What are your Modeling quirks, rituals and other superstitious beliefs?
Do you smoke a fine cigar and open a bottle of Don Perion’ before attaching your last Modelkasten link to your run of tracks? Do you always model with a ball game playing on TV in the background? Do you recite a Hail Mary before changing out a worn X-acto blade? Do you only model on the weekends? If you lose a crucial PE part in the middle of a build do you make an offering to the Carpet Monster God before getting on your knees with the flashlight? Do you wear a special, worn-out t-shirt while airbrushing your armor? Is your stash stacked in alphabetical order or by manufacturer—or do you use the Dewey Decimal system?
LOL, Manny! YOu must have “The Modeler’s Encyclopedia of Provocative Forum Questions”! (another) Good one!
I have my models arranged by “ausfrung”–Panthers with Pathers and variants; Marders together, Half Tracks, etc.
Geez–that’s about it? I always clean my airbrush…I re-sharpen Exacto blads (even if they’re not quite as sharp), I put small pieces into a pill box or a plastic-topped, hinged desk organizer if there’s a lot of them–just good habits that keep things organized, and to keep from losing things…
About the only thing I wait to do which signifies the “end” of a build is to make a little “name tag” of what it is before I put it in the bookcase. Just a simple, hand-lettered vehicle name with a few pertinent stats. Then it’s “done”. [:D]
Does anyone else do the post build cleaning of the workbench? For me, this includes rearranging paints and tools plus changing the newspaper on my workbench and in my paintbooth. It’s my this-build-is-done ritual.
I tend to keep every box from every kit I build, if it was a success or not.
I keep every tree from every kit in the box it came with, for every model kit I build (you never know when you will need it)
I always store the boxes for the kits I am currently working on to the left, stacked up ontop of eachother on the right speaker of my keyboard.
Last I make a point not to clean the paint off of my hands, or what ever other body part it ends up on, untill it comes off over the course of my daily affairs.
Manny (the Dr. Phil of the Armor forum) - OK, as a retired Army officer, that mean retireed anal nut!!!
Models are arranged by the following…
SP Artillery, Towed Artillery, Mortars and Antitank weapons, Missiles, Wheeled support vehicles, Track support vehicles, helios, accessories, figures and other…All inventoried on a detailed speradsheet!
Yep, after each build we clean up and sanitize…the bench, paint booth, empty the garbage can, clean the floor.
As far as smoking a cigar and having a drink…hell that has nothing to do with modeling…I try to enjoy that every night…[swg]
The build does not begin… until the first part hits the floor… after that, it is a sucession of time honored, but, seemingly essential events that are a inherent part of the Modelers Bible.
Since ancient times when the art initially evolved from wood and previous mediums, one of the most familiar practices that indicated a new project project was underway is the traditional semi-religious ceremony known as the “sacrifice”.
The sacrifice begins when “I”, the sacrificee, spends a considerable amount of time fabricating either a lost part (quite often that first part that hits the floor) or a part otherwise unobtainable from other sources.
As quoted from the unholy scriptures of the Modelers Bible, “for every 2 parts you shall make, you must sacrifice the firstborn”.
I’ve found that I can usually make a part faster than I can find the one I just lost, but then, that brings me back to making two so I can sacrifice the first one… Just can’t win.
Anyway, other time honored, mystic rituals include those strange yet unexplainable phenomenom which will always occur at the most opportunistic times such as:
Superglued parts which always stick to the tool or the finger like some kind of a super booger, instead of sticking where they are supposed to.
Tools that mysteriously disappear from the counter-top when you need them (sometimes in less than 60 seconds and at a critical moment). … I think they just
Parts that rapture from a container into the thereafter, where I will be reunited with them after my time on this model comes to pass.
I could go on and on here, but, my mouse has disappeared… (seems it’s made of plastic too)… so now I gotta go find it.
You guys are funny…And it’s kind of a relief, I seem somewhat normal now after reading your posts [swg]. I have a designated set of “modeling clothes” which my wife insits on washing, even though they get paint all over them anyway.
I also sign each of my models with the year, and sometimes include a little message for my wife, even though I am the only one that knows it is there.
