To build a model?
With work and my wife and my 5 month old son, free time is somewhat hard to come by. I usually only get 30min to an hour a day to mess with my models. It usually takes me a month to a month and a half to finish up one OOB.
I was just curious if anyone else was as slow as I am when it comes to getting these things together.
At one kit per month, I’d guess you’re faster than most folks.
Regards, Rick
Your actually faster than I am. I haven’t finished one in a couple of monthes. Work , family, and other intestest take up most of my free time so a model can stay on my desk for a long while. But oh well who cares as long as we finially get something done and enjoy the time we are able to work on one.
Yeah I am working on a Accurate Miniatures 1/48 SBD-2 Dauntless right now. I haven’t even got the cockpit finished and I have had the thing since Christmas. I want to wait and get some Artist Oils and try some of the shading that I have seen other guys do. I tried using a charcoal pencil but wasnt happy with the results.
I’m with you man !
modelling in 15 minute to 30 minute increments sure takes a long time. Once in a while I get in a few hours on a late night - but it certainly takes me a while. That’s one reason that I like to stick w/ 1/72 scale. A month for a 1/72 fighter is pretty quick for me. It’s taken me 2 + years to finish a 1/24 Spitfire.
Chris
Chris
Yep, it normally takes me atleast 3or more months to do an OOB 1/48 fighter.
Wade
a months a long time? my last few projects have taken months plural. work and family always seem to get in the way 
Well after seeing what some people can throw together in 24 hours, I figured that since it takes me so long, I must be on the slow side. I have never met a person face to face that likes to build models. I am just going off of what I have learned here.
Well…It takes me a year or so per kit. In my defense, I keep choosing projects that really challenge my skills; in addition to having only two or so hours a week for modeling.
Don’t worry about it. As long as you are happy with your progress and how your models look, taks as long or as short a time as you want to finish them.
I, for one, will tackle a much easier kit for my next build, however. [:)]
Regards,
I’d be pretty happy with a month from start to finish. It’s taking me much longer to get anything done. The usual reasons apply, but I try to get a little done, it helps me relax and get my mind on something tangible that I can see my progress as it goes.
But, hey, if I got to do it all the time, it would be my job (Oh, that would be so sweet), and not my hobby.
It takes me a few months to do a kit OOB. And after all that time It looks a little beter than I use to build when I was sixteen and built in a weekend.
I usually build several models at a time, switching my efforts from one to another. It may be 6 months to a year without finishing one, but then several are done within a few days. Sometimes I spend an hour or two a day in the shop and then again I may not touch one for several months. I checked the thermometer in my basement work shop a little while ago and it was 51 degrees. That is not too conducive to working in there.
Darwin [alien]
Hmm - no family as such (past all that) but a small dog and my partner + a job seem to intrude greatly upon my liberty. I am not sure where the time goes (TV is a no no). My problem seems to be that if I cannot see my way to spending an hour or three at the bench then frequently I do not bother - hence things taker a long while. I try to avoid more than two on the go at anyone time - lose track etc. It is gratifying therefore to ee others similarly afflicted - even though the reasons may be more substantial!! Some modellers of course take years to complete a model … does it really matter - it is not a "job2 but a pleasure - perhaps the one thing one can control on a time basis!!
heck, I just got out of the Corps after over 10 years. Now with all the time I have on my hands between my 3 kids and my wife, some how I hear a whisper from my “Airplane cabinet” Joe build me…build me…build… sorry, got off track a little bit. Who cares how long as long as you enjoy the time you spend doing it. Don’t feel so bad, it takes years to restore the real thing!
It usually takes me only 2 or 3 days to accualy build a 1/72 kit, but then at least a month to paint and decal.
I too am pretty happy if I get done in anything close to a month. It usually seems more like a couple/few/lots/etc. of months. It blows my mind when I read about people completing a model in a week. They must build at supersonic speeds.
Like yardbird, I have a couple of kits going at any one time. It can take up to 3 to 4 months
before I complete anything, mostly longer due to RL.
Don’t worry about the time, just enjoy what you do.
Since returning to the hobby in October of last year, I have completed one project and about 75% complete on the second. I am slow and that does not mean that I am good. I have asked alot of stupid questions to the guys in this forum, but I am learning every day I get to spend any time doing what I have learned to love again.
With a new job and four children, I’m lucky to get 3 or 4 hours a week in. Most of that comes on “my night”, which is Wednesday evening, time which is mine to do whatever I wish. That, and I may get an hour or so on Saturday or Sunday afternoon.
I’m hoping to have a 1/48 Hasegawa F-14D done by “tax day” (April 15 here in the U.S.A.), and I think that’s ambitious. I started the kit in the 1st week of January.
Yes!