Month: August 2020

Revisiting the Past

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Where I was in 2017 on My Forgotten Hobby…

Pierre Lagacé's avatarMy Forgotten Hobby

There are things you just can’t explain. For one there is my passion for airplanes since 1958, and my passion for the history of World War Two.

I studied to be a history teacher in the mid 60s. Graduating in 1970, I only taught history for two years out of 34. Being a young teacher in 1970, I got what was the least interesting subject to teach for other teachers in my school…

Religious education.

I taught that subject for two years, which I must say I have enjoyed teaching. Then, in the third year, English as a second language was added to my teacher’s task since I was bilingual.

A year later, the school principal needed a second history teacher…

I had finally made it!

My dream had finally come through…however that dream would last for only two years before I got shipped back to teaching English as a…

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How I got hooked on WWII: the sequel

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About a movie I had seen when I was a young kid in Montreal

Pierre Lagacé's avatarMy Forgotten Hobby

I hope you won’t get hooked on My Forgotten Hobby.

DSC07251

So what’s the story behind that 1/64th scale B-17?

I was walking home from school during lunch hour in 1958. There was this men’s store, on the corner of Jean-Talon Street and De Lorimier Street in Montreal, which had model kits in its display window.

The men’s store is not there anymore.

2035 Jean Talon

2035 Jean-Talon Street

There were two display windows, one on the left and one on the right. I stopped cold and I was mesmerized by what I saw.

Not men’s clothes…

Model airplanes!

I had never seen a model airplane before in my whole life. This was one of them although mine in the men’s store display was silver.

Lindberg B-17 G olive drab

I have found the box top on the Internet.

B-17 Lindberg

I even found this instruction sheet.

Lindberg B-17 G instructions

Source

In 1958 this was an epiphany even though I had no idea what…

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F4F-4 Grumman Wildcat

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Revisiting the original My Forgotten Hobby

Pierre Lagacé's avatarMy Forgotten Hobby

This is Post 499.

I started writing this blog on December 6, 2013.

It was just a way I had found to motivate myself in starting my forgotten hobby again, and build more than 50 model airplane kits I had in my stash.

I never intended to write that much, but I guess I got carried away. I should have known.

I owe a lot to Amateur Airplanes who is even more passionate than I am about building model airplanes and whose stash is a lot bigger than mine.

The F4F-4 Wilcat is my next project. It is somewhat special since I have been in contact with the son of Richard Harmer.

f4f-4_wildcat_of_vf-5_near_guadalcanal_1942

F4F-4 Wildcat of VF-5, over Guadalcanal circa August 1942

Monogram’s rendition of the Wildcat has been a part of my life since the 60s, and it still is. I can see myself in the early 60s…

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