The Little World

If chance brings a free model kit to your bench, what should you do?

a. Thank the donor profusely.

b. Bear it away unopened and when alone, look inside.

c. Whatever the state of the contents, do not panic. There might be gold or iron pyrites in there, and you may have to actually build it to discover which.

d. Check to see if the thing is complete. Pay particular attention to aircraft canopies and ship’s turrets. Missing, they can kill a kit when it is nearly finished.

e. Inspect the decal sheet – but do not panic if it has expired of old age. Aftermarket and inkjet printing can decorate nearly anything.

f. Consider whether it is a prototype that you really want to build. Free isn’t an ironclad commitment to waste your time if the end result is uninteresting. It can be a treasure for someone else.

g. Also consider whether building it would extinguish all desire to build a similar model from another maker. If you have the best there is, go ahead. If it is the pits, perhaps you should wait.

h. A free model can also serve as a test bed for new techniques or skills, as long as you agree that the frugality doesn’t entitle you to be careless with it. Every model kit is a potential masterpiece in some way.