This follows from the discussion about wives. Actually, my wife is great. We have a craft room where the family can work on individual hobbies. My wife has never made any comments about the closet full of kits, except when it came to packing them for a move (“You packed them better than you packed my mother’s china…”).
My wife never complains about my hobby or its expense for one reason - she knows that modeling serves a very important role in keeping my sanity. Whether I am building the model, planning the next one, or just admiring my newest purchase in the box, the psychological benefits are undeniable. There are times when I keep myself from blowing a headgasket at work because I know when the day is done I can go home, take a beer out of the fridge, and get to work at the bench. The money I spend on the hobby is little enough to keep me sane, happy, and productive on the job.
So, here is my list of the psychological benefits of modeling. What is your list?
Hope. Buying a kit is an investment in the future. There is definitely a thrill of anticipation for the project that makes me look forward to the evenings and weekends I will spend on the project. When you buy a model you make a commitment to the future.
Artistic expression. When I finish a kit I have something that is more or less pleasing to my eye. That’s more than I could say if I took up painting. I’m a lousy artist. Maybe the purists would exclude models from “true art”, but there isn’t much doubt in my mind that it’s art when I see what is on the contest tables at the shows.
Technical expression. I bought a minilathe to machine parts for models. Rebuilding the lathe and learning to use it has provided benefits in other areas as well. Learning about PE, resin casting, glues, paints, etc makes me more innovative in the lab where I work, and in turn I can apply lab techniques to modeling. The diversification of my skills is rewarding.
Bad Weather. My least favorite time of year is that dreary time of year between the end of winter and the start of spring. There is no better way to spend a dark, cold evening than working at the bench, listening to the rain pelt the window.
I will spend probably 40 hours on a model I buy for $20 (I’m slow). Considered as entertainment, modeling is one of life’s cheaper diversions per hour, even when you add the price of details, decals, paints, etc. Considered as therapy, it has to be orders of magnitude cheaper than the alternatives.
Of course, there are psychological dangers as well - like the times when you are bending a PE HUD and it flies off the bench into never-never land… [censored] But that’s probably worthy of a separate topic.
One of the reasons I like it is that I can model anytime. It doesn’t have to take prime time away from my family - but later in the evening when the kiddo’s are down for the count I can just work at my own pace and relax.
And when you look at the “dollar per entertainment hour” I don’t think you can beat modelling.
Well said ChemMan.[^] It’s had to express the feeling of personal quality time you find at the hobby bench. As for the lost PE, try going bare foot. They seem to like to stick in bare feet!
I think that ChemMan’s comments and points are right on the money. The only topic he missed out on is the obcessive compulsive disorder about super detailing or color schemes that so many of us suffer from - Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa…
Cheers
LeeTree
Bossman had an excellent one too. Either the kids can be involved or it can be done later when they go to bed. Aside from the kit, supplies and tools, there are no membership fees, no hours of operation to worry about, no travel time, etc.
Don’t forget anger management. After the badly fitting fuselage, fogged canopy, orange-peel paint and wrong turret type in the box, all your other worldly concerns are so much easier to handle [;)]
I’ll echo the stress relief replies…nothing forces you to slow down and focus on something other than a crappy day then working with small pieces of plastic [;)]
Boy, I echo what we’re talking about here. I’m only 25, but I was diagnosed with brain cancer. I’m on disability now, and in order to get the insurance (needed to pay 100K bills and up), I can’t have a job. That makes you feel, as a 25 year old man, like you’re life has a lot less value. I really find that doing serious modeling where you’re not just assembling a model like you would when you were young, but really developing some very important skills. Creativity, problem solving, patience, manual ability, patience. Its given me pride and joy in the time that I spend creating something that NO one I know can pull off.
In fact, I’m applying to the art institute of seattle for a post college degree in their industrial design program. (poly-sci at UW just doen’t keep me happy anymore.) That program, if you’re interested, is amazing!! check it out online…especially if there’s nothing you’d rather do in life than model. And I’m sure there are none of you out there! [^]
Take care, and be creative…it sharpens your brain chuckle
-jonathan
I actually have a good friend who is a therapist at a drug rehab halfway house and I suggested to him that he do a community group build either all together on one big kit like Revell’s Cutty Sark or each on their own. He has tried both with kits I’ve given him and he has seen more success and less relapse into addiction than he has ever seen in his career and now it is part of the regular therapy program. Model building has been a wonderful therapy tool.[:D]