old age

Actually now that the kids are out of the house I have much more time for modeling. Now if I could just do something about these damn clients that keep calling and wanting to give me money!

I dragged this hobby with me from my childhood to the present day. Probably the smartest thing I did all my life. Yeah, my 50 year old eyes sometimes needs a magnifier or glasses (although I wore glasses at the age of eight) but they help me do a better job on my kits. And the AARP card...well, I don't wear it on my lapel but it's amazing how much money that little thing can save you when you know when to pull it out of your wallet. And my modeling...well, I build kits a lot better today than I ever did as a kid but I have just as much fun. On days when I think the world is zooming me by at mach 2, I just sit down at my modeling bench and thumb my nose at the years I've accumulated. Hmmm...I guess you can say that modeling is the Ben Gay for my mind.

Mike

The say you can usually tell the age of a modeller by the scale of the kits he / she builds. I still have a few 1/72nd kits around. but when I look at the 1/72 AP-2 neptune I super detailed about 15 years ago I just don't think my eyes would survive doing it today.

Unfortunately, I can alway buy more powerful reading glasses, but can't

I just turned 44 and don't regard 50 as old. In fact, the closer I get to it, the younger it looks.

Jeff The eagle has landed

i just hope i can use this old age excuse(50) as a means for going on e-Bay way too much,according to my wife and kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can and it's easy. Just tell them that you're on eBay carrying out a quest to discover the perfect Geritol substitute.

Mike

RLGIRSCH wrote:

You young scalawags! Wait until you hit 73! Hands are not that steady but still going at it. Fiddly bits have always been a problem. No AARP card, no air brush .... rattle cans are just fine. Of course Vallejo has made this chore much easier. Hang in there .... hope and modelling spring eternal. Cheers, JK Ross

At 56 I think that it's 1/72 kits that keep my hands working properly.

Glasses and a magnifier/light sure do help.

I also find that I am spending more time working on the full size machines. Maybe that's my subconsious telling me something.

The only thing that keeps me away from the work table at this time is the occasional lower back problem, like right now. You really don't know how much bending and reaching you do until pain sets in.

Tom

sounds like you're me on a different day. i'm 55 and have arthritis in my hands, manifested as severe cramps. working on models, holding, snading and tiddly-fiddling with tiny parts makes it a lot less painful. luvkily i can take my glasses off for detail work. hmmm, great business oppurtunity, model kits as a cure for artritis! all right guys, who got a website and a spambot?

The worst thing about growing (really) old as a modeler is what you used to remember about the hobby.

I was recently at an "IPMS meeting" at the hobby shop on a Saturday morning when someone pulled a $40 Tamiya kit off the shelf, waved it in my face, and said "Here! You need one of these!". And I answered, "Right, like I have $40 bucks in pocket right now". We all laughed and one of the guys piped in with the comment, "The worst thing about being an old-timer in this hobby is remembering how much kits USED TO COST and keeping those figures in mind for comparison now". It's really true. I compare the kits price to what they were 25 years ago and think that EVERYTHING is expensive now! I really need to upgrade my shopping psychology and step into the 21st Century!

Martin

Until you reach the point where the pieces become too heavy for your old muscles to lift them. ;)

Bill Banaszak, MFE

How about seeing some of the old kits at antique shops and flea markets. Honest-to-God, Lindberg kits in the old 29¢ marked for sale at $25.00. Inflation my fat ass. Of course, they DO sit there at the end of the day.... -- John ___ __[xxx]__ (o - ) --------o00o--(_)--o00o-------

The history of things that didn't happen has never been written - Henry Kissinger

I'm just about to turn 55 and built a 12x16 shop in back for woodworking and modelling. Now I have a place to go such that when I put something down, 2 days later its still there. I've found that at my age I have more patience for doing the detail work on my ship & car models, much more so than I ever had when I was younger. Maybe its because I'm lucky and retired at 53 with 80% of my income and a 3% raise annually. Kids are 32 and 25 and 2 grandkids so life is now something I enjoy, plus working PT at a golf course so I play free and get exercise and a few bucks to do what I want with. Point is, its a whole new ballgame now and I find I like it, a lot! No stress, no pressure, nobody bugging me, and I lost 40# in 4 months!!!

I don't know about that. George Lee was probably the finest scale modeler ever. He was doing incredible models when he first joined our local IPMS chapter around 1967 or so. George passed away a few years ago after at least four decades as the best of the best.

Lots of other people come to mind such as John Alcorn. Like George Lee, he always took the time to explain how things are done.

Tom

Yeah, just hit 51. Worst part of 50 was getting an AARP solicitation. It's either fourteen years too late or a couple of decades to early, depending on how one defines retirement, and I've got no use for Medicare or SS for quite a while yet. What you use, maybe you don't lose: working 1/72 with a little magnification (and getting regular exercise otherwise) seems to be working out well.

Mark Schynert

Ha! I've got one (a Hawk Spitfire 22) that went for 39¢.

Mark Schynert

I'm going to have to get really decrepit to give up on 1/72, although I have a few 1/48 because they're really great kits of really cool aircraft. I might even build them some day.

Mark Schynert