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How long do ya'll take


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It is a valid question only if you keep track of you time for a reason.  I do build for clients and I keep track of hours, so I know what I should quote up front.  However that is the only reason.  When building for my own pleasure, I don't even want to know how much time I have spent at it. 

Oh, and Harry is right, the model tells me when it is done.  If I have more to do, then I spend the time. 

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In the case of taking part in a hobby... there is no point in keeping track of time. What are you gonna do, bill yourself for your time? :D

And I'm also afraid if I knew how much I could have made working on something I COULD have been billing for, it would kind of take the enjoyment out of the hobby time anyway.

There are a couple of still-in-progress models I probably have close to 100 hours (or maybe more) apiece in so far. Geez. Don't want to go there. :lol:

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There are a couple of still-in-progress models I probably have close to 100 hours (or maybe more) apiece in so far.

I have several "in-progess" models whose time spent on can be counted in decades, not hours. Seriously.

But I don't keep track, as it is totally irrelevant. A hobby is all about being off the clock. Being on the clock is called "work." ;)

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A hobby is all about being off the clock. Being on the clock is called "work." ;)

You don't need to fear knowledge Harry ;).  For the couple times I've kept a log, it's not been work or some sort of self policing. Once was for a custom build and once for a scratch built. I have many hobbies. It may or may not be a tool in considering where I want to spend my time on which hobby. That knowledge may never be applied to anything, but it satisfies my curiosity of just wanting to know. Now that I know I probably don't need to do it again.

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This topic comes up every so often here.  I guess I am in the minority.  Heck, let's go ahead and kill two topics with one stone, this one and the whole "building for contests and/or trophies" thread....lol.  I have two ways of building models.  One of them is the pure, 12 year old me who really doesn't sweat the details.  Not every ejector pin hole is filled.  Not every attachment point nub has been sanded down to non-existence.  The paint may have more boogers in it than my nose.  It was built with no high expectations.  I do not keep track of how much time is spent on it.  It is my 3-footer model.  My second way of building a model is with the whole-hearted intention of entering it in model contests.  For this reason, I do fill all of the sink marks and injector pin holes.  I file off every seam I see.  I will replace crappy kit parts with scratchbuilt or aftermarket parts.  I polish out the paint, etc.  I also keep a build log, complete with hours spent and a short summary of work done in that build session for no other reason than I want to!  I like to know for my own personal curiosity.  Is it a waste of time?  To some, perhaps.  To me, not so much.  And when I'm done building my 100, 200 or even more, hour model I'll enter it in a model contest. :o  I'll even hope that I may be fortunate enough to have my name called at the end of the day.  If I don't, I won't have a meltdown or throw a tantrum.  I will know that I built the best model that I possibly could, (and I'll know how long it took me....:P)

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You don't need to fear knowledge Harry ;).  For the couple times I've kept a log, it's not been work or some sort of self policing. Once was for a custom build and once for a scratch built. I have many hobbies. It may or may not be a tool in considering where I want to spend my time on which hobby. That knowledge may never be applied to anything, but it satisfies my curiosity of just wanting to know. Now that I know I probably don't need to do it again.

OK, Mike posted his reply while I was typing mine.  It is interesting that we both, unknowingly, mentioned "curiosity" in our replies.  Hey Mike, could it be that great minds think alike?!?!

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I have no interest in how many hours it takes me to finish a build.

On average, depending on detail level, I can usually finish one in 1 to 3 months.

The only reason why I have any interest in that, is because I know that if I slack off for too long, I'll lose interest entirely, move on to other things & never finish anything.

The last time I did that, it cost me over 10 years of modeling time. :)

 

Steve

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Fear knowledge?

I seek out knowledge. But I know the difference between useful and useless knowledge.

 

 

 

 

 

Harry, in my years here, both lurking and as a member, I have learned that you are a skilled and masterful debater.  You are very eloquent in your arguments for your point of view.  I am not going to get into a debate with you because you will unmercifully beat me down, even with half of your brain tied behind your back. :P  I have to tell you, I Googled "useless knowledge" because it sounded like a paradox to me.  And according to "The Google" there is no such thing as useless knowledge.

BTW, I've learned three other things about you.  You don't like:  missing mirrors, the word "build" to describe a model, and those time wasting build logs.  (I'm just bustin' on ya, Harry.  I figured you needed, especially now, a little levity in your day.)

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When I started to log time a few years back, it was frankly with the intention of seeing if I could build models for money after I retire. I learned pretty quickly that's there's probably nobody on Earth who'd pay what I'd probably need to get to do a 1/25 scale model to make it worth doing, so I put the stopwatch away and went back to trying to enjoy it.

