was just wondering what motivates you to build what we do, ie, some of us are dedicated to armor,planes,ships,and myself fire apparatus. curiosity killed the cat you know.
Since serving on a carrier in the Navy, I tend to model more aircraft than anything. I still enjoy an armor subject occasionally, but I mainly stick to military throughout. Guess it’s just the background.
demono69
Dave,
Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought him back.
For me, the raven aspect kicks in. Something catches my eye and I get interested in it. While I focus on armor and figures, I’ve done ships and planes as well. I think it depends on what has peaked my interest at the moment.
Mike
to answer my own question and to let eveyone else know, i remember walking to the local fire house when i was about 7 or 8 and getting to climb all over the new 1976 mack pumper that the city had just got,real small town so it was a big deal, dont think i will ever forget that.
It’s mostly an interest in history I think. I buy a lot of mags and books and I tend to fall for the weird stuff. Thereafter, it’s mostly the challenge of modifying and scratchbuilding that motivates me. If I were better at painting figures, I’d do a lot of Roman stuff. I just love that period of time.
For me, it’s whatever has inspired me, or at least piqued my interest. Sometimes I’ll see a kit in the Reader’s Gallery in FSM and think, “Man, I have to build one of THOSE!!” My primary focus is armor, because of all the diversity in shapes, and all the mechanical fiddly-bits. But I really like airplanes and ships, too!
Gip Winecoff
I chose my subjects on
- History
- the chance meet with a veteran pilot, in honour i built his plane, vehicle etc
- a striking looking subject i ve seen in museum, TV, airport, documentary, book etc
4)a built review
believe it or not it is quite often the possesion joy rather than the quality built which drives me in keeping my old models.
eg i value my hedious kid age models more even if they ooze with glue, have gaps large enough to hide an elephant, and lack painting. My most precious one is alas gone in a sad sad story…(a chuck yager’s mustang signed by him at the wing…)
I build 1/48 WW II aircraft because my father flew B-24s & P-51s in the war. We never got along very well when he was alive, and my interest in his generation sparked a desire to honor the work & sacrifice that he and his peers willingly gave. I am trying now to find information on the B-24 that he flew into Ploesti. This model will receive more care & attention than anything I have thus far built.
For me it’s mainly to own a scale replica of something I will never have the money to really own. I have done mostly autos but did several planes when I was a kid. I am an old car nut so that played a big part in what I decided to build.
Interesting question…
As an avid collector, for me the thrill is in the hunt. I live for tracking down old discontinued kits and rare new ones of unusual subjects. As Garfield the cat once said, “It’s not the ‘having’, it’s the ‘getting’”
I DO intend to build many of my kits after my children get a bit older and don’t require constant attention. I’d eventually like to enter my creations in shows or contests in an effort to become a better modeler.
As for what I like to build, my greatest loves are modern military aircraft and sci-fi kits. If it goes faster than Mach 1 or faster than “c” and carries a huge load of ordnance, you’ll probably find it on my shelf. I have recently become interested in armor, too. I’m looking forward to building Trumpeter’s new SLT-56 tank transporter. I’ve picked up some very cool sci-fi armor, too. Revell’s 1980’s line of Robotech kits, Takara’s Dougram stuff, and many of the Macross kits now wait patiently for my attention.
I’ve always wanted to fly but, being ground-bound, I’ll let my imagination do the flying for me.
-Mark
It started with my interest in military history, especially WW 2. I started out on ships, moved to aircraft and finally on to armor. My interest in armor took off from the countless reading I did on the Eastern Front and all those cool Tigers and Panthers. I’d build more aircraft except that I’m lousy on them. In most cases, this is as close as I’ll ever get to the real deal, unless I travel to a museum.
“It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it.”-R.E.Lee
For me it is also a love of history and especially my interest in WW2. I like the aircraft especially, but I am also a big Jeep fan so that takes me over to my other big interest…cars that I will probably never be able to afford! [:D] I also like science fiction “technology”…Star Trek being my favorite. I have all of the Enterprises with the “A” and “D” currently hanging from my ceiling…those were built quite a few years ago…say about 13.[:O]
Jerry
I used to only really build cars because I really like the old muscle cars. Since finding this site and looking into armor and building a few I think its more interesting because of all the history behind it. I hope to soon put some of my new learned skills to use and build a fire engine because to me there is no better looking machine than one of those particularly when you put your life in thier hands that they are going to do thier job and they are the “armor” that I ride into battle on.
I love to read tech & history materials. Even when I was a kid I was already into reading tech & history stuff of planes, cars, space, locos. tanks. I would make hand-drawn copies of them and paste it in my room. Building kits was still out of the question then since I cannot afford to buy them.
