bonfire79 Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Hi folks, Does anybody remember the Young Model Builders club? I used to be a member when I was a boy...(still a boy, heheh) :( Every month I would get a wonderful surprise in the mail- normally held at the post office... a brown boxed package with "Young model builders club" stamped all over it. Enclosed were two models, of which I had no idea what they were.... excited and anticipating what my next build was going to be... what is it going to be this month? A P-51? an F-105? maybe a Ford Mustang or even a UH-1C Huey!...... They would even include a picture of the built model. Ah, those were the days. I still have alot of those models, poorly built but yet hanging on my ceiling or sitting on my model shelf. What a great gift that was for me and many other kids. I can't even recall how many years I was a member, but it was alot. It was my beloved Dad -Rest in peace, Papa crying.gif who got me started in the club. It Absolutely contributed to my modeling skills now as an adult. I remember the first package I ever received.... A 1:72 scale F-16 and a Ford Mustang.... both molded in white. I built them in a day. No paint, no sanding, lots and lots of glue.... what a mess that was. The next month I remember getting a 1:72 F-105 thunderchief and some other car. I remember now most of the models were basic monogram- many of the classic kits. You could choose whether you wanted to build snap-tight or glue. You could choose a category-cars, or planes, jets or helos... whatever your interests were. What a wonderful club for youngsters anxious to get into building models. The name speaks for itself. So whatever happened to the club? I tried looking it up on the internet awhile back and I couldn't find anything.... it's like they fell off the planet or something. Oh, and I forgot... kids these days now don't care about doing anything constructive... they're all doing a new hobby called cell-phones, texting, and video games. My dad always said my model hobby kept me away from doing drugs, but what about our children these days? Have you noticed that Walmart's big toy selection doesn't even have plastic models anymore? Maybe it's just the ones where I live.... anyways I'm off my rant now... If I could, I would just lie about my age and enroll myself in the club once again.... Lord, bless our hobby and those who got us involved Merry Christmas Bon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MAG One Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Bon, I remember the Young Model Builders Club. It was originally the Readers Digest Young Model Builders Club then it branched out into othet publlications. I joined in 1963 or 1964. There was a card in the magazine that you folded the corners and taped in a quarter to join. You got 3 mdel for that 25 cents. After that it cost about 3.00 and you got a model about every other month. When I joined the models were Revell, Monogram, Aurora and Lindberg. The model I remember most was the Gemini and Mercury capsule set in 1/72 scale and the Aurora Viking ship. In my collection I still have a Revell CH-54 Skycrane in the Young Model Builders box. I remember that the models came in a white mailing box which was always te same size regardless what the model was. Man, that was a long time ago. Thanks for the memories. Merry Christmas to you and yours. Gary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MAG One Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Bon, I remember the Young Model Builders Club. It was originally the Readers Digest Young Model Builders Club then it branched out into othet publlications. I joined in 1963 or 1964. There was a card in the magazine that you folded the corners and taped in a quarter to join. You got 3 mdel for that 25 cents. After that it cost about 3.00 and you got a model about every other month. When I joined the models were Revell, Monogram, Aurora and Lindberg. The model I remember most was the Gemini and Mercury capsule set in 1/72 scale and the Aurora Viking ship. In my collection I still have a Revell CH-54 Skycrane in the Young Model Builders box. I remember that the models came in a white mailing box which was always te same size regardless what the model was. Man, that was a long time ago. Thanks for the memories. Merry Christmas to you and yours. Gary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
