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Bench Time = Therapy


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I hope as many of you other fellow members find your bench time as therapudic and relaxing as I do !! :wub: I find now that our kiddos 3.5 yrs old and 3 months old are now in more of a "routine"

and the kiddos are BOTH in bed usually by no later then 9-10 pm I now find myself spending time at the bench most nights till midnight or so

Oh it feels so nice to be acomplishing things and the ideas stirring around the plastic shavings flying, radio playing music at low volume

Very relaxxing!!

its no wonder i love this hobby if my wife ever made me give up the hobby Boy she would sure be in trouble! and i'd be on my way to a divorce i'd probly be impossible to live with and very grumpy all the time lol

was just wondering how the hobby does for the others here

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I hope as many of you other fellow members find your bench time as therapudic and relaxing as I do !! :wub: I find now that our kiddos 3.5 yrs old and 3 months old are now in more of a "routine"

and the kiddos are BOTH in bed usually by no later then 9-10 pm I now find myself spending time at the bench most nights till midnight or so

Oh it feels so nice to be acomplishing things and the ideas stirring around the plastic shavings flying, radio playing music at low volume

Very relaxxing!!

its no wonder i love this hobby if my wife ever made me give up the hobby Boy she would sure be in trouble! and i'd be on my way to a divorce i'd probly be impossible to live with and very grumpy all the time lol

was just wondering how the hobby does for the others here

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Modeling helps keep me relatively sane, I'm sure. It's usually the only area of life that isn't subject to other people's needs, wants, desires and schedules. It's nice to be 100% in control of the design of a project, and to be able to make all the decisions regarding it...and to work on it at my own pace, without the constant deadlines and cost-constraints I'm usually under.

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t's usually the only area of life that isn't subject to other people's needs, wants, desires and schedules. It's nice to be 100% in control of the design of a project, and to be able to make all the decisions regarding it...and to work on it at my own pace, without the constant deadlines and cost-constraints I'm usually under.

I agree 100% Bill. I work with enough direction and deadlines at work, which I'm OK with. But I'm finding it hard to get away to the workbench this winter. And I have projects I WANT to get done.

But as far as therapy, NOTHING makes me feel more relaxed than bench time. The relaxation factor goes up by 10 if it's snowing outside my window while I'm building. That's when the music switches to vintage swing Jazz and then I'm "in the zone…." where I can stay up all night, knowing I'm not gonna make it into work in the morning. Those nights are rare, but memorable.

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There was a thread recently, not sure if it was on this board, that equated hobby time with meditation, and said it was good for your health and sanity. The meditation comes in where you are singularly focused on your craft, and not thinking about all the stressful stuff that creeps into your mind when you are doing less intense activities. I know I can spend a few hours at the bench and come out relaxed and de-stressed!

And perfect for a day like today! It's freezing rain and watching the news this morning, there were major accidents and roads are closed. My wife is working on her scrap books and I'm finishing up a model. A great day to cocoon knowing we don't have to leave the house for anything!

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Modeling helps keep me relatively sane, I'm sure. It's usually the only area of life that isn't subject to other people's needs, wants, desires and schedules. It's nice to be 100% in control of the design of a project, and to be able to make all the decisions regarding it...and to work on it at my own pace, without the constant deadlines and cost-constraints I'm usually under.

exactly the way I feel as well. you'd think being in the auto biz, building models would be the last thing on the list of things to do, but boy, I do find it relaxing.

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After school, sometimes it's just great to be able to build or apply putty to cars like I have been doing lately.

I went from a full tube of Tamiya putty to about an eighth of a tube, and I'm still not done with all the putty work I have to do. I'm in over my head a little on some things, but I can see the finish line, and that's what keeps me going.

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having something other than your main occupation to decompress with is a necessary part of human life. "all work and no play", etc.

i have this hobby, which includes models of all kinds, not just vehicles, and i have the 1:1's to maintain. i don't do ALL the work on the 1:1's as i'm just not able to any more, but i do what i can. then there's research, on all kinds of topics, and simply reading up on stuff. i can sit at the bench and contemplate a kit for hours without doing much more than examine the parts and plan....

if it's family decompression time, it's MOVIE time. i don't force my hobby into family time.

shoot, even at work i'll have a flash of inspiration and have to write it down for later.

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Yep, I agree with all of the above. When working on a model time just seems to fly by yet there is no pressure. It is generally very, very relaxing...... until something like a paint job getting messed up, or, fitment problems at final assembly time cause more than a little grief, despite all the pre-fitting.

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Having just recently having to start Hemo Dialysis (trying to get my Peritoneal port working)and having to sit in a chair 4hrs, a day, 3 days a week, I havent had the energy to get out to the garage and work on my 1:1's. Sitting at my modeling table helps me get a small taste of what I really want to be doing. I will soon be getting a kidney/pancreas transplant (hopefully, have been on the list since 2010, and the hospital is hopeful), I will really be out of any kind of strenuous activity for a while. I have been buying models for this re-hab time. It will let me "get away" for at least a little while. So for me its a little escape into what I would rather be doing. I dont build as nice as some of you, but my skills are improving. So YES, it is a therapy of sorts for me.....

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After all aggravation of driving truck all week, the bench is a nice get away. I put my headphones on, hit shuffle on my phone, usually its what the old timers call head banging cr@p. But it gives me a nice pace, enjoyment, and sense of why i work all week. It gives my mind some time to unwind and let go of things, even though this can be a very aggravating hobby. But is sure nice to not have someone telling you when it needs to be done, only ourselves for a show or its just been on the bench too long for our liking. The sense of accomplishment and finishing something that was in our heads and now sittin on the shelf to enjoy. The shows are nice, the awards are great, but its all about havin a good time, with some good people, even though for me, the good people are on here, not many in my area let alone in my own town build. I tell my wife all the time theres worse things i could be doing than working on a model.

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Bench time=therapy. Yes for sure. All I have to do is enter my hobby room and sit in my chair. I don't need to work on anything. If I just sit there and look around at all my stuff,I fade into a state of relaxation that I can find no where else.Just sitting there puts my mind at ease and soothes my body. If I turn on the stereo and open a beer, I advance into uphoria. This all happens before I even open a kit box.This hobby does not have this effect on everyone but it does to me.I love this hobby as it helps me cope with the rigors of the real (messed up) world.I can not imagine not having this hobby in my life.

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I find it relaxing to build while listening to some good ole rock n roll, or watching movies (mostly for background noise)

Of course. I find it just as relaxing to build a real car under the same scenarios.

Also, I hadn't drank alcohol while building a model before the recent couple years (that's how long its been since I've seriously been serious about building again LOL) and that is also pretty enjoyable along with the music.

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Also, I hadn't drank alcohol while building a model before the recent couple years (that's how long its been since I've seriously been serious about building again LOL) and that is also pretty enjoyable along with the music.

The funny thing is that if I'm on the computer or watching TV, I can put a few beers down! Working on a model, I get mesmerized, tune out everything else and that beer winds up warm!

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