What does modelling do for you?

[mozart]

I was chatting recently with a friend about golf, he couldn’t see the point of it, “a walk spoiled etc etc” so I attempted to explain about the benefits that I get….including it has to be admitted, the frustrations! The same could equally be said about modelling, it’s such a broad church and is admirably demonstrated on this great forum of ours. You have the modelling machine that is Tolga who produced an enormous (by my standards) number of very fine builds last year, then there’s Anthony who is doing the absolutely definitive Phantom, not to mention Peter who has taken scratch-building to a whole new level. Most of us are somewhere in between I guess.

 

So…..what does model-making do for you chums? 

[Christa]

Quite a question Max. Trust you, a golfer, to ask it.

 

As well as art, or learning to see, I build models, usually from kits, for the pleasures of doing; being absorbed in a stimulating, though often challenging, low priced, low risk recreation at home, very often with models of aesthetically pleasing and/or historically significant machines; the satisfaction of problem solving (God bless my SoD); studying, learning and connecting interesting pieces into the expanding jigsaw of my ignorance; collecting; benign fellowship, albeit usually at arms' length; another cheerful reason to wander afar.

 

A few times in the last thirty years building a kit has provided sanctuary too.

 

Regards

 

Chris

[vince14]

Modelling is the only occupation I've found that can take my mind off anything. Most of the time I'm thinking about work etc., even when I'm watching TV, or reading a book, or even playing computer games. I can get to my workbench and two hours will go by in the blink of an eye.

 

My issue is that I don't get enough time to actually sit and do some modelling. I'm currently building the Tamiya 1/24 Toyota Supra (as I have one in real life), and I'll be happy that it's taken me less than a year to complete.

Edited January 7 by vince14

[dennismcc]

Since a 5 to 6 year old Dennis saw an Airfix Lancaster and Spitfire at his uncle's house I have been fascinated by plastic models, having a Woolworths within a 5 minute walk from my junior school  fed this fascination.

I find that modelling for me falls into several catagories, the hunt for that elusive kit, decals, paints AM etc, the research into the history of a particular machine that is being modelled and the absolute satisfaction (or relief) of seeing the end result, no matter how sub standard it is. At least you learn from mistakes.

As Chris has said I can also sit down at my modelling desk and hours will pass by without me noticing, unfortunatetly getting to sit at my desk these days is a rare event, must put my foot down and not try to do everything for everyone.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Shoggz]

It’s like Vince said, it takes your mind off all the other daily ‘clutter’ that you have swirling around in your life at any given time. 3 hours at the bench seems like 3 minutes.

 

For me, it also brings together two of my other passions into one package too. I’ve always had a love of aviation - in particular around the World War 2 period - and my modelling is just an extension of that, but I also get enjoyment from organising and classifying things in spreadsheets - to the point where I pretty much do it for a living! - so planning and building stash management tools etc., for me is almost a hobby in itself.. and I spend quite a lot of time on ‘modelling adjacent stuff’ (as Kentucky Dave from the Plastic Model Mojo podcast calls it.)

 

And more and more, due to being on this forum and other social media platforms and listening to the burgeoning number of modelling podcasts, it’s actually gone from being quite a solitary hobby, to being quite a social one - which I really enjoy too!

[Rick Griewski]

I worked for 35 years in medical product development.  Very stressful. All about people mucking about and dealing with them. Stupid scheduling. 
 

Model building was and is my time.  I plan my projects, do the research, fix my goof ups and finish when I choose.  A kit build can be In process, paused or binned.  The border collie is my only boss. 

 

[mozart]

Thanks for all your interesting replies chaps, it's clear that we all get a lot more than just gluing bits of plastic together, fun though that is in its own right.

 

I dug this out:

 

 

Me at about 9 years old, so 1957ish, with a model Bristol Britannia(l) (Tim and Iain will appreciate the significance of the extra "l"!) looking pretty pleased with myself. Built with the skilful aid of Dad, himself a lifelong modeller.....here's a Beaufighter (tissue and dope) that he made in his teens whilst waiting for his call up to join the RAF circa 1942:

 

 

Today, in my mid-70s, it's still as much, if not more fun.  Firstly it's a hobby, something to give you a sense of purpose.  I have several friends who are worried about retirement because they have nothing else in their life.....that's really sad!  I didn't have a great deal of time nor incentive to make models when I was working, I found the mental and physical demands of teaching so all-absorbing that I lacked any motivation though the need to build was obviously lurking in my sub-conscious!

 

As those of you who have seen any of my builds will know, I have to have some time of personal connection with what I build, so research is an integral part of the process (see here for example), and I love doing all of that.  The actual building I often find quite stressful and frustrating, probably because I find it almost impossible to build anything OOB so I create problems for myself!

 

Then of course there's the painting side and allied to that, designing and cutting masks for the particular plane I'm working on....love it all.  Part of me would like to get into 3D design and printing for the possibilities that it holds, but another part revels in being an old-school modeller and "making do"!

 

One of the major reasons why I play golf is for the camaraderie, it's great, and whilst modelling tends to be a rather solitary occupation, I still find friendships across the ether very rewarding....I have half a dozen particular mates here (you know who you are) with whom I enjoy exchanges of emails, PMs and occasionally meeting, like when Mike C and I met for the first time at the Shuttleworth Collection last March.  Instant rapport....no surprise there.

 

And perhaps finally, the completed model!  They are sprinkled around the house (my wife, bless her is very tolerant and understanding) and they give me real pleasure when a catch sight of them.

 

It's a great hobby, I've been out clearing up in the garden all morning, and now it's "golden time" (a teacher's bribe to get children to work for later fun) with my Hurricane, plus a cup of tea and chocolate biscuit! 

