cadillac of the sky

inspiration comes in many forms. and sometimes where we least expect it. recently i was introduced to a new bbc series hosted by james may from "top gear" by my friend kyle called "james may's toy stories". each episode is dedicated to a classic toy and james sets about playing on a grand scale. in the first episode he re-introduces airfix models to british school children and then together they assemble a 1/1 (that's actual size) ww2 spitfire model. this proves to be quite a challenge as it must be light enough for the children to lift the individual pieces and yet strong enough to remain rigid when assembled.
this in turn created an interest in our home for model making as well. not being british i don't remember airfix, but i do remember plastic model kits. when i was young there was an older kid i knew who was absolutely brilliant at them. his bedroom was filled with examples. mostly ww2 stuff, and then later star wars spaceships hung from his ceiling. and the more he did, the better he got. he was quite good at adding the smaller details like weathering and battle damage with an airbrush kit. and of course i wanted to be just like him.
but as i sat at our kitchen table with my dad it always felt a little frustrating. i'd either have to sit there and watch my dad take pieces out of my hand (you're doing it wrong) or being completely perfectionist, came to the point where i couldn't figure out how to finish the thing to my own satisfaction. for years i had unfinished boxes sitting in my closet. and so when my son aaron suggested we go down to the hobby shop and locate a spitfire i was a little leery.
but once we were there all of those niggling doubts seemed to vanish. i've always loved (and still do) walking through the hobby shop. as i strolled the aisles and picked up each kit, there was a great feeling staring at the graphics on the package, that i am interacting with history, art and industry in this fantastical miniature fashion. yes, i know that most of the kids have moved out of this neighborhood and over to the video game stores, but i think it their loss. anyway, we made our way to the small ww2 aircraft section and although he had originally wanted the spitfire just like james may, i convinced aaron to try out the p-51 mustang instead, as we are after all yanks.
so we picked out our little model, and with some glue and paint we were ready to go to work.
as we unpackaged the little mustang, a lot of memories came flooding back. revell is the company that makes this, and although they have been bought and sold several times since their inception and are now a part of some huge french conglomerate no doubt, it was still nice seeing the venice, cal markings on one of the wings reminding me of simpler days when the z-boys roamed playgrounds, the eames' still kept an office there and for a while longer, a bunch of crazy artists could still call it home.
and as we set up our little airplane factory and got to work, it just didn't seem to be as daunting as i remember. there were less than 40 parts to the thing. and we took joy in pulling each piece from it's injection molded frame and then carefully set out to put it all together following our instruction list biblically. and when i sensed that my little guy was encountering frustration i tried reassuring him that we were in this together and not to set his expectations higher than either of our skill levels. and when he found something a little beyond his ability i stepped in to lend a hand, but otherwise tried to remain in a more managerial and consulting role. it was a good partnership. and as the smell of toxic glue filled our garage we finished the assembly process and moved on to paint and decals. this is where i think aaron had the most fun. looking at the picture on the box and then doing some quick research on the web he got a sense of some period paint schemes. and now it was his turn to customize his own bird. and once he had finished painting it was time to apply those wet decals which turned out to be the most difficult task. surgeon-like precision was called for here and all my experience at the game of operation seemed to fail. but we soldiered through it as he added a few finishing paint marks of battle.
and now i have to say it turned out pretty good. and even though it was aaron who launched this project and got the most out of it, that little kid in me felt that he had paid back some unfinished work. for a few hours effort we were able to roll another freedom fighter off the line which has now already seen a few sorties. so keep 'em coming boys. the germans are on the run.