The Little World

If you would raise your scale model building to a higher plane, there are things you can do on a practical basis.

a. Moderate your language while building. Resin cockpits, photo-etch brass, and plastic tank tracks are no excuse for unmannerly conduct. If the plastic is starting to melt and the box catches fire, you are swearing too much.

b. Do not start 15 models at once and finish 2 of them. That is 13 instances of immorality.

c. Do not buy and store 100+ kits of he same thing if you are not in the business of commercially reselling them. You keep them from others who have as much right to enjoyment as you do; in the most dramatic sense you prevent 99 people from happiness for your own greed.

d. If you do treat the purchase and sale of model kits as a commercial process, do so honestly. Declare your business and pay tax on the profit the same as the shops do.

Also do not charge swingeing prices based on rarity or hogging the supply. Mind you, if you buy wrong and no-one else decides to join you, the thing punishes itself.

e. Do not starve your family for your hobby – neither of money nor attention. If you are alone, you can apportion your time as you see fit, but if others are with you do the decent thing. Talk plastic at the dinner table.

f. Be careful with your solvents, paints, and general rubbish. There are ways of disposal that are kind to the environment. Even if you cannot afford commercial disposal of waste, at least have the decency to tip it into the neighbour’s yard and not on the road.