It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything here, but I’ve checked in and lurked every once in awhile. I’ve lost pretty much all motivation to build.
For those that don’t remember I started having some health issues four years ago which have deteriorated to the point where I’m on dialysis (at least I’m doing it at home) and waiting for a kidney transplant. I’m a teacher, and ended up having to go on disability last year. Thankfully I’ve been able to come back to work and remain in the classroom for the school year. Unfortunately I’ve lost all motivation to sit at my bench. I go downstairs and look at my stash, I look at builds online, even went to a model show and bought a lot more kits.
What do you guys do when you lose motivation? How do you get it back?
Sorry to hear about your health issues. One of the things I’ve done in the past is to build something I’m totally unfamiliar with. I think I did a couple subs. I can’t overthink it, not your domain expertise so you just basically follow the instructions and build something. Hope it helps.
And when you do find the urge returning, choose a less complicated kit out of your stash. Something like a Tamiya “shake & bake” will help restore your motivation, as opposed to a multi media gazillion parts kit that tends to burn out the modeler.
SilentBob, I’m so sorry to hear about your health issues. I hope that a transplant will happen in the near future for you. I’m glad that you were able to return to the classroom, I recently retired from teaching after 30 years. I agree with all of the suggestions that were previously offered. I’m also experiencing a modeling slump myself. Last year I completed 24 builds and this year I’ve only completed 2 builds so far.
Just allow yourself time for yourself and the modeling “mojo” will return soon enough.
What got you into the hobby in the first place? Re-visit what you used to love about building. How about trying a new technique? The hardest hurdle is just starting. Get yourself to the bench and open a box, fiddle with an assembly, or just dry fit a few pieces. If your not feeling it no big deal. There’s tomorrow.
Get better and do what makes you happy. If it’s building models great. If something else puts a smile on your face that’s good too.
I’m sorry about your health issues, hopefully you can get the transplant soon.
Lots of good advice there. I’ve been playing some driving/racing games and now I really want to build a car. I like ‘egg’ planes and ‘toon’ tanks as quick, cheap, and dirty builds that put the fun back in the hobby.
Severe health problems can really bum you out and make you not want to build models .I suggest try something new ,like building the type of model that you don’t normally do.Persobally I like to scratch build things like this 50s Sci Fi rocket. Very cool!
I am so sorry about your health issues. I to am going thru some myself . Cancer. I hope to be building this fall if all works out. I believe your motivation well come back to you in goot time. I want to expose this hobby to my grand kids and I just had #5 last month.If they chose not to do it then atleast I exposed them to it. I do wish you all the best . If you want to chat let me know. I believe we are all here if you need it.
Sorry to hear about the health problem. Went down that road in '95 thru '98 after my wife gave me one of her kidneys in '95 and 2 days later they had to go back in and take it out as something they can’t check for started to make it go bad. I’ve been down a few times but I don’t stay there. We went to Hawaii in '96 for 4 weeks. I got Dialysis there. Not going to spoil my fun (you can get Dialysis on some cruise ships now too). I was lucky with work. I took Dialysis on Tues., Thurs. & Sat. so I’d only miss 2 half days per week but they paid me full time for the 4 years (knock on wood). I’m doing great with the kidney and fending off the usual old age problems. Told the Man upstairs that I’m taking some kits with me when I go to the Great Workbench In The Sky.
If you need someone to talk too, let me know. My e-mail is in my profile. If you want to talk 1/1, I’ll send you my phone number.
Listen I know where you are coming from. I have waited two years for someone to fix my eyes. Now it’s like looking threugh extremely Glasses ( even when i don’t have them on !) I read, Very large print ! and piddle. It will come back to you. Give it time. When they cracked my chest unexpectedly it took over a year for the Motivation to settle back in. You’ll make it!! Yes, You Will!
What Tojo said. I do nothing. I build a model. Then I take a book from the library, the bigger the better. By the time I finish it, I feel like building again. By the time I am done, my hands are shaking so I read another book. Maybe two. Or play pacman. Or go for a long walk with my dog, he loves it. Don’t force the issue, just wait and do something else untill you feel like building again.
When I got wrapped into the super detailing of models from my favorite genre (Modern American armor), I would start building in a genre of a subject I really didn’t “care” about.
So I started tinkering with 1/48 scale Tamiya kits, which were mainly WW2 German and a few American tanks tossed in. It was great, there wasn’t a lot of aftermarket items available so I didn’t feel the “need” to upgrade the kits. I was only mildly familiar with the subjects so I didn’t care if the kit was a perfect match for what it was supposed to be or if those tracks weren’t supposed to be on that type of vehicle in the markings for that theater of operation.
Those kits were a dream to build as well.
When Hobby Lobby stopped carrying them, I saw the newer Star Wars kits from Revell and later, Bandai. I love Star Wars, and have since I was a kid in 1977. I grabbed a few of these and they are even simplier kits.
I often watch one of the Star Wars movies on my phone at work when I’m stuck on the assembly line. That often motivates me to which of the Bandai kits I get the urge to build.
I looked at it but it seems a little more hardcore than I am. I basically suck at racing games. In Forza 4 I mostly just drive around admiring the scenery and not having to worry about the idiots on the road that I have to deal with in real life. And hey if I want to grab a Jeep and tear off though someones lawn and field destroying everything in my path nobody is going to call the cops on me!
It’s good to hear that you were able to go back to work!
I do something else, till I feel like building or painting again. Usually I’ll read something in a book on some subject (I read a lot of history), or in a magazine; or I’ll see something online or at a club meeting; or at a show, that will spark the urge. Or after enough of an interval of time, I’ll pass the bench and pick up where I left off.
The entire winter season here in Pennsylvani, I was on short term disability, first, in December I had a hernia repair surger. I was allowed to return to work a month after, in which, I worked 3 days, and promptly picked up Covid. After a brief ten day visit to the hospital, I spent the next three months resting and on oxygen. i didn’t really feel sick during this recovery (although, I do have to admit, the first few weeks, my hands shook something fierce whenever trying to do small stuff!), so my brain was like “OH YEAH…LOOK AT ALL THIS BENCH TIME!” Except my heart wasn’t into it. I generally use my bench time as ‘unwind from the stresses of the workweek time’, and, without the stress of the workweek, my motivation was low. I DID manage to complete three or four builds (one or two were started before the Covid, and the others were simple kits).
I suggest, that if your mind wants it, but the heart isnt completely there, grab yourself a “slammer build”, a kit that goest together without a trouble, but with a level of detail you are satisfied with (Tamiya kits come to min, their MkI Spitfire and P47 D come to mind if you’re into WWII aircraft, their 1/48 scale armor if armor is your thing…) that you can build quickly to get a bit of satisfaction.
also, just listening to the various scale modeling podcasts can help inspire too! I like the Plastic Posse Podcast and The Model Geeks Podcasts, as they hit the most points in the entertainment and subject matter meters…
Sorry to hear you’re crook mate. I fall in and out of motivation all the time, but when you are dealing with health problems motivation is often hard to find for anything. Health problems leave you tired and you tend to focus on just getting through the day. Don’t sweat the motivation thing, it will return. There are lots of great suggestions listed above. For me the main ones are: Don’t force it; read books and watch movies with no intent to find motivation to build, just enjoy; when you start to feel the urge to tinker, keep it simple and pick something that doesn’t matter if you stuff it up.