With more access to more information about this stuff, my passion is being fuelled some more. And with the availability of more afordable model kits in my area, there’s no more reason for me no to build…
For me it partially the historical perspective along with the opportunity to build a piece of history in scale. Additonally, it’s a chance to try to understand what my Dad undertook in World War Two as a navigator and Air intel officer.
There are many motivations -
Historically significant machines or eras are always an interest…
A particular machine (like the P-51, Sudebaker Avanti, Ferarri 250GTO, GT40) - they’re all incredible machines with both form and function…
A historical build for a veteran or enthusiast is always a good thing…
Customer requirements - they often want me to build things I have no interest in, but I “get” motivated on their behalf…
Cheers,
LeeTree
When I was a kid Aurora models was the king of model building. When I restore a kit I want to keep something that we all once had as a kid. It’s the kid in this model builder that fuels the passion for keeping Aurora models alive.
Dale
For Me, it was a little different. I got into models because my mother built models as a kid. When I was six, she gave me some of her models she still had to play with. Of course, I broke them, and asked her to fix them. She encouraged me to fix them myself. I was hooked. Being a hyperactive kid when I was young drove my mother crazy, so when she saw how intrigued I was with models, she would buy me one anytime I asked for it (for the first couple of years) just so she could enjoy the peace and quiet while I was building. I mostly built aircraft, but occasionally ships as well because I liked the way they looked. Then, a kid moved in down the street from me, and he had a built up collection twice my size. That’s when my mother encouraged me to work for my model-money. My friend Emmanuel and I used to build kits side by side at his house, and we would often go to the library togethe to research many of the kits we built. He taught me painting and rigging (on ships). We used to war-game our collections on weekends too, using modifications of rules and hit tables from the old D&D game that had come out at that time. That was one way we determined what models we would buy next: we had our own little Arms Race going on! 
Then a kid named Jason moved in a year later, and he had Armor and soldiers. He joined us in our War games and kepot winning because he had an Army. That’s when I started building Armor and buying troops because his Army would continuously overrun us in our War games! This continued until high school, when Jason and Emmanuel both moved away. Nobody I met at my high school was into models like that, so I just kept quietly building on…
My mother started me on 1/72 scale Aircraft, so I always stayed with it since I like consistency in my collection. Jason had 1/72 scale armor and troops, so I built that too to maintain my consistency with my planes (and to kick his butt!). Ships I started with in 1/600 scale, but I’ll generally build anything in the 1/500 to 1/700 scale since there is no consistency in ships. I still have nearly al my models from my childhood; over the years I think I’ve lost about 11 to irreperable damage. I’ve replaced nine of them. My total collection of built models now numbers 242 Planes in 1/72 scale, 287 ships various scales, and 382 armor pieces in 1/72 and 1/76 scales. Plus I have a scattering of buildings for the layout I want to do someday, as well as about three cars I’ve built. I also have built kits for pay for others: three trucks in 1/18 and 1/24 scale. I still have five more projects working on my bench, and three repairs/refurbs happening. All this with two jobs, and three activities at church that I’m very active with! Yes, I do sleep, 8 hours a night.
Now I continue building because A) I’m addicted to the time alone at my workbench creating something that is the work of my hands. B) I love to show my kits at my local Hobby Meeting and win awards, and C) the kid in me is still vainly hoping that I’ll be able to pit my collection against someone else’s someday!
I apologize for this long-winded explanation, but I felt it was unique enough to post here. Now, I gotta go pick up October’s FSM issue; I heard that my letter to the editor got published!
When I was in grade school, a teacher wanted to have a model show for the whole grade. It was so cool seeing all the models that the class did. This was not a pro show. That day I told myself that I would work at model building for many years to come.
I now look at my models and the ways I build models and say “thats what I wanted back in the 1960’s as a kid”
Dale
Not so much motivation as internal demons!
I get very bored very quickly and have always had the need to make things…keeps the devil at bay!
So modelling makes sense, both military and railway. So that when I get bored with one, I switch to the other for a while. Note these switches may occur at several points in the day. I told you I got bored quickly!!!
My father spent most of his life working in aviation, working on aircraft such as the Jaguar and the BAC11, finally ending up working for the wolrds leading ejector seat manufacturer, Martin Baker (Nice to see a kit of their only aircaft in this month’s mag).
That explains the aircraft, as for trains, I grew up 5yards from the Great Western mainline from London to Bristol.
Didn’t really stand a chance did I!
As for subjects, that a disctinctly Magpie approach. Is it new? is it shiny? Yes please!!!