There's a large-scale (1/8) model I've just started and I probably will keep a log on it, just out of curiosity. It seems like it may very well go a lot faster than some of the little ones of the same basic subject. 

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I have participated in "The 24 Hour Build" the past few years.  When you are watching, it's interesting to see how much time you spend on different phases of the build.  And I did find I could build a credible model in 24 hours.  It was fun to participate with people all around the country in the project. It was cool to log onto FaceBook at 3am and have people immediately respond to my progress report.  But I wouldn't want to do this on a regular basis.  That wouldn't be fun.

One time early in my contest building era a non-modeling friend of mine asked how long a specific model had taken me to build.  I thought for a minute and said, 'maybe 50-75 hours".  His response was, "Wow! I renovated my entire kitchen in less time than that!"  And ya know, that actually messed with my head for a bit.  Was I spending time that could be put to better use on projects of that magnitude?  Then I realized there are several different types of time.  

First there's the time you work. Some get paid by the hour, others are salaried but we pretty much know how much time we spend at our occupation.  Then there's  chore time.  That's everything from lawn mowing to building kitchens.  You don't get paid for that time, but it's a necessary evil.   And then there's relaxation time.  That's model building, internet time,  TV time, family time.  There's no dollar figure attached to this time, but it's needed for your psyche.  So my question to myself is, "How do I want to spend my relaxation time?"  Well for me there's family time, then it's a split between hobbies and internet.  And I don't track those hours just like my bro-in-law doesn't track how many hours he spends in front of the tv... and it's many hours!

What I do though, is make sure my work and chores are done before I sit down to enjoy a hobby.  As such,I don't model during weekend daylight hours during the summer.  I can spend that time outdoors,  in my pool or doing the yard work!   In the winter I love a snowy day because I can sit at the model bench without any guilt!  And evenings, after work and dinner, and maybe a chore,  I'll head up to the model room and spend a little time puttering.  If I get something done, great.  If I don't that's okay too because either way it's relaxing and I feel better when I'm done.

And there's nothing like when I'm enjoying a particular build. I enjoy the process and  the incremental progress.  As I near completion I find myself actually slowing down and sometimes adding details or complexity to the build to keep it alive.  Because once it's done, it's over!

 

 

Edited by Tom Geiger
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Harry, in my years here, both lurking and as a member, I have learned that you are a skilled and masterful debater.  You are very eloquent in your arguments for your point of view.  I am not going to get into a debate with you because you will unmercifully beat me down, even with half of your brain tied behind your back. :P  I have to tell you, I Googled "useless knowledge" because it sounded like a paradox to me.  And according to "The Google" there is no such thing as useless knowledge.

BTW, I've learned three other things about you.  You don't like:  missing mirrors, the word "build" to describe a model, and those time wasting build logs.  (I'm just bustin' on ya, Harry.  I figured you needed, especially now, a little levity in your day.)

:)

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I hope I didn't make anyone mad by asking this question, the reason I asked was just to get a idea about how long it took to build a model. I remember way back years ago I could put one together in a day of course it looked like it also, I have five kids and 6 grand kids and they all have different likes, cars, trucks, fire trucks,airplanes, motorcycles, and on and on. I have gone thru some rough times in the last few years and I'm not able to work,first it was cancer then 15 long months of Chemotherapy, then it was about five years of kidney stones not fun, then a foot surgery that took 13 months in a cast. Last year I had both hips replaced, so needless to say I lost my job during all this, so that's kinda why I turned back to the hobby and I plan on building a model for each kid for there Birthday. So this is why I asked the question, it may take me a while but I need to keep busy and this awesome hobby will do just that. Ok guys sorry I got carried away I do want to say I'm glad I found this forum it has really got my interest in the hobby going again, and you guys are very helpful Thanks.

Model-a,Chris

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I work on 5 or 6 models at a time so it can take a few weeks or a few months to actually finish something but.......

Many years ago I decided to keep track of my time building a Tamiya Le Mans Porsche. It would be 10 minutes, 30 minutes, etc. When I added it all up it was 24 hours worth of building and painting. Always thought that was a funny coincidence since it was a Le Mans car.

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I found myself wondering recently...have I spent 50 hours on the last model I completed? 100? It seems to take me multiple hours just to clean up the parts, so 50 is probably a low estimate. But I don't count, because it's "zen time" and I don't really need to know. I only wish that the hours I actually get paid for working could pass by so quickly and smoothly!