Well, the big one has to be that I WILL NOT vacuum my modeling room floor until I’m in between (completed) builds…the first time you suck up a part you didn’t know you dropped will make you do the same. [;)]
There is DEFINITELY a big end-of-build cleanup as well (see the vacuuming part). The whole bench gets put back where it was at the start, paints and tools are all arranged, table is wiped down to create a semi-sanitary build environment for the next round of plastic assembly.
My stash closet has a definite system! It has to! It’s arranged first by type - A/C on top third, armor on bottom two thirds - then by manufacturer, then by country - Germans, U.S., Russia, Brits, etc. Come to think of it, I think it’s time to rearrange that mess…bunch of new kits crammed in there lately. [:-,]
I do the same thing. I generally use the inside of my Pace Peacekeeper as my work bench, so when I finish a build I take everything out, give the insides of the spray booth a good spritzing of Windex and clean everything out.
Also, although this is never intentional, I always manage to cut myself at some point with each and every build so I think the blood sacrifice helps me to finish the build. [bow] [(-D]
Hummm…sounds familiar…I put a first aid kit at my bench. Do want to get blood on my work, don’t want to leave the bench and waste time going around the house for a band-aid.
wow!!! I finally found out what I’m doing wrong!! Dang!! I just sit down and start building, man have I got it all wrong!! Thanks to you guys I’m gonna start doing all the things I read here, It should take an extra 6 months to finish. lol These are great to read guys!!
Never finish a Group Build by the deadline. Okay, maybe a few.
I like to trim all the unneeded sprue and trash it. It gives me a sense of accomplishment, helps to find pieces easier, and aids me in seeing a finish line. Unfortunately, I threw away a steering-wheel on my son’s Humvee, or I just plain lost it.
Never open a kit until it’s time to build it. It remains sealed in the shrink wrap when it arrives on my doorstep right up until its moment on the bench has come.
Kits are organized, in plain sight against a wall where I can see them all as opposed to being in a closet, by vehicle type and manufacturer. For example all my Pz III/Stug III kits are together, the IV kits, the 38(t) kits, HT kits, etc. I also keep a spreadsheet inventory of all kits and all AM items that I’ve purchased and indexed by kit they belong to. When kits are completed, they are moved from the “Inventory” tab to the “Completed” tab and the date of completion entered to keep track. The AM stuff resides in a clear plastic box with a latching lid to keep it all in one place.
Only build 1 kit at a time, start to finish, including painting/weathering.
When build is done, the instruction sheets and any AM sheets for AM used, are filed away in a drawer in my desk. Any leftover parts are clipped from their sprues or cut-down to manageable size and stored in a hardware pull-drawer organizer bin.
Workbench is thoroughly cleaned and everything (brushes, paint, glue, tweezers, etc.) put back into place when the build finishes. Carpet is thoroughly vaccuumed to pick up all the little nubs (nothing worse then getting down on hands and knees to search for a light gray part among a sea of light gray sprue nubs) and other debris.
Next build kit and any AM are photographed together as the “build 0” photo before work commences.
I’m [(-D] at myself. I really respect the discipline you guys show staying organized. I’m not too terrible but I have been known to go buy 6 bottles of the same color paint rather than look for the bottle I have just put somewhere? [D)] There is always a project of some sort on my tables so that is my excuse. You can whip me now… To ensure sucess amongst this disorganized work bench I sacrifice a model twice a year. Before sunset on the summer solstace and before sunrise on the winter one. To the firecracker gods. How is that for drama disaster master?
until the first part hits the floor…
after that, it is a sucession of time honored, but, seemingly essential events that are a inherent part of the 
Modelers Bible.
Since ancient times when the art initially evolved from wood and previous mediums, one of the most familiar practices that indicated a new project project was underway is the traditional 
semi-religious ceremony known as the “sacrifice”.
sacrificee, spends a considerable amount of time 
fabricating either a lost part (quite often that first part that hits the floor) or a part otherwise unobtainable from other sources.
As quoted from the unholy scriptures of the Modelers Bible, “for every 2 parts you shall make, you must sacrifice the firstborn”.
I’ve found that I can usually make a part faster than I can find the one I just lost, but then, that brings me back to making two so I can sacrifice the first one… 
Just can’t win.
booger, instead of sticking where they are supposed to.
thereafter, where I will be reunited with them after my time on this model comes to pass.
DISASTERMASTER