This seems appropriate

[Dave Ambrose]

I ran across this article from the New York Times. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/29/opinion/sunday/in-praise-of-mediocrity.html

it seems very applicable to model cars too. I know I’ve fallen into that excellence trap. If everything wasn’t top notch, it wasn’t good enough. And, it sucked all the fun out for me. It wasn’t until a good friend called me an overachiever that I made the connection. 

Now I’m building good models and having a lot more fun with it. 

[High octane]

I think that a  lot of builders fall into that trap and therefore have a lot of started kits and very little finished. I know that I myself have been doing less detailing on my models if I when I do build. I'm hopin' to come out of a 4 month building hiatus at the present time.

[Sport Suburban]

This is very true! You don't have to be good at it just enjoy it. It is so easy to push for the next level and it is great to get that first award but if the award is why you are doing it, it will get disappointing.

[Ramfins59]

I agree.  I have fallen into "that trap" .  I currently have 5 kits in various stages of completion that got "stalled" when either a paint job "screwed up", or certain details didn't look "right", etc...  It's been close to a year since I've actually finished anything and it is very frustrating.  I'm hoping to overcome this "block" and to get back to "having fun" at this hobby that I love.

[Ace-Garageguy]

It's always important to remember that however a particular modeler approaches the hobby, and what he finds enjoyable, is the only valid way for that individual to do it.

And it's also important to remember IT IS A HOBBY. It's NOT the same as working on race-cars or aircraft, where anything less than "right" can get people killed.

Personally, if I can't do something well, either I don't do it, or I invest the time and effort to go beyond mediocrity and achieve at least "competence"...or if it turns out I just don't have the aptitude, rather than going through life doing things badly...which I find detestable...I find something else to do with my time.

I have FUN chasing excellence, and I don't do it to please anyone else, or to compete, or to "make others look bad". I do it for ME.

There are a LOT of modelers whose skills are far beyond mine, and I find looking at THEIR work to be inspiration, rather than a reminder that I'm not "good enough".

But not everyone has an innate desire to become a master in any given field. We're all wired differently, and we should accept that about each other.

Too many times, I see the idea of striving for excellence, and historical and technical accuracy, put down with snide "they're ruining the fun" remarks.

I've always been curious about that. Maybe somebody can explain why it's OK to diss folks who care a lot about the quality of what they turn out, but it's NOT OK to diss those who don't.

 

Edited October 2, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[89AKurt]

Even though I loath the NY Slimes, will say this opinion piece is worth a read.  I used to ski, it simply got too expensive, and risk of breaking bones or dying helped make that a Glory Days hobby.

15 minutes ago, High octane said:

I think that a  lot of builders fall into that trap and therefore have a lot of started kits and very little finished. I know that I myself have been doing less detailing on my models if I when I do build. I'm hopin' to come out of a 4 month building hiatus at the present time.

I'm in the same boat!  Maybe if we stopped making up stories, we would get something done.  

[bobthehobbyguy]

Every one needs to decide what they want from the hobby.  Funny thing is if you relax you will find that your m8deling will improve. One you will get more done, and with repetition your skills will improve.

[OldNYJim]

5 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

It's always important to remember that however a particular modeler approaches the hobby, and what he finds enjoyable, is the only valid way for that individual to do it.

Personally, if I can't do something well, either I don't do it, or I invest the time and effort to go beyond mediocrity and achieve at least "competence"...or if it turns out I just don't have the aptitude, rather than going through life doing things badly...which I find detestable...I find something else to do with my time.

I have FUN chasing excellence, and I don't do it to please anyone else, or to compete, or to "make others look bad". I do it for ME.

There are a LOT of modelers who's skills are far beyond mine, and I find looking at THEIR work to be inspiration rather than a reminder that I'm not "good enough".

But not everyone has an innate desire to become a master in any given field. We're all wired differently, and we should accept that about each other.

Too many times, I see the idea of striving for excellence, and historical and technical accuracy, put down with snide "they're ruining the fun" remarks.

I've always been curious about that. Maybe somebody can explain why it's OK to diss folks who care a lot about the quality of what they turn out, but it's NOT OK to diss those who don't.

 

This post resonated for me more than the article.

More often than not I'm DIS-satisfied with a finished build more than I'm satisfied.  Perfection is the (unobtainable) goal...but trying to reach it is the fun part for me.  Not even in a sense of pushing myself to do the best I can do...but trying to do the best ANYONE can do.  I'm very unlikely to ever hit that peak...but it's much more satisfying to get CLOSE than to say "well, this doesn't look very good but at least it was fun".  Not for me anyway.

