With so many other potential hobbies out there, why this one?
For me, it’s the satisfaction of seeing results of my own creation and imagination. I build a model and it brings a sense of history. What it must have been like to have been there. Or, even flying that airplane, etc.
When I started building I was absolutely fascinated with miniature versions of real life things I thought were cool. I found with models I could own the thing, whatever it was. Then everything else fell into place: the use of imagination, creativity, engineering, hand-eye coordination, history, a bit of chemistry, exercising patience and focus. You get the process AND the product.
Dave
because it’s cheaper than bar-hopping and the ensuing divorce.
i do computer graphics for a living and building models takes my art back into my hands. i also enjoy the research and the history behind a model. i enjoy the camraderie in my various clubs i belong to and on line here.
I started building models to keep myself from going insane…unfortunately it often results in having the exact opposite effect.
First off, because I like to have at least one hobby where there’s something to show for it ( unlike video games ).
Second, mostly being a sci-fi modeler, I prefer to have something on display that has a chance of looking better than the collectible miniatures you can buy, or can be customized in some way.
I wanted to find the absolute most expensive hobby that I could! [:D]
In all seriousness, I like to be able to create things with my hands. I’ve always loved military history and modeling seems to align nicely with that. It also forces me to exercise some patience, which has likely saved my toddler at times; and it’s something where you are always learning. Learning history, new techniques, challenging yourself to new things, etc.
Groot
As a kid, I built airplanes and ships too but they looked like a kid did them, lol. My first airplane was that yellow Aurora Zero! Later, around 11 or 12, I got into model cars, and when we moved to Geelong, Australia in 1966, commercial slot cars took over for a while. I got my driver’s license at fourteen when we got back to Texas, and before long real cars and bikes got all my attention. Fast forward to around 1988 and while shopping at the local Winns store for toys for my two children, I bought the Monogram A-10 in 1/48.
I had long been fascinated by military aircraft and wondered about their relative sizes. Building the scale models was my way to compare different airframes. Next thing you know, I was buying WWII planes too. I painted that A-10 with my then brand-new Paasche H and compressed air cans. That’s still the only airbrush I’ve ever used although I did buy a Sotar recently but haven’t tried it out yet.
Rob’s statement about exercising his creativity holds true for me too. I had a five year hiatus from this hobby a while back and finally found that I really missed that creative outlet. I’ve also found that recently I have to have the “muse” upon me or I find all sorts of reasons not to work on ongoing builds (around 3 at the moment). The fantastic talent I see here, and other modeling sites, does inspire me and keeps me going until I sit down at the modeling table again! Thanks for that![:D[
Gary
Because I am addicted to it… And it all started with that stupid Brontosaurus almost 45 years ago… Dang dinosaurs…
My dad got me into it. I loved all the aircraft models he had built, and got to play with them (something I haven’t allowed mine to do). It was cool building airplanes; aviation and history have always interested me.
For me, it’s the creativity, the chance to show something that I BUILT myself.
I also love how it taught me to stay focused when I need to; as well as solve problems that many other non-model builders are stymied by.
It’s the fun of completing another piece of a growing collection. It’s the fun of imagining myself in command of my collection; as well as the lessons of History that I get when I build everything that I build. I also enjoy maintaining a consistency in my scale so that everything can be compared to everything else; at least between my aircraft and armor. And a small part of it is seeing and hearing everyone’s reactions when they see my whole collection at once; or see the number of models I finished since the last time they’d seen me. That may be a little selfish/self centered, but it’s fun; especially since I can mostly ‘wow’ people with quantity, but not quality.
Well, those are my reasons…
My reasons have changed over the decades.
At first, I wanted to build models like I had seen at a couple of my Uncle’s houses, and I wanted to start “for real” when a third Uncle came home from Memphis and was talking up the F-4 Phantom. His wife gave me an F4U as my first model, because she didn’t “get” the F-4 part right. But, from then on as a kid, I had a hobby that allowed me to “build my own toys”, so I got double pleasure out of it. I have never shot a gun at my models, or set them afire with fireworks. I went through stages of building 1/76-1/72-1/87 model tanks for wargaming, and a ship stage that ended a couple of years ago. But, no matter what else I was doing for hobbies or pastimes, I always had models to build.
From 8 on up, when the other kids in my neighborhood had “nothing to do” when it rained,I had models to build, and books to read. In my teens, when the day’s tractor driven was done, I would take time to glue something or trim something to fit, or paint a pilot. After unwinding a couple of minutes, then I would go to bed to sleep. Same thing if I had a factory job, or while in College,no matter what kind of work I did that day, I would model for a bit each night. It has always relaxed me.
When I was heavy into cars, and working on stock cars, the model aircraft were there for me to work on something quieter when I wasn’t listening to whining engines. Before that, model aircraft gave me something to do to while away the hours sitting in a hangar while “pulling the duty” I had volunteered for.
Heck, my first child took so long waiting for labor to really “get serious”, that I worked on a Zero for him in the hospital cafeteria while I waited to go back in and get my fingers crushed some more.
I painted my son’s first 1/1 scale car, then while waiting for the paint to dry, I worked on a Skyhawk. I have had small tool kits and models in just about every shop I ever worked in, for those quiet moments when something had to sit for some reason. And at every shop, there were always people that would walk up and want to ask questions about models while I worked away, and answered to the best of my ability.
