Mozquitoo: Great Hobby

There is a club in Moscow where kids can participate in aero- and ship modeling, it is something that has been a bit forgotten when new modern toys attracted children’s attention.
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Thousand Soviet kids used to have the same hobby that helped them to become employees of large construction bureaus. In 1990, when the country experienced the toughest times such clubs were closed and children had nothing to do except playing computer games.

Let’s see what it means to be able to create models of planes and ships.

The club is located on the ground floor of a regular residential house. There are two more similar clubs in Moscow.

Here kids can dance, study English, tourism, computer science but aero- and ship modelling are the most unusual things. Their teacher Yuri has been busy with ship modeling for over 30 years. He used to be Director of the club but then he retired and couldn’t leave the place. So, he stayed and started teaching children how to build models of ships and planes.

The place used to have a lot of similar groups in the past. Only two of them are left till now.

Not many children come here today. Though they don’t have to pay for the classes, this hobby is not cheap.

15 children attend the class twice a week. They spend 2 or 3 hours here.

In 1980 the teacher and his pupils could visit an affiliated ship. They had a chance to put to sea and even participated in military shooting. Can you imagine what kind of experience it is for a 10-year old boy?

A large amount of models for different museums, exhibitions and cinema were made here.

In Soviet time all information about little details of a ship was concealed. If people wanted to get an idea of what is inside a vessel they had to go to Murmansk, Far East of Russia or Sevastopol where they photographed ships and examined the photos later. By the way, that time photographing important objects was forbidden as well.

This is a radio-controlled model of an armed vessel that was manufactured during World War II. It took a boy two years to make it. The model was taken to contests and shows.

The contests are held annually but are less popular than before.

A model of a missile boat.

The club also has a swimming pool where made ships can be tested. Contests are organized in this very room.

Another place for such shows is a hall with a B-396 submarine boat located in the museum of Russian Naval Fleet.

The ship was built during World War II. It had tank T-34 turrets on it.

This boat was made in 1980. It had to overcome 50 meters underwater and go to the surface at a proposed place. The submarine had flotation tanks and was put into motion with the help of electric motors.