Edited October 2, 2018 by CabDriver

[Ace-Garageguy]

18 minutes ago, CabDriver said:

...More often than not I'm DIS-satisfied with a finished build more than I'm satisfied.  Perfection is the (unobtainable) goal...but trying to reach it is the fun part for me.  Not even in a sense of pushing myself to do the best I can do...but trying to do the best ANYONE can do.  I'm very unlikely to ever hit that peak...but it's much more satisfying to get CLOSE than to say "well, this doesn't look very good but at least it was fun".  Not for me anyway.

Exactly. And each one I'm DIS-satisfied with shows me things I can do better on the NEXT one that won't grate on my enjoyment when I look at it. 

Every now and then, I'll produce something and look back at it and say to myself "man, that's pretty nice; if I saw that done by somebody else, I'd be impressed and inspired".

And usually when I hit that particular high, I also tend to think "did I really do that??"

That's what I'm looking for...that objective certainty that something is a GOOD job. That's what I find to be the most satisfying part of any endeavor, but getting there is the "fun".  

Edited October 2, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[Snake45]

I never can remember. Is the quote "The perfect is the enemy of the good" or "Good enough is the enemy of the perfect"?  

Whichever. I have my own groove, in which I am quite comfortable. SOME things have to be perfect, or as close to that as I can get. Other things, good enough is good enough for me. 

[OldNYJim]

28 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

That's what I find to be the most satisfying part of any endeavor, but getting there is the "fun".  

Yes!!! 

I'm never in a rush to finish a build...once I've finished it I can't build it anymore, so...

[OldNYJim]

11 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

I never can remember. Is the quote "The perfect is the enemy of the good" or "Good enough is the enemy of the perfect"? 

I think the phrase you're thinking of is "Pobody's Nerfect" ?‍♂?

[Ich_Will]

The pursuit of accuracy is what drove me from model railroading after about 20 years at it. I couldn't deal with not having every important building and landmark on the layout. Well, that and working in rail but that's a different story. I'm trying to keep the car builds "good enough" so that I enjoy them. So far so good...

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 minutes ago, Ich_Will said:

The pursuit of accuracy is what drove me from model railroading after about 20 years at it. I couldn't deal with not having every important building and landmark on the layout. Well, that and working in rail but that's a different story. I'm trying to keep the car builds "good enough" so that I enjoy them. So far so good...

That is VERY interesting. I'm looking forward to getting back into model RR-ing, and probably because I don't WORK in the field, and don't know as much about it as I do cars, I can accept a degree of "good enough" that I just can't let slide with model cars.

I'm perfectly content with much of the vintage RR rolling-stock and locomotives with molded-on handrails, steps, and grabs, for instance, that many of today's RR guys find entirely inadequate. I'm also content with the "freelance" approach, modeling something that COULD have been (functionally), but not striving to capture every technical or historical detail absolutely correctly.

Interesting...

[High octane]

I build in my own "comfort zone" and I also believe that there is NO perfect model. Maybe one can't see anything wrong with a model but the builder knows where the flaw/flaws are. If we don't mention a flaw here or there, chances are no one would know.

[Snake45]

48 minutes ago, Ich_Will said:

The pursuit of accuracy is what drove me from model railroading after about 20 years at it. I couldn't deal with not having every important building and landmark on the layout. Well, that and working in rail but that's a different story. I'm trying to keep the car builds "good enough" so that I enjoy them. So far so good...

I've spent a great deal of my life in Model Airplane World, where "accuracy" is the standard/watchword. Over here in Model Car World, probably half (maybe more) of our kits are built to represent no particular car, but to represent a car the way WE would like to see it. Phantoms, customs, Day Twos, street freaks of various degrees, race cars that never were--it's all good and fully accepted here. In Model Airplane World, the interest in "whiffers" (what-if-ers) is far less than 5%, and even most of that is only painting airplanes in the markings of nations/air forces that they never served with. Virtually nobody cuts up model airplanes and combines them in interesting ways to "customize" them. Yeah, there are a couple guys who do it, and some of their work is quite impressive, but they are definitely the mavericks and renegades of that hobby. 

It's more FUN over here. 

[Mike999]

16 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

In Model Airplane World, the interest in "whiffers" (what-if-ers) is far less than 5%, and even most of that is only painting airplanes in the markings of nations/air forces that they never served with...

Model Armor World goes both ways.  At one end, builders who research their project down to how many rain streaks the tank had on it at 1:05 PM on July 11, 1943.  At the other, those who do absolutely beautiful and bonkers stuff like this Post-Apocalypse DHL delivery Land Rover. Built by Aleksej Gruzdev of Minsk, Belarus.  It started life as the Tamiya 1/35 scale Land Rover Ambulance from the mid-70s.  And whatever we think of the subject matter, the work sure is top-quality.  He almost re-built the whole kit.

