Ways of dealing with lack of "mojo"

[mozart]

^^^ spot on every point! 

[quang]

6 hours ago, BarryWilliams said:

2/ Keep a modest size stash, indeed I set a limit on it.  Finishing a model is the prompt to buy another one. My stash is currently 14 so I can buy one more kit, a position that awaits the Italeri Folgore. 

I’m also waiting for the Italeri Folgore but that didn’t prevent me from buying the new Airfix Spitfire which is incidentally, totally beyond my interests both in scale (1/24) and subject (Spitfire).
Having said that, this new generation of model kits is truly a game-changer. Today kits are SOO… well-moulded and detailed  that I caught myself enjoying just the fact of putting the parts together notwithstanding the scale or subject. Just like LEGO…

…but, oh may be I’m just getting old! 

[Out2gtcha]

2 hours ago, quang said:

Having said that, this new generation of model kits is truly a game-changer. Today kits are SOO… well-moulded and detailed  that I caught myself enjoying just the fact of putting the parts together notwithstanding the scale or subject. Just like LEGO…

 

100% agreed. Also being an actual Lego fan and builder, the new gen of IM kits are truly amazing. I'm just waiting around for ICMs latest hoping that will kickstart my own MoJo

[Wurgermeister64]

Hi Hatter,

I feel your pain. I look at all the projects that I started recently as well as long ago and the kits that await their construction, and I sometimes think about where did the passion go?

Did I get so caught up over the years in collecting that I overlooked the joys of actual building? One may never truly know, but I also think that it is important to keep things in context and maintain a realistic perspective. We call it a hobby for a reason, and yes, life tends to get in the way sometimes.

Strictly my two-penny bit: Enjoy the down time. Your Mojo will just come back stronger than ever, and your joy in building your next project will reflect it :).

 

Good luck and happy modeling!

WGM64

[The Madhatter]

thank you all for the advice - its really good stuff. I've been watching some WW2 documentaries on sea battles and it seems to be having a positive effect on me as I pulled my Scharnhorst kit out as a result. I have way to many unfinished projects already and I am a bit loathed to start this for fear of not finishing it as it is an awesome kit (Dragon 1/350) of an equally awesome subject. I think I may be a bit ASD as my attention quickly changes from one thing to the next, hence why I have around 60 kits of varying subjects ranging from trains, planes, cars trucks, ships & sci-fi.

I'll just leave the tools on the bench for a little bit longer and come back to them with renewed vigor and enthusiasm

[Jeff T]

14 hours ago, BarryWilliams said:

Personally I do several things. 

1/ Only build one model at a time.  Starting a new one is the reward for finishing one. 

2/ Keep a modest size stash, indeed I set a limit on it.  Finishing a model is the prompt to buy another one. My stash is currently 14 so I can buy one more kit, a position that awaits the Italeri Folgore. 

 

3/ Try out new tools and techniques and keep trying to improve on every model. 

 

4/ Once I have cut plastic on a kit I will select the next one to build and put the box visible on the shelf. I also start researching it and buying aftermarket.  It then sits to wait….

 

5/ There are points in a build where my motivation reduces, it happens to all of us, such as when there is a lot of filling and sanding to do, my least favourite modelling activity.  In which case I don’t force it but just sit at the bench and do something that progresses the build every day.  It might be at such times I only do 10 or 15 minutes work on it a day

or even less. The point is, the build is progressing and at some point I get on to a more motivating stage and I end up making progress again.  Such lulls only last a day or two.  
 

That’s it really,,,,
 

 

 

 

Well said Barry!

 

Jeff.

[MikeC]

22 hours ago, BarryWilliams said:

Personally I do several things. 

All very good and sensible, I've take the liberty of adding blue text as they apply to me.

1/ Only build one model at a time.  Starting a new one is the reward for finishing one. 

I only build one at a time, but the part-built ones on the SOD don't count as "being built" 

2/ Keep a modest size stash, indeed I set a limit on it.  Finishing a model is the prompt to buy another one. My stash is currently 14 so I can buy one more kit, a position that awaits the Italeri Folgore. 

I tried that, indeed over the years I cleared out a lot of 1:48 stuff to indulge my newly-rediscovered liking for LSPs; but the stash just seems to grow, and it's now over 20, the limit I set myself.

 

3/ Try out new tools and techniques and keep trying to improve on every model. 

Absolutely, so do I.

 

4/ Once I have cut plastic on a kit I will select the next one to build and put the box visible on the shelf. I also start researching it and buying aftermarket.  It then sits to wait….

Then, about halfway through the current build, I get distracted.  For example, I watch Warplane Workshop about restoring a real-life Bird Dog, and decide the next one's going to be the Roden O-1 in my stash;  or I read about something in the current issue of Aeroplane, or ... you get the idea.

 

5/ There are points in a build where my motivation reduces, it happens to all of us, such as when there is a lot of filling and sanding to do, my least favourite modelling activity.  In which case I don’t force it but just sit at the bench and do something that progresses the build every day.  It might be at such times I only do 10 or 15 minutes work on it a day

or even less. The point is, the build is progressing and at some point I get on to a more motivating stage and I end up making progress again.  Such lulls only last a day or two.  

Yes, that often works, after a day or two if it hasn't, I'll swap it out for something else, SOD or new start.  Perhaps I'm too impatient.
 

That’s it really,,,,
 

 

 

 

 

You pretty much set out what I aspire to, but as you see, I don't always live up to it.

Edited January 21, 2023 by MikeC

[jeroen_R90S]

I have several hobbies, when my modelling energy runs out when spring starts, it's time to have fun with the motorbike and camper van. When the season turns dark again, I'm inspired to go modelling again... somehow works for me.

Year-round modelling seems to make the results a lot worse and the fun less, as I tend to lower my standards (not that they are that high anyway ) and get frustrated by the results.

 

That's just me I guess... off-beat subjects like cars or ships don't really work for me somehow.