The Little World

People who want to develop a better character should become scale modellers. They will learn patience, perseverance, resilience, frugality, and how to get glue off your pants.

And they will have rewards at each stage of the journey through modelling. It won’t be just at the end or at some contest when their model of a Mustang takes top place over the model of the Spitfire…They’ll get a little boost each day.

If they are using lacquer paints with a heated booth, they may get more than one modeller’s orgasm per day – because every stage successfully passed is a feather in the cap.

Modern modelling seems to involve more steps than it once did. As a kid I remember a high when I bought the model, when I dry fitted it together, and when I finished it. I’m sure there were more steps in there, but memory only supplies a few in retrospect. ( Of course, if memory supplied the future I could go to the race track and clean up…) Now I can be jubilant at the successful spraying of every layer of stuff on the model. Undercoat, base, camo, varnish, etc. A victory dance each time.

Or not. It is also a chance for things to go weirdly wrong at every stage. From the cracks in the filler to the dust under the paint, there are goblins lurking. Things that were glued may be come unstuck and things that were free may become clagged up. Parts that have been right there and totally visible for weeks can vanish as you bend down to scratch your ankle. You can lose half a fuselage.

Like I said – it is a test for the character. Also for the vocabulary and wallet. I have long since discarded my conscience as far as scale modelling goes. As far as it goes, anything goes. I have not sunk to beating up pensioners and kids in kindergarten for modelling money, but I am polishing the knuckledusters as we speak. If the plastic makers raise the prices I am going to start taking hostages and attacking their toes with the plastic side-cutters.