I am one of those, like many others, who have a big selection of models stashed away (I worked at a hobby store at one time). I’m 58 and feel guilty of not having the time to build what I have. I was thinking, has anybody just got out their models and built as is right of the box with no painting or detailing? I think this is one way to have the time to build because the many hours of sanding and painting is a huge time factor. I’m not saying to build all of my models this way but to just build and display as is.
You might turn some of that to cash. If there are model shows/contests in your area, most have flea markets at the show. Look into being a vendor. You may have to pay for table space- some shows ask a lot, others are reasonable.
Not trying to plug a thread however there is some interesting replies to Build a " turd". Might help relieve some stress.
I have a large stash, the only guilt I feel is not remembering what I already have and buying another kit of the same subjuct. Nothing wrong with a large collection, it is not costing much to keep. It also provides apportunities to help anothe modeler, donate to a cause, or maybe even earn some cash back.
On a humorous side…DON’T PANIC!! THE FEELING WILL PASS. LOL
Since I tend to build several “stress releif” OOB model between or even during large project builds I would say and easy 80% of what I do is quick build, throw some paint at it, weather and put it on the self.
This does not for one second mean they are poorly built or basic appearing models. They just are not overly complex builds so go quickly.
In fact at a recent show a model that I built, painted and weathered in two evenings took a silver medal at a show while my motnhs long projects hardly even received a glance from the judges.
I’m about the same age (59) and if I stopped working right now and cranked out a model a week for the rest of my life, I might get them all finished before I die.
Many are older kits, not really classics, but have been bypassed by better kits. A few are not worth the paint and glue necessary to build the kit.
I do need to thin the herd. Selling kits online is such a pain in the butt, and selling in person people only want to pay $5-10 for kits worth $40. “Hey, I see you have the uber kit that retails for $50, can I get it for $10?”
I havent,I know some might leave off paint to show off all the brass and AM ,but thats not what you mean.No,if I’m building,I’m painting,if it takes more time,that’s okay. I don’t ad a lot of AM maybe tracks,stowage,or figures,that’s it.
I can’t do it. Each of the … many… kits in my stash was purchased with some sort of a plan; some sort of a dream of a cool completed model. It would be a waste of the kit for me to build it with no paint and no tinkering. On the other hand, I am intentionally abandoning some projects to sell on ebay. Each of those sales is an official given-up-upon-dream. Oh well.
And the funny part is that I must be the world’s worst snail’s-pace builder. Nothing is finished in less that six months, no matter how many resolutions say that “I’m going to start this one and finish it in a month.” HA!
This hobby gives me tremendous joy to sit at my workbench for an hour or two, and only have tinkered with half a dozen parts for that time. And, yes, I am retired, and this should be the golden years when I spend six or eight hours at the bench. Oh well.
See that is just it, you don’t need to skip paint or some low level tinkering to complete a model in a reasonable time. It seems that so many are thinking there are only the extremes of either no paint slapped together without clean up or ultra detailed with every piece of aftermarket or scratch built details available and a 12 step multi layered paint job. There is something in between! Completing a project as just a well done out of box build and a basic paint job can cleanse your pallet to go back to and finish those dream projects.
Basic builds, even done nicely, do not take a lot of time.
These are all builds that were under 20 hours or so on the bench. They all have full clean up and decent paint with just a enough weathering to be quick but effective.
I’m in the same age group and have the same “problem”. I have tried to build OOTB with no putty or paint, but didn’t enjoy it at all. AMS and all that.
I have given away kits to kids in the past, but a lot of my stash is not kid-friendly. DML 1/35 German armor kits with 1,200 parts make for a poor introduction to model building.
One of my LHS does sell on commission, and a friend takes loads of his old kits there.
As I get older, the “every kit deserves a fight” attitude has devolved to “gah too many pieces to deal with”.
Same here. Even if I try to quick build a kit, I just can’t help myself and I have to address seams, etc…the most time consuming of building. Suddenly, a weekend build turns into multiple day build. I don’t get crazy with after-market stuff or matching colors exactly. I just build for fun and what I think looks good and try to improve from kit to kit.
First things first. Don’t feel guilty for having more models than you have time to build. I’m guessing most of us will go to the big bench in the sky without building the complete stash. As already mentioned selling those models or benevolence takes care of that.
I can’t imagine building a model without painting or detailing. Every time I break bags on a new project it’s a chance to improve. As our skills improve so does our expectations. It may take months to get there but I enjoy the ride. I don’t know how guys here build gems in a weekend or two. It’s amazing to me the quality of some of these builds in just a short time. Lucky for us slow guys its not a race. At the end of the day it’s a simple answer. Build them the way you want. It’s your model. It’s your hobby. Just have fun doing it.
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