When old modeler's retire
These are photos of my fathers collection in his 'man cave' out the back of his garage. He has been modeling since he was young and would have made his first kit back in the 1950s. He has finally decided that its time for his collection to go, and he has been lucky enough to sell it as a complete unit to a single buyer. Most of my childhood was spent watching him at work, and its very clearly why I still build today. It's very sad to see the physical models go, but the memories will forever remain. He has been very active in the modeling community in New Zealand for many many years and has been the president of 2 IPMS clubs here, the Christchurch branch, and the Blenheim branch that he started in the 1980s. He mainly focused on 1/72 aircraft but pottered around sometimes with 1/35 armour. The last few years he got quite interested in ships, and lot of his ships are scratch builds. We are very much a family of modelers, and I guess scratch building ships was only natural as when my grandfather served with the RNZAF during WW2 in the pacific, he use to make models based on reconnaissance photos of Japanese ships. The fighter pilots and torpedo bomber crews would then use these models to familiarise themselves with the enemy ships before a mission. Anyway, just wanted to put these photos up as a lasting memory to his model collection and the many hours he spent dedicated to his hobby :o)
Mercy me...that is very impressive
Absolutely amazing
Great collection "of a lifetime", Kudo's to the great modeler from Belgium!
This is an amazing collection and an equally amazing presentation, my friend @carlpud.
Kudos to the father modeler - and the son!
How impressive, Carl.
A lot of memories are in that collection.
And as you said, memories will remain.
@carlpud - Amazing collection. You're making me feel old, that he's doing this. Fortunately, I am still my doctor's "most boring patient." A very nice collection of high-quality work.
One correction: that diorama of the carrier and the destroyer he has is the USS Yorktown CV-5, not Hornet. The event was at Midway. A minor problem having nothing to do with the models, but you guys might want to correct that before the collection leaves. It's one of those "embarrassing typos" we historians frequently find ourselves having done.
Well, Carl... that looks like the armed forces of an entire nation!
A truly amazing collection of models and I saw many a trip down memory lane on the shelves. My particular interest is aircraft, but I love the MTB cutting through the waves at high speed. The way the 'water' around the model has been constructed gives the kit fantastic presence, as though the viewer is watching its progress from a nearby vessel.
It will be such a wrench to see them go, but I imagine the new owner will be as chuffed as punch. My compliments to your dad for such a collection and the fact that his topics of choice have been all-encompassing and executed with consistent excellence.
Regards,
Paul
Wow he's built more kits than I have in the stash.
Huge collection-quantity and quality! He is gonna miss this but dont be surprised if he starts a new collection !
This is real temple where everybody just quitly stares at this beaty collection or whispers respectfully. I got goosebumps... Wish to build at least half of this till my retirement.
Great stuff, Carl. I especially like his solution for displaying the 1/700 waterline ships. Would it be possible to show some closeup shots? I have a box full of them in the stash and realize I need to start building them before my eyes get much older.
Stunning collection, and it all looks like really top notch work.
Wow! Amazing collection and what a variety!
Thanks for the wonderful photo gallery. Clearly, your dad has been a talented and dedicated gluer-upper of mostly little plastic military models. Lucky you, to have a father who mentored you in this great hobby we all care so deeply about. Is the photo of your dad? If so, he doesn't look old enough to be hanging up the glue pot for good.
Ali baba’s Modelling cavern.
I hope many kids got to visit you in awe of such a collection and be inspired to emulate productivity and passion to our subject.
Amazing no less.
I like the last photo. The one with the smile. The rest represents the love for the hobby.
Lovely tribute to your Dad and rightly so!
I am sure he enjoyed it all - great to see such a body of work.
Beautiful, thanks for sharing this. This past year I pretty much depleted my stash, such as it was. While I don't think I'll retire from building I've definitively have slowed down.
Jaw dropping tribute. Salute to you and your Dad! Two thumbs up!
🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
Nice modeling and a very good sense of variety.
For sure these pictures are a valid proof that scale modeling is time well spent.
Your father has done a good job on these models. He is just taking a very well deserved break.
A scale model addict always comes back.
Really fine collection of builds and memories
Wow! You should open it up for tours amazing!
Thank you.
Wow - quite the collection! Thanks for posting.
The last photo really represents a life story. The smile on his face is the pleasure and happiness that the hobby provided.
Really wonderful!
Wow! Bloody good show @carlpud. Man, what an amazing collection of work! That is mighty impressive and makes me feel like a right piker in comparison. Thanks for showing us this lifetime's work of a truly dedicated modeler! 🙂
What an incredible collection, and years of happiness for your father!