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I have a hard time walking and chewing gum at the same time. Stopped doing more than one at a time, found that doing one usually turned out better because I could focus on it alone and not get parts mixed up. At one time I would have 2 or 3 going at once and they just never seemed to get finished.   That works for me , I know a lot of builders get going on several projects at once and that seems to work for them.  

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Many. But I still enjoy the hobby immensely and never feel guilty for not finishing something.

I come up on things that need to be worked out, or skills I need to polish (or develop from scratch), or just get an idea for something that's too cool to not at least mock-up...so projects get bumped.

I'll also go back to projects that have been stalled and see things fresh, find room for improvement, or better ways of approaching certain issues...sometimes even re-imagining the whole project.

It works for me on a hobby level because in real-life, I HAVE to see things through all the way, on a budget usually, and close to on-time. 

Having the open-ended luxury of working on a particular model only when all the muses are in town and the stars align is a pleasant change.

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Multiple. One stalls, I switch to another, and new stuff arrives that needs fiddling and appraisal before entering the "abyss of projects future". Parts assessment more important now that Don and Carol headed to retirement. Not wise to make a list to order later. Bummer. :^(

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I like to have a few projects on the bench at different stages.  That way if I feel like carving plastic, I have a body that needs modifying.  If I feel like working on an engine, I have one going, and if I'm into foiling, I have one that is near completion.  Depends on my mood.  Sometimes it doesn't seem like anything will ever get done, and stuff gets all tangled on the bench.  That's when I have my "hold everything"  moment.  I'll carefully put each project in it's own box, clean all the plastic dust and carved bits off the bench and start over.  That's when I'll pull down the one project that's closest to finishing and concentrate just on that one.  And as you hit those final details, it may go slow... you can glue one thing on, then you have to wait.  I can spend a week of evenings that way.  But in the end it comes together!

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What usually happens with me is I start a project, work at it for a while, and get bored with it. So I'll start something else, telling myself I'll get back to the first one soon. Then something I bought on ebay will arrive and I put aside project 2 because something shiny and new just came...  :rolleyes:

Most of the time I do go back and finish what I started. About 90% of the time. But not always. I have some partly-built models that I set aside "temporarily" over 20 years ago!

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I keep it to 3 at a time.  Usually one race car, one '40-60s stocker, and a classic.  Like Tom said above, they are all in different stages so there's usually something to fit my mood.  But also like Harry, I've got a few that have been years in the making B)

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I start and finish 1 or 2 at a time, never 3 or I would get confused, and usually only one. The times when I have 2 going at a time is when I know there is going to be alot of down time due to complicated paint or waiting on a part.

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I find it hard to concentrate on more than one model at a time. That said, I have two in progress at the moment. One is almost done, but was in need of paint, and the weather was too nasty to paint. Still is. So I started another to keep busy and keep some attention on the plastic.

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Most of the time I do go back and finish what I started. About 90% of the time. But not always. I have some partly-built models that I set aside "temporarily" over 20 years ago!

I walk away from projects for a number of reasons.  Sometimes once I figure out the hard stuff, it's off to the next great idea.  There are times I just lose steam, other times I quit right before I throw it against the wall!  And there are times I'm puzzled and don't know what to do next, or haven't the skills to do the next step.   No shame in packing up the project.  It's not like it's going to be rusting out in the yard and annoying the neighbors!

My unfinished projects... all 50 or so... sit on the shelves right over the work bench. I purposely store them there in plain sight so I don't forget about them.  Every so often I spend an evening just going through a few for kicks, then the next thing I know I'm working on one.  Sometimes I just do a step or a detail before it goes back on the shelf.  But at least it's one step closer!  And there are times I realize that I now have the skill needed and I get over that hurdle.

Every year I have had the week between Christmas and New Years off from work. It's not enough time to build a whole model, but enough time to finish up an old project.   I pull some promising model down off the shelf and finish it that week.  It's no loss if I don't finish it, as long as I keep working on it until it's done.   I've had some 10 and 20 year shelf veterans finally see the show case lights this way!

 

 

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I will usually have several projects going on at the same time and will switch back and forth as the mood strikes me, or waiting for paint to dry or when I need a break because I've run into a problem. At some point in the process one model will tell me to focus solely on it and everything else will be put aside aside until that one model is finished. Hey doesn't everyone talk to their models, or swear at them, and have them communicate back, LOL.

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