Being a model builder from a very early age (probably pre-birth… I can’t remember!) I have always built models, even while serving and always took one away on active service deployments and the squaddies who served under me always tell the tale of me trying to put a maybach engine together while the firebase was under mortar attack and everyone was under cover from flying bits of metal.
On losing a part on to the floor of the squadron HQ thanks to a very near miss which caused everything in the HQ to bounce I stormed to the front entrance and gave a very loud and bad language tirade at parade ground level towords the f****** goat s****** ****** ***** ***** sons of flea bitten ****** ******* ******* camels that upset my concentration and relaxing time with ***** ****** ******* ****** mortars!
This had the entire firebase laughing, making those whose first time it was there feel better at seeing their CO standing out in the open ranting at the enemy!
I used to come home with a half built kit with some very shaky paintwork and sand in unusual paces. My model making served it’s purposes and also now provides a platform for me to control my PTSD and de-stress myself helping my body to cope with the devastating heart damage which nearly put me in a jaffa orange box and on a bonfire!
Some make it through to be complete builds and into my cabinet. Some don’t for whatever reason - usually me!
I do class my skills as average and being a southpaw too sometimes get me going (left hand sprue cutters, knives etc… LOL) and with both armour and aircraft kits today being more complex beasts than they used to be that makes me start to look at the box and its contents, go, “Oh Hell!” then pick up the plans and go “Hmmmm! OOOOh! this could be a really nice build! let’s see what I can mess up!!!”
It’s all about destraction from issues and keeping myself entertained. What makes it into the cabinet entertains the guests and what doesn’t goes into the recycling.
My father (91 and grumpy) always says, “With his skill set it’s either model making or prison!”
Like the old saying about it being the journey rather than the road to somewhere, to me the pleasure is not in the resulting model, it is the act of building. Since I have run out of display room, I am looking for places to donate my completed models.
When I was still working as a police officer, model building was a great stress reliever and decompression tool. Now that I’m retired, it helps while the day away along with many other pursuits i have. Do I get frustrated? Nope because it’s a stress reliever. I still have the two kits (Revell ‘Lone Wolf’ series 32nd scale Spitfire and P-47) my then fiancee (now wife) bought me for Christmas over 30 years ago. Those two kits got me back into the hobby after a 15 year hiatus.
Many that I have built over the years have been given away to neighbourhood kids who like airplanes and to veterans and family members of those vets who flew a certain aircraft or aiframe. Some of them have found their way to ‘File 13’ on order to make room for new displays but incidents like that are few and far between. I have two resin shelving units in my model biulding room. The bottom shelves are a mere couple of inches off the floor. I’ve had puppies go to town on a few models while they were teething. Didn’t bother me because it saved teeth marks on chairs, baseboards, cabinets, tables, etc. I’ve got about 80 on display with another 60+ in the stash. Some of the stash may get sold off. Who knows.
I’ve been building models since I was 3 years old. It was a consistent thing through my childhood. Those models that survived my childhood are still with me, stored in pieces (brought about by being models in a boy’s room, with the inevitable chaos that can occur there) in a couple of large boxes. I’ve never fixed any of them; in fact, I’ve added to those boxes in recent years after suffering a shelving disaster that destroyed many of my adult builds.
With that statement, I’ll say that I’ve often wondered this same question - what good are they? At some point, that wonderful B-36 I built may end up in a trash heap. Argh. But, while I am still here, I get enjoyment out of building these models, and then looking at them at where I have them displayed. I also get enjoyment out of the preparations to build a particular kit - researching the unit to which it belonged, the pilots who flew it, for instance.
And probably most importantly, when I go to my workbench, my wife always knows where I am. Not on a golf course playing badly, not in a bar, etc.
My [2cnts]. I started building models at the ripe old age of 6 thanks to 2 fantastic uncles who were WWII vets. One was a submariner and the other was in the Merchant Marines. My parents thought that it was a waste of time and money so they weren’t a part of my hobby. My uncles always brought something with them every time they came to our house, a model, some glue, paint or something they thought I could use. As I got older and earned some money, I kept up the hobby. I think I built almost every ship model made at the time. When married, everything stayed at my parents house till I got our first house. I told my mother I’d come and take it all as soon as I could. That day came and I went to pick it all up and found that she had thrown everything into boxes and given them away to kids in the neighborhood. No words to describe feelings.
My first wife was great with me building so I started all over again. She even tried her hand at it every once in a while. After she passed, I finished her builds. My present wife is great with the hobby too. She picked out a ship that she wanted on the mantle and it’s still there (my avatar). I just finished another sailing ship for her that’s on a half wall in the living room.
What good are the models? Well, for one thing, they have provided loads of enjoyment, relaxation and peace & quite time. As I grew older, they help keep my mind (what’s left of it) active and keep my shakey hands from being useless. They help me meet other like minded guys at shows. Some of my models are in a WWII museum and will help some to remember and others to learn what the greatest generation went through for us. Some have been built for vets and now reside in their homes. I guess it all boils down to the main fact that I love building models and I’ll continue doing so till I go to the great workbench in the sky.[t$t]
Making models is a great way to challenge yourself. When it stops being a challenge, it ceases to be interesting. (Your finished models remind you of your successes. They also show others what you’re capable of.)
I reckon that model building offers something different to everybody. As a therapy, learning experience, to remember a family member who served, or anything of interest cars, trucks, space, TV etc.
It teaches us patience, assembly skills, how to follow instructions and also a bit of self-discipline too. There are so many hidden skills that you pick up and learn without realising it.
The mystical art of masking leads to the ability to use a scalpel at close quarters without removing fingers or slashing open a hand when it slips.
your choice of music might change depending on subject. Mine does.
Does your hobby impact or have a bearing on your work life?
I think we should as a community try and get more young people involved and away from electronic devices, or at least try and integrate the two together for them. Maybe a club in the local school etc!