Recently retired

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Aquadan005

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Jan 14, 2026
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Recently semi-retired! Was spending a lot of free time falling down YouTube holes and finally decided I'm not going to waste my leisure time that way for the rest of my life. I built many a model back in my youth. My two crowning achievements were the Revell B-52 and the Cutty Sark (alongside my father). Anyway, I'm going to get back in the hobby as long as the old peepers allow. Look forward to chatting and sharing pics.
 
Welcome Dan!

I came back to the hobby in mid-2024 after about 25-30 years. I discovered my (our) story is quite common, many people drop the hobby when family/career/life makes demands and come back to it as the kids move out and the career winds down.
 
Howdy, and welcome. That YT thing can suck you right in for hours, so ya, I have to walk away often, cause there's tons of cool stuff going on here in the model world. YT is your friend when you need to look something up, and I use it all the time for that. Great SBS lessons on model building, so it's a great tool.

For those peepers, if I may suggest, you can acquire some high magnification reading glasses to make the job easier, thereby gaining a slight edge on the aging eye factor. I gave up my hood, too bulky and uncomfortable, but readers are perfect.

Wow, those ship builds are a faint memory, but I do remember them, lol. Who'da thunk the hobby would be so wild as it is today and the techniques so advanced, wow!

Main thang, have fun, and post em when ya got em. Cheers, Ski.

P.S. Don't be afraid to ask questions; we're all learning this hobby together.
 
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Congratulations on the retirement. You certainly found the right hobby! I have more than two decades away from any kind of possible retirement, but I am certainly prepairing for it! I have a lifetime of kits to build haha.
 
Howdy, and welcome. That YT thing can suck you right in for hours, so ya, I have to walk away often, cause there's tons of cool stuff going on here in the model world. YT is your friend when you need to look something up, and I use it all the time for that. Great SBS lessons on model building, so it's a great tool.

For those peepers, if I may suggest, you can acquire some high magnification reading glasses to make the job easier, thereby gaining a slight edge on the aging eye factor. I gave up my hood, too bulky and uncomfortable, but readers are perfect.

Wow, those ship builds are a faint memory, but I do remember them, lol. Who'da thunk the hobby would be so wild as it is today and the techniques so advanced, wow!

Main thang, have fun, and post em when ya got em. Cheers, Ski.

P.S. Don't be afraid to ask questions; we're all learning this hobby together.
It's actually YT that helped find my way back to modeling, watched a couple builds and got the itch again!
 
It's actually YT that helped find my way back to modeling, watched a couple builds and got the itch again!
Same here.

Of course I knew that modeling was still a "thing", but I stumbled across a video on YT from a guy named Plasmo, and could not pick my jaw up off the floor at what he was doing. That is what made me pull my stuff outta the closet and finish off some 1990s kits that were underway.
 
Welcome back to the hobby and to the forum!
I just retired this past summer, too, but there are some other things going on that have kept me from getting any building or painting done. Hopefully that will change as the new year goes on.
I look forward to seeing your work!
Best regards,
Brad
 
Recently semi-retired! Was spending a lot of free time falling down YouTube holes and finally decided I'm not going to waste my leisure time that way for the rest of my life. I built many a model back in my youth. My two crowning achievements were the Revell B-52 and the Cutty Sark (alongside my father). Anyway, I'm going to get back in the hobby as long as the old peepers allow. Look forward to chatting and sharing pics.
I built both of those a few decades ago. I gave them away when I moved away. The Cutty Sark was a large scale...and that rigging was something else to have to do! It turned out nice though. I wish I still had it.
 
Welcome mate! I built the Revell Cutty Sark, USS Constitution and, (who remembers) the whaler Charles W Morgan? (I went on board her at Mystic Seaport) Lovely kits for their time, and some unusual subjects -although the French company Heller produced some really lovely unusual ships!
Steve
 
Recently semi-retired! Was spending a lot of free time falling down YouTube holes and finally decided I'm not going to waste my leisure time that way for the rest of my life. I built many a model back in my youth. My two crowning achievements were the Revell B-52 and the Cutty Sark (alongside my father). Anyway, I'm going to get back in the hobby as long as the old peepers allow. Look forward to chatting and sharing pics.
Hi and welcome to the forum. Pantherman
 
Recently semi-retired! Was spending a lot of free time falling down YouTube holes and finally decided I'm not going to waste my leisure time that way for the rest of my life. I built many a model back in my youth. My two crowning achievements were the Revell B-52 and the Cutty Sark (alongside my father). Anyway, I'm going to get back in the hobby as long as the old peepers allow. Look forward to chatting and sharing pics.
Welcome!
I was in your situation a few years ago and have really enjoyed getting back into modelling and this site.
I have to echo Steve Ski's comments about magnification. One of the first things I noticed when getting back into the hobby is that my eyes aren't what they used to be. They're excellent for almost everything except painting a tiny cockpit. I took a chance and bought an inexpensive illuminated magnifying lamp. Next to my exacto knife and tweezers, it is easily one of my most used tools, and it didn't cost very much.
If I was to buy another illuminated magnifying lamp I would look for something that can reach across my model bench, and the light controls mounted somewhere handy. A lens of 4.2" diameter or bigger is fine.
Below are a couple of the options that I would consider:
1768521950494.jpeg
1768521950494.jpeg
1768521663488.jpeg

The above is my prefered option because of the reach of the arms.

1768521663488.jpeg

This one also has good reach and is bit less expensive. It is almost the same one a bought on-line a few years ago for less than $50 Cdn.
 
Recently semi-retired! Was spending a lot of free time falling down YouTube holes and finally decided I'm not going to waste my leisure time that way for the rest of my life. I built many a model back in my youth. My two crowning achievements were the Revell B-52 and the Cutty Sark (alongside my father). Anyway, I'm going to get back in the hobby as long as the old peepers allow. Look forward to chatting and sharing pics.
Outstanding! . . .I am in the same boat . . recently retired and back to model building . . . things have changed . . . now we have varnishes, washes, filters, pre shading, post shading, photo etch, decal solutions, $$$ model kits, panel lining, weathering. . . . .use to be buy a $4 kit with some Testors tube glue and a few Testors paints and you were done. Main thing is have fun. TONS of how to videos on Youtube which we didn't have "back in the day". Also forums like these are a great resource.
 
Can not believe how much the hobby has changed since I have got back in the game. While detail included in kits is much better these days it seems like scractch building skills are now put aside and replaced with pricey add ons. Decal choices are great but also come at a pretty steep price. PC's make research so much easier. Never would have guessed the hobby would have evoved this much.
 

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