I'm 33.
I've not lived at home for 15 years. I've been with my wife for 12 years. I have two kids of my own. I've been a high school teacher for ten years.
Why then do I hide my miniatures painting from my dad?
Here's why.
My dad - born at the end of West Malling airfield during a bombing raid in 1942 as it happens - was in the Navy for 35 years. He made and painted ships and planes as a lad, and encouraged me to do the same with Airfix kits.
Then, when I was about 13 and into Epic (Space Marine) and 40k the first time round - like so many of you, I know - my brother showed me how I could at last draw money out of my building society account. There wasn't that much to start with, but it really didn't last too long after that.
As it happens, I didn't spend all my money on GW stuff - most of it went on a radio controlled plane I built and then broke before it could ever fly :( - but my brother blew a lot of his and soon enough my parents made the connection between our missing account books and our burgeoning miniature collections and with a decent bollicking and zero sympathy swiftly put the kybosh on our GW spending. My dad was understandably miffed that we'd blown the money he'd put away for us and has never let us forget it.
My financial nous since then has not much improved either: this is why I force myself to be so frugal these days with my hobby spending.
So that's why, yesterday and earlier today, I spent an hour on my dad's landing (the only space available upstairs) sitting on the floor painting Zzzzzz's chaotic minions.
Oh, I've not taken a pic today because my dad's neighbour very kindly lets us piggyback on his wifi, but the connection's pretty weird when it comes to uploading images. Also, Blogger's weird on Mrs. Drax's laptop, which doesn't help.
Another day ticked off. I'm getting there...
Cheers for sticking with me on this Odyssey,
- Drax
I managed to blow my nest egg on travelling around the country (and sometimes, the world) going to vampire LARPs. Slowly getting better with money, but you aren't the only one!
ReplyDeleteThat's some negativity your pop holds on to... Shame.
ReplyDeleteYour story made me smile.
ReplyDeleteMy old man plays with model trains - not the little Hornby ones, the big expensive ride on variety, so I don't think he was ever really concerned with my little hobby. My Mum on the other hand.... wow.
In my teenage years I had a steady job so paying for them wasn't a problem, it was just a matter of getting them home without being sprung. We lived in the country so everything came in the post to a post office box. I managed to get an extra PO box key cut so I could grab my parcels before mum saw them. LOL what fun.
My pops did 33 years in the RN. We still have some of his airfix models from the 70s in the loft. If my brother ever returns the ladder to my mum's, I may snap some photos of the FAA Phantom living up there! When my dad died 7 years ago, we found out just how many Corgi vehicles he'd bought as part of the Collector's Club!!! Ebaying those boys was a couple of years Council Tax for my mum!!! Good luck with the guerrilla painting.
ReplyDeleteI have to tell some little white lies now and again re the cost to keep Mrs Scipio on side. I sypmathise.
ReplyDeleteSilently laughing inside (to avoid drawing attention to looking at a 'little men' site on the internet). Still hiding most of my hobby activity from Mrs Zzzzz. Her banishing it to the garage has infact played into my hands; soon the garage really will be full of little men and then I will be able to take over the world.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant - thanks, Chaps!
ReplyDeleteAckland: I've always dreamed of my own PO box. Wonderful ploy!