Edited January 7 by mozart

[Shoggz]

I do think my love of modelling came directly from living in a house with a dad who was an aviation (plus car and motor cyle) fanatic.

 

Similar to Max, I was steeped in it from, I guess, birth! 

 

Here I am at about 18 months:

 

 

So, I'm not sure if my interests stemmed from nature or nurture! 

 

Dad was something of a mover and shaker in the aviation preservation world in the 70s and 80s, so we thought nothing of going round Peter Arnold's house to see his Seafire taking shape or hike across the North Yorkshire moors with Tony Agar to find pieces at wreck sites for his ongoing Mosquito build.

And making models was a part of all that! I remember my dad making one of the first Airfix 1:24 scale Spitfires just after its release and vowing I would do the same one day (which I did!)

 

Like lots of people it all went dormant from my late teens to early 40s with wine, women and song and then a family to raise.. But it's fair to say the passions have come back with a vengeance! 

 

 

[mozart]

Hmmm, not sure about the radius on those wingtips Rich....shame! 

[quang]

WHAT DOES MODELLING DO TO YOU? It’s one heck of a question you’re asking here, Max.

Since the very young age of 10 when I discovered plastic kits, modelling embodies everything that made me during my adult life until these later years of retirement.

Modelling was a great asset during my formative years as an industrial designer which in turn taught me about plastic injection, mould-making and industrial processes. I never worked as a designer but in the late 1970s, modelling (again) introduced me to the airbrush (remember the Badger 150?) which I adjusted to my graphic artist’s occupation and allowed me to make a living as an airbrush illustrator.

To feel alive, I need something to make my brain tick, my eyes twitch and my fingers itch. I’m calling it a hobby for the sake of convenience but to me, modelling is a constant companion. 

 

Sorry I don’t have a pic of me as a young modeller since nobody bothered.
But I carried in my mind this image of the Revell 1958 catalogue all my life. I fancied myself as the F-102 pilot or the spaceman. The others never mattered.

Edited January 7 by quang

[mozart]

I very much like the phrase "a constant companion" Quang, very apt.  The years when I was consumed in my Bomber Command research, started in 2005 and, although it's never complete, substantially finished around 2010/11 were almost "golden years" for me because that research was my "constant companion".  I re-started my modelling during that time in an attempt to re-create Lancaster ME453 (1/72 Hasegawa)  on its hard standing so the combination of research and modelling is still there, but with a different balance.

 

 

Edited January 7 by mozart

[Out2gtcha]

I've always loved aviation. Ever since the mid 70s, when Dad took me to Offut AFB here in the US where they had a special "guest" in the form of a Vulcan doing a 360 roll, I've been hooked.

 

Dad was always into larger R/C models, and I vividly remember sitting at the kitchen table "helping" him cover them in Monokote.

b

But it always seemed like a lot of work, and a LOT to lose if/when a crash happened. 

I started with FF (free flight) models, rubber band powered, as well as CO2 powered. It was indeed fun, but never actually led to flying R/C like my pop.

I had two sisters and a brother, but they being much older than I, made me effectively a only child. This led to a fascination with scale modeling. It was clean, detailed, and I could really sink my brain into it, as I liked doing a lot of stuff by myself. I also could set it it on the shelf and be proud of it, without any danger of losing it in a crash. I was also a bit of a nerd as a kid, and wasn't really into a lot of the same stuff as other kids like sports and whatnot.

 

It not only filled a void for me as a child, but was a real outlet for my creativity. That continued into my adult life, where I now genuinely consider modeling an art form. 

It's relaxing and enjoyable for me to take a massive box of small miscellaneous parts and turn it all into something cohesive that can spark the imagination.

 

It did start early for me for sure.........

Here I am as a very happy 5 year old on Easter in 1976 with one of my very first FF models from my pop.

 

 

 

[mozart]

Lovely Brian! I am immediately transported back to my early childhood, 4 or 5, when I smell the stuff/dope that Dad used for tightening the tissue on his balsa models. Dope of course has a rather different meaning these days! 

[Out2gtcha]

19 minutes ago, mozart said:

Lovely Brian! I am immediately transported back to my early childhood, 4 or 5, when I smell the stuff/dope that Dad used for tightening the tissue on his balsa models. Dope of course has a rather different meaning these days! 

 

 

Indeed! Dad had a few peanut/walnut scale dope covered FF models, and we went to several indoor events for these......it will be seared into my memory for all time!

Great fun seeing those little tissue covered models circling anti-clockwise around a gymnasium ascending high up into the rafters and seeing them slowly decend the same way. Great memories and great fun.

[MikeC]

3 hours ago, mozart said:

... a model Bristol Britannia(l) (Tim and Iain will appreciate the significance of the extra "l"!)

 

As do I, Max, having lived down that way for 13 years.

 

You've posed an interesting question.  As a native East Anglian I just grew up with aviation, and the fact that you couldn't go anywhere in Suffolk without tripping over an old WWII airfield, some with what are still famous names today, others not so much, but still there.  Lots in the overhead too.  So it started with aviation, and extended into modelling when an aunt bought me an Airfix Bristol 192 helicopter (1/72 scale, not 1/75 scale, but I digress).  Now the modelling is a function of my twin enthusiasms of aviation and history, particularly 20th Century.  I model aircraft.  Unlike some, I can't usually model other subjects like tanks or cars, except as "incidentals" to an aircraft model: I lose interest.

 

The modelling has, as others have said, been "me-time", and almost a sanctuary at times.  Once I joined IPMS back in the 1980s, the social side came into it as well: I enjoyed monthly meetings (mostly) and have been active in running an IPMS branch - although since I moved here, not so much.  The modelling incidentals also interest me, such as the Access database I still use to track stock, ideas, references, and so on.

 

It's been something I do for most of my life, can't imagine being without it.