I was asked the other day at a club meeting this question. " Hey Jerry since you work on aircraft for a living why do you build more armor and figures than airplanes? I mean you have all that great refference material right there." " Well " I replied." If you had to climb in and out of airplanes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours a day would you want to look at another one when you got home? "
I do enjoy the ocassional aircraft model. And sc-fi and dare I say yes even the very rare ship and car model.
In truth I do like armor and figures more than planes because I do work on planes. Besides you can really tear up and weather a tank and not get yelled at. Figures are fun because I can start one ,and put it up and know exactly where I was when I put it down. (They lke to throw overtime at us with no notice .)
My long winded question is this: Why do you all build what you build?
Jerry

I build what interests me; planes, armor, ships, whatever, primarily from a historical standpoint. Never worked on any of them, only the electronics that go in 'em.

I prefer above all others, WW II German Armor. Why? Maybe it's what I call the "Evil Empire" factor.

When you watch the Star Wars movies, isn't it the characters of Darth Vader, Darth Maul, the Stormtroopers that you find yourself drawn to more. Face it they just look "neater"!!

And to me, German armor just looks neater. But on a more serious note. I think the variety of vehicles, the interleaved wheels, the straight lines of the hulls and turrets (particularly the Panther), the interesting color schemes...these are what draw me to these models.

Also, for whatever reasons German tankers seem to have been more "personalized" than any other group of WW II. There is a wealth of stories (whether true or myths) of German tankers facing impossible odds and surviving and obtaining huge kill numbers. While I cam quite sure that there are stories to be told of Allied tankers facing the same odds, they just aren't as available.

Don't get me wrong, I love modern Soviet armor as well as it looks pretty damn cool...

I usually build whatever happens to interest me when I'm browsing through the hobby shop. It might fit in with a scene or situation that I saw, or heard about, or just imagined, which is why in figures I lean more towards fantasy. Sometimes, though, I will think of something particular I want to do and go find a specific kit. As far as armor, I'm with you. No offense, but planes and ships are too "neat". IMHO, stuff in combat should look like it. Besides, if you lose or break a part on armor, who's to say it isn't battle damage?

Art

Ciao zoomie50,
I build WWII because I love that era and I know the most about it. I build WWII Med Theater because I was stationed in Sicily for 7 years and I really grew to love that place. Lastly, my wife is Italian and its my way of honoring her homeland (since I love her so much!!) And no, she isn't reading over my shoulder!
Ciao for now
Rob

Because the subjects interest me. I've built most genre of models, but always because I want to, and not just because they're there!

I like to build things that are different. Sometimes though I'll build a specific kit because it holds a special meaning for me.

Wow, that is exactly how I feel about german armor too .

Quick answer laziness & force of habit! I've been building WW2 German stuff for longer than I like to think about, there's a wealth of easily available reference material out there, much of which I've got on my bookshelves. I started off doing everything, planes, figures (a lot of Napoleonics in various scales), even a few ships over the years. My first 1/35th kit was the Tamiya Sdkfz7 when it first came out - it just blew away anything I'd ever done up to then. From then on I was hooked, & as the years went by, I realised that I could never build it all (nor could I afford to) so might as well specialise. I've been very good & only lapsed once or twice. But lately I'm rediscovering British equipment ( I did it all first time round with Airfix). I've noticed that strangely, it seems to be alot harder to get info on our own stuff!

As most, I build what I like to build...

What draws me to German aror is in a way the improvisation factor, the many variations and anything mounting the longbarreled 88mm simply looks mean. For some reason, this gun simply fascinates me... it simply oozes power. And for some reason, German AFV's look better.

I do have a few other projects I like to build one day: Su-27 Flanker, F-14, and some projects more for historical reasons.

But I am at the moment very very tempted to buy a ship.... I am undecided between the 1/400 Prinz Eugen and the 1/350 Prince of Wales. Many naval ships show their power. Big dream though is a woorden model of the Sovereign of the Seas.

I build WW2 German armor because they are the best looking tanks! A job well done is a nice conversation piece and I can relay all my Panzer ace stories I've learned with the research that goes into each one.
Then if I mess up a build, all is not lost. I become a P-51 Mustang armed with cherry bombs in my back yard. It's just like France '44! So it's a win-win situation. I'm only kidding...a little bit.
And how satisfying is "weathering" a tank. I still have to get the perfect weathered look, it's what keeps me going!

As a kid, I always loved military stuff. I watched all war movies I could find, I built huge aircraft carriers with lego and I had those green military toys with figures and tanks etc to play my own battles in my bedroom.

One day my dad gave me a AH-64 Apache, and I built the kit with him. My very first model. I liked it and started to built more aircraft, and soon I found out I loved WW2 planes the most. Thanks to pc games, comics, movies and books I learned to recognize a lot of WW2 aircraft. I built model of them, I made drawings, etc etc.

One of my friends had the same hobby, but he liked armour. Together with one of his friends he collected lots of kits (I still don't understand how he could affort them at that age....) and I came by and helped him.

