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Hi everyone!
Today i want to talk about my hobby and myself, how i got into model building or how many models i own.
These are frequently asked questions from the audience and today i want to answer these questions.
The backgrounds of Hamilkar Barkas so to say.
Let´s start with the first question: What got you into model building?
It all started with my parents passion for dancing.
They love dancing and often visited a dancing school and made some friends there.
Among these friends was one guy who built a lot of models on a quite high level.
We were invited to a dinner at his home and coincidentaly it was also my eight birthday.
He had a little present for me, a dinosaur memory game, but i had this one already.
That was a little bit embarrassing for this man,
but when we inspected his workshop he pulled a Revell Arado Ar196 in 1/72 scale out of his stash,
and he said "what a beautiful aircraft, i should finally built that one."
You could really see what he was thinking in that moment, he gave me the kit and said "it is yours now".
I was very excited about this impressing model, i was so amazed by his hobby and work.
At home i assembled this Arado with my dad, it was funny because in all my overeagerness i cut all parts from the sprue after cleaning,
so we had no idea about the numbering of the parts, it was a big guessing game.
We managed to build the model and the result was pretty nice, but my paintwork...well.
I painted my first model, most people don´t even try to paint their first model.
Unfortunately i can´t find my first model anymore, i don´t know where it is.
I guess it didn´t survive one of the numerous battles. I intend to build this model again,
i think Revell reissued the kit again so thats a project in the future.
Second question: How many models have you built since you started as a eight year old?
I´m in my 14th year as a model builder right now, as you can imagine i made a lot of models in this time.
I have no idea, just the 1/72 scale aircrafts and tanks are unmanageable to count, hundreds of models!
There is about the same amount of models in bigger scales, i really have no idea about the number of models i own.
I´m to lazy to count them, that is pretty impossible.
You have to be satisfied with "an unmeasurable amount".
Another question which is asked frequently: When will you build a Sherman tank?
Well, i have to say i made a Sherman this year already (in January). It is an Israeli Sherman, this one counts as a tank.
An usual Sherman from the Second World War is in the same category as a Bren Carrier: A mobile wheel chock for a Tiger tank.
No, it is unlikely, maybe i feel like building a Firelfy in the future, this is possible, but an ordinary - boring - Sherman?
Very unlikely. this is not meant to be evil, i just have no interest in this shell.
A T-34 is always nice, i build that one rarely, but i made several already.
I will keep doing what i have done in the past.
There are quite often people who want to convince me "build this and build that", but i build what i want and you should be contented with that.
I decide what i want to build and i don´t let others decide that.
However, i get very often inspired by others, for example all the aircraft guys like BasicModelling or MakingModelAgain.
I made some 1/48 scale aircrafts recently, i really want to build some more because it is a very interesting thing. "Back to the roots" so to say.
I started with aircraft models and stuck to that a long time, so this very likely.
Maybe i´m one of the best all-round model builder here on Youtube.
Beeing an allrounder or not does not depend on building a Sherman or something else,
I build tanks (WW2 and modern), aircrafts (all eras), figures (all eras), dioramas, civilian vehicles and ships (mainly sailing ships) just to name the genres.
In my opinion there can´t be more variety.
Next question: What is the background of your username "Hamilkar Barkas"?
I selected this name because i´m very interested in history. Hamilkar Barkas was the father of Hannibal (his full name was Hannibal Barkas,
you know, the guy who crossed the Alps with elephants and kicked the Romans ***).
It was an old gamer tag from my Call of Duty 4 clan and i like this name a lot.
It was also one of the few available names here on Youtube. I didn´t intend to upload videos when i opened my account, this happened one year later,
so i didn´t care about the name. This is the official apology for my jaw-breaking username.
Well, actually it isn´t difficult but there are plenty of people who can´t pronounce it or write it anway.
My wrongly written username is really annoying, because everybody can read, if you can´t pronounce it - thats different.
Frequently asked: What is your favourite model brand?
I don´t have a favourite brand, i just chose the best.