I have had a Ship collection larger than Uncle Fritz had, a Tank collection larger than Uncle Carl, and more aircraft than Uncle Gunny Bob,and I would trade them all for just one of each to build with any of them today. (they are all either gone or can’t model anymore)
Now, I build mostly to honor them and the things they did, and the things they taught me, both modeling things, and real life things.
Thanks for listening to an Auld Phart, talking about a couple of his favorite Auld Pharts.
Rex (who only has 49 years modeling experience, so far)
we own and operate a small riding stables. 50 horses to clean and take care of. it is a very physical job but truth be known a trained chimp could do it. i’m constantly looking for challenges to keep the old brain matter working .modeling is an offshoot of some of my other hobbies i have taken up. collecting and refurbishing old die cast toys and building 1/64 dioramas . collecting gets me off the farm and restoring them keeps my noggin firing. i got back into modeling about a year ago and now i’m hooked.i don’t have much time and it takes me forever to complete a project but i absolutely love it.
Some good comments and stories shared here so far. It all started for me with my interest in WWII aviation when I was 11 or 12. I could always be found in the school library reading WWII book and looking at all the cool machines of war. I bought my first kit at that age too which was a Monogram SBD Dauntless and it was friggin awesome to build a model of what I had been reading so much about! From there came a whole slew of builds from Monogram (none of the builds were really detailed out but I had ALOT of fun) and I continued to build until I went in the military at 19.
As Tarnship stated my reasons for building changed throughout the years. I was in and out of the hobby briefly here and there for the years that followed until 2 years ago when I got back into it full force. It was at that point in life that I chose to give up my one true hobby that I had gotten so good at that everything around me was falling apart…to include myself. That "hobby " was alcohol so I used some tried and true methods (and above all the decision to literally drop it like a bad habit) and divert my attention to a hobby that, as Kugai said, I could have something to show for. I use modeling now as relaxation and a chance to use my imagination and creativity. I also have it as a close reminder that I choose to do something constructive with my spare time than something totally destructive and I enjoy the heck out it.
All of the above. I enjoy working with my hands,the research,the satisfaction of a well built mode(sometimes). But there is also almost a zen like quality to it.a few hours at the bench and all the troubles of the day go away.fishing also works for me
I started building over 40 years ago. Back then, they were just toys that I assembled. I remember a friend in either kindergarten or first grade brought the Seaview Flying Sub model. It was much better than the small kits I had built and after that, I was fully hooked.
So, when I started, model building was just another toy to play with, much like Legos or similar building toys are today.
Today I build because I get enjoyment out of making models.
The only way to view an object in 3D prior to 3D printing was either by examining the actual object ,ie; tank, aircraft, ship, etc. , view a 3D photograph or build a model.
After seeing a model photography article in a mid-1960s Scale Modeler magazine, I built models and photographed them with an old Kodak 127 roll film camera and ,later, a 35mm SLR.
I haven’t photographed kits since film went out of favor, but still build to collect 3D representations of objects.
I started building at the ripe old age of six. One of my uncles gave me a kit for my birthday. I remember my parents arguing with him telling him that they were a waste of time and money and not to get me another. When I opened another present from my other uncle, it was another kit. He got yelled at too. Well, to make a long story short, they kept bringing them and my brother and I kept building them. Anything we needed, they got for us. They would always tell us a little history of the model they brought. That got us really hooked. We always wondered what it was like for them to be around all these great ships and planes. One was in the submarine service and the other was in the Coast Guard. They both had scratch built models of the ship that they served on sitting on their mantles. No AM or PE used on them. Railings were soldered copper wire. Everything else was made from scraps of whatever was handy. They were awesome (the models and my uncles). Their sons build too, but not as many as I do.
As others have said, it’s the history and the pride in doing a good job that keeps me wanting to build more. I’ve enjoyed other hobbies too (still do), but not as much. That’s why I’ve been building for 67 of my 73 years and will continue to build until they pry my #11 from my cold, dead hands.
Jim [cptn]
I build because it keeps me off the couch, granted I’m still sitting its something to keep my hands busy. I work in aviation, have always loved aviation, and always look skywards. This hobby, specially building planes mostly, helps curb my appetite for all that is aviation. The history of the plane, pilots, dogfights, and wars is also intriguing to me. Every model I build I either learn a new method, perfect an old method, and learn about the plane and its effects on history. Always something fun on the workbench!
I build because when I’m not building, I’m thinking about building. (Actually, when I am building, I’m often still thinking about building…something else.) It’s just an addiction, I guess.
Also, I grew up in the shadow of Glenview NAS near Chicago in the mid-60s. The first time I realized I could have one of those beautiful Skyhawks or Phantoms I saw so often in the “wild blue yonder” actually sitting on my very own dresser (or hanging by threads from the ceiling), there was no going back.
small world, Greg
Glenview is where my Uncle Gunny spent about half of his career, and where I spent about 3/4 of mine. For a time, we were both there at the same time, he had high rank and was near retirement, I had low rank and was working for him. (lol, NOT as good a deal as it might sound)
This thread has inspired me to build one of the Glenview TA-4B from early in his stateside years.
Rex