Monday, August 30, 2010
No picture this time. One of my favorite pastimes...I can still remember sitting on a stool at the workbench in the basement, listening to my portable record player playing "Return to Me" by Dean Martin, or "Sandy" by Larry Hall while carefully cut the plastic tailing off my scale model of the X-1, the first aircraft to break the sound barrier, gleaming white with a long pointed nose. There were dozens of models, and I can remember most of them. Opening a new tube of Testors Model Cement, a tin tube with a tiny screw in the nozzle to seal it back up. I never thought about deliberately sniffing the potent glue; I was intoxicated enough constructing the realistic models. And the colorful little square glass bottles of PLA paint. and one of Dad's collection of Gerber baby food jars with paint thinner on hand for brush washing. Didn't sniff that either. Loved the painting, hated the decal transfers which were always crooked or wrinkled. Now I wish I had at least photographed the X-1, the X15, the Starfighter jet, the vertical take-off with twin props on the nose that rotated in opposite directions, the 57 Chevy, the deuce coupe hot rod, the battleship, and all the rest.
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3 comments:
I still can remember that song Sandy. I think it was on a '45 if I remember correctly. Oh yes, and the smell of Testor's PLA paint. I always wondered what the PLA was all about. And remember the original "Handi-Tool" known better today by the brand name Dremel Tool? I still have Dad's Handi Tool, but I am not sure if it works or not. Now Thom, I want to know if you remember when someone (maybe you) built a battle ship and someone else (maybe you or one of your friends) blew it up with a firecracker? I can remember as clearly as if it happened yesterday. I am fairly certain Barry Jones was one of the "innocent" bystanders. I recall the firecracker was placed down the chimney, whereupon exploding blew a large part of the ship apart. Do you recall that? I have other memories of you and your friends fooling around with fireworks, particularly firecrackers, and fairly large ones to boot.
Now I hate to pull the age card but I seriously don't remember any of the stuff that either of you posted. I do remember Lou working on models, but even more so, I remembered wanted a model to do myself and either mom or dad or both vetoed the idea because I was a girl. GRRRR..
I would say it was because Mom and Dad did not want you to be overcome with glue fumes. But that can't be it since that stuff you guys used for hair perms was way more toxic than any glue, paint, or solvent. :-)
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