The Little World

Earlier in this column’s history I introduced the Glorious $ 5 Plan – the construction of an ICM Polikarpov Chaika in 1:72 scale that only cost me $ 5 to do. It was a one-off opportunity provided by a discard box sale at the annual WASMEX show…and you can be certain that I’m going to hover around that stand next year to see whether there will be more bargains…

But what of a $ 5.00 model under normal circumstances? Is there a chance for frugal modelling at other times of the year? What do you do when you get the urge but cannot splurge?

Note: I assume that you have enough general tools and paints and bits lying about to allow you to make things. I know I do, and I frequently discover assets that I did not know I had that can be turned to good account. I also discover assets that other family members have that can be purloined, cut apart, and repainted. If I am lucky it can be done before they know things are missing…

So, how about that $ 5?

a. That is 2.5 x the purchase price of something from the $ 2 Shop. Do not laugh at the $ 2 Shop, craft store, or Indian Crap Shop They are a fertile field for modellers.

You may find some toy there that is damn near a model…and that will yield to a bit of filing, filling, and painting to give a pretty good representation of something. Even if it is not front and center quality, you might get a good little set piece for the backdrop.

Likewise you can let yourself go on a couple of bags of wooden stirrers and end up with enough raw material for some pretty good structures, They won’t be precise ones, as the wood in the sticks is pretty rough, but if you are in need of post and rail fence you are going to get a lot of it.

The craft shop is sometimes good for basic card and embossed paper products. Our local does a dynamite sheet of small-scale corrugated card that is perfect for metal tanks or roofs on industrial buildings. Within the $ 5 restriction there is enough wood and card for a pretty good farm shed or railway building – and the paints from a kiddies’ watercolour set can work well for the final finish.

b. Yard and garage sales. If you cannot get a pretty good diecast vehicle for a fiver, and then modify it to your own specifications, you’re not trying. Buy ones that have been played with and then set about recovering their glory – as long as you do not try to pass them off as authentics to fool the collectors, you are good to do anything you like. And you’ll learn new techniques of stripping and repairing as you go.

c. $ 5 buys you a lot of paper pads and pencils, and you then have a chance to finally organise your collection, plan your layout, or design your colour schemes. Even if you start out lousy at it, by the time you get to the end of $ 5 of cheap paper and pencils, you will actually be getting pretty good.

d. If nothing else, $ 5 buys you a pot of good modeller’s paint – more than one if you are prepared to buy the garish leftovers that they can’t sell. If you are working with acrylic you can thin it with water – cheap – and then you get to paint something even bigger.

If you are the sort of modeller who has unpainted jobs backed up to the Wazoo, this is your chance to advance. If you are just wildly looking about for somewhere to throw colour, you need to focus…