To WIP or not to WIP

[atomicholiday]

Just curious.  How do you personally decide whether or not you’re going to create a WIP for your projects?

[stitchdup]

If my camera is charged up when i start a build i'll do a wip, if not i tend to forget. Sometimes its just down to what mood I'm in at the time or if things are moving really quick i tend to stick at it rather than stop for pics.

[Nacho Z]

For me, it is a nice way to record what I’ve done and when I did it. For others, hopefully, they may learn something about the kit I’m building. It could be issues with the kit itself, an easier build sequence, etc.  on the flip side, I’ve had guys tell me what to watch out for and give me other advice on the kit I’m building.  I almost always do a WIP thread.  One other thing, what makes any forum or FB group great is participation from its members.

[Jim B]

I generally don't do a WIP thread as usually by the time I get back to it, it's been so long that it's buried & I can't find it.

[StevenGuthmiller]

  On 4/16/2023 at 11:12 PM, Nacho Z said:

For me, it is a nice way to record what I’ve done and when I did it. For others, hopefully, they may learn something about the kit I’m building. It could be issues with the kit itself, an easier build sequence, etc.  on the flip side, I’ve had guys tell me what to watch out for and give me other advice on the kit I’m building.  I almost always do a WIP thread.  One other thing, what makes any forum or FB group great is participation from its members.

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Very well put.

I feel like WIP threads are probably the most relevant threads on a forum.

It’s supposed to be a “model building forum” and what’s more germane to model building than actually building models? ?

 

 

 

Steve

[jaymcminn]

The good thing about doing a WIP thread is that it slows my building down. The bad thing about doing a WIP thread is that it slows my building down. 

[Bills72sj]

I am glad many of you do WIP. It is generally very educational. I have picked up a lot of tips and tricks along the way.

For my own builds, I provides some motivation to keep on keeping on and get some encouragement along the way.

[MeatMan]

Well, I build so slowly that most folks lose interest in mine. I have been tracking a couple of long term builds that I plan to post after I'm done someday because of all the work that's going into them.

I personally love to see other's WIPs because it gives me ideas, and ways to improve my skills.

[iamsuperdan]

I keep meaning to take pics and document builds, but I usually get kind of lost in the build and forget.

 

[Snake45]

I like doing them and would do more, except I've discovered that for me, a WIP thread is a personal Kiss of Death, ensuring that the build will never get finished and it will end up, like far too many others, on the Self of Doom. 

And I'll bet I'm not the only one. 

[JollySipper]

I try to do a progress thread on all my builds.... If for no other reason than to show you guys what I'm working on. Y'all appreciate the 'work' that goes into building, most folks wouldn't really understand what all was done........

[OldNYJim]

I’m WAY more interested in the process than the finished result - I rarely think to check the ‘Under Glass’ section but read about every thread of the WIPs.

The more detail the better!  Especially if you’re getting into all kinds of fancy detail and scratchbuilding ?

[89AKurt]

Before I joined the forum, I didn't do WIP.  Heck, last century I didn't because film and developing to get prints was a pain.  With digital cameras/phones that are so much better than film, it's fun to take a ton of boring build pictures and share here.  I've learned and been inspired by others, and I hope I do the same for anyone.

[redscampi]

A WIP would indicate that I actually could concentrate on one thing at a time and actually make some...well...progress.

[Classicgas]

I generally don't as I rarely quickly see a project through from start to finish. It can take me years. I have one I started in 1994. I do occasionally however.

[David G.]

I do a WIP thread on pretty much every model I build. Doing so helps me to keep track of my progress and planning for each build.

I also do it to get feedback from the community here. There are many tight spots that I've been helped out of through suggestions offered by other, more experienced builders among our group. Not to mention the kind words of encouragement that have helped keep me inspired to continue building.

Though completion is the goal of each of my builds and I do enjoy the unique feeling of satisfaction that comes from completing a build, for me it's mostly about the journey to get there. Learning through discovery.

That's what I most enjoy experiencing and sharing with this wonderful community.

So yes, I WIP.

David G.

[NOBLNG]

  On 4/18/2023 at 3:10 AM, CabDriver said:

I’m WAY more interested in the process than the finished result - I rarely think to check the ‘Under Glass’ section but read about every thread of the WIPs.