There's no way I could build a model in 24 hours. Maybe if I had a dehydrator, three airbrushes and all my paints pre-mixed and prepared, used CA to glue everything, and didn't do a single body modification...but I probably wouldn't be satisfied with the result. And afterwards, the thing would just on my shelf, being useless. For me, the journey of building is the entire point.

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That's a bit presumptuous of you, isn't it?

Nobody does what you do? I find that impossible to believe. We have seven BILLION people on this rock. I don't think you're that unique! ;)

Fine Harry, SHOW me how many people here do gasoline pump models . i have no patience for smart aleck

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Time spent...to me...I don't count.its art..it done when its done.and as others said and you.how much detail,problems dealing with the kit its self,also the problems that comeup during the build from human error. and why put a time limit. ..who's in a hurry.if your building scale models.number one rule...have fun! if your not having fun....why do it......Chris 

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   It takes me along time to complete a model.  I have semi truck tractors in the building stage right now and have been working on them both for about 2 years.  I would like to complete them faster but during the summer time I get involved in  many repair prodjects etc. around the house and barely even touch them at all. I can't wait for wintertime so I can get back to building again. I also have 2 other semi truck models all planned out with all the paint etc. already purchaced for them and a lot of photos and notes completed for all the detailing and modifications that I will be doing on them but I won't start building them untill I have the builds in progress completed. JARRNO88

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I hope I didn't make anyone mad by asking this question, the reason I asked was just to get a idea about how long it took to build a model. I remember way back years ago I could put one together in a day of course it looked like it also, I have five kids and 6 grand kids and they all have different likes, cars, trucks, fire trucks,airplanes, motorcycles, and on and on. I have gone thru some rough times in the last few years and I'm not able to work,first it was cancer then 15 long months of Chemotherapy, then it was about five years of kidney stones not fun, then a foot surgery that took 13 months in a cast. Last year I had both hips replaced, so needless to say I lost my job during all this, so that's kinda why I turned back to the hobby and I plan on building a model for each kid for there Birthday. So this is why I asked the question, it may take me a while but I need to keep busy and this awesome hobby will do just that. Ok guys sorry I got carried away I do want to say I'm glad I found this forum it has really got my interest in the hobby going again, and you guys are very helpful Thanks.

Model-a,Chris

I think CHRIS, as you read through the posts in this thread, It depends on three factors: Time available and spent at a time, the amount of detail you want to use plus your ability to not have to redo any procedure multiple times. The results will very as to the efforts and desires of individual builders.

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 Absolutely no idea on actual hours, but I have projects I have worked on and off for years. I have an almost completed Lancia Stratos on the bench that I started in 2007. I think the fastest I've finished something was maybe 3 weeks to a month, I just got into a groove and kept at it an hour here and an hour there until it was done. Typically I'll run into a snag need a different set of wheels, need some decals which sidelines me. Occasionally I just lose interest and it sits until the mood strikes me again.

 

I have participated in "The 24 Hour Build" the past few years.  

I tried one of those once, actually a holiday weekend (72 hours) build. I finished the model but didn't enjoy it at all, in fact I didn't even touch a model again for probably 3-4 months afterwards. 

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I hope I didn't make anyone mad by asking this question, the reason I asked was just to get a idea about how long it took to build a model. I remember way back years ago I could put one together in a day of course it looked like it also, I have five kids and 6 grand kids and they all have different likes, cars, trucks, fire trucks,airplanes, motorcycles, and on and on. I have gone thru some rough times in the last few years and I'm not able to work,first it was cancer then 15 long months of Chemotherapy, then it was about five years of kidney stones not fun, then a foot surgery that took 13 months in a cast. Last year I had both hips replaced, so needless to say I lost my job during all this, so that's kinda why I turned back to the hobby and I plan on building a model for each kid for there Birthday. So this is why I asked the question, it may take me a while but I need to keep busy and this awesome hobby will do just that. Ok guys sorry I got carried away I do want to say I'm glad I found this forum it has really got my interest in the hobby going again, and you guys are very helpful Thanks.

Model-a,Chris

Hi Chris, don't worry about making anyone mad about your post.  This question gets asked, in one form or another, every so often.  It appears that most people do not really keep track of how much time, in hours, it takes to build a model.  I'm guessing a good average for me, when I'm doing a model that is not too detailed, is around 30 to 40 hours.

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That is a question that I have no definite answer for,  because of the on variable called life,  time I spend on each model depends on that on variable.   I have one that is going on close to three months now, that model should of been finished two months ago, but me taking a few couple of months to order paint for it, and now going on three weeks waiting on the paint order.    I would say that if I have nothing getting in the way, and dont lose any motivation, and depending on the kit,  building time for one kit is anywhere from a week to two weeks.

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