Up until just a few weeks ago, I suppose I could have been categorised as virtually 100% an Allied modeller. However modelling has a nasty habit of throwing curve-balls...

It started with the 251. Now, I was (in a previous incarnation ), pretty well acquainted with all the variants having had done a number of conversions and straight builds of Tamiya's old 251. However, when I came back to modelling a few years ago It re-kindled my interest in Allied and I was quite content to ignore the (overwhelming) mass of German subjects and reference material...

Unfortunately, I got hold of a copy of Osprey's 'Modelling the Sdkfz251' and things went downhill from there...

Next thing was the Dragon Tiger. Only the limited availability of this beast has stopped me getting one (that'll be for next month). Reading Terry's review of the AFV Club Tiger over at P.M.M.S. has also served to get me thinking. As for the forthcoming PzIV from Tristar....

So how do YOU get affected by this 'new age' of modelling? Looking at what is happening it CAN be categorizd as a new -age. Or am I just reacting to the hype of the manufacturers?...Weird times people, weird times....Jim

I'm going the other way Jim!
Before I joined Armorama I was a 100% German modeller! Since joining the site I've been influenced by some of the excellent modelling of Allied subjects to try one or two. Since I never made the original Tamiya allied subjects I've rediscovered the fun of doing something different! What next, aeroplanes? That would be full circle back to my (Airfix) childhood in the early '60s!
BTW there is an Airfix 1/72 Golden Hind in early stages of assembly in the garage, bought as a birthday present for my middle daughter 2 years ago!

I'm going the other way Jim!
Before I joined Armorama I was a 100% German modeller! Since joining the site I've been influenced by some of the excellent modelling of Allied subjects to try one or two. Since I never made the original Tamiya allied subjects I've rediscovered the fun of doing something different! What next, aeroplanes? That would be full circle back to my (Airfix) childhood in the early '60s!
BTW there is an Airfix 1/72 Golden Hind in early stages of assembly in the garage, bought as a birthday present for my middle daughter 2 years ago!

I've gotta say, I'm also moving in strange directions.

In high school, through university and techikon I worked in a hobby store. I was exposed to most of the categories of our amazing art. The owner of the store was a national radio control aerobatics champion, so his main interest was radio control aircraft, but and the stores main stock of plastic scale models was also aircraft. His brother, the manager, loves motor racing, so he did his damnest to keep scale car kits. So of course as I was exposed to that, that's what I built.

Later I while working there I was exposed to Dragon AFV's, so I bought a few of those, some of which are still unbuilt and waiting for a rainy day At the same time I was exposed to the Dragon figures, which is when the figure addiction started and all other kits got shelved.:-)

But now that I'm a bit older, I have started being a bit more selective about what I buy. I try to only focus on Commonwealth figures, but of course SWMBO and the outlaws don't know the difference - to them a kit is a kit. However that said, since joining Armorama, I have found myself being seduced by the dark side :-) and I have now also got some British artillery and lately I have even being looking at acquiring a few Brit AFV's ... :-) :-)

RR

I think you have to change your modeling bench according to the rules of feng shui and listen to whale sound cds before you can really be considered a "new age" modeler.

All three of those kits look really sweet. My problem is buying the "latest thing" and then the last model I just had to have sits in the stash. Everything in there I just had to have at one time. I need to rotate my stock...

Interesting topic...

Shaun

My girlfriend is always going on about my butterfly brain.

I used to frequent the dunkelgrau side when I was younger, but that was soon replaced by a love of Russian tanks and modern British armour. Mostly microarmour for the latter as you can forget ever seeing it in plastic.

Then I was struck down by T-34s and built lots of them (around 20 at a wild guess). Then work and girlfriend(s) kind of got my attention for a while. By the end of last year it was Shermans, until Tamiya brought out their Challenger 2, so I bought some Warriors.

Now it's French tanks (another huge selection - not), and its making me want to see the Tristar Panzer IVD Help!

At the moment I have a Heller Hotchkiss and their Saumur diorama kit in my desk drawer at work, awaiting a chance to infiltrate them into the house.

I have to say that most of the time I feel like a Somaleese child in a candy store. So many things to do and not enough time. The way things are evolving even only in the German WW2 AFV's, its going to take me two lifetimes just to get through that subject, not to mention all those other little goodies.

