I was just taking an enjoyable 20- 30 minutes this morning to do some assembly work on a kit I’m building . . . and I got to thinking how I spend time modelling.
Not “How Much” - more like “How much at a time”.
Lately, I think it’s rare for me to spend more than 2 hours at a time. Usually it is shorter - a half hour here or there. On a Saturday - it might be three 1/2 hr (more or less) sessions sprinkled throughout the day - depending on what else is going on. Last weekend, circumstances allowed me to have a really good long session outdoors in a calm, shady place that lasted about 4 to 5 hours (this is really rare) but towards the end I was thinkin’ “OK - this is enuf for today. I’m done.”
Several years ago I tried to build a 1/72 Matchbox Beaufighter over a 3-day weekend. I was able to do it - but I was surprised at the end. I thought - “Wow - that felt too much like WORK !” and even more surprising . . . “I didn’t really like that very much.”
So I thought it would be interesting to hear people’s thoughts on how they build. What kindof chunks of time can you bite off for modelling, when do you start feeling like you’ve had enuf ? Are you a marathoner - or a sprinter ?
I guess you could say I am a long distance or cross country marathoner . It takes as much as two years for a Good Model car .Maybe a year and up to three for Ships ( not sailing vessels ). and maybe a year or more for a Plane .
The reason ? Well , I have commissions so I do model usually six to seven hours a day . Sometimes more . So - I just want to get away from the work area .Then I will look at my models and get the thought , " Hmmm, Maybe I better get this plane farther along in the build or this piece of armor . " T.B.
For plastic – about 3-4 hours. But I mostly work 2 hours at a time.
For balsa – I can go all day if I have the time. If im building RC its MUCH larger then anything platsic so I am forced to walk around a lot which keeps me from cramping up. When I work with plastic i’m just sitting in one spot for hours and I get neck aches and such ( only 25 years old, but hey lol).
For airbrushing – I try to keep it not much longer then 2 hours. My hands cramps up on the brush.
I’m definitely a sprinter. I will usually during the week, get a few minutes here and there. I really don’t want to take time away from my family. But, I could easily be a marathon runner. Back, before marriage and kids, I would get “lost” in a build. I would build all day, even forgetting to eat.
Funny, I used to smoke back then. I remember lighting a cigarette, taking a puff, then get back to work on the kit. Then I would go take another drag, and the cigarette was out. The whole thing burned away in the ash tray.
Between 30-90 minutes. When I Airbrush not more than 30-45 minutes cause I want to keep the maximum concentration. For a Tamyia 1/35 tank it took around 1-2 months to complete the kit.
IF there’s nothing earth shattering to do around the house and my wife doesn’t need any help in her workroom I can keep going till I realize the next day is here. I work whenever I can for as long as I can.
I build models for the sheer enjoyment of it and never get in a hurry. As soon as it starts to feel like work ,I quit for a while then come back to it, especially on the “work segments” like scraping seam lines and flash off all those tiny parts…not fun. I can go for hours though on detail painting pits etc.on aircraft . I just love doing that.
I also however have some physical limits with my bad back and arthritis in my hands. Sometimes those limit my bench time as well.
Interesting question, being retired for 15 years now, no kids, just a wife, house and dog, I have pretty much unlimited time. But at 75, Father Time is having his way and I have some physical limitations to deal with, so long sessions at the bench cause some issues.
I’d guess I spend three hours daily, spread over two or three times. The eyes get tired before long, shakiness is another issue, and general discomfort from sitting for more than one hour at a time.
Still, the progress is satisfactory and I enjoy the time building/painting. In earlier years I was concentrating on detailing, now I’m content with turning out good “two footers.”
What a great way to enjoy our leisure hours, and the neighborhood kids love to get them for ceiling hangers. Many have made their way in to aviation museums, hopefully they will be enjoyed by others for years to come.
Hmmm. Good question. Both. Im semi-retired, Kids are grown & some live in other cities. I have a good amount of time but seem to build at the same rate…lol One thing I have started though is to go back & finish started kits so my kids can sell all new stuff when Im not around…lol
This time of year (work season), it’s hard to even get motivated. If I only have an hour or two block of time, I can’t do it. It usually takes a good hour or two, just to get in the groove. If I get a rain day (no work), I have a free day, with nothing “hanging over my head”…I can bench for hours. In Winter, when I’m not working and have no obligations, I’ll bench all day, and into the wee hours of the a.m. I’ve had many 10-12, even on up to 16 hour sessions…broken up only by short breaks.
I’ll get a helluva lot more done in one 8 hour session, than I could ever get done in as many as 5-6 two-three hour sessions. All about “the groove”!
I usually spend 2 to 3 hours daily on my builds.I have to wait for my wife to go to bed to head down to the workshop.That is fine as I am a nightowl and usually work 2nd shift which works out just fine!
I work as an auto body tech in a kind of laid back shop, and don’t do the big hits anymore, so have some time on my hands. I usually get a few 20-30 minute sessions in there, along with AB parts and such. At home I will generaly get an hour or so in the evenings on a couple of kits there. Have a couple of other projects going right now, so weekends are full of other things, at least til summer is over and the PNWet comes back.
This is quite an interesting question - and not one i can remembers seeing on the forum previously.
For me, I only have limited work time, given i’m still in full time employment. If i’m not too tired at the end of the day, i can get 30 - 60 mins in, BUT, more often than not, on a weeknight, i don’t do any.
Which means, come the weekend, i do as much as possible. Some weekends (like this one just been) that may only be 60 minutes due to other commitments, but, if i have no other obligations I can easily go for 3+ hours without realising how much time has flown by. I think the longest session in one sitting was close to 5 hours.
Nice thread Bossman. I am a full fledged marathoner. Takes me roughly a year to finish even a 1/72 single engine aircraft. My bench time is in spurts between work and other obligations. Honestly, most of it is of my own choosing. I love to work in our yard, go hiking and play with the cat and dog. Another huge distraction for me is sports. Namely Denver Bronco football and Utah Jazz basketball. Can’t help it, I’ve got to sit and watch the games.
I get in some quality modeling in the mornings. In fact, I get up at 4:00 am and get in some bench time before I have to open the store at 7:00. I am not much of an evening modeler. Although at times I get the urge. Then, if I have little or no obligations, I might pop an hour or so on my days off. Today in fact was an exceptional bonus day as I got about 2 hrs in.
I to am a marathoner due to I use enamels which require longer drying times between coats. The masking process also. I spend about 20 to 30 minutes on any particular build. On the average for me is 2 to 3 months for completing a finished build
At this time of year, my bench time drops, and I work in short sessions, a half-hour here or there, sometimes in the early morning, when I wake up, and before I have to go to work. I spend a lot more time outside in the summer.
When winter comes, I’ll spend more time, a couple of hours a night during the week, and a couple hours on the weekend. But never more than two or three hours at a stretch.
