Most of us old timers know that modelling “doth sooth the savage beast within us”, but recently I had a chance to really put it to a test.
Am two weeks down the road to recovery from major liver surgery, where they seem to have cut me in half then stapled it back together again (at least it looks like that).
Just before I went in I pulled a Tamiya Quad kit from the pile. Packed it with glue, knives, etc. Placed it on a cutting board on the work bench – and off to the hospital.
They kicked me out in four days, and after a couple of more days I asked my wife to go down and get the box. I set up on the kitchen counter and started to build. I can’t tell you how quickly the pain went away as my besotted brain started to function and fingers started to go where I told them to.
If anyone wonders why we hobby builders do what we do. Send them to me. I’ll tell them.[;)]
I kind of noticed that when I hand paint under my magnification glasses and build tedious PE, I breath less, be still and relax. I forgett about my responsibilities for that hour and my blood pressure probably goes down too. Anty stress I have usually goes away untill I cap the paint, turn off the light and get back into reality. My grandma’s an artist and she says she feels relaxed when she’s putting paint on canvas. It’s probably an artist thing…
Modeling is such a relaxing therapy for me I often spend half the night at the bench (not intending to at the beginning).
In the last six years, I have moved from NYC where I lived for 32 years, purchased a house, and added two little boys and a dog.
I went from work, friends, restaurants, movies and hockey to work, kids, house, kids, work, kids, house, kids, work, oh yeah… walk the dog.
When I fell back into this hobby this past Christmas, I feel like I’m returning to the laid back guy I used to be…
If that isn’t Therapy, I don’t know what is…
The first time my wife and I watched Band of Brothers, during ‘The Breaking Point’ when they asked Malarky to come off the line, and the voice over says "even fifty yards back for an hour…', we both busted out laughing because it’s just how we felt about our lives, that hour of model building or standing in a bookstore is so important.
Oh yeah its therapy… In the fast paced television business quite time is a God send… Take today for instance. I am under an enormous deadline. I have to build a whole new intro, bumpers, outro ect for my show by Friday… Well today my brain was smokin by 11pm so I took an hour lunch break and went home, sat down at the bench and glued a few parts together… I felt MUCH better. I completely believe in it as relaxation.
think about this, when you sit down to build how many times do you lose track of time? when i build i may sit there for several hours before i realize how long i am there. i am in full agreement on how theraputic modeling.
joe
Me too. My other hobby is writing and recording music, which can be quite stressful and frustrating. By comparison, when I sit down and model, I think of absolutely, positively nothing. Clears my head of all worries.
I get up, go to work, and stay stressed for about 8 hours. Come home, start working on a model and calm down after just a few minutes.
I had a physical a few months ago and my blood pressure was lower. When asked by my doc what I though might be the cause, I told her it was because I went back to building models and the stress just melts away after a few minutes.
Yeah, it is definitely therapeutic.
I can definatly agree. I started up after getting laid up following a car wreck going on a year ago. Definatly kept cabin fever from kicking in to much. And after haveing surgery earlier this year I made a workbench out of an old cabinet door and was able to have something to do other than stare at the tube watching judge judy all day.
I agree, for the most part working on a kit is very relaxing indeed. However, when you get that build that just won’t go together quite right, the blood pressure can raise in a hurry.
Couldnt agree more. After a few years of medical problems, I found myself in a situation where i was unable to be as active as I once was, playing sports and what not. Depression quickly set in, one day my Dad and I decided to go to the hobby shop, I got my first kit and few paints. I deffinately still have my days where things aren’t so great but since getting into the hobby those days dont come too often.
I had surgury last November and had to spend two weeks on my back. There was only so much TV I could watch and pain killers were not working, so I too had my wife bring up a model of a clipper ship and had built and needed to rig. That really took my mind off the pain and the Doc said I recovered at least two weeks earlier than expected.
Mind over body as they say.
The powers of a distraction are a wonderful thing. As many of you have allready stated, just a few minutes of sitting at my bench after a stressful day, makes me immediately feel better. Even more so when, a couple of hours later, realizing I’d been sitting there for hours on end, I can have a good night’s sleep.
Abutt2,
Welcome back to the forum…glad the surgery was a success, but I heard the nurses couldn’t cope, so they kicked you out early.
You’re right, though. It’s very therapeutic on many levels.
Welcome back and keep moving forward, mate.
I agree completely. There’s only one thing more relaxing than modeling, but she’s not in the mood tonight[;)]
Paul
thinking about this the last couple of days, i spend as much time on this forum as i do researching/building and both are very relaxing.
joe