So Why are we in this hobby? to build ? Collect? Nostalgia?

[Greg Myers]

ACE, from another thread http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=97307&page=3 (#44) said : " .yea, really. what if a collector , builder, whatever....buys a kit solely based on the box art...its his money,,, its not getting yanked out of your wallet. some folks enjoy more about the hobby than just the actual parts or building of a kit...I am not one of them, however I know many enthusiasts, as I'm certain many of you do, who probably build very little, but enjoy the hobby for many reasons, box art being one of them....end of story....the ace..... <_<"

It seems like there are many reasons we are all in this hobby aside from just building model kits. Building styles and Technics being another variable ( box stock, curb side, custom, et. al. Maybe even how far one details. Recently a friend and I discussed the older, earlier style we all built as kids, basically right out of the box and maybe later, looking at the kit and saying, "Hmmm, maybe a little paint here and there might make it look a little better,"

My point here is , back off on the criticism when one voices his opinion with a differing view on what this hobby is. I think we can all agree it's a little different for each of us.

[AC Norton]

interesting idea for new conversation here....I have always been glad that many other model car guys collect and enjoy their stash for many reasons....kinda makes the world go round....i'm even eyeballing some Japanese tuner kits I recently got...love the box art. wait, i'm old and not supposed to like tuner cars...lol......the ace...

[Ace-Garageguy]

I love high-performance, whether packaged as hot-rods, exotics, tuners or Euro sports and rally cars. I even like lowriders and trucks, and certainly respect the work and skill it takes to make ANYTHING that's well-done. I could never possibly build everything I'd like to have available to drive, so modeling lets me mediate that disconnect somewhat.

I don't think of myself as a collector, but when I look at my shelves, it's pretty obvious I'm more collector than builder. I just must like having all of that potential waiting for my particular muse to turn it into part of my creative vision. My own 1/25 scale junkyard that covers acres and acres...

Kinda like having a gun...better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

[Roadrunner]

Referring to automotive modeling specifically, for me it's a couple of reasons; nostalgia being one, creating a nice looking kit of a vehicle I'll never be able to afford is another.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I guess for me it's a combination of 2 of the three reasons you list. I really have never had an urge to "collect", so that one's out. I would say my main reason is "nostalgia". I was born in '62, so by the time I was old enough to really appreciate cars, the hey day of automotive design was over. I would see these cars from the 50s & 60s on the streets however, as used vehicles, & just fell in love with the variation of styles. Since then, I've had an obsession with cars from the late 50s & 60s. And never really being able to afford the real thing, Models seemed to be the obvious second choice. Then the "building" part comes into play. I could have just collected diecasts but I wanted to personalize the stuff that I built, even if it was just picking a color, it was mine. Steve

[disabled modeler]

Me... I have always built its a great pass time and hobby to have. Now that I have become disabled its just that much more important to me with all the time I have to pass by. I agree that building,collecting give us all the chance to own a replica or build of a vehicle we could never afford to have otherwise...or one of the ones we did own years ago that got away from us. I kind of look at building or restoring models,promos as kind of like trying to save some history of sorts being a mostly factory stock guy. History of old models,promos, and maybe just some of ourselves from days that were much more fun as kids and the memories.

[Ramfins59]

I'm a builder rather than a collector, but it's just that I haven't yet built all of the models that I've "collected" in my stash. I started out building Street Rods and Customs, but then fell in love with the looks and glitz of all the 1950's cars so that is the "niche" that I am in right now. I've built a few Light Commercial pickups and a few rusted up vehicles, but I prefer the clean and shiny look.

As has been said above I build to pass the time, since I have lots of it now that I'm retired, plus, I can have ALL of the great cars I want in scale that I could never dream of affording to own in 1:1.

[chunkypeanutbutter]

The sense of achievement, taking a kit of bare plastic and making it look rusty and real.

It's quite visceral, much like 1:1 car building.

[jbwelda]

I collect built models, built mostly by myself. does that help?

jb

[rmvw guy]

I say we are all collectors unless we get rid of them after we build them. I don't collect empty boxes, although some I wish I had. I collected over 500 diecast models until I realized I would soon run out of room to display them all. I think the ones I build are being collected at a lot slower pace and I enjoy them much more, studying the small detail on each one as I build them. I started as a kid building a lot of the same ones I build now as an adult like many of you. I would never criticise anyone involved in the scale model hobby in any way. Even people who only look are involved in my opinion.

