When my eyes need more correction I can buy a new pair of close-up glasses. Easy to fix vision problems. But boy, osteo-arthritis sure is a pain, literally, to model with. Only thing the docs can say is take more pain killers, but of course they also say that doing so will ruin either my liver or my kidneys depending on the type I take 
This has been a bad winter, but it is warming up- why aren’t my fingers less painful? I think arthritis is the scourge of old modelers!
I feel your pain Don. I have it in the fingers and shoulders as well as my left knee which was broken when I played football in high school. In the colder months I live on pain meds but do Ok in the warm months. That is why I dread fall and winter.
My 76 yr old fingers and wrists sympathize with your experience. [:@] I’m originally from S. Dak. and was gonna suggest that you move south, Don, but from Berny’s comments, I guess that doesn’t work either. [whstl] Hang in there, guys!
Ken
At 61, I’m finding that I lack the fine motor skills to achieve the level of detail that I see in this forum. So many wonderful PE items to dress up my projects and I can’t manage them.
This old age s**t ain’t for cowards. Oh well, even if I never post photos of my BB gun targets, I enjoy the company. [t$t][snYea]
Sorry to hear of your arthritis.
I’m starting to feel it as well.
As the saying goes: “youth is wasted on the young”.
I presume old age is the reason big scale models are becoming more popular.
My eyes and hands certainly prefer working with bigger kit parts.
you’re a fast learner…[proplr]
If I was a fast learner, I’d have made Lieutenant Colonel before retiring my green suit. [:$]
Nevertheless, this is better than Facebook. [:D][snYea]
No Manny in Facebook?
what is supposed to go first?? hearing ? eyes? …i’m 46, and my eyes are needing extra help… I’m other ailments are around the bend…
Hang tough guys !
seems to depend on the person.
I know someone younger than me by one year who has many more ailments than I have and someone older by 15 years who has fewer ailments than people 20 years her junior.
Increase your intake of fish oils, capsules without nasty taste are available and they do a lot more than relieve the stiffness in your joints. Medications aren’t necessarily the best course of action as it often times has worse side effects. We’re learning more and more that nature has the right stuff to make our bodies function properly. The big pharma know this, but would rather get you to buy stuff that yields them greater profits.
i for one understand more than a few days that i have been in pain .but building makes me happy so i keep going .
Ron
Funny that now I have a little time to do some modeling…no more deployments, or long TDY’s now you’re telling me my body is not gonna copoperate? Man that sucks.
I thought the same thing several years ago, so did a bunch of large scale models. Trouble is, what do you do when you finish them? They rapidly filled all the available display room, and then some!
I have had to go back to small scale. I am even thinking of doing 1:72 WW1 stuff. I have heard the old phrase “Use it or lose it,” and thinking maybe that justifies trying some really small stuff. A friend is trying to get me to do 1:43 cars.
scale cars do have an advantage over scale aircraft in having a predictable storage footpad
Other than the problems listed above, the first thing that went was …uh… uh…[bnghead] can’t seem to remember. Do know it made it harder to get some work done on a model.
Jim [cptn]
Sorry to hear of your pain Don. At 58, I am stiffening up as well with one knuckle in each hand making it difficult to say the least. I’m blaming it on all the snow shoveling of last winter but thought that it would cure itself as I began to thaw out. It didn’t, it is not. Left hand is really bad and this morning it took awhile to straighten out that one finger. I am off to the ortho doc next week, probably for a Cortisone shot (hopefully one for both fingers) for temp relief and we’ll take it from there. Heavy doses (2x 800mg) of isopropyl capsules in the meantime that ain’t doing squat.
My scale modeling has just about come to a standstill for other reasons but sore hands sure ain’t helping any.
I do fish oil capsules (for my heart as I am a cardiac patient) and generally feel great otherwise… running up to 12 miles a week.
Modern pharmacuticals… [:|]
Know how you feel, but if you’re like me you don’t think about quitting. I agree with Hawkeye, take lots of fish oil and go easy on the pain killers. I use Sundown fish oil because it’s not stinky. I quit taking two scrips for pain last year because I couldn’t do ANYthing but drool and I am amazed at how much better I am! By the way, fish oil can make “other things” work better, ahem…sometimes things getting harder is not a bad situation at all.
Slim
Doc tells me ‘your eyes are in great shape, they’re just older now’.
Thanks insert unenthused sigh.
And everything else is managing to stop working like it used to as well. Yippee friggin hurrah.
My barrier, just can’t sit too long. Work for a bit walk around aimlessly work for a bit. That and the back isn’t as into making models as it used to be.
Wish only wisdom came with age eh.
Suggestion: The traditional 3-sided pencil grip. All my hobby knives (for some reason FSM doesn’t like it if I specify a brand name) and all my paint brushes have ¼-to-½-inch segments forced onto them. If you have any trouble locating 3-sided pencil grips (and they have gotten harder to find in stationary stores) hit up a teachers’ supply store.
