for cars came from my dad who never had a hot rod or turned a wrench but always pointed out cars on the road and said "see that's a bel air because it doesn't have the extra chrome and tail light of the impala."Hobby shops of old are no longer with us but some of the specialty shops are. There are more things available today to build models than ever before. Many Hobby Town USA stores have meetings on weekends to build RC cars and they are not models but they are cars. If you are involved in a car show why not invite the local hobby shop to set up a display area or offer a make-it take-it table for kids. There are still local model car building groups all over the place who would love to help out. Buy your nieces and nephews a model kit for their birthday and offer to help build it. Make it one that is similar to your car that they like to ride in. We have to keep the hobby, whether it be in scale toys or real cars, out there for the kids to see, and mostly you have to be willing to be teachers about our hobby and not crabby old guys bothered by the presence of some dumb kid. All of us started somewhere and probably were pretty dumb about cars at one time and now we are the keepers of the flame and need to spread the news.
Check this group out for inspiration:http://trakinscale.proboards.com/index.cgi?

 

I've posted a couple of stories that touch on this very thing!

http://www.examiner.com/x-10974-Kan...el-car-kits-are-fun-educational-and-rewarding

http://www.examiner.com/x-10974-Kan...1950s-and-60s--Who-builds-these-things-anyway

I wish more kids were into modeling.

 

I totally agree with what you guys are saying. I am 41 built every muscle car, hot rod, ww2 tank I could get my hands on as a kid. On my desk at I have a Sherman I built in probably 1983. I love that thing! My kids play video games and have no interest in models.

 

my dad got me started on models, and then as i became a teenager i found a neighbor who took me under his wing so to speak and taught me how to be patient and build show winning models... Unfortunatly, i am nearly always the youngest person at shows and swapmeets.. and folks, i just turned twenty eight. I can only imagine how much trouble i would have gotten into had i not been surrounded by guys willing to talk , help and look out for me, when i hit lifes rough patches. it was like having a dozen dads grandfathers, and uncles,, lol... but rarely brothers. I do want to say thank you for all of you out their that look out for , support and take younger guys under your wings to teach and mentor them, to give them something to be proud of, and a positive outlet for creativity. Your what will keep this hobby alive. Thanks again.

 

I remember when the local car show sponsored the model contests. I still have the trophies. Just dusted off one of my builds from over twenty years ago. The Sunday Model show & this thread have inspired me to get back into the hobby. I also have a couple of nephews who need to be doing something constructive. Thanks again. Also wanted to share a tip for those old models that were destroyed with testors paint & a brush. Carefully remove the chrome and windows. When you have a bare body, find a tupperware tub with a lid big enough for the model. Pour in brake fluid and let the model soak for about a week. Gently clean with an old tooth brush. Clean and rinse with soapy water. Resoak if necessary. When cleaned and dry, spray with a plastic friendly primer. The plastic will be etched from the brake fluid, but very restorable. I've used this method on many old models with great success. Don't know how it works on plastic from the 80's on up.

 

I have built models for close to 30 years. My 10 year old daughter is starting to build with me also. I have almost no time to build for myself anymore but I always sit down and help her when she wants to build.

 

That's great to hear... Teach them well!!

 

I loved building model cars and slot cars when I was a kid. My sons did a little bit, not near as much as I did, but they also had a lot of other interests and opportunities that I didn't have when I was their age.

When one of them had a birthday (7?) I stopped in a new local hobby shop to buy a kit for him. Something simple... I thought a snap together kit would be good to start with. I looked around, then asked, mentioning it was for my son's birthday. I was told quite sternly "we don't carry junk like that... go to Walmart"

I said "Huh?" and was again rebuked and pretty much told they didn't care about selling anything to kids.

I remembered al the great people I'd met in hobby shops when I was a kid. How nice they were to me... how helpful.... and saw this snobby bastard. He must have forgot that he was a kid once and when he got his first model kit!

 

Being one of the youngest on this board I didn't grow up with being able to go to the local hobby shop and buy a car for a couple bucks. I remember driving around to many different stores to find the coolest car with my mom or grandma because I didn't like the models at the last store. While everyone else I knew would be playing video games I would be building a model car instead. I love everything that is vintage, I guess I just grew up in the wrong era.

There is a new hobby shop in my town and they carry quite a bit of model cars and the store seems to be doing well so I hope to be able to go to them for many years to come and buy model cars.

 

Here are pics of my room dedicated to all things 1/24th scale:

 

We also have a model group here on the HAMB. If you haven't joined, do so:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=105

 

Is it a Hobby Lobby???

 

Ironically, I had a cold one, with another former employee of Promotions Inc. today, while admiring his freshly painted 39 Ford Cabriolet. He tells me the original "Zinger" of the GMC Hauler, in Promotions Inc. colours was of his truck. Not sure if you knew him, but his name is Dal Middleton.