Usually there are several kits of the same original vehicle, so i usually select the best kit, at least with regard to the price/quality value.
It usually ends with Dragon or Tamiya kits.
A very good question: What is the opinion of your fellows about your hobby?
I actually get a lot of admiration for my hobby, i´m very happy about that!
There are only few people in my surrounding who say "you are mad" (maybe my grandma says that).
My parents and my sister support my hobby accept it if i put my models everywhere in the flat.
My girlfriend always supports me, everytime we are in a city she says "do you like to enter this shop, maybe they have some hobby stuff for you?"
As a compensation i enter with her "New Yorker". It is giving and taking, i´m very happy that my girl has a lot of understanding and patience.
A very essential question: How are you able to build models so quickly?
It is simple, i do it that way:
Seriously, i don´t watch TV often, instead i work down here on a model in the evening.
There is also a lot of planning involved. I know that a wash has to dry at least 12 hours until i can work again on that model.
So i just go in my workshop at 11.30 p.m. and apply the wash so it can dry over night.
On the next day i can continue working on that model instead of applying the wash and waiting for it to dry.
I´m working very efficently and portion my time very usefully.
If you have fun while workin on a model for an hour you can accomplish a lot.
Next question: What is the coolest kit you ever built?
As you can imagine i built quite a lot kits already, most are great, some are quite bad.
There are a few kits which are still in my memory because they were awesome. Maybe i should build some of them again.
One is the Centurion tank from AFV-Club, there are several variants available. It is a grand kit for 30€, you can´t complain about that.
It is the best kit with regard to quality/price-ratio.
Another great kit is the Arado Ar 196 from Revell in 1/32 scale, this kit is terrific!
It costs less than 25€, a giant model, great details, fantastic interior with nice cockpit and engine, nice fitting quality of the parts.
For such little money you don´t have to think about buying one. It is one of the best kits i have ever seen so far.
Now an essential question again: Why did you start making Youtube videos?
I watched some model building videos on Youtube on a regular basis, usually these Japanese videos without any subtitles.
In my opinion this was a quite bad situation, nobody can understand Japanese, at least can´t understand it.
You can still understand some bits and learn something.
I thought "my models are not bad now so i can make videos aswell".
I started playing around with Windows Movie maker and made some slide shows of my models. I got used to this software very quickly.
Then i decided to upload some of my work just to see how the feedback is.
I got some subscribers very quickly, one of the first was Kasper from ModelloursWorkshop, he left a comment on my Merkava video.
I was excited about that and fascinated to have 20 subscribers "wow i never thought that i would get subscribers!"
Today i have some more subscribers and i recently realised that i´m not far away one million views,
you guys are crazy, why do you watch that stuff, it is not that good! I´m very happy about that and every subscriber and viewer is more than i expected.
I´m also very happy about every nice comment i receive on my videos, thats clear.
I´m always glad to get some positive feedback, to be honest i don´t like criticism a lot,
because criticism usually comes from people who show no evidence that they are able to do it better.
If you click on their channel you won´t find any video or just unrelated crap which has nothing to do with model building.
I don´t accept criticism from such people. Others who build models on a quite good level should definately feel free to tell their opinion.
Usually i have an explanation for every "flaw", there is no accident on my models,
i think i explain it very clearly to critics why there might be this or that issue.
Now the last question: Have you ever thought of ceasing your hobby?
I can definately say "NO". In all these years model building was my favourite hobby, together with my passion for history it is a great combination.
Both passions cross-fertilise each other, you gain new knowledge and new abilities and so on.
Stopping building models is no option, i can´t think of any reason why i should stop it.
There might be some reasons to stop my Youtube commitment, but stopping the hobby is impossible.
I think you are pleased to hear that.
I hope you are not bored to death right now, but i think some people are interested in getting some insight.
These are the frequently asked questions and i hope i answered them sufficiently.
I hope we can admire more nice models from our community
I usually watch every video of the channels i´m subscribed to and very often i send a comment.
Goodbye, your Hamilkar Barkas
Of course you can call me Michael aswell, bye bye