[Jon Haigwood]

I build for the bonding experience

[cobraman]

I guess I am both a builder and collector. I build because it is a hobby I have enjoyed for more years than most here have been alive. Also since I have retired I need to have something to keep my hands and mind busy. I also say I am a collector because I collect Cobra models ( other forms too ) that I have no plans on ever building. Building is a good hobby and relatively inexpensive as hobbies go. I also collect firearms and that is way more expensive and I can't use them around the house. Building is also ,for me a good stress relieve ( most of the time ) . : )

[Atmobil]

I'm not a collector, I'm a horder. If I did not have limited funds and space I would be drowning in modelkits, diecasts and all sorts of other stuff.

But I build models because I like to create something, I have creative needs in me that I have to let out.

Having a large collection of kits, give me options. Any modelkit is a blank canvas that allows me to to what I want with it.

Why am I in this hobby?

Well, I came in to in my early teens and just kept on going. I like building, Its that simple.

[bbowser]

For me it's nostalgia, I've built a lot of the same kits I butchered as a kid, plus cars now of my own "Leno's Garage". But I've also collected more than I'll ever be able to build, so all three I guess

[martinfan5]

To build models.

[kitbash1]

I'm both a builder and collector. I also have great nostalgia for this hobby. Most of the kits I've collected are to replace the ones that got totally busted up when I was younger.

[DumpyDan]

I am a builder, I build because I get idea in my head, there is no rime or reason. I have a couple dozen models started over the last decade or so, now a days I get looking at the stuff I started years before and I get ideas. I just go with it, the last four I built were Vega, 1961 falcon, 1939 Suburban and a 1/16 scale 1931 rat rod. I look at a model and go with it, mind you I can look at a model and get nothing so I put it aside until something clicks. Now I do have a good friend and member on this forum, he has been in a slump for quite awhile he even started calling him self the Collector.

[Tom Geiger]

Both

I collect... I was a stamp collector so I learned I needed to collect "one of everything". When I discovered I had a complete run of full size Chevys except a 1972, I was on the mission to find one. Not that I planned on building these, just felt a sense of completion once I acquired the missing model.

I do like spending an afternoon or evening amongst my hoard. I like opening the boxes and groking the kits, imagining how I will build it someday. I'll get out donor kits and size up my ideas. I enjoy owning them. Spending this time is indeed spending time in the hobby, although no kits have been harmed!

I build... I get crazy ideas of a rod or a light commercial subject, and many times I go for it, if nothing more than to see if I can actually do it. I follow the voices in my head and try to have my own definite style of building. This is my art, and I need to get that idea out of my head and love the feeling as it materializes in 3D on my workbench. I seldom build anything that I don't feel, I need an attachment to the project. Lately I've been building cars I remember from my life. I know some guys will build a red Camaro because they have the kit and red paint but have no connection to the car. I have a difficult time doing that.

I enjoy sharing my projects and work with my peers. It's very cool to make a connection over a model!

[Mike_G]

I'm in it for the chicks!

[Mister 4x4]

Like bbowser said, I'm rebuilding some of the kits I did as a kid, mostly so I can do 'em better and have them back again (most got "lost" when I joined the Air Force and my room got re-purposed). Also, I like the idea of building cars I can't have as I would have them. I've bought and modified, and flat-out built from scratch several full size cars, and I think honestly that I'm done with that for awhile (at least). Building in small scale is fun, relaxing, challenging, and satisfying all in one package... and a helluva lot cheaper than full scale.

[Roadrunner]

I build for the bonding experience

Me too. I bond my fingers together every once in a while.

[ZTony8]

I'm not an intentional colector and there's only a little nostalgia in it for me.If I was only a collector I wouldn't open most of the kits that I buy.My intent is to build what I buy.It'll just take me 400 years to do it (if I stop buying kits-not likely).So cal me a builder-a slow one.

Edited January 12, 2015 by ZTony8

[Jantrix]

Every right brain/ left brain test I've ever taken puts me slap in the middle. Neither side is quite dominant.

Scale auto modeling is exercising both sides. It is artistic engineering. It's a challenge to bring those two schools of thought that seem continually at odds, together in one work. I build. Collecting is just storage of things I haven't built yet. I get no satisfaction from it. It's just a stockpile of raw material.

Edited January 12, 2015 by Jantrix

[Daddyfink]

Simple

Edited January 12, 2015 by Daddyfink

[W-409]

I'm definitely a builder. If I don't have plans to build a kit, I will definitely not buy that one.

And because I can't own every car that I'd like in 1:1 scale, it's a good alternative to build models from them instead. And of course, building models is Fun!