It didn't take long for me to buy and built my own armour/afv model. It was the tamiya FLAK88. Man, how I ruined that model! Still it was fun and at that time I was very proud of it.

After the FLAK88, more models followed......tamiya's old Sdkfz 251 for instance, some FLAK guns, and soon the first tanks! I kinda stopped with aircraft. I think a Revell 1;72 Hurricane was my last aircraft kit.

I'm now really into WW2 armour, although I'm also working on a Vietnam era tank (M88 ARV) and a U-boat (Revell 1:72 VIIC). In the future I might start on aircraft again too!

So, that's how I ended up building armour kits mostly....

Martin

I myself find an interest in a variety of diiferent areas, and It helps me hone my skills. With figures, I'll build anything from 30mm to 1/4 scale and I've learned to put my skills with a brush and airbrush to good use.
I've built only one plane recently, as I;ve built so many in my youth, it just felt old. Choppers are king in my book now as are modern AFV's.
Built a couple of German stuff, but everyone else seems to do them (and much better). I just find them boring.

Though I still have a Tiger in the closet cause it came with an interior, who could resist?

Hey Zoomie...good question

I like to build whatever sparks my interest at that time. There are times where i'm working on 3-4 kits at a time. It could be anything. So the question is ''why'', well I like the modern aircraft, afv's and cars. A 100 years back things where simply, today everythings more technical...high tech. Take a jet for an example, one can cut open panel doors, add electrical and aviation boxes. I could keep going on. And thats just ''why" I build what I build. For me I guess it's all about the detail

To be honest I build whatever peaks my interest!

As many above, I build what appeals to me though my sense of beauty (as far as planes & military hardware is concerned, has come under criticism :-) )
my primary focus is aircraft, but I love modern armour and certain sci-fi subjects

Cheers,
Tvrtko

I mostly build what interests me and mostly WWII because it is a time in history where everything changed.

Also it was a time where every vet I ever talked to said they felt like they made a difference in the world..

I think WWII planes are neat but I really think Armor and softskins can have a lot of "personality".....

besides I like em....

Because its there :-) I build a variety of things mainly because I like a variety of things. I will tell you this though, For a true exercise in patience and skill, give a rigged sailing ship or a car kit with a mirror like finish a try. I truly admire builders who can pull these off with great results. The variety also breaks up the routine. I get tired of cleaning up road wheels all the time, so out comes a figure, or a jet, or a....... you get the idea. "Q"

Since my biggest hobby is WWII, and I've always liked building things and working with my hands, it's just natural that models of this subject would end up in my display cases.

I build what I build, because I'm a modeller first.
When I built for a museum, or MRC, I really wasn't given a choice too often on what I was to build. Today I build what ever strikes my fancy, and my likes change with the weather and seasons, although I have always had a soft spot for softskins, and WW1 bi-planes, and figures.
Campaigns here at Armorama, encourage me to build something I wouldn't normally do, like a sub.... alright so it's waterline, and currently a WW2 German anti-tank gun with tracks. (I'm even working on finishing one of those Marqutte figures I reviewed..... now that's either insanity or a modeller.... :-) :-) :-) )

I enjoy most of the stuff available in plastic, BUT, I enjoy building armor the most. It is just a whole lot of fun!!! Even if it causes me to tear my hair out on occasion(what few strands I have left, it is just plain enjoyable.
capnjock)

Hi Gang,

It's simple for me:...The only thing a kit has to be to me is appeal. If I like what I see, I want to build it!!

I know, this causes some problems

Cheers, John.

Originally I started with 1/48 scale aircraft, but I switched over to 1/35 scale armor because of the physical size of the aircraft. I can have sooo many more armor models than aircraft stored in my cupboards.

Then I got hooked on the armor and since then, there’s no turning back!

I prefer the WWII German Armor, mainly due to the ‘evil empire’ factor mentioned previously.

Dieter

My original reason for mainly focusing on figures is largely due to a space issue, figures take up much less space than armour, aircraft, ships, etc. I find one also has a bit more artistic license with figures

I've recently started delving into the dark world of armour and artillery, as I now have slightly more space in my new home, and even have an office in which I plan an building a decent display cabinet... I prefer the Allied stuff, that way I can stay involved in those tedious "Allied vs. Axis" debates

This is an excellent thread...

I suppose I build according to form and it's design influenced.. For example, I've always had a rather obsessive interest in the 251 series (more so than the M3 curiously enough) I like the German early-war armor - later vehicles like the Panther or Tiger II, leave me cold . I also like SPGs and TDs. My favorite vehicles in order, are:

1) The KV Series

2) The 251 Series

3) The Panzer 38(t)

4) The Sherman

5) The Churchill

I like the really 'clunky' stuff like the Churchill or the KV as i'm also developing a good database on the 'Beute Panzers' . As for other modelling, figures some dio work and some aviation although the vast majority of Aircraft I have are Phantoms - 20+ finished at the last count, most of them in 1/48thand the 'Spad' - 4 in 1/48th and 2 more in the stash... I will inevitably be building a carrier at some point in the future, almost certainly the Lexington... Why do I build? Becuse it's there...Jim :-)