Why do you guys model cars?

[ericmaxman]

Very very curious question here..

Do you guys model because ->

1) You enjoy modeling

2) Want to make realistic models

3) others, please state

As for me, I enjoy modeling, as a whole. Not like some other people (not from this board), that actually treats modeling as making ultra ultra realistic models. Yeah, I know that once one's skill is good enough, the models will look realistic naturally.

[george 53]

E-Man, I don't KNOW why I do it. Habit maybe? I don't even finish them anymore.Just build till I lose interest in THAT particular model, then I put it up, an start or mess with one I've already started. Don't really know when this happened, it just did. I'm fortunate in that I've been doin it for a long time, an I have a LARGE stock to pull from. My wife tells me to take them to the shows to sell, but I've had some kits for so long,they're like old freinds. Got a 69 RoadRunner with a 1.79 price tag still in plastic,from 1970, jus wish I still had the cartoon box the original issue came with!

Now,I just sit an putz, not really gettin anything finished, but gettin little things done. One of these days, I'll get enuff "little things" done, that I'll actually finish one!

[ericmaxman]

E-Man, I don't KNOW why I do it. Habit maybe? I don't even finish them anymore.Just build till I lose interest in THAT particular model, then I put it up, an start or mess with one I've already started. Don't really know when this happened, it just did. I'm fortunate in that I've been doin it for a long time, an I have a LARGE stock to pull from. My wife tells me to take them to the shows to sell, but I've had some kits for so long,they're like old freinds. Got a 69 RoadRunner with a 1.79 price tag still in plastic,from 1970, jus wish I still had the cartoon box the original issue came with!

Now,I just sit an putz, not really gettin anything finished, but gettin little things done. One of these days, I'll get enuff "little things" done, that I'll actually finish one!

Hiya George!! After reading what you have said, it seemed to me that ->

You build the kit

Then lost interest.

Unbuilt cars ends up in stock yard?

Wife tells you to say bye bye to them, but then sentimental value holds you back, right?

[Foxer]

I just plain love cars and when I started at 10years old I had no funds to get a real custom from Barris. I had done some planes and ships but when that 58 AMT T-Bird appeared in the hobby shop, it came home with me and I never looked back. To tell the truth, I have fessed up to the initial opening of the kit and fondling all the pieces as the most exciting phase of building a kit. My piles on the table would seem to say I don't enjoy the rest of it as much, but that's untrue. I love the hacking and chopping plastic bodywork the most.. painting I despise ... or at least don't get along well with it. That probably explains my signature.

[mr moto]

Similar to Foxer. I can't help myself! Saw some Big Daddy Roth creations years ago and just started rollin' down that lost highway.

[dwc43]

Because my garages are filled with my race cars and show cars and even though I am building another garage, on 6 acres I bought, I can't afford to buy the mall and keep them up. Would be nice to own a museum of my favs one day though.

So modeling works for me. Contests are fun since I am competitive by nature. I try to make them as accurate as I can, so I don't cut corners like building them with no engine or cutting up the bell housing and forcing it to fit. It's somewhat relaxing and therapeutic too, I guess. Cheaper than the real thing too.

I'm sure I could come up with some more excuses if I tried.

[Trans Am Erik]

Well I'm a car nut, have been since day one (according to my parents). My Dad used to be a builder and I started watching him when I was very young. We put my first snap kit togther when I was about 4 (the fire chief '40 Ford). It's been my main hobby ever since. It's so relaxing for me to just shut out all the monotany and stress and create cool cars. I also like sharing my work with my friends. Mine and my roommates' basement model shop is big enough for 3 guys to work, and we made sure there was an extra work table. My only problem is actually finishing a model! Oh well, I just need more motivation. It was partially my Dad that kept me building over the years. Having his stamp of approval is more important than any trophy! My frustration over his constructive critisizm is what drove me to keep outdoing myself with every build. The car on my bench that nobody has seen yet is a replica of my Dad's '73 Corvette roadster. It's taken 3 cars to make it look just right.

[george 53]

That sure looks ta be the problem E-man, now that I hear it from someone else.My wife doesn't count,caz she thinks I got too much junk already!

[E St. Kruiser50]

This is always fun when it comes up

I think many of us here are "Artists First", like Peter Lombardo, and Raul Perez, Mr BIGGS, and myself.

For me I know it's a God-Given gift and talent, and HE get's the credit for what I do.