largemike Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 I was in that club also, around 1967 or 68. What fun it was waiting to see which model came next. I remember getting the Skycrane, wish I still had it And I remember getting an orange 747 jetliner, the Russian ship "Moskva", the Viking ship and a few others that were long ago melted back into plastic blobs. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Large Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sam63 Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 I have 3 Young Builders Kits - unopend, plus some promo pictures. Any suggestion on how I can find what they're worth? Thanks - Sam slapin@fuse.net Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jmyjmy Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 Hi folks,Does anybody remember the Young Model Builders club? I used to be a member when I was a boy...(still a boy, heheh) :) Every month I would get a wonderful surprise in the mail- normally held at the post office... a brown boxed package with "Young model builders club" stamped all over it. Enclosed were two models, of which I had no idea what they were.... excited and anticipating what my next build was going to be... what is it going to be this month? A P-51? an F-105? maybe a Ford Mustang or even a UH-1C Huey!...... They would even include a picture of the built model. Ah, those were the days. I still have alot of those models, poorly built but yet hanging on my ceiling or sitting on my model shelf. What a great gift that was for me and many other kids. I can't even recall how many years I was a member, but it was alot. It was my beloved Dad -Rest in peace, Papa crying.gif who got me started in the club. It Absolutely contributed to my modeling skills now as an adult. I remember the first package I ever received.... A 1:72 scale F-16 and a Ford Mustang.... both molded in white. I built them in a day. No paint, no sanding, lots and lots of glue.... what a mess that was. The next month I remember getting a 1:72 F-105 thunderchief and some other car. I remember now most of the models were basic monogram- many of the classic kits. You could choose whether you wanted to build snap-tight or glue. You could choose a category-cars, or planes, jets or helos... whatever your interests were. What a wonderful club for youngsters anxious to get into building models. The name speaks for itself. So whatever happened to the club? I tried looking it up on the internet awhile back and I couldn't find anything.... it's like they fell off the planet or something. Oh, and I forgot... kids these days now don't care about doing anything constructive... they're all doing a new hobby called cell-phones, texting, and video games. My dad always said my model hobby kept me away from doing drugs, but what about our children these days? Have you noticed that Walmart's big toy selection doesn't even have plastic models anymore? Maybe it's just the ones where I live.... anyways I'm off my rant now... If I could, I would just lie about my age and enroll myself in the club once again.... Lord, bless our hobby and those who got us involved :) Merry Christmas Bon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jmyjmy Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 HI BON, IVE GOT A HISTORICAL STORY TO TELL ABOUT THE YOUNG MODEL BUILDERS CLUB AS WELL. JUST BEFORE I RAN INTO THIS WEBSITE, BEING YOUNG AT HEART STILL, I WAS ACTUALLY LOOKING TO SEE IF THE CLUB STILL EXISTED AS I WAS GOING TO SIGN UP FOR THE 4TH TIME IN MY LIFE. BUMMER THE CLUB IS GONE. SO I GUESS I CAN SHARE SOME GOOD MEMORIES. IN 1977 MY PARENTS SIGNED ME UP. I SAT AND HELD THAT LITTLE ORDER SLIP MORE THAN ONCE. I WAS SO EXITED AT 8 YEARS OLD. THE FIRST MODELS I GOT WAS THE APOLLO MOON CRAFT IS THE BEST I CAN REMEMBER. I ALSO GOT THE RED BARON BIPLANE. AMONG OTHERS I REMEMBER IS THE F-4 CORSAIR II, ANOTHER WWI BRITISH BIPLANE, AND PERHAPS SOME CAR MODELS. IT ENDED AFTER THAT. THEN IN 1980 AFTER A BIG MOVE, I WAS ABLE TO ONCE AGAIN CONVINCE MY MOTHER TO SIGN ME UP. I BELIEVE I WAS IN CLOSE TO YEAR AFTER THAT. I THINK BY THEN IT WAS PRETTY MUCH MONOGRAM MODELS. I REMEBER THE KINGFISHER PLANE, P-39 AIRACOBRA, THE PORSCHE, A BATTLESHIP, THE PONTIAC GTO, THE WHITE GT-350 MUSTANG, THE P-51 MUSTANG, AND SOME OTHERS. IVE STILL GOT THE PORSCHE,THE BATTLESHIP, AND THE P-39 AIRACOBRA. IT IS STILL UNASSEMBLED FOR WHATEVER REASON SINCE 1980. ILL GET TO THAT IN A SECOND. MANY YEARS WENT BY, THEN AT THE OLDER AGE OF AROUND 22, I STILL WANTED TO LIVE OUT THAT UNFINISHED CHILDHOOD DREAM. I ACTUALLY GOT SOMETHING IN THE MAIL, OR SAW AN AD SOMEWHERE, AS IT WAS PRE-INTERNET. EITHER WAY, I SIGNED UP. THE YEAR WAS 1992. I DONT KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER THE CLUB LASTED AFTER THAT. MY LAST EXPERIENCE WAS REALLY QUITE DISAPPOINTING. IT STARTED OFF FINE. I STILL ACTUALLY HAVE MOST OF THE MODELS UNASSEMBLED. I GOT THE CESSNA AIRPLANE,THE HUEY HOG,THE HAWKER HURRICANE,ANOTHER KINGFISHER, AND LO AND BEHOLD TWO