Getting back into modeling. Where to start?

joeranger

Sr Member
I use to build a lot of models as a kid. We had a local hobby shop. Of course my favorite part was blowing them up with firecrackers.

I need a new hobby with my youngest son (15) now that the others are in college. I was thinking models or rockets.

Are there any good online retailers that you guys can recommend? Are there any model kits that are collaborative? Multiple people can work on the same one?
 
Amazon is a great resource if you don't have any local shops. As for an easy going first time model, anything bandai is great, and they can be broken up into sections, so you can both work at the same time. Both the gundam and Star Wars kits are great.
 
If you go the scale model way ...
I'd start by figuring what's your son's favorite theme/hero/film in order to keep his interest peaked throughout the whole project.
Should also have a cool factor to it,... no point in buying a Tardis model if your son has no clue or interest in a 50 year old British Television SF show.
I believe most tasks in the model building process can be collaborative, from correctly cutting the parts off the sprues, sanding, assembly, priming etc..
Not neglecting documentation gathering and forum activities in order to not totally cut him off from the digital world :)
Also most scale models nowadays have several sub-assemblies that can be handled as many individual small project, like vehicle interiors, exteriors, wheels, tracks or legs..
A diorama project could also provide some workload to be shared.

To get a idea of what's new in the scale model world since your model blasting days, I'd recommend the "themodellingnews(dot)com" ...
it doesn't cover all of the kit releases, but has a good selection of reviews and inspiring builds too.
 
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If you're into Star Wars I would recommend getting a Bandai kit, they are simply amazing, fun to put together, and beautifully detailed.
 
dont make my mistake .... i have four GUNDAM MASTERGRADE kits which i completed and i got three perfect grade *astray* < the samurai > , and two RX 78 ... to this day ive only done the legs for one of the astrays

*im overwhelmed by this project *
and im honestly scared :(
13u.jpg
 
If you're into Star Wars I would recommend getting a Bandai kit, they are simply amazing, fun to put together, and beautifully detailed.

This. I just started building kits myself, and I'm on my fifth Bandai Star Wars. They go together easily, and you can paint as much or as little as you want. Stickers and decals are included. Some of the kids are done in sections / subassembly and put together in the end
 
I'd echo the Bandai in terms of engineering and ease of build.

In terms of with kids. My sons started building when they were 5, handing airbrushes by 7 (It's hard to find respirator face masks for small faces, but they're out there) and gave it up by 13 when they discovered everything else, including iPhones. Which is normal of course, I built as a kid, they stopped when I discovered girls and music, only went back to building when I had kids and money and travel was curtailed.

15 is a tough age to grab their attention, RC stuff is so cheap these days, I got my kids into flying to counter the devices and video games. The real killer was IR battling with RC tanks, but that's an expensive route.
 
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