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Building models--what's your reason?

Hawkwrench

Hawkwrench

Active member
Just curious as to why you build models.
Is it for stress relief, just for fun, or for an upcoming contest? (or for a campaign ribbon)
Me, I build strictly for upcoming contests (or at least try to build one for a contest)
What about everybody else?

Tim
 
I don't know, it's just one of the things I do. Always have done it.
Guess these days it's cheaper than drinking. :rotf

Really I do it to problem solve, take something challenging and try and make it work one way or another and look like it's suppose to be in the end.
 
For me its simple straight fun plus I get to spend some time on the forums with some of the best guys in the world that love plastic and the history they represent just as much as I do.

Plus I have to admit there is an element of artistry that I have not been able to achieve but I see in many peoples builds that also pulls me to modeling and getting better at it.
 
Insanity I think, stress relief, sometimes yes, sometimes it's a stress generator. There are a lot of what I think are cool planes that no longer exist except in photos and by building a model of them allows one to get a better idea of how it looked in three dimensions rather than two in a photo. That's my excuse. :gogo
 
Something I have done since I was a kid. It helps bring my passion for history and research into 3d focus. It also gives me new things to research. Unfortunately stress and pain cut into it. Plus I just love creating.
James
 
MrT said:
All of the above.

:D
Click to expand...

Beat Me to it Terry ... I never built a model, like I do now ... still not that good at it ... but in being on this Forum I have Friends that tolerate my mistakes and suggest where I can improve. Like I usta say I started off as a child, building OOB, I painted, but with enamels & never very good. Since I got back into it I use acrylic paint, which I can control better, but all my skills are being honed. Thanks for your Help, I hope to improve soon.

(y) :notworthy :soldier
 
My earliest memory (the location puts me at 5) was getting a demolition derby model for Easter. My entire childhood is full of model related stuff, from me on my Schwinn with the mowing money in hand to visiting my cousin once a year (he had an airbrush!). I built a model a week and most of my Xmas presents said Mongram on the side. I also drooled over RC stuff, planes and boats, but they were way beyond anything I could afford. I scored a Cox control line Stuka for a birthday present, but all that got me was a perpetually lacerated finger.

Models pushed my interest in history, from watching the World At War on Saturday evenings to going to the newest bad Charleton Heston movie, whether it was Planet of the Apes or Midway. War movies and models, war movies and models.

Then I discovered girls, music, hiking, kayaking, Scuba.

Next thing I know, 20 some odd years were passed and I had a house, wife and kids. No more time or money for the other stuff, every spare moment was either kids or working on the house. Then one day in a train store I came across a 1/72 Tiger I. I stood there as all the memories flooded back in. I built a few Revell 1/72s, found the FSM forum and my jaw dropped in how far the industry has come with PE, etc. Before I knew it, I was all in. Equipment, ref books, kits, RC...

So, back to the original question, I model because it's ingrained in my DNA. It's a side business, a stress relief, an online bar stool and still the absolute best way to spend a rainy (or snowy) Saturday afternoon.
 
Dang Dude your story is a lot like mine I also had a Cox Stuka, learned that if you got Elmer's glue wet ... Your model fell apart, hopefully it wasn't still in the irrigation ditch that flowed in the front yard, when that happened. The same things happened to me & still is. I have lots of learning to do, but the Honey do list comes 1st ... :ro: :dude
 
I like building things. I typically find it relaxing, and it gives me a chance to get away from the busy day to day rat race.
 
Building is a way of relaxation and getting away from the stress of life.

For me, I find a subject, make or use a story and the imagination runs wild. The hardest part is to try and use what skills I have tell the story well, something the I free to say are not good enough to meet the imagination..... :bang head :bang head
 
Building use to be stress relief but now my life is basically stress less .

Someone bought me my first kit when I was about seven . Frankly, I barely remember life before that :idonno

At this time, my biggest reason for building is that my wife won't allow me to drag real airplanes home :coolio

Cheers, Christian B)
 
moon puppy said:
Guess these days it's cheaper than drinking. :rotf
Click to expand...

Not too sure about that! :rotf


I do it cause I like to tinker, fix things, I love learning about the history of each aircraft I build and how it fit into the war.

Plus, it gives me a quiet involved activity to escape from life for a few hours!

(and I like self inflicted pain and torture!) :evil:
 
I wish I could build purely for stress relief, but that never happens. You wouldn't think making bars of soap in a factory is stressful, but man let me tell you--it is!
(Obviously not as stressful as Police officers, fire fighters and air traffic controllers), but it's stressful for me.
Maybe someday, I'll be able to sit down on a early Saturday morning and build a model and feel free.

Tim
 
I've always loved history and building a model gives a good idea about the vehicle in use whenever. I like simpler kits so as not to bring a lot of stress into the build. My motto is, "I BUILD FOR FUN!"

Cheers
 
Modeling is my escape from everything and mostly everyone. When I turn the compressor on, everyone knows to LEAVE ME ALONE.
 
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