For Father’s Day, my wife and daughter gave me a 1:72 scale Dragon Sd. Kfz. 263. It’s a WWII German armored vehicle, so I was excited to start building it. I build exclusively 1:35 scale, so stepping out of my comfort zone was going to be fun experiment. Plus, I’ve been reading many articles about cool new 1:72 releases lately. In particular, I really want to build the Opel Omnibus, and since it’s only produced in 1:72 scale right now, I had to dig in and learn something new.

You know how sometimes a great theory turns out to be a frustrating reality? Yeah, I don’t think I’m a 1:72 scale (also affectionally known as “braille scale”) modeler. I was about halfway through this fun experiment when I realized that I wanted to turn in my xacto knife! The parts were small and lacked detail, the small part build was incredibly hard (said the guy who’s been working on tons of photoetch), and the design of parts that small makes the building process a bit more “routine” than I like.

Now, if my wife reads this, she might think that she bought a bad gift. Quite the contrary! The girls prompted me to step outside my comfort zone and try something new that I almost certainly wouldn’t have tried on my own.

Thanks, girls!