A vehicle-themed colouring book is the simplest way to sit a child at the table next to a half-built model and give them work of their own. Outline drawings of cars and motorbikes are filled in with coloured pencils or felt tips; there is nothing to glue, nothing to cut and nothing to spray. For the youngest it is a first encounter with a subject their parents already enjoy, and a quiet way of learning to see the shape of a vehicle and how its proportions hang together.
If colouring leads to wanting something three-dimensional, the next step is simple paper cut-out models, where a flat sheet becomes a model in an hour with nothing but scissors and glue. Anyone ready to try painting with real modelling technique mainly needs a fine brush from brushes and some patience. The other non-styrene disciplines are gathered in other models.
