Start ’em Young!

Start ‘Em Young

             My five year old son was watching with interest as I was worked on my latest creation and asked, “Dad, can I make a model someday?” Those being some of the sweetest words in the English language to a modeler, I dropped what I was doing and went to the storage shelves to retrieve a kit.

             I told him that I had been waiting for a long time for him to ask me that question and I had been prepared for just such an occasion. From the Revell line of Snap Kits I had stored a ’70 Mustang Mach I kit just for this purpose. These kits are stylish, molded in colors, easy to assemble and come with some stick-on emblems. I find that the 1:32 scale car kits are just the right size for small hands to work with too. These details are important because it gives the young modeler a sense of the correct methods and the sequence of model building; as it exists today. It also produces a good looking, rugged model that the child can put together in minutes (with varying degrees of help) and as an added bonus they can play with the finished product.

             As with many things, modeling requires patience and attention to details, so show the young one’s how to read the kit’s instructions and let them try the assembly on their own. You’ll be surprised how quickly they figure out how to do it themselves. I found that even though my son could figure out the orientation of most parts he still had trouble seating the parts and getting them to snap into place. Just let them know that you will handle the little things that they can’t do yet and they will happily finish the project with your help. The best way to determine if they had fun is the sense of pride that beams from the smile on their face when the finish the model and say, “I did it myself!”