What to do on a rainy weekend? Hey, I haven’t built a model for 30 years! None to be found at the local five and dime (OK, Target, Longs, etc.) Models just aren’t a “thing” anymore. Made some phone calls and found one of Berkeley’s well-kept secrets – the Ace Hardware on University has an entire huge basement downstairs packed to the gills with models and hobbyist stuff. Dusty boxes stacked floor to ceiling, some of them dating back to when I remember building models as a boy (though I couldn’t find the lunar lander or Banana Splits Banana Buggy models I remember building). But we did find Dr. Zira of Planet of the Apes. No, Miles has never seen Planet of the Apes, but it did give us a good opp. to talk about reverse evolution. Model glue is hard to come by these days, but we did find a box of the incredibly stinky enamel paints. Ooooo oooo, that smell! Came out pretty well, but I think he thinks Legos are more challenging.
Tilting at windmills for a better tomorrow.
woah — way cool. I wonder if there’s a shop like that around here somewhere. Kids have march break in 2 weeks and it’d be fun to make some models. For them I mean. Really.
Tell me about it (when it comes to finding models now). There is a local ‘hobby’ shop that had some models (a lot of them to be fair) but they cost 25$ and up! I wanted just a few ‘level 1’ models for Logan’s room to hang from the ceiling. I did buy the one level 1 airplane model they had (20$) and ended up hitting a Michael’s craft store, got two more level 1’s there. Hung them from the ceiling with some fishing line.
Some model companies sell their wares via the web now but not necessarily all models. The shop you got near you sounds like a rare gem. Walmart (evil personified I know) usually has paints and glue though.