For me it was not Allied v German; it was Aircraft v Armor. I am an original wingie and one day last January I was at my local hobby store (by local, I mean 70 miles from home) and decided I wanted to do a tank. I initially picked out the then new Academy M10, but settled on the Italeri M1A2 as more reference material was available to me. And I haven't done an aircraft since (though I hope to retry the Academy CH-46E sometime soon).

Ironically, in searching for reference material online, I stumbled upon Armorama in the midst of the Abrams ID campaign.

Jeff

I've come to grips with my diversity. When I got back into the hobby this past summer, I picked up a Tamiya M1A1 and the Revell-Monogram F-15E as my re-entry kits. It fit my typical pattern - US Armor and Aircraft.

However, exposure to sites such as this has opened my eyes and I have decided that keeping to certain things is good in the sense that you become very good at those things, but decidely boring (at least for me) in the longer term.

As such, my stash has grown considerably with all kinds of kits. Russian Hinds await alongside US Apaches. German Tigers share space with US Shermans. British Warriors hang out with US Bradleys and Piranhas. Even German He-111s are on the runway with US B-17s.

I've found that after I finish a kit of one type, I need a change of pace. For example, I just finished a Tamiya P-51D. Had a blast, felt that I wanted to do another aircraft and started a Revell A-37 Dragonfly. But, it just didn't feel right, so I put that aside and jumped into a Tamiya M-20 Armored Car. The change of pace stimulates my creativity and keeps me from falling into a comfort zone and forces me to try new things.

I hope some of that makes sense!

I haven't changed much over the years...I build mostly softskins and APCs with no real loyalty to nationality. I have a Panzer IV, and a Brummbar in the stash, along with a Bren carrier and an M577.

I almost got sucked into the dark side when I caught myself walking to the cash register with a Sherman AND a Tiger, but I caught myself just in time!!!!

I was/am primarily a 1/35 US modern and US WW2 modeler. I always had a 1/72 scale kit in my small travelling model tool box when I was on the road for several days at a time. These kits were quick builds and I referred to them as the "TDY kits". While taking a 4 month long trip and living out of a hotel room, I decided to seriously rediscover 1/72 scale.

I did this for a couple of reasons. One was the space required to work on a small kit was minimal. I could also place the project into a shoe box and set it on the closet shelf where the cleaning lady would not disturb my model. They are also small enough so I did not have to worry about transporting them home.

Secondly the PX (post exchange) had the newly reissued ex-Esci M1 Abrams by Italeri. The kit was $5 and change, about the cost of lunch at Burger King. I decided to build that kit and accurize it as much as possible with the meager supplies I had on hand.

When I completed the Abrams, I entered it in my very first model competition. It actually won an award.

I had so much fun that I decided to get some more Braille scale armor. Two and a half years later, I've been building mainly 1/72 or 1/76 armor. Most of the Braille scale kits I've entered in shows have taken an award or two. Although the only non-Braille kits I entered in a show (1/32 VW Beetle and 1/35 Tamiya SAS Jeep) both won awards as well.

Since Braille scale armor is not as plentiful as 1/35 scale armor, I ended up trying not only modern armor, but WW2 German armor. I build a BergePanther that has won several awards. Not a kit that you would expect to see me building several years ago, let alone win an award with.

I've probably got more 1/72 scale German armor kits than any other single 1/72 scale genre.

I walked into a Kuwaity book store yesterday and looked for anything on modelling just out of curiosity. It turned out they had this one single book that made me laugh when I opened it.
It was full of old Tamya models and other such ancient stuff. The pics wre full of god-awful 70's figures with paint jobs a 10 year-old would be ashamed of. It made me feel like the god of 1/35 scale.
And it made me ralise, our hobby has made a tremendous leap in the last 20 years. Look at where PE, resin kits, decals, metal parts, etc have gotten us. Imagine what it would be like in another 20 years.

Oh I know that feeling way to well..... funny, how the newest, greatest, kit since sliced bread soon becomes an old, unaccurate blob of plastic collecting dust, as soon as the next newest, greatest, kit since sliced bread hits the shelves. :-) :-)

The nice part of it all, I have an unending supply of kits for the continuing of the AGE Campaigns !!!!

