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New Member Introduction: Eric Eisenstadt
Frank Colucci
Park Slope resident Eric Eisenstadt attended his first Brooklyn Plastic Modelers Society meeting last Christmas and became a member in March. “I think it’s a full year since I resumed modeling,” he reflected. “I’ve just re-started, and I’m loving it. I’m learning a lot more than I ever did -- owning an airbrush, learning techniques. I’m just enjoying the whole learning process.”
Eric retired from his 25-year career teaching physics and biology at the selective Manhattan Hunter Science High school near Lincoln Center. “If we’re talking about careers, I was a farmer, a soldier, a corporate lawyer, and then a high school teacher -- that was my arc in life.” He joked, “I love the sound of my own voice, and if you’re my student, you’re trapped. I actually did enjoy the act of teaching -- being around adolescents on some level and transmitting the knowledge human beings have clawed their way to get, passing it along to the next generation. I really enjoyed it.”
The New York native grew up in up in the Bronx and Queens and discovered modeling around age 10. “I had a brother who was a year-and-a-half older than me. He was into cars. I was not, but we began building models together.” Shared table space remains a fond memory. “I probably spent more time with my brother building models together than anything else. I think about it a lot.”
The first kit Eric built was the Mercury Redstone rocket. “It came with the launching platform and a fuel truck. My brother suggested I paint everything with New York State colors – orange and blue. I was hooked.” Always interested in military history and technology, Eric continued to build mostly planes and tanks of the Second World War.
Eric put his model building on hold in high school. He graduated college from NYU and emigrated to grow cotton in Israel and serve in the Israeli Army. “I was a drill sergeant, probably one of the worst drill sergeants they ever had. Then I left Israel, returned to New York, became a corporate lawyer, hated it, and found my true calling -- teacher.”
Retirement restarted Eric’s modeling. “It was all buried in my memory, because it all came rushing back to me. I had built a Catalina, a Spitfire, the King George the 5th. All that was locked away in my memory.” Eric’s first new project was the Tamiya P-38, reigniting his interest in WWII aircraft. “I just find them to be really, really attractive. I find the Lightning to be a beautiful plane. But I also love tanks -- I have a Panther, a Tiger, and a Sherman.” Eric’s chosen BPMS Pledge Model is a WWII Liberty Ship. “God help me, but I bought the photoetch!”
Eric recently built the 1/32 scale P-51 Mustang made by Tamiya “I learned to pay close attention to what I’m doing. I test fit parts, but that kit has metal parts and screws. I had some major fit problems.” The experience was nevertheless worthwhile. “This is a Tamiya household here -- Tamiya paints, Tamiya kits. It’s a little bewildering how many brands there are.” Eric has started to work with Vallejo and other weathering colors.
Eric’s basement still has a significant library of military history books, but his renewed modeling education comes largely from the Internet. He subscribes to YouTube channels created by Plasmo, NightShift, and Boxman. “It is amazing to see what people can do with a kit.” Rex’s Hangar notably provides details of real airplanes and cars. “If I wanted to know more about the backup hydraulic system on the P-38, I could nerd out, but I have my limits.”
An internet search brought Eric to the Brooklyn Plastic Modelers Society. “I don’t honestly recall, but as I was looking more and more through YouTube, and I found a not very-active BPMS YouTube channel. I’m happy to have found it.”
