When I was five years old my mam would take me to the local model shop to spend some of my 10 shillings pocket money. I would buy either some airfix boxes of soldiers costing 2 shillings a box. If I didnt spend all my pocket money at the model shop. I would be allowed to go to the local newsagents and purchase the latest matchbox, costing only another 2 shillings a car, then suddenly having to pay half a crown for a model.
The local model shop would even put models aside for me if I didnt have enough money to purchase a dinky or corgi model I wanted.
By the time I was six I would regularly go to the the model shop with my ten shilling note and If I was lucky and find enough Lowcocks lemonade bottles left in the street, raising the ten shillings to a pound or even more depending how many I found and returning them to the local shops..
I suddenly started making scratch houses or bunkers from balsa wood scraps from the local model shop, costing 3 pence for a length of 4mm x 4mm x 300mm or smaller depending on the damage to the balsa wood. Instead of paying 5 pence a length for a brand new length. You didnt have to buy a pack of balsa wood you could bye what you needed.
The person who owned the model shop would do anything for you even to the extreme of cutting a basic shape of a glider for young customers to go away with and make it at home or even make the glider up for you..
Roll on the years Im just gettin back into modelling making again.
On Saturday I was clearing out a number of boxes and I found a 1:76 Oxford scania white cab, which was unbranded. I wondered why I had bought it in the first place 12 months ago. I thought to myself I know what I will do with it and started looking on ebay for a Oxford 1:76 flatbed trailer but to my horror I couldn't find any at a reasonable price. The only thing I could find that looked anything I wanted was a trailer with 3 raised holes in the the of the trailer (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/23566189...MIpsuxu-HFlAMVMptQBh2oNiArEAQYBSABEgJo8vD_BwE).
It wasnt what I wanted. I had to spend a further few hours to get something that I could convert. I ended up buying a Oxford modern nootebook low loader trailer with ramps for £17.95 plus pp.
I then thought I would have to buy some 6mm x 6mm x 300mm balsa wood to crate some posts to be placed on the trailer.
What a nightmare I spent hours looking for the balsa I needed for the posts in question. I could packs of balsa wood of varing sizes but not what I wanted. I tried my local model shop and emailed them asking if they had individual lengths their reply was no only packs, even cheekily asking if they had any damagesd packs for sale lol lol.
I had to throw in the towel and buy the balsa I needed from China. Still I couldnt get the sizes from one supplier and had to use two different suppliers expected delivery date is the 1st June to the 12th June but sometimes the dates mean nothing.
I will keep you update as things progress.
Peter
The local model shop would even put models aside for me if I didnt have enough money to purchase a dinky or corgi model I wanted.
By the time I was six I would regularly go to the the model shop with my ten shilling note and If I was lucky and find enough Lowcocks lemonade bottles left in the street, raising the ten shillings to a pound or even more depending how many I found and returning them to the local shops..
I suddenly started making scratch houses or bunkers from balsa wood scraps from the local model shop, costing 3 pence for a length of 4mm x 4mm x 300mm or smaller depending on the damage to the balsa wood. Instead of paying 5 pence a length for a brand new length. You didnt have to buy a pack of balsa wood you could bye what you needed.
The person who owned the model shop would do anything for you even to the extreme of cutting a basic shape of a glider for young customers to go away with and make it at home or even make the glider up for you..
Roll on the years Im just gettin back into modelling making again.
On Saturday I was clearing out a number of boxes and I found a 1:76 Oxford scania white cab, which was unbranded. I wondered why I had bought it in the first place 12 months ago. I thought to myself I know what I will do with it and started looking on ebay for a Oxford 1:76 flatbed trailer but to my horror I couldn't find any at a reasonable price. The only thing I could find that looked anything I wanted was a trailer with 3 raised holes in the the of the trailer (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/23566189...MIpsuxu-HFlAMVMptQBh2oNiArEAQYBSABEgJo8vD_BwE).
It wasnt what I wanted. I had to spend a further few hours to get something that I could convert. I ended up buying a Oxford modern nootebook low loader trailer with ramps for £17.95 plus pp.
I then thought I would have to buy some 6mm x 6mm x 300mm balsa wood to crate some posts to be placed on the trailer.
What a nightmare I spent hours looking for the balsa I needed for the posts in question. I could packs of balsa wood of varing sizes but not what I wanted. I tried my local model shop and emailed them asking if they had individual lengths their reply was no only packs, even cheekily asking if they had any damagesd packs for sale lol lol.
I had to throw in the towel and buy the balsa I needed from China. Still I couldnt get the sizes from one supplier and had to use two different suppliers expected delivery date is the 1st June to the 12th June but sometimes the dates mean nothing.
I will keep you update as things progress.
Peter
