individuals to join their asso- ciation. “Kids don’t seem to be interested,” indicated Clark. “Their attention span seems to be too short.”“Yet, it’s a great way to learn patience and hard work,” quickly agreed Murray. Patience is a necessity, when building models, for some can take as long as nine months to build. “Most of us still work,” ac- knowledged Norris. “So we only build when we have spare time.” The group stresses, however, that no skills are needed and that anyone can join the hobby. “You just have to follow the instruc- tions and soon enough, you’ll be hooked,” he said. “We’re all experienced builders and would bemore than thrilled to help out someone new to the hobby.” “There’s more to buying a model kit and simply building it,” admitted Murray. “Some of us venture into the edge of creativity, and severely modify our models to depict real-life replicas.” A hobby that’s been around for some time The limited use of plastic modeling can be traced shortly before World War II. Yet, the act of model building in gen- eral dates back to ancient Egypt. Some burial sites uncovered by archaeologists containedmod-
Cornwall Replica Association in Plastic members (standing) Glen Morris, Art Murray, Ken Clark and John Ngyn (sitting) proudly pose with their creation. The group meets ever second Sunday of the month, on the second storey of the Cornwall Legion.
“You have to knowwhat kind of uniform goes on whom and what kind of color goes on what,” commentedMurray. “Around this table, we have guys that have ridden in some of the tanks they now build. It’s great.” The sheer amount of armaments located all over the table could very well arma whole army, if it was simply a tad bigger. Lying in front of Murray are soldiers, neatly and cor- rectly painted. “It takes me around 20 hours to finish one of them,” he added. When asked what makes a great miniature builder, the room erupts in words, coming from nearly every builder. “It takes a lot of patience, of course,” echoed Ken Clark.
But just what kind of tools does a model builder utilize? “Well, we use small paint brushes and glue,” mentionned Norris. “But what we mostly use is an X-Acto blade and our brain.” The group, made up of just over 10 members, has been around since the 2005. “We’re an informal group,” statedMurray. “We’re pretty relaxed.” Some of their
are glad to make their journey to Cornwall in order to meet individuals with similar taste in model building. The associa- tion is the only one and first of its kind in the city and
els of chariots and of ships. Throughout history, models were used to represent ideas and to record constructions. Prior to being constructed, most war ships were constructed in model form. Up until themid 20 th century, model building was
a hobby that took great amounts of time. With the availability of mass marketed plastic model kits and the disposable income in the prosperous times follow- ing WWII and the rebuilding in Europe and Japan, a new hobby was born: plastic model building. One of the prime selling points
“If you don’t have patience, you won’t go far in the hobby.”The members then all erupt in laughter. “You’ve got to have pas-
A Mustang GT
for the hobby is its connection with history. Model building creates an interest in various subjects and allows anyone to own a representation of the Titanic or to holdDarth Vader’s TIE Fighter. Technological advances havemademod- el building more and more sophisticated, and the proliferation of expensive detailing add-ons have raised the bar for competition withinmodeling clubs. As a result, a kit built on a weekend cannot compare with a kit built over months where a tiny add-on part such as an aircraft seat can cost more than the entire kit itself.
sion,” Norris explained. “You have to want to com- plete it.” According to the mem-
surroundings. “There was never a model builders’ club in this city,” remarked Norris. “I
bers, the art of plasticmodel building is quite inexpensive, compared to other hobbies. “The most expensive you have to buy are tools,” claimed Murray. “For all our supplies, the Dollar Store is our best friend.” Again, the room erupts in laughter.
think the people who love this hobby are what we call closeted builders, meaning they keep to themselves.” The group of men around the table also stress that they would love for younger
mem- bers hail fromas far as Montreal and Petawawa and
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
The Journal Cornwall
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