Well we had just landed in Stockholm and the stewardess said... OH, first time modeling.....
Well it was a Revell B-17F built with my grandfather who served in the 305th BG in WWII in england. I also recall a B-17G and P-61 all in the mid- to late-70s. And a Pepsi or Hawaiain Tropic stock car thrown in for good measure, I think those were old MPC kits....
Most satisfying kit ... don't know, I've found it yet...

Nate
Wisc. USA

The first one I built myself was when I was ... 6? It was an He-111, I'd guess maybe Airfix or Matchbox. I recall some years later I discovered the pieces, and reglued it back together. From that moment on it was a blur of built kits. My favorites were the carded Airfix kits. Me 'n' my best friend would walk home from school and stop in front of the kiosk and ogle at the biplanes & tanks. Of those times, I remember the Airfix Matilda tank with great fondness (just picked up another one!)

Mika

My first model was a WWi German bomber (about 1969) I don't know who made it. I was about 9 years old and a bunch of friends and I built it. The guy who contributed the most money kept it (it wasn't me). My first real satisfying model was a Monogram Pz. Kfw. IV , with Shep Paine's instructions on how to build dioramas. I was hooked on armor and figures. I built all the Monogram panzer IV series, Ostwind, Brummbaer, Sturmpanzer,etc. From there I discovered Tamiya and Italeri and Military Modeller magazine, etc, etc,etc. Now I have Armorama. It just keeps getting better with the websites and new manufacturers. It's really a good time to be a "Modelmaniac"!

Let me remember...ah, when I was 11/12 y.o. I bought two 1:144 jets (can't remember the make) one is MiG-25 and another is an F-14. Construction was completed in just 2 hours! And it's off to the blue skies (or rather, the lawn) with my brother pretending to be Top Gun's 'Maverick' and the Bad Commie.

Anyway...just to bore you guys...here's a number of firsts for me

First prop aircraft model: 1/72 Hasegawa Fw-190D-9 (the old old mold..back in 1984)

First ship model: unknown brand 1/700 King George V (those who hate motorisation holes in Tamiya tanks...be grateful; this one has hole for the switch dang right in the main deck!)

First armor model: Hasegawa 1/72 Panther ausf G

First sci-fi model: AMT/ERTL X-Wing

First figure model: Tamiya 1/35 US Army Infantry (West Euro. Theatre)

Building a model while hving sex for the first time seriously.
I was building it and my gf was watching me on my bed and you can just guess what happened from there
Model building must turn her on
Branden

Well my very first model was the Revell unreal roller [Hemi blown steam engine], does this one count? If not, my first military model was the USS Enterprise nuclear aircraft carrier. The most satisfying model I ever built was the Revell's JU - 87B Stuka in 1/32nd scale

1) What was the first model you can remember ever building

1/144 F-14A Tomcat VF-84 Jolly Rogers by Dragon. It was a disaster. I thought the decals were stickers and tried very hard peeling them off the paper backing (back then, I didn't you have to dip 'em in water). I think it came with it's own tube cement or I think I used superglue. Either way, I messed up the canopy real bad. Didn't paint it. I still have it, albeit cannibalized for my current 1/144 F-14A (also by Dragon, converting it to F-14D). This was in 1990. However, I do recall a small LVTP-5 or LVTP-7 back when I was five I think. I don't know. I think it was more of a toy than a model, but I do remember THAT came with decals because dad had them dipped in water and applied to the toy/model. I remember playing that thing in the hospital (IIRC, that was given to me when I was at the hospital really sick).

2) what was the most satisfying model you ever built?

Ahhh... M1A2 by Dragon. So satisfying I built a second one! And it was such that I just had to put both in a tall grass field diorama. And that was also satisfying. Followed by a Tamiya M1A1 conversion. I remember my first succesful build - Tamiya's M60A3 TTS. That too was satisfying, even with the inaccuracies and relatively bad build.

My first kit was a Monogram or Revell snap-tite Mercedez sport coupe.It wasn't snazzy.I believe it was given to me so that I would stop pestering my cousin about his Tamiya Military collection but,it gave me the bug.
My most satisfying build is still to come,I believe.I have gone all out on the AFV Club M-10. Research,aftermarket parts,and forum talk are making this build outstanding,and I have only just begun! With the advent of the internet and forums,I believe the modelling experience has been elevated to a community,not just a hobby.Theres my $.02

My Grandfathers gardening shed,more than forty years later,still got a bad back,it was a very small shed.
Arthur
Am Alba ,Mannich

1) the first model that i built was a revell red racing car about 1970. i got a telling off from my father as he wanted to 'build it for me'.
2) The best most satisfying model that I have built is the next one.

1. A Monogram 1/48 B-25, but I think it was closer to 1/72, and a Monogram Kittyhawk were my first models.

2. My most satisfying is an Italeri Nimitz or DML Bunkehill...ships just require so much more work.