appropriate age for first kit

[dryguy]

I have a friend at work with an 8 year old son who is a budding aviation enthusiast, also his birthday coming up; unfortunately his dad has a job which takes him away from home a lot so he wont be able to help the kid build the model. So do you guys think 8 years old is a bit young for a model kit? Is it giving the parents more of a headache with regards mess etc? Love to know what you guys think.

[worldslaziestbusker]

My son is seven and is just coming to the end of a 1/72 Airfix Ju88 that he built with very little help, though I've walked him through five or six other kits in the past four years.

If all you can do is supply the materials, I would recommend a click together effort. Airfix has some Lego like kits that are easy and give a satisfying finished product. It's distinct from what anyone here would consider model building, but it offers an introduction any child could handle on their own. They're lumpy enough that anyone desiring detail will follow up with kits at a later date.

If you have the opportunity to sit down with them and walk them through the basic steps needed to put a kit together, an eight year old would stand a good chance of finishing up with something they'd be proud to show off to friends and family. I've provided kits to several children in my son's cohort on this basis, asking after their progress every time our families got together, which offers the bonus of having something to talk to a child about beyond "So, you're in school, right?" While only one child has asked for a follow up, most saw the project through.

My daughter is four and coming to the end of a wooden kit and will graduate to her first choice from the styrene stash over the long weekend.

[dryguy]

thanks the snap together kits sound about right

[ross blackford]

:D, 8 year olds can sometimes be excellent modellers. It all depends on how keen they are. Some will need constant attentiona nd supervision (like telling them over and over how to do something) others are just naturals. They can pick up the kit, read the instructions, maybe ask a couple of questions and then get in and follow the instructions and produce a fine model. Others just don't have the patience or motivation and their work spaces very quickly become an unholy mess which they then run off and leave for someone else to clean up. I have had to leave the disinterested ones to their own devices at Air League and try to concentrate on the ones that are interested and want to create a model as close to the box top as they can. The models are then photographed and sent to State Group HQ as modelling is part of the training syllabus. Sometimes I'd get an email from Sydney asking why Cdt Bloggs hasn't built a model and I have to explain why.

But if you get a good kid, motivated and interested in his/her subject they're a blessing to work with.

Cheers,

Ross.

[lyonkubb]

Re: "Is it giving the parents more of a headache with regards mess etc?"

To My Mom & Dad- Thank you for your patience with my modeling! Thank you for the kits you bought for my birthdays and christmas'. Thanks for paying attention to my interest and encouraging me.

I am now 44 years old, a licensed Airframe and Powerplant mechanic, and Engineer. I attribute my livelihood today to the early days of modeling and restoring motorcycles and cars. My father still wants to see photos of my finished builds and will pass them around work via email. My youngest daughter is taking a technical path in high school due to the same exposures I have given her.

Not a headache......a possible investment in their future!

To prove a point recently (because my plant management thinks that any idiot should be able to work on airframe components as long as the engineer has written the instructions well enough) I bought 8 of the Revell SR-71 kits and materials and sat a group of technicians down over a period of 4 weeks to build them. Remember that these are instructions written for 8 & up! It was amazing how little skill there was in a good portion of these adults for following instructions or complete lack of pride in workmanship. Two of the eight finished really nice builds (still displayed in their break room) two others built the kit correctly but sloppy, the remaining four either did not complete the build or built incorrectly.

Edited April 2, 2015 by lyonkubb

[Don]

Within reason, it depends on the individual child and their level of interest and exposure to model building or building toys (IMHO at least). My Son is six and just completed yet another Revell car Snap Together kit (1/24 Corvette C6):

All I do is clip the parts off the sprues and clean them up if necessary to avoid him working with sharp clippers and blades. But that's it. He follows the plans and snaps everything in place all by himself. He likes his models unpainted right now, which is his choice and I am fine with that. He has watched me work on models since he was born, so he has a fairly good understanding of the procedures and basics of model building. He and I walked through quite a few snap together kits since he was about four. But his last few kits have been his show alone (aside from the clipping and cleaning mentioned above).

Honestly, if the interest is there and with some guidance/assistance/support, young kids from an early age can get a great deal of enjoyment and sense of satisfaction from building models (and they are very educational a d great for developing fine motor skills).

Regards,

Don.

[Horrido]

Quick response and perhaps elaborate later:

Depends on the maturity and determination of the individual, along with the patience and devotion of the the new modeler's support system (ie, family and friends who take an interest and are willing to help). I started modelling when I was four-and-a-half with my grandfather, and I still have my first two kits from those builds. I started airbrushing with a Binks Wren when I was nine.

[skyhawk174]

Well, my grandson is 6 going on 7 in a few months. We just started his first real model since he keeps looking at mine in my display cabinet. I say real model as the others were simply snap fit and now we are using liquid cement and doing some painting.

What was really funny is that we were building an Airfix 1/48 Hurricane Mk.I in the new box but the old moulds. Anyway we are happily building away until we get to the part where we have to join the cockpit to the bottom wing. He asks me "What bottom wing grandad?". Can you believe it, it is not in the box. Yes the kit was new and sealed but no wing. It is one piece and the size of the box. How was that missed? Oh well time to get a replacement wing from Airfix. So end result we started another model, a tank this time.

Still seems interested but he keeps looking at my collection and wanting to pick the expensive Hasegawa kits to do next :)/> I simply tell him how many pieces there are and then he things about it.

I think what really got him interested in all this building and assembly of models is that his dad got him a Lego Technic model with over 950 pieces. Not the same as our hobby but close. Whatever, I am happy he is willing to do the modelling instead of getting caught up in that video game world.

So bottom line, I think 8 years old is old enough as long as he has the proper guidance from us older "pros" :)/>

Edited April 2, 2015 by skyhawk174

[majortomski]

I think the kid will have no problem with any of the snap kits out there. If he really likes aviation the Pegasus line of 1/48 snap together Kits are great:

Pegasus kits

The biggest problem is US! We've become so used to doing every thing "just right" that we forget the days of just slam one together. Give him the kit and a pair of sprue cutters and SIT BACK AND SHUT UP! That's a lesson I learned from my step kids over 25 years ago.

Have fun.

[MacStingy]

Does an eight year old have training wheels on a bike? Put the challenge out there. Back in the sixties, when I was 8 my bedroom ceiling was full of plastic aircraft that the local drugstore sold in bags(Airfix) tubed glue, Humbrol paint if I had some. My parents were never involved, I really didn't want them to interfere unless it was as an audience for the display of my latest creation. Go with a simple kit. I have seen kits that come with paint. Let the kids explore on their own and don't make them afraid of making mistakes.Those are my thoughts.

Paul

[skyhawk174]

The biggest problem is US!

So true. I had to learn to not worry about how HE wanted to do it. I do have him using one of my Xuron cutters so I think I have him started on the right track instead of simply breaking off the parts. The tank he wanted to build is an Abrams so we are painting it green and brown with some of my Tamiya paints.

Looks pretty good I thought and the most important thing is that he was very proud of it.

[canadadry1]

Got my first kit (SnapTite Revell or AMT Cobra Mustang) when I was 4...and so started the addiction!!!

Chris

[nickdanger]

I second the vote for Pegasus! My 9 y/o son did their P-51.

Also if the kids are good with smaller items and have some hand eye coordination, the EasyBuild kits in 1/72 from Hobbyboss are inexpensive and nicely detailed. Plus there are plenty of interesting planes to build.

[midnightprowler]

I built my first model at 8. AMT's long box Star Trek USS Enterprise, back in 1968.