What was your first plastic kit?

[Westmarcher]

A slight diversion. My first ever plastic kit was Eagle's WW2 Kriegsmarine pocket battleship, Lutzow (formerly named Deutschland but changed when it dawned on the Nazis what a propaganda coup it would be for the British to sink her). The Admiral Graf Spee was part of the same class of warship and not only did Eagle produce other ships in the Deutschland class but also other famous warships from that era, including a box version of the four ships that participated in The Battle of The River Plate.

So I googled Eagle ship models and found out that the name of the company which manufactured this range of 1/1200 models was actually called Eaglewall and that the kits were originally manufactured in Dorking in the 1960's. I could be wrong but I like to think that one of the game reports included in Donald Featherstone's Naval Wargames featured many of the ship models from this range.  I remembered them as great wee models that gave you the option of building a hull or waterline version plus, in the case of the Lutzow, additional parts to give you the further option of building an early war or re-fitted, later war version. Alas, I only ever owned the Lutzow and, in later years (when I discovered Featherstone's book in the local library), I wished I had sought to acquire more (although what the level of availability was by that time is anyone's guess - Eaglewall only lasted 5 years).

So here is a link I found to a book on the whole subject. You can click on each image to get an expanded version. I also found another link that sells spare parts! (you have to wonder why these were spare - good chance there were two different versions of similar components to provide the kind of options I mentioned above). There are even some instruction leaflets for sale for constructing the models! My only disappointment is that the detail in some models illustrated in the Waterline-Ships website (see other pages) is not as crisp and detailed as I remembered - possibly this is due to me being used to an overall improvement in standards in casting miniatures over the years. However there is mention in the book link that the detail suffered when other manufacturers released versions of some of the models in later years, presumably using the old moulds or copies of these.

Lutzow kit box http://www.steelnavy.com/Images3/EaglewallBook/eag8103.JPG
Eaglewall's Table Top Navy http://www.steelnavy.com/EaglewallBook.htm
Waterline-ships Eaglewall spare parts http://waterline-ships.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=47

I must confess I didn't do a very good job of assembling the model but I was only a lad at the time and it was my very first attempt. What was your first ever plastic kit?

[Raider4]

Good topic!

Mine was an Airfix 1/72 scale Jet Provost.

[Ithoriel]

As a child I got sick while on a family holiday in Scarborough. When I say family, perhaps it would be more accurate to say tribal holiday - parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents!

The whole group were supposed to go to the pantomime but it was decided I was not well enough to go. My grandfather nobly sacrificed himself for the greater good and volunteered to stay with me (I'm pretty sure he was relieved to have an excuse not to go ). To keep me occupied, knowing my interest in things military, he bought me the Eaglewall River Plate set and we built the ships over the course of the evening.

A couple of years later I discovered Don Featherstone's Naval War Games and River Plate games ensued regularly enough that my bedroom floor became a virtual Iron Bottom Sound

[Norm]

HMS Belfast ... I think.

[jimduncanuk]

Are you expecting me to remember that far back?

Whatever it was it probably cost 2/6 and came in a plastic bag with a paper label.

Circa 1960's

[fred.]

Now that’s a question!

I’m really struggling to remember, I can remember many early kits, Lancaster, B52, vosper MTB, all in 1/72nd. But there must have been ones before this as these are all fairly big serious kits. I recall a Henry VIII and a French Grenadier both in 1/12th and I think my Mum helping to paint Henry. I also recall some garden birds, which must have been 1/2 or 1/3rd scale that my Mum painted very artistically.

But the order of the above is rather blurred over the years.

[Steve J]

It was an Airfix Fokker Dr1, than was moulded in red plastic. I think I helped my Dad assemble it and he painted the wheels, engine and guns. I can remember if we put decals on it, but I imagine we did. The kit was bought from Renmodels in Cambridge in the early 1970's.

[FierceKitty]

Airfix RE 8.

[Wulf]

Airfix F-111, bought for my fifth birthday (and, therefore, in March 1967). I built it a few days later while my parents were at some do or another & my Autie was watching me.

I couldn't figure out the undercarriage, but I wanted it sitting on it's wheels, and discovered that, by turning the main axle piece 90 degrees, it worked, much simplified. SO my first kit was also my first conversion...

I kept it or many years, never painted it. I don't remember actually throwing it out, I think it just disintegrated over time...

[petercooman]

Revell apollo lander



Togheter with star wars ships, i believe this one:



i was always a fan of the b-wing. It's my favourite ship togheter with the y-wing. I use them all the time in the x-wing game!

[mad lemmey]

Hawker Hunter and a Tigger Mirth

[steve_holmes_11]

Memory is a bit hazy, I think it was the Airfix SRN1 hovercraft.



Mum wasn't keen on getting me tanks and bombs.
I duly loaded it up with British Commandos and used it to terrorise the Nazi occupied coast.

Pity it wasn't the larger hovercraft:



Sharp eyes might notice the cunning Bosch attempting to infiltrate Dover on one of their solid-topped Kubelwagens.

[steve_holmes_11]

Memory is a bit hazy, I think it was the Airfix SRN1 hovercraft.



Mum wasn't keen on getting me tanks and bombs.
I duly loaded it up with British Commandos and used it to terrorise the Nazi occupied coast.

Pity it wasn't the larger hovercraft: (About right scale for 10mms)



Sharp eyes might notice the cunning Bosch attempting to infiltrate Dover on one of their solid-topped Kubelwagens.

[sultanbev]

I can't remember what the first kit I built was, but the first kit I had was an Airfix Yak-9 in 1/72 that my mum built and painted. Have been pretty much 1/72 kits ever since, none of this heretical 1/35 or 1/48 stuff.

I do remember cycling to Accrington in my wellies to buy the new Matchbox tank kits that had come out, from a random newsagents. Seemed like an outlandish idea at the time.
Two colour plastic kits was revolutionary back then! And subjects that Airfix never did, what a concept for a model firm to do 

Mark

[kustenjaeger]

Greetings

I think it was an Airfix WWI biplane my father helped me build.  I know I had a Roland C.II but this might have been later.

Regards

Edward