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WHY DO YOU BUILD MODEL CARS?


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Like many others I build the cars I would love to own but could never afford. I got back into building a little while ago after about 13 years. I've been collecting old kits for about 5 years just for the box art but after a while you want to actually BUILD one instead of admire the artwork. One day not too long ago I just decided to open one and build it. The fact that my 7 year old son has shown interest in it probably has alot to do with it too.

Paul

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Wow....some good answers there. What it does show me is that....hey, who are we fooling...we may call this thing of ours a "hobby" but this hobby....we all take it very serious. This love for model building, love of cars is all a major major part of our lives. Now of course family and other priorities come first but they are on a different level. I personally think why we build and why we love the automobile is because.....its in the genes!!!! Somewhere in that family tree....there was that "car guy" and you/me....got that DNA. With me it was my Grandpa my Dad and my Uncle. There is one thing I tell my wife all the time....the greatest greatest people in the world are "CAR GUYS" and you guys are those people. Now the last thing I will say on this topic is.....PASS IT ON, show the younger genaration how and why we have this passion, be that gene carrying person and infect them, infect them with the knowledge that they too can be priveleged to enjoy this hobby, enjoy the love of the automobile and surronding themselves and knowing the greatest people in the world "CAR GUYS" IMHO. :(

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Personally, I build cuz I like cars. Whatever that come to me, I'll build it. But sometimes (actually, it's most of the time), the local dudes at some forums tend to have their views that cars build should look as realistic as possible. I agree on that, but what I don't seem to agree on is that they enjoy nitpicking. No joke. They'll find the smallest part they can find and nitpick. I realize that not many of my local people can actually appreciate the car for what it is, not what it isn't. Looks like they have a long way to mature, eh?

But anyway, I just do my cars at my own pace and I seldom bother about whatever those guys say. You may think that I don't accept constructive criticism, but then again, there is a limit to which constructive criticism goes.

My dad likes my build, and also advices me well enough. He is indeed my guardian savior. :P Luckily the guys at this forum appreciates cars for what is it, and seldom go beyond that point. Kudos to you guys. ;)

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I never really thought about it, but i have to say that I cannot sum up my reason any better than CAl already did...

I also love cars, and I like to build stuff.

Though I guess I also have what some would call a creative side. So the combination of the underlying need to do something creative, with the fact that I love cars, and love to build stuff is why I do it.

I also like the sense of accomplishment...starting and finishing something.

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I am of the mindset that they can only make me grow older, not grow up . I will never be able to afford a ' 41 Willys coupe , but I have built over 25 of them in my life time , all in 1/25th scale . All of my builds reflect my personal touch on cars that I would love to own . Can't afford the real one ? , build to your heart's content in 1 / 25 th and you can own them all . I involved my daughters in both the trains , and the cars , and loved every single minute of it. It is a form of artistic expression that is beyond description . Now in my fifties, I can go back and buy the kits that I could'nt afford as a kid and build to my heart's content . The people that I have met on line , at the contests , and through the hobby shops , are the warmest , most easy going , that I have ever encountered in my lifetime . Pushing the envelope on every new build raises new challenges every single time , making me a better modeler. You are only as good as your last build , the next one should always be better !

Donn Yost

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Cause I am a diehard 65 year old plastic head junkie!

been building for over 30 years and now I build to preserve the memories of days gone by!

building old style racers that has been lost to history, nobody remembers the olden days anymore

I dont mean us!

my builds , at my death, will be preserved in glass so that the younger generation can get a glimpse of the old dirt track racing past!

my book will also be preserved!

i am composing a one of a kind history book! not about NASCAR, nor the regular racers,

the book I am weiting , with the help of many of my old racing buddys will be about the everyday racers the Saturday night warriors, the shadetree mechanics

People that nobody has ever heard about, Alvin Neighbors, Jimmy Deason, WW temples Billy Dill Ronnie "The Hilside hustler", "The Sandman" Don Capps, "spiderman" Bill Morgan, "the Flying Scotchman"Billy Scott, and of course the likes of "The Flintstone Flyer' pilot Mike Duvall,

and about the old pre sponsored races, ran in the corn fields of the south

and ole outdated XRacer

Larry "The Lilsquirt" Beard

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I like to build model cars because I like to have miniature versions of real race cars I have seen in the past or would have liked to have seen back then. Its like having a 3-D picture of something rather than an 8X10 glossy on the wall or in a magazine or an image on the internet. I have also heard that working on intricate things as you get older may just help save your mind from succumbing to diseases such as Alzheimers. Plus its just plain fun. :rolleyes:

Edited by MarkJ
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I think I have many reasons why....

MY TOP TEN LIST

1. love cars..like to watch them, read about them and enjoy their evolution. a MODEL CELEBRATES THAT.

2. it's not dirty or harmfull

3. it's affortable

4. does not take to much room

5. I am not the only one and I get to share with other people like me.

6. love to see the reaction on the peoples faces, it triggers the memory and ideas.

7. it gets better with every built

8. A model can teach you patience, creativity, and self confidence

9. It is the best thing you can do alone

10. it makes me HAPPY :rolleyes:

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Why do I build model cars? Well, I've loved cars, especially "old" cars for as long as I can remember. Now, at 50, a lot of my modeling choices come from a very nostalgic place, a way of holding on to a pleasant piece of the past. Also, I've always had a severe visual impairment which prevents me from driving, so building models is a way of sublimating my unrequited car-craziness, a way of getting around the whole "loving the thing you can never truly have" thing. Building and displaying models of the cars I love is as close as I'll ever get to them.

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I also started building as a child. Being a Military dependent, it was one of the few things that was available for us kids to do in the winter that wouldn't get us in trouble while Dad was stationed in the Northern States or Overseas. My brother started building airplanes and let me help out on a couple of them, but I never could really get into that part of the hobby. I picked up a car to try out and found that I liked it much better than dealing with all those small parts in the airplane kits.

Then came the break I took due to life getting in the way and now I'm starting back slowly but surely. Between my being unemployed at the current moment due to a company merger, and the injuries to my body I have suffered over the years, it's one of the few things I enjoy that doesn't cost much nor cause my lower back to be in major pain in the morning.

-Scott H. AKA Cpt. Bondo

Edited by Scott H. AKA Cpt. Bondo
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Now that's really a tough question...I've been building for so long that I suspect that there's a pretty long list of reasons ranging from "because I can" to "because I like to try different ideas that seem to randomly come to me", "because I hate spending my evenings watching too much TV"...

But through it all I think that I do it because I like to share what I've done with my friends.

Later,

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