As with most models I paint or build, I always know I could do it better if I had another shot. I'd like to think I get a bit better each time, whether it's learning a new trick or finding a perfect way to blend a specific color.

The F-15 below has many miles on it. I purchased it in middle school because it was one of my favorite planes. I was building quite a few models back then and was decent at it. However, I knew I wasn't good enough to do the F-15 justice yet, so I wisely shelved it. Plastic will last just fine.

Due to a variety of reasons, it followed me from Chicago, to a barn in Indiana, to Madison, and eventually to Anchorage. I knew I did not want to throw it away, so it sat happily in a box with several other unbuilt model planes. I knew I'd build them all some day (plastic lasts). After building a F-4  and hanging it in my son's room, I quickly realized the kid needs more planes to point and smile at, so out came the F-15.

I like a lot of it, cringe at a few places I was sloppy, but in the end couldn't he happier because my son loves it flying just below the top of his ceiling. Not bad for a 25 year old kit.



Yes, I know that it is assembled to sit in the hangar, not up in the air.