I'm one of those people that is very intense and passionate about life, and intentionately choose to enjoy every moment of living that I can, when it doesn't "Suck" . We've all been there).

I find so much personal satisfaction from my interests and accomplishments.

Over the years, I have learned more and more, to enjoy each stage of the building process, from shaping and sculpting the body fillers, to painting and foiling, designing and all the intricate detailing, and of course the "BIG TIRES AND WHEELS" , and the multi-color contrast's for the interiors and bodies.

There's always a challange or new discipline to learn, that seems to be never ending.

The other aspect of my building is that we get to make friends. I'm a people person. Even more than model building, I have learned the value of friends and people in general.

Like Bob Paeth was, there are no strangers in my life .

[FujimiLover]

Because I dont' have Jay Leno's income! I have a caviar taste and table-salt budget! LOL! I'm too broke to afford my dream cars, so I build models of those I'd like to have, or of dream cars I'll never own like the Koenig's. I also love small things, and small cars are cool! I enjoy seeing each one I build become better than the last one and learning from my mistakes so that the next one will be better still!

[B_rad88]

hey e-man wuz up?

well everyone, looks like we all have something in comin!

me well i also gotta play with all the parts and look over the whole kit befor building it,

and i also build a model get tyred of it and the start on another,

or i challenge my self and i will be working on 2-5 model kits at once! like right now i am building a 55 chevy stepside, honda s2000, 93 mustang cobra, plus 2 1/18 die-cast cars! a datsun 240, and a jaguar e-type coupe!

but i guess i build because i love cars and (and same here fujimilover! ) also its a habit too! i can easly get caried away!

and i hear ya trans am erik!

Edited April 20, 2009 by KUZTOMMODELS88

[cruz]

Uhhh, cause theyr'e there!!

[MikeMc]

Uhhh, cause theyr'e there!!

What he said.........

[Custom Hearse]

I do it because I have so many ideas that i want to make 3 dimensional. I love seeing what I can design into a model, and seeing other (Dave Susan's work for instance) ideas come to life.

I like taking flat sheet plastic and turning it into a part that doesn't exist, changing an original design into something that makes people want to try doing something themselves on their builds. I'm a fanatic of beautiful customs that I would love to own, but could never afford.

[ericmaxman]

hey e-man wuz up?

well everyone, looks like we all have something in comin!

me well i also gotta play with all the parts and look over the whole kit befor building it,

and i also build a model get tyred of it and the start on another,

or i challenge my self and i will be working on 2-5 model kits at once! like right now i am building a 55 chevy stepside, honda s2000, 93 mustang cobra, plus 2 1/18 die-cast cars! a datsun 240, and a jaguar e-type coupe!

but i guess i build because i love cars and (and same here fujimilover! ) also its a habit too! i can easly get caried away!

and i hear ya trans am erik!

Cool. The most I did in a row was 2 cars..one had to be resprayed, while the other went fine..now I am doing the sam again. a 94 LEgacy wagon+Revll M3..pics of the legacy aint up yet, and I hope they will be up soon.

and yeah, I love cars..but i havent found the skills to properly mod 'em yet!

[Corvette.Jeff]

My story's kinda the same as every one else's, my dad used to junk old junky cars to the junkyard when i was little, so I'd go outside and sit and watch him all day take apart the big cars,when i was old enough to know what a wrench was i started taking the cars apart to! when i was about 8 or 10 i started noticing what the "nice cars" were(the ones on t.v., so i wanted one of them. but we weren't the richest people growing up(below average) so i found models! that progressed till we got a little better off and i was old enough to learn how to drive, once i drove for the first time i knew i would love it for the rest of my life. well a few project cars later and my first non project(my c4 corvette) i decided I'd get back to the roots of this little(well 6' 5") gear head built a few out of the box, and now im up to completely reshaping the body!haha so for me its the love of everything that has to do with cars, messing with cars when i was little, and not being able to afford the actual cars that i want One day ill have the big cars that i want

Edited April 21, 2009 by ThatOneEmoKid

[Abell82]

I personally model cars, because my wife told me if I didn't find something to do, other then bugging her, that she would KILL ME!! ...(whispers tearfully) And I believed her!