 

[Jantrix]

2 hours ago, Dave Ambrose said:

Now I’m building good models and having a lot more fun with it. 

I quite agree. This realization happened about five years ago. With life sucking up 98% of my time, using that 2% well became important to me. 

[Lizard Racing]

It's really interesting the diversity of views expressed. I have to restrain myself at times, to take a breath and slow down. The object is not production, but enjoyment.

People have asked similar questions here before. The best answer is to what pleases YOU.

Years ago I raced karts. I entered the sport later than most and I had no illusions that I was going to set the world on fire. All I wanted to do was go fast and scare myself. I achieved that. By the time I had to leave, I was a genuine mid-field runner. But I had a good time.

Model on!!  

[Miatatom]

 

35 minutes ago, Lizard Racing said:

Years ago I raced karts. I entered the sport later than most and I had no illusions that I was going to set the world on fire. All I wanted to do was go fast and scare myself. I achieved that. By the time I had to leave, I was a genuine mid-field runner. But I had a good time.

From the article, "Lost here is the gentle pursuit of a modest competence, the doing of something just because you enjoy it, not because you are good at it".

I had a 165 average in bowling, at my best. Shot bogey golf, sometimes. As a motocrosser, I usually finished mid pack (I was a great starter). Go karts! In 1989, I got off dirt bikes and into karts (safer?) where I promptly crashed and broke my back. I won a few small autocross events in the southeast in my class and a couple of enduros in vintage racing. But I always considered myself a middle of the pack sort of guy and I quit beating myself up over not winning all the time. Enjoy the ride as much as the destination.

[iamsuperdan]

3 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

... each one I'm DIS-satisfied with shows me things I can do better on the NEXT one...

100% agree.

 

I don't hyper-detail my builds, and I don't strive for historically accurate builds. I just build what I like to the best of my abilities. And when I see something I do that I am not happy with, I'll make the effort to fix it the next time around.

And when it stops being fun, I'll be out.

 

[Mercuryman54]

3 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

It's always important to remember that however a particular modeler approaches the hobby, and what he finds enjoyable, is the only valid way for that individual to do it.

And it's also important to remember IT IS A HOBBY. It's NOT the same as working on race-cars or aircraft, where anything less than "right" can get people killed.

Personally, if I can't do something well, either I don't do it, or I invest the time and effort to go beyond mediocrity and achieve at least "competence"...or if it turns out I just don't have the aptitude, rather than going through life doing things badly...which I find detestable...I find something else to do with my time.

I have FUN chasing excellence, and I don't do it to please anyone else, or to compete, or to "make others look bad". I do it for ME.

There are a LOT of modelers whose skills are far beyond mine, and I find looking at THEIR work to be inspiration, rather than a reminder that I'm not "good enough".

But not everyone has an innate desire to become a master in any given field. We're all wired differently, and we should accept that about each other.

Too many times, I see the idea of striving for excellence, and historical and technical accuracy, put down with snide "they're ruining the fun" remarks.

I've always been curious about that. Maybe somebody can explain why it's OK to diss folks who care a lot about the quality of what they turn out, but it's NOT OK to diss those who don't.

 

Well said Bill!!!

[mikemodeler]

I have always built for myself and never intend to detail a model in hopes of winning a contest. That said, my builds look better than some but not as great as others but as long as they look good to ME, then I am satisfied.

A friend of mine is an excellent bodyman, has been for nearly 40 years. He restored one of his first cars with the intent of winning awards and he did, pretty much every show he entered, locally and nationally. That experience burned him out so much that the rest of his cars are now drivers that look good, but a stone chip or light scratch doesn't matter to him.

Build for yourself, enjoy the hobby and have fun

 

[Speedfreak]

9 hours ago, Ramfins59 said:

I agree.  I have fallen into "that trap" .  I currently have 5 kits in various stages of completion that got "stalled" when either a paint job "screwed up", or certain details didn't look "right", etc...  It's been close to a year since I've actually finished anything and it is very frustrating.  I'm hoping to overcome this "block" and to get back to "having fun" at this hobby that I love.

I'm in the 'same' boat Rich. I keep saying I'm switching oars, but , I do the same thing on the next kit.  

[slusher]

9 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

.

There are a LOT of modelers whose skills are far beyond mine, and I find looking at THEIR work to be inspiration, rather than a reminder that I'm not "good enough".

But not everyone has an innate desire to become a master in any given field. We're all wired differently, and we should accept that about each other.

 

 

So true....