As for changing subjects, I wouldn't worry too much Jim.... I've been doing it all my life. I gave up on the "expert in one area" many moons ago, and found out it was a lot more fun, and satisfying to simply enjoy building models, of what ever topic, interested me at the time, and along the way, I actually started to expand my knowledge base. Being a pedagogue, you understand the importance of that. So enjoy the change in subject, and keep the glue from under your fingers. :-) :-)

I took up the hobby because it was something I always wanted to do and never could afford... I wanted to build aircraft... but then I also tried some groundhuggers and learned that I seem to have more "talent" doing those.. I still do the occasional plane..... but I have found the WWII era of ground equipment to be "facinating jim"

The last 5 years I have been back into the hobby in a big way with web sites and friends with the same interest making it very enjoyable. In fact, I think it keeps me sane My model collection grows faster than I can build them and I really should sell off the ones that I will never build but part of the enjoyment for me is aquiring the kits. I do think that these fantastic newer kits like the Tiger will make it hard for me to go back and build the older versions of the same kits. I couldn't be happier with the hobby and the direction it seems to be taking. Not having to spend 200 dollars on a kit to be happy with it is a good thing. The trend with the Tiger is changing the meaning of "out of box" builds though.

My model building has undergone what I guess could only be described as phases. I started building armor and aircraft with maybe one or two cars as a teen. I really got hooked on armor. Then I was too busy for a few years until my joining the military reserves got me back into it and I picked up armor again. After that I took breaks but I always came back eventually.

It got side tracked again for a few years while I was in a Battletech phase (both playing and building metal miniatures) and I probably did somewhere around 700 of those beasts. All of which are in my basement (ebay sale on those coming soon I want to get rid of them and use the money for models). I dropped that when I came home from a national convention disgusted (I was judging Origins) by the behaviour of the so called adults that I was trying to judge. I probably have 50 unbuilt miniatures in the packages that I brought home with me and no desire to ever build another.

Parting thought when we moved from Massachusetts to Kansas my wife once again looked at me packing box after box with models and said, "Dear I don't mind you buying models but don't you think you should build a few more of them...." (Behind me was the 100 or so kits I had at the time). We won't even discuss books, tools etc.

Hi,
No problem with the 'new age.' I've always been attracted to the 'dark side' of this hobby, either now, or years and years ago. Oh every now and then I've built an Allied vehicle of the W.W. II era, or even an Abrams or Bradley, just for something different, and to get a general idea of just how far and advanced tanks have come since the 1940s. And, of course, who can turn aside from Trumpeter's big 1/16 scale T-34s. It would have to take a lot stronger person than me.

But mostly it's been on the 'dark side'. Both in my models and my reading materials connected with this time period. So in the present era of absolutely fantastic models of German tanks and other of their assorted AFVs, this is right down my line.


take care, Sgirty

I just build what takes my fancy, I dont get excited over new kits because I keep finding so many old ones I ve never built my last two buys were Italieris 50mm anti tank and Tamyias Pink Panther now how old are they, never built Russian or japanese just dont like the look of them now a Tiger1 or a u.s. half track Hmmmmm.

All I can say is that i am kit poor and it's getting worse with the release of of all the great kits from DML, AFV Club, Trumpeter, Tristar and soon Bronco.

I build all WW11 armor. Allied and Axis. In fact I have more kits than I can build in what's left of my life. Just turned 63 yesterday. But I just can't resist buying the new kits they're popping out. I'm waiting on the Trumpeter Emil to be released. I'm sure the wife will have a heck of a yard sale one of these days.

Basicly, I build what ever strikes my fancy on any given day. T34's, Pz111's, Shermans, Sd.Kfz 251

I have noticed a small change in buying habits recently.. and have started a selling habit. Where once it was only WW2 ... any nationality.. I have some modern ... on my workbench now is the base and figures for my IDF M113 fitter and the swedish S-tank.
1/16 scale figures has become one of my main interests. I also have sold about 10 kits recently .. getting rid of some old kits.. that I know I´ll not build in the next few years and that will also need money spent on them to bring them up to today´s standards.
I have bought 4 new dragon 251s plus have bought more aftermarket items ... I also used to build OOB. Times are a changing for me too.
Some things probably will never change. I still have 14 subjects started that need finishing... no matter what i do .. I cant get this down.