They Say You Never Forget...

[Larsen E. Whipsnade]

...your first miniature. (Almost had ya there, didn't I?)

This is mine, painted some 30 odd years ago, a Minuteman from the American Revolution (he said, stating the obvious), a 54mm figure from Imrie/Risley. I was working in New York City at the time and happened to walk past a little shop on the corner of 90thand Madison called The Soldier Shop. In the window were these marvelously painted miniature soldiers so I stopped in to take a look around. I was immediately hooked.

I bought the figure and the little wooden display base probably for around $3.00 (I was a big spender). It's painted with Testor's enamels. It lacks detail, highlights and shadows, is hopelessly amateurish, and is nevertheless one of my treasured possessions.

How did you get into the hobby? Would love to see and hear about your first figure.

 

[Ray Stout]

I got into the hobby when I saw Peter Gilder's Waterloo. Alongside were Ray Lamb's figure of a Historex Conversion. I joined Manchester Area Wargames Society, and, at the first Northern Militaire met Joe Shaw This was my first effort. Ray

 

[Airkid]

Good post Larsen! Blimey, that requires some thought. I remember a local hobby shop decided to start selling Historex figures and as I was a typical hobby shop bar-fly, I decided I'd buy one and give it a go. This would have been mid/late 1960s. I was a plastic kit modeller in any case so I found it easy to assemble, but painting was another issue. Probably Humbrol Matt enamels. I can't show a photo ( it went in the skip along with a lot of other stuff when my first marriage ended) but I doubt I bothered with stuff like highlighting and shading. However I still have the first competition certificate I won, dated July 1971. I remember the figure well - a Rose Miniatures Indian Army Officer 54mm. Oldest figure still in my cabinet - a Croix de Guerre 54mm Foreign Legion Sgt 1916 - painted circa 1988.

Phil

 

[kurtj]

I forgot, who said you never forget?

There is an often forgotten upside to Alzheimer’s and that is you get to hide your own Easter eggs!

Also your best real old time friends become brand new friends!

What were we talking about .......

Kurt

 

[Banjer]

I forgot, who said you never forget?

There is an often forgotten upside to Alzheimer’s and that is you get to hide your own Easter eggs!

Also your best real old time friends become brand new friends!

What were we talking about .......

Kurt

I hope no one struggling to cope with caring for someone with this terrible condition reads this.

 

[Dolf]

Hi!

I started modeling some 40 years ago (I was then 25, am now 64). As with most people I started with plastic models, mainly 1/72 WWI & WWII aircraft. Only two or so survived all these years, and a few house moves, at least one has been repaired a few times (my favorite WWII fighter, the Bf 109-E), but despite that they lack some parts, antenna, etc. the others are in pieces, kept in boxes...

There was back in the old days a miniatures hobby shop in Lisbon, where modelers would meet on Saturdays, some of them bringing their models, which I would attend on occasion.

When the first Verlinden figures (if not mistaken, initially only the 120mm and a bit later at least a couple of 200mm) started showing, probably in the early-mid 80's, I was fascinated by the detail and bought a few of them.
Painted three or four, but then life had a few turns and I abandoned this hobby for some 30 years or so.
The rest of the figures remained on their boxes for all these years, together with a bunch of 1/72, 1/32 aircraft, some 1/35 kits and figures, in a large card box that moved with me on each house move, until I recently (in 2018) returned to this hobby.
That's when I rediscovered those 120mm Verlinden figures that I never painted, and that is how I found about this Forum, while searching for some info about one of the figures.
So I've painted them all now.

If I'm not mistaken, from 30+ years ago, right after I bought those few Verlinden figures, I assembled and painted 3 or 4 of them.
Believe that the very 1st one was this USAF Memphis Belle crew member on the pics below. Mostly painted in Humbrol enamels, with the exception of the leather parts (jacket and pants on his case) for which I bought my 1st oil paints, Raw Umber and Burnt Sienna (still have those 2 tubes!) from Lefranc & Bourgeois.












Never finished the inscription on his Mae West nor his parachute bag (actually I was never able to find out what's written in the real ones...) .
The 5 o'clock shadow is definitely exaggerated ( ), no shadings nor highlights, the eyes are weird... but he is proudly standing on my cabinet with all the others and I love it no matter what.


Cheers!

 

[kurtj]

Banjer,

I have personally cared for a number of patients with Alzheimer’s during my 35 year health care career both from a mental health and trauma perspective and I am very well aware if it’s devastating effects upon both the patient and their families and was in no way making fun of them. If it was offensive to anyone, my sincerest apologies.

Kurt