Modeling Times

Here’s a question for all to ponder: When is everyones favorite modeling time, early morning, late night or some other time?
Do you go in spurts, or do a little bit everyday? Just in the winter or all year long?
Mysel, I prefer to get up around 6 a.m. on my days off, the house is nice and quiet, the cats are asleep, and I can enjoy a good
coffee, sometimes I get to see the sun come up. If any ever visit Calgary, Canada, take the time to get up early, turn to the west and watch
as the early morning summer sun splashes it’s light on the face of the Rockie Mountains, definately a moment worth pause. I can usually get a few good hours in before the house gets up. I work 12 hour shifts so I have to endure many days away from my bench. (the withdrawals are terrible)[xx(]

So how about it, are we all a bunch of early risers, or do we prefer to burn the midnight oil? (the fuel not the band)[;)]

Madd Dawg

If in the throes of a hot project, I will get up early, stay up late, sneak to the workbench at odd moments, or whatever time is available.

Any time I can grab a few spare minutes is a good time. With work and family obligations, I have to take what I can get.

I’m the same as paulnchamp. I find it hard to plan for specifically. But given a choice it would probably be afternoons when the light is coming in good in the room I work in. But that choice is usually only on weekends unless I am off work.

At night, late at night. After working all day and then coaching football or lacrosse, coming home and eating dinner, I can’t begin to think about building until at least 8 p.m. I sometimes model for 2-3 hours at night, but I find vacation is when I get the bulk of my modeling done. I work in a high school so I get two weeks in the Winter, two in the Spring and a month in the Summer off, if I want them or not. I will build one or two models in each of these times. Also late on Saturday night, all too often I will start working on a model at about 11 p.m. and the next thing I know, I look out the window and the mountains around my house are surrounded by that early morning greyness that signals, it is 5 a.m.

Unless I’m on a deadline for a contest, I do all of my work late at night–from about 9 PM until 2 or 3 AM. I’ve always been a nightowl so that’s when the creative juices are flowing.

… anytime spent at the old work bench is time well spent!

I get some of my best work done on camping trips.

Due to shift work, building models will be at different times. Mostly in the afternoon and early evening. The workbench is in the bedroom so I have to take care not to airbrush just before sleeping time. After all it’s quite a satisfactory time.

I build models mostly in the evenings, but if times allow, like during some week ends, I can model from 8am til 10pm (with a nap in the afternoon!) no problem.

I generally don’t get more than about 20-30 minutes per session. I try to spend a little time every day (usually in the later evening), but it doesn’t always work out. Some of the sessions I spend just sitting and thinking about what I’m going to do next, others are intense prep/fitting/assembly sessions. Some evenings I spend the entire 20 minutes just cleaning up my desk and putting stuff away!!
I usually get a couple of hours on the weekend to spend painting and doing more time intensive tasks. But generally, I find my models go together very slowly, over many days/weeks.
Yesterday, I installed a heater hose in my '57 Bel Air I’m working on. Tonight, I think I’ll apply a decal…

M.

JChurch.
I’m from Saskatoon, so unfortunately I don’t get to see the mountains like you do. And for some reason, there really isn’t a good angle for gazing at the barren prairie and bleak horizon. I love it here, but it’s not quite as pretty as Calgary…
M.

This is going well, so far we seem to be leaning in the late night direction
but its to early to tell. Lets hear more.

FreedomEagle… I couln’t have said it better myself. But I have to ask, I ve heard of
guys taking their hobby on business trips in hotels, but how do you do it on camping trips?
I need near sterile conditions to work, I can’t imagine how I’d get anything done at a picnic table, my hat is off to you.

Mkish. I’ve only been in Calgary for about 20 years now, grew up in southern Ontario so I can appreciate
what you mean by bleak horizon. But the praries do have a stark beauty all their own and no less in comparison
to the mountains.

Madd Dawg[8D]

paulnchamp summed up my situation pretty well…I have a 3 year old and a 2 year old running around, so I usually take advantage of afternoon naptime (if everything else is caught up with…laundry, etc) or between their bedtime and mine (8Pm till 10ish PM). I usually can only get in a couple sessions per week, but I’m delighted to take what I can get!

My modeling workbench is in the windowless garage, so I prefer to work after sundown. I like to work 2-3 hours per sitting, so I can get some momentum and get stuff done.

If I work in the daytime (on weekends), I’ll open the garage door when it’s not too cold outside. Here in California, cold is anything below 60F!! Another drawback to opening the garage door is that door-to-door salesmen occasionally interrupt me. I think a spritz of lacquer thinner from my airbrush should be enough to drive them back!

Iam been able to assemble a model during my holiday at a camping side in France. The kids where playing and I was sitting in the sun modelling. I took only the bare essentials with me as you can understand. But it works.

I usually make my modells during my holidays, and I used to spen all day on them at times, however due to a torn disc in my lower back (from working on a full size ejection seat - heavy buggers!) I can only sit for about an hour at a time without a break. I do find that having to take that break has improved my modelling, as it helps restore the concentration, and getting some fresh air and going for a walk makes a nice change from sitting at the work bench. Often a solution to an awkward problem will present itself, and I can rush back and carry on with my detailing, having figured out how to detail that one little cockpit part that had me stumped!

I usually work at night, in the basement, with the stereo running…not too loud though! In the winter I work on them a little here and there, and still the night too.

Jerry

Night owl here, although less so as I get older. Used to stay up until 1 or 2 in the morning, but now it’s more like 12 to 1. My workspace is in an outbuilding, and since I work from home, sometimes I’ll take a break and go out and do a little something just to get out of my chair. Weekends are when I get the most done.

P.S. - When I first saw the thread title, I thought (hoped) maybe somebody had started a newspaper about modeling. :slight_smile:

Aaaaand that’s what happens when you accidentally click “Last” on the navigation bar.