MORE AIRACOBRAS. THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A COUPLE MORE. IT REALLY GOT AWKWARD AS THEY STARTED SENDING REPEATS. I WROTE A LETTER AND IN RETURN I GOT A THANK YOU LETTER FOR COMPLETEING THE MODEL BUILDERS CLUB COLLECTION. WHAT? I HADNT EVEN GOT TEN MODELS. SO THAT WAS PROBABLY IN THEIR FINAL DAYS. YESTERDAY I WENT IN MY STORAGE BECAUSE I FINALLY HAVE A DESIRE TO BUILD THE 3 AIRACOBRAS, WHICH LED ME TO THINKING OF SIGNING UP AGAIN. HA HA. BUT, NO MORE CLUB TO JOIN. THIS FIRST AIRACOBRA IS OVER 30 YEARS OLD. OF ALL THE MODEL KITS I BUILT IN MY YOUNGER YEARS, I DONT HAVE AN ANSWER AS TO WHY I NEVER BUILT THIS KIT. THE OTHER TWO ARE OVER 18 YEARS OLD. ITS TIME TO GET BUSY AND BUILD. IM GLAD I RAN INTO YOUR POST.THESE HAVE BEEN THE GOOD CLEAN FUN ACTIVITIES IN AMERICAS PAST. MAYBE WE MIGHT SEE THE CLUB AGAIN.MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL. MERRY CHRISTMAS. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ross blackford Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 <_<, Merry Christmas to you all. Reading this thread has made me wonder. Would it be possible to in some form get this worthwhile club going again as a web based club? Perhaps it would have to be called something else. Could it even be a branch of ARC perhaps, with a new name? Perhaps the concept could be revived under the auspices of ARC. I don't know if this would work, but it seems like a worthwhile activity for youngsters, both boys and girls to get involved with. I believe children need activities other than online games to occupy their spare time and it also gives us all new skills and helps to improve our skill of hand in other life pursuits as well. Not only that but we can then also use those skills around the home to repair and build things that need repairing or building. I see a couple of generations of young ones who have grown up without parental care and love and parental time spent with them and when those generations have children of their own they are often already condemned to a life of boredom, loneliness and often drift into crime of one kind or another. Modeling gives the parents a chance to actually spend time with their children, I know I appreciate to this day the time my late Dad spent with me when he could, (shift work and all that entails) either helping me to build a model or giving me some how to advice, or playing with me as I played with my train set. What do other members think of these thoughts? Let us know your thoughts on the subject. , Ross. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sarathi S. Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Not all children are obsessed with video games and texting. I'm 16 and I quite enjoy models and have for a while. I do text and play video games, but I do all three. In fact, games often influence my choices of paint schemes for my models. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
michaelseymour Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I discovered a Young Model Builders Club box in my closet, it contains 2 models. There is a Hawker Hurricane and a 69 Nova SS, both still in their factory sealed bags, with artwork. Are these worth anything? I tried to find values or any information I could find and Google has led me here. Any information anyone could forward to me would be appreciated. I have seen a couple of other models for this club being sold for around 40 euros by other shops, but these shops dont buy models. Also I see this site is geared more toward airplanes and I do live near the best airplane museum I have ever seen here in Tucson, you really need to see it. Thanks, my email is available in my profile. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevenrothermel Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I discovered a Young Model Builders Club box in my closet, it contains 2 models. There is a Hawker Hurricane and a 69 Nova SS, both still in their factory sealed bags, with artwork. Are these worth anything? I tried to find values or any information I could find and Google has led me here. Any information anyone could forward to me would be appreciated. I have seen a couple of other models for this club being sold for around 40 euros by other shops, but these shops dont buy models. Also I see this site is geared more toward airplanes and I do live near the best airplane museum I have ever seen here in Tucson, you really need to see it. Thanks, my email is available in my profile. fyi- there is a site called gasolinealleyantiques.com that can give you some sort of idea what these mods are worth. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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