Junior Modeling
One common dilemma for most things is - how do we attract the younger
crowd? How do we, as modelers, be sure that our hobby doesn't die away
as the modeling population ages? Believe it or not, there are plenty of
ways. The problem lies in the younger crowd. Many of the younger sect
want instant gratification - things that can satisfy them immediately.
While there aren't many that have the patience - nor the drive - to sit
down and build models over time, there are some out there. Trust me on
this. The problem now lies in finding them.
At one point a few years ago I was overseeing a group of junior high
school (grades sixth through eighth) young men that were interested in
modeling. They started their own club, had the prerequisite teacher "in
charge" and just needed some "adult" (and I do use that
term loosely) modeler that was willing to sit with them during their monthly
meetings. My sole purpose in the club was to answer any questions they
had about modeling as well as present different aspects of modeling that
could help them that we - as adults - take for granted. In addition, by
asking the local modeling populace, I was able to acquire a number of
kits not wanted anymore which could be given to these aspiring modelers.
I also used these models as "contest winnings" to show them
exactly what would take place at a contest which included showing them
what judges looked for. In addition, I was able to get the local IPMS
group - IPMS/Fort Crook - to donate money so I could assemble four "tool
chests" for these local kids to check out of the library (just like
a library book) so they could use the tools in their modeling endeavors.
It was great and there were at least five young men that showed up constantly,
and the greatest amount of modelers we had at one point were ten. Unfortunately
the teacher-moderator could no longer function as such and once the "core
members" graduated to high-school, membership dwindled. Still, it
was a great time and while I haven't seen any of the kids lately, there
were a few that were trying to keep up with their modeling. No doubt -
as it is with life - other, more important things took their concentration.
(I actually stopped modeling from the beginning of high-school, through
college, until I was working full-time, so I completely understand.)
Which brings us to today. I hope to present a number of articles over
time showcasing the types of models available for the beginning - and
junior - modeler. These range from snap-tites, to screw together models,
graduating to "screw-and-glue" together modelers to the "coup-de-grace"
of the completely glue together models. I doubt these articles will appear
in consecutive months, but they all should appear before the end of this
year, 2005. For some odd reason, we start off the series with a set of
relatively quick and easy glue-together models. I'm one of the lucky ones
in that my son has shown an interest in modeling. So, "strike while
the iron is hot" and now that we have some models in hand - most
sent in as review models from various companies - I'm going to try and
get him to sit down and show us how to build these models.
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