The Little World

Because they are the poor, sad runts of the hobby shop litter – or the nearly-dead ones that just pass from stash to stash without ever getting built.

I give them hope and dignity. I clip their parts off the distorted sprue trees without making noises of obvious disgust. I sand off flash and rivets. I don’t re-scribe panel lines because I have seen people who do, and I don’t want to end up like that.

I choose paint schemes that will hide most of the obvious deformities, and if this is impossible, I assign the model to the Ruritanians – who will put up with anything.

Sad kits often have sad decals, though occasionally they are actually glorious. If not, the spares envelope or the inkjet printer is the go. There’s a reason I favour simple schemes…

So when does a sad kit actually cheer up? Generally when the wings and tail go on and you can fly it around the room making zooming noises. There is also a good point when there are fewer pieces left in the box than on the bench.

None of the $ 10 kits will win a contest – judges are, after all, judgemental. I’m not, however, and the fun is greater than the price.