Airfix Model Workshop

I don't know about you but when I was a kid it was common for parents to buy their children Airfix or Revell kits of aircraft or such like to build. For a while though it seemed as if this sort of present had gone out of fashion in favour of toys with a much more 'instant' appeal. But lots of plastics companies (especially Armourfast and Airfix) have cottoned onto the clever idea of hosting free model workshops at game shows or living history events. I suspect that for many of the kids taking part this will be their first encounter with a traditional model kit and (guiltily) I have to admit that's certainly true for both my children. 

On Sunday I took the whole family to Duxford, and as in previous years Airfix were there offering a chance for kids (and their parents) to build a model for free, and even paint it if they wanted to. We arrived quite early to get a good parking spot so we had a couple of hours to kill before any of the flying displays started and so decided to head over to the Airfix stand to build ourselves a model aeroplane. 

The Young Padawan carefully clips a small part from the sprue. She did most of the work herself, I just 'interpreted' the instructions and helped with the fiddly bits. 

Both daughters (and my eldest's boyfriend) built a model and were kept happily amused for nearly an hour. 

She went on to paint her finished model and was even given a box to bring it home in. Not bad considering this very kit was being sold for £8.00 in the museum shop!

I haven't done a lot of modelling or painting over the last few weeks but this was a nice chance to 'indulge' myself while also passing on a few skills to the kids.