I sat down and started a father/son build with my 10 year old. I am helping him separate parts from the sprue and clean up a bit, but he is doing everything else. He wants to post his progress. The kit is the Academy M3A1.










He has a hard time being patient but wants to do his best. He even wants to do the indy tracks that come with the kit. We will post more progress photos.

Sorry. The photos still didn't load. They are visible under my profile.

There you go Russ got to keep the kids happy or they never give us any peace.

Very nice start. What is his name?
The photos are out of order, (Not being nitpicky) the 1st photo looks as if the weathering had been started due to the black marks where someones feet would have been.
Remember Dad, just help with the sharp items, I know it can be tough not to get your fingers in there.
I gather it's strickly a OOB build and you have an excellent start. I'll keep looking out for any more updates.
Good to see a Father/Son build.
Good luck,
Bob

Hello
That's a very nice build for a youngster. a lot tidier & less glue than I remember leaving on my models at that age.
Well Done.

Darren, thanks again for saving the day.
Bob, his name is Adam. He started using a pencil to make the treadplate a little worn. He has been looking for pictures to work from. He is trying to figure out how to make the front sprocket tuirn and leave the indy tracks workable. The road wheels and idler are still able to turn.

The only part I am helping with is with the xacto.

hi russ and adam.nice start hope my two boys get in to building kits when they are a bit older.my oldest (jack who is 5) some times takes a small interest in what i am building so i hoped to fined some snap together afv but drew a blank so we built a tie fighter insted.keep up the good work adam

hi russ
well done to adam i think that he's doing a great job with his m3a1.
looking forward to seeing more pictures soon.
neil......

Adam, great start with the build!! It's much nicer then anything that I buit at your age (it really resembled a hunk of glue with a bit of plactic). Keep up the good work and enjoy the hobby!!

Hello Adam:
Very impressive build so far, I will be watching for the completed M3. Russ thanks for sharing, you must be very proud of Adam.


Robert

great job little guy .. keep it up .. good to see your son and you engaging in such great activities

Hi Adam
Wow, already doing weathering at age ten....
Your doing a great job on that model,keep up the good work.

Rob

Russ... glad to see your passing down you model building to your son. I was about ten when I started with my dad. I saw your post and brought back memories of sitting in the chair next to my father. Thanks.

More progress on his build.

http://gallery.kitmaker.net/data/23985/thumbs/IMG_0776_Small_.JPG

http://gallery.kitmaker.net/data/23985/thumbs/IMG_0774_Small_.JPG

http://gallery.kitmaker.net/data/23985/thumbs/IMG_0772_Small_.JPG

http://gallery.kitmaker.net/data/23985/thumbs/IMG_0775_Small_.JPG

http://gallery.kitmaker.net/data/23985/thumbs/IMG_0777_Small_.JPG

He painted the details on the radio himself.

Adam, more great details. Kind of hard to see but I just copied them so I could get a closer look.
To try and help your Dad, Just click on the ( img) button and you get this,
{img]http://put.url.here/image.file[/img] , just replace the http between the ] and [ symbols with your file name and the photo will show up.
Looking like it's coming along nicely. Were you going to build it as a specific tank, use something from the kit decals, or just come up with something different?
Thanks guys for the update, hope to see more soon,
Bob

Hello Russ,
Tell Adam I am impressed with his work and he is doing a fine job! It is great to see you are helping him with guidance and letting him build to his liking. You make a great team and can't wait to see the finished product!

Best,

Walter

Wow Russ your son Adam is doing an excellant job on that M3 it's nice to see some old traditions haven't all died out when i was that age my father used to always help me and my brother Ant build our models those were good times now it's the other way round me and my brother are helping our dad build a 1/24 scale semi-truck

Thanks for the replies. Thank you Bob for the info. Hopefully I will get the photos posted correctly the third time. Adam is not sure about the decals he wants to use. We looked a little on the internet for some pictures. My wife's father was a marine, so we thought of doing a marine tank from the early Pacific, but he didn't like the two options that came with the kit. We will work and see what he likes as we get closer.

Russ,
The easiest way to do the photos is after you have them uploaded in the gallery when you click on the photo the next screen shows it and has a Linked Thumbnail. To the far right is a little emblem that looks like a tv or framed picture, click that, the html code will come up. If you highlight that and copy it you can paste it directly onto your post and the photo will appear when you post.
The decals are interesting for Bougainville but a bit much for a 10 year old. The other choices for USMC Pacific would be Butaritari Island-Makin atoll, Guadalcanal, New Georgia-Solomons, Rabaul, Rendova, Tarawa and as Satan Flame tanks at Saipan and not necessary in that order. I might have forgotten a couple.
Some of us I'm sure could help depending on Adam's choice of location.
Again it's great to see you guys working together. Enjoy it while you have the chance, mine goes back to the sand pit in a month.
Hope this helps,
Bob

hi Russ first of all i'd like to say WOW! Adam's got some really good skills on him when i was his age i painted straight on the kit! i didn't even know you were supposed to prime a model! but from what i've seen so far this build is going to turn out nice keep up the good work. Ant

The M3 Stuarts are a great starting point - it was one of my first builds. Keep the updates coming! GReat to see!

It's been a while, but Adam has started working on the build again.







And a dry fit.



He was very excited to see his work online, especially with all the comments. I'm looking for another build for my 8 year old so we can do the same.

Adam:

Is that a wire grab handle? And you're TEN?!

Great job. Maybe when you're done, you can put MY grab handles on.

Keep building - it's looking really good!

Hi mate you are super talented for a 10 year old. Nice to see a junior get involved.

wow, that kids gonna be the next shep payne! when i was 8, my models were were unpainted silver decaled hunks of plastic and A LOT of dried glue.
keep it up kid, cuz you're good.

oh and russ, to you for startin him off early and startin him off right.