Wonderful piece about a time when boys were actually allowed to be boys. Model kits were great, and some of us - destined in future to become particularly regressed examples of outdated gender stereotypes - even played war with our models, a handfull of toy soldiers, and cherry bombs, blowing up everything in sight in messy fashion before rushing off to the woods to play soldier.
Nothing in human nature has changed, but now that it's all culturally prohibited and politically incorrect, kids have to be furtive about it. Funny that the "do your own thing" generation became the "do my thing my way or else" generation.
Reminds me of the joke about the little girl at Christmas who's waiting in line to see Santa. When it's her turn, she climbs up on Santa's lap and Santa asks, "What would you like Santa to bring you for Christmas, little girl?"
The little girl replies, "I want a Barbie and a GI Joe."
Santa looks at the little girl for a moment and says, "I thought Barbie comes with Ken."
"No," returns the little girl. "She comes with GI Joe; she fakes it with Ken."
Seems there's a message in there somewhere; kids learn to fake it so young these days. Not to mention everything else they learn so young. What happened to innocence and childhood?
As someone who grew-up during the cold war, my models whacked many a commie (Eat hot death, commie scum! Fox one, missile away!). Then, I built tanks and bombers with Lego and defended the free world from a wide assortment of foes. Those were the days, when boys dreamed of being strong, capable men - the hero in every struggle.