Exactly as the thread title says. How long does it take you on average to build a model?
And secondly, do you ever keep track of the amount of time you spend on the model?
For me, it varies by how complicated the model build is and what subject and scale I’m building.
On average, most of my 1/350 scale ships have taken at least 1-2 years to build.
The average for smaller projects like aircraft is maybe about 6 months.
As for keeping track of the amount of time I spend on the model, I don’t. When other people ask me how long it took to build my model, I tell them I never kept track of the amount of time. I don’t see the importance or need to.
The short answer for me is I have no idea. I don’t track it at all. The quickest I’ve completed a model is one day. I started on a Friday evening working on a little tractor model and just kept going. I even painted it. When I realized that I had completely finished it, I was shocked. But then I looked at my watch and saw it was 3 am!
But my normal models take months to finish. I’m currently working on a Lysander that’s been on my bench for close to 4 months. It’s mostly together and primed. Now I have to look for areas that need filler and sanding. I might finish it before the end of the year.
Generally 3-4 months depending on how much free time i have and how complicated and detailed the kit is. I have twice successfully completed the 48 build challenge on this forum, but that is quite the grind. By the way, it is about that time of the year again. Will there be a 48 hour build challenge this year?
I don’t track time on a kit. I’m all over the place - I have finished a little sub in a day and T-Rex in a couple days. Other kits I’m not sure. A lot has to do with my bench time and engagement. Last year I completed 16 models - this year I’ve done 3. No rhyme or reason to it really.
I knock out about 6 kits a year,not because I’m some sort of master craftsman,but it depends on the time I have to work,plus motivation,I never force myself to the bench.
Funny,thought I’d have more time to model after retirement,but that really didnt happen,there’s always something to do
I am about 6 months per project including the subject, figures and diorama. I am a slow builder with too many projects on the go so crossing the finish line takes more time. But I am retired and I have learned that the journey is as important as the outcome. I like the building process more than the painting, but I am getting better with painting and weathering so that is helping. I really enjoy figures, including adding details and painting. I take my time with figures, particularly the faces, because a bad figure will distract from the subject while a good figure adds scale and context to the subject. I have a diorama half completed with 18 figures - the figures took about a year to complete, but I had to repaint the uniforms because I painted Wehrmacht colours when the uniforms needed to be Luftwaffe field blue.
It’s quite variable as to the amount of time spent on any of my projects. Each year my old AMPS chapter has a 12 hour build challenge. Three separate 4 hour blocks of time on zoom meetings to see if the selected kit can be completed within 12 hours. So for the last several years, I have a build completed within that timespan. Other projects can take weeks, months, or even longer, depending on the complexity of the kit, any changes that i might be making, what I do with it in the finishing realm. Not to mention how many projects I may be juggling at a given time, what real life throws out at me to intervene, and the ever fickle modeling muse/motivation. A Bandai 1/144 Star Wars build will not take as long as a 1/35 Dragon or AFV Club armor project. Long story short, I have no definitive project timespan.
I’m a total “in-completionist”, I have a really difficult time pushing through to the end. I have kits started from when I was in my teens, that was a few decades ago.
I enjoy the building process much more than the painting and applying decals. Add in the fact that I work away from home and also have kids still in grade school (and all that goes along with it), I’m very stretched for free time, so progress is slow to non-existent.
I’ve got a couple builds on here that I hope will help me finish something. The interest in what I’m doing from other modellers may just push me to finish in a somewhat reasonable timeframe.
I don’t keep track specifically. I just run in a rhythm that sees me at 4-6 hours at the bench when I get there. By participating in this forum and updating my build logs, that gives me an idea of how long a given kit takes. It doesn’t matter to me how much time I take. I model to get maximum enjoyment from day-to-day retirement life.
The question needs clarification. Are we talking about actual build time, or the interval between the start and end dates? Because I have builds that I started 15 years ago or more; they’re on the Shelf of Doom. But if I consider the absolute time spent so far, it’s around 8 to 10 hours on most of them. Yet on completed builds, 8 hours is a pretty good average.
So I consider the absolute time, not the time reckoned by the calendar.
For me it’s all about how much detail I want to go into. I can literally build one of the Revell models from Hobby Lobby in a day, maybe two depending on how complex the paint job is.
If I go into great detail it will take longer. For my ICM OV-10A, I spent 20 hours just on the cockpit alone.
My average is about a year. My longest venture was a total redo of converting a 1/18th scale JSI Tomcat from a A model to a B. That was around 6 years but, I spent more time not working on her than I did actually working on her, totally worth it though.
Hour-wise, I don’t keep track.
Steve
If your talking overall time not actual bench time then i range usually about 3 kits a year, granted i mostly only build in the fall and winter months. I usually set my tablet up next to my table and watch youtube or Rumble and biuld for a few hours a weekend on those months.
Interesting question. I write the start and end date on the instructions so I know exactly how long.
My first kit (monogram OA-4m) took about 3 months (no idea on hours). Second kit (monogram Harrier), which needed lots more sculpting and the camo painting was challenging, took exactly 6 months.
Number 3 (Hasegawa F-86 is going faster, I’m guessing 2 months once completed.
I’ve been thinking about logging the bench hours on the next one, just as a thought exercise because I’m actually curious, though I doubt I will continue to do it on future kits.
Overall, I feel like I’m speeding up, but I’m also working on more complex kits and paying more attention to details as I learn so it will probably balance out.
I’m guessing I can get through 4 aircraft per year.
That’s where the real challenge comes in. Each participant submits three kits that they would like to build for the challenge. The other members vote to select the actual kit. For the past several years that seems to be each of us sandbagging the others and selecting the most difficult kit of the three submitted… (cue evil maniacal laughter). The top three builds, as voted on by the participants, win gift certificates to Brookhurst Hobbies. There will be blood. Usually due to xacto mishaps.
Seriously though, it’s lots of fun.
Bold of you to assume I actually finish the darned things. Very few of my models pass the finish line; the rest are in stages (usually right before paint) in their boxes.