The more detail the better!  Especially if you’re getting into all kinds of fancy detail and scratchbuilding ?

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I agree, WIP is where all the action is.? I will occasionally browse the Under Glass section, but usually only open threads that I have been following the WIP or is something that I intend to build….and vehicles that I really admire.?

[av405]

I've done one WIP thread and in retrospect, it was a great way to stay organized and keep track of what materials, paints, paint colors, etc. I used. I've gone back to it a few times for reference on my current build (which is not a WIP).  With that being said, I think everyone has to do it their way. I've seen some WIPs that documented every little thing down to a push button on a console and that had multitudes of photos. These are my favorites but I don't have the patience for this so I covered basic "accomplishments" on my own thread and kept it simple. It was more about "this is what I did" as opposed to "this is how I did it." I found this to be a good balance.

[TransAmMike]

Well guys', I do admire what I see in most of the WIP threads, sometimes in amazement at what is done...for me tho, I see no point in me documenting and showing every little detail of everything I do. Probably because I really don't think I have any constructive info to contribute.

That being said tho, keep them WIP's coming and I'll keep looking?

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

  On 4/16/2023 at 11:14 PM, Jim B said:

I generally don't do a WIP thread as usually by the time I get back to it, it's been so long that it's buried & I can't find it.

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If you go to your own profile page, click on the "topics" you've started under "activity", a quick scroll will take you to the build thread you want...even after years.

Another easy way is a google search with your screen name here and the title of the thread. That works pretty well too, if you can remember the thread title. But don't bother trying that with duckduck and some of the other second string search engines, as they're not really very good.

Google tends to downrank threads that haven't been looked at for some time, so you'll get a lot of non-relevant results, especially as google gets dumber and dumber these days....AND it's often easier to find your old threads on google if you do an image search using the same terms (that works well for me anyway, as I instantly recognize my own photos).

[NOBLNG]

What Bill said… and I always put a link to my under glass thread in the build thread and vice versa. That way anyone searching can find both…if they’re interested.?

[StevenGuthmiller]

  On 4/18/2023 at 7:23 PM, TransAmMike said:

Well guys', I do admire what I see in most of the WIP threads, sometimes in amazement at what is done...for me tho, I see no point in me documenting and showing every little detail of everything I do. Probably because I really don't think I have any constructive info to contribute.

That being said tho, keep them WIP's coming and I'll keep looking?

 

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Yes, but it certainly works both ways.

I can’t even begin to tell you how many times that I’ve had people offer very helpful and pertinent information on my WIP threads that I would never have caught or known about had it not been for their interest and responses.

Part of my rationale for doing build threads is for those selfish reasons.

 

 

 

Steve

[Ace-Garageguy]

  On 4/16/2023 at 10:25 PM, stitchdup said:

...if things are moving really quick i tend to stick at it rather than stop for pics.

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That rarely happens for me. I'm usually bogged down trying to figure out how to accomplish what I want before going on to the next motion, and taking a few pix gives my tired old brain some time to process in the background.

Usually I'll edit the photos I post way down to just the high points, with enough text so anyone who's interested can get what I'm doing, or ask for more in-depth info.

I've found that the most value I get from my own WIPs is flaws that jump out in photos on a big screen that I'd somehow overlooked on the bench.  

[StevenGuthmiller]

  On 4/18/2023 at 9:33 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

That rarely happens for me. I'm usually bogged down trying to figure out how to accomplish what I want before going on to the next motion, and taking a few pix gives my tired old brain some time to process in the background.

Usually I'll edit the photos I post way down to just the high points, with enough text so anyone who's interested can get what I'm doing, or ask for more in-depth info.

I've found that the most value I get from my own WIPs is flaws that jump out in photos on a big screen that I'd somehow overlooked on the bench.  

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When you’re spending months on a build, as I do, taking the occasional brake to shoot a few pictures and post them can be a very welcome decompression.

 

 

Steve

[Lunajammer]

A WIP thread helps keep me motivated. I feel more obliged to finish telling the story once I've committed to the project. For that reason, I start taking pictures before I post anything. Once I feel like it's a project that I'm pretty serious about, I'll start telling the story. The feedback helps keep me interested too, particularly when I hit snags that I don't want to deal with but I push on through to keep the thread from dying.

Makes me feel like I'm not modeling all alone.