[The Modeling Hermit]

It's the only type of models my wife will let me play with. LOL

[Willy Survive]

I guess I started back when I was about 6 putting snap kits together. Then I started to get glue kits and would just paint the body. I grew up with my dad owning and driving race cars and he always had the coolest daily drivers ('70 Cutlass, '75 GMC custom pickup, '70 Monte Carlo) So I think I was just kind of destined to be a car guy. I hit like 12 years old and everything my dad thought was cool I thought sucked. Cars included. Fast forward about 12 or 13 years and I just went to a local model show with my old man for something to do on a Sunday. Erica (wifey) was pregnant and due in a couple of weeks so I had been staying out of bars (and fights!). I decided to pick up an AMT '65 Lincoln. I had looked around and bought a few others without ever even really opening the boxes. Then my dad bought me the Revell '68 Firebird kit and I just went to town. I also have the same problem with finishing that a lot of you guys do. Which is the main reason I joined a club. It's great motivation to see what your fellow club members have gotten done over the course of a month. It's a great outlet for energy in my opinion and I love the fact that my whole family enjoys it. My dad is still a building machine and my little brother (9) like to pull one out and build here and again. I've even done a few snap kits with my 3 year old son. The other thing I love is the camaraderie between builders. Of course you always may not like someone but I've never really had that issue. And I just think it's awesome how you can go to a show and ask guys like Anthony Rios, Gary Kulchock, Clay Kemp, Bill Geary, and David Thibadeau how they did something to their model and they'll take as much time as you need to explain it to you. You think if my hobby was golf that Tigers Woods would explain to me how to get a better swing? Yeah me neither. I love this hobby and I don't know where I'd be without it. That's why I model cars.

Edited April 21, 2009 by Willy Survive

[FujimiLover]

Very very curious question here..

Do you guys model because ->

1) You enjoy modeling

2) Want to make realistic models

3) others, please state

As for me, I enjoy modeling, as a whole. Not like some other people (not from this board), that actually treats modeling as making ultra ultra realistic models. Yeah, I know that once one's skill is good enough, the models will look realistic naturally.

Why do you?

[ericmaxman]

Why do you?

Hmm. I love cars. Especially domestic vehicles. Not much of a fan of exotics.. I enjoy building cars that I see on roads etc.. and my father is a great motivator for me to continue.

[Eshaver]

Eric , the answer is simple for me . I grew up in the service station industry. I was the photographer for the book , Check the Oil by Scott Anderson written in 1982. I have restored cars , owned a towing company . a couple of Taxis and I owned Art- Forms Design , a Van accessory company in Houston Texas back in the day.

Now whay would't I want models of some of the "Rides " I have helped to create? Ed Shaver

[ericmaxman]

Eric , the answer is simple for me . I grew up in the service station industry. I was the photographer for the book , Check the Oil by Scott Anderson written in 1982. I have restored cars , owned a towing company . a couple of Taxis and I owned Art- Forms Design , a Van accessory company in Houston Texas back in the day.

Now whay would't I want models of some of the "Rides " I have helped to create? Ed Shaver

Wow, that's cool. Your life seems to revolve around cars.

Yeah, it would only be natural that you would want a scaled down version of what you have created. Me too.

[garryrenfro]

FUN! Always takes me back to any Saturday in the early sixties. A new kit, some glue, a few basic (very basic) tools and supplies, couple of Rod and Customs, an ice cold Coke, and the Beach Boys on the record player. Fun, Fun, Fun...

[Tom Geiger]

Now,I just sit an putz, not really gettin anything finished, but gettin little things done. One of these days, I'll get enuff "little things" done, that I'll actually finish one!

This describes what I do and it's okay. On the shelves above my model bench I have about 30 boxes of unfinished projects. I keep them there so I don't forget them. When I'm between projects, fed up with a project, or just need to get my juices going, I'll sit at the bench and pull them down one at a time. I may fiddle with one for a few minutes, or an hour, then put it back on the shelf. But I'll usually find one that I suddenly see the solution to the problem that set it aside, or I'll get a spark of interest in an old project. Next thing you know I'm building! Now that project may last a few days, only to get packed up again, but it's that much further along! Eventually it will get finished. But most important I've relaxed and enjoyed myself. And I don't need to finish anything since it's just a hobby!

But why do I build model cars? I enjoy seeing the image I have stuck in my head appear in 3D before my eyes! I never tire of that.

Lately, my hobby is more running a model show and club, attending other shows and participating on modeling message boards! And that's cool too, because I have a ton of friends I keep up with. At shows I spend more time talking to people than looking at the models. And that's what's most important to me. If it wasn't for the people in this hobby I would have lost interest in the little plastic cars a long time ago!