The Little World

You hear a great deal amongst the young ( those whose knees move in the same way every time ) about FOMO; Fear Of Missing Out. It apparently motivates them all the time and causes them to go off on backpacking trips to Guatemala. Or at least it did until 2020.

It may have been replaced amongst them by FOGS; Fear Of Getting Stuck. Stuck further than their parent’s money can reach. Further than the Department of Foreign Affairs cares to look. Stuck outside of Australia. It’s a real fear and not one to be taken lightly.

For those of us here in our hobby rooms we have always had the first fear. This accounts for some of the purchases that modellers make. Some kits would never change hands if it were not for fear that they will never be seen again.

I prefer FOGS. Fear of getting stuck with something that is unsightly, unsaleable, and unbuildable. The ultimate styrene millstone around the neck. The Jo-Han Nash Rambler Station Wagon in 1:28.5 scale. The kit that has passed Warp Factor 9 on the top of the stove. The unloved and unloveable. And I also fear it has happened more than once to me.

My most memorable festering sore was a Revell 1:25th Metalflake kit of a Chrysler purchased from a dump bin in the Hudson Bay Company toy department in 1962. I should have suspected something when it was discounted from $ 2.49 to 99¢ while still new. That, and the fact that the bin had a lot of them.

The kit was moulded from a semi-transparent styrene incorporating metalflake particles. it was translucent and slightly beige, so you could leave it as such for a painted effect…as long as you ignored the things you could see shadowed under the surface.

Or you could brush paint it from the inside for a colour change and if the external surface had not been disturbed you might end up with a slightly muddy flashy coloured finish. It was touted on the box as a goof-proof paint job.

Possibly. it was certainly beauty-proof. As I left the shop I regretted not being able to buy more ( FOMO ) but as I built it I progressed to FOGS and was grateful that I only had a dollar when I went into the Hudson’s Bay.