Do you make notes/memory aids as you build?

[av405]

2 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Even if information is lost on a particular forum or group, I still have all of the project information available on my hard drive, and on a photo hosting site.

 

 

Steve

Unfortunately I have not done that as it just adds another layer of work. Yes, I'm lazy in that regard...

[slusher]

I have note book 📕 full of note by car and it’s growing.  I keep notes

[bobss396]

Due to my BACK IN THE BOX!! habit, I put notes in with my projects.

I keep notes from parts I have built in case I want to make more of them.

[Dave G.]

I have notes for color formulation, when I've mixed my own colors to airbrush color or color coat.. I've been building since 1958, never used build notes other than the fore mentioned. But my builds aren't complicated. 

[Beans]

I make notes when I am away from a project and have an idea.  That note goes in my pocket and the the washing machine most times.  I should probably keep better notes.  It might keep me from forgetting what the plan was for something and then ordering a totally new set of aftermarket parts for something I already ordered aftermarket parts for.  

I do use pictures though.  Lots of reference pictures I print out and keep either in the box or in a folder.

[Wickersham Humble]

I always make notes, usually on a strip of buff manila (from old file folders) just to save space -- and the heavier card is durable.  It's rare I build OOB, as I'm a child of the 'Customizing' era, and began doing 3-in-1 kits because I thought I was going to be a car stylist in Detroit, and at age 13 couldn't afford a real car, much less modify it!  Later, of course... !

I like to draw, and besides listing tghe proposed changes on any kit, make sketches and tracings to confirm the feasibility of each one; often that is enough to change the script right there.  Also, I list the parts I need to source (usually adding them, if available from my meagre stash, in little Ziplocs) and hit the forum Wanted for help, usually forthcoming -- thank you all sincerely.  

Right now I have about 20 kits abuilding, a dozen or so very close to paint, or even sprayed, waiting finishing up; but I work mostly in the colder months.  'Holy Grail's' included, it's still a lot of work and time!!!  I'm not as adroit as I once was -- seniors take note -- nor can I see details as well, at 80.

The more ambitious the project -- and more stimulating -- the more time and 'notes' it takes for me.  My two apochryphal Harry A. Miller street roadsters are a case in point; tons of detail work and mods to Caddie and Rolls base kits.  Also, my B'Ville 2XV-16 LSR car from 1934...  

In the aftermath, it's interesting to see how far the real kit strays from the concept I penned; or not!  Wick

[Dragline]

I put builds away in various stages all the time. I break one out, work on it for a while, then return it to the shelf. This got me thinking a long time ago. Take or make notes. Mostly it's paint by brand and color. Forgetting what you used when you have say gold by 4 or 5 manufacturers, and for the life of you remembering is just not gonna happen. Then notes are a must . I can see my progress building, but paint?

[PatW]

If a problem arises I write a note on the instructions, with a large pencil star next to it, like now. I'm building a Belkits Metro 6R4 rally car. Looking at the underside of the body a radiator scoop is to be fitted inside the bonnet/hood to bring cool air into the body towards the radiator. The instructions show for part D9,

 

Which is the darkened part on the left, to fix inside the bonnet shown, but there are no marks to line it up with? I've tried it two ways round and still can't fix it  with the part D9 scoop showing through the slot in the bonnet!

Sorry perhaps this is not the place!

Edited Sunday at 09:33 PM by PatW

[bytownshaker]

I write what company paint color I use beside the part on the instruction sheet and on kit bases I'll keep a note book.

 

[Straightliner59]

I do, especially wheen scratchbuilding. For example, I'll make notes for tabs that need to be soldered to a chassis before paint is begun. It's not a lot of fun to strip paint, because you forgot something! I also make general notes, at the beginning of a project, so that I can form a more concrete vision of what I am working toward.

[Mark W]

Yes, I now document in a notebook as I progress along the build.

I started this because when I needed to duplicate a color, say like on a carburetor or chassis/suspension parts, the old memory just wasn’t good enough.

[Anglia105E]

I always make highly detailed notes when I am working on a build, some of which are on scraps of paper such as the backs of envelopes for example, and also I keep a daily journal, much like a diary really, which simply maintains a record of what I have achieved during that particular day . . .

In addition to my hand written notes, I take photos at every single stage of the build, and many of these photos then get posted with my MCM Forum W.I.P. topic that is running at the time . . . Sometimes I do have to refer back to an MCM topic several years later, when a member asks me a question that I don't have an answer to immediately.

I like to paint a patch of colour on the inside of chocolate bar cards, and I write the name and number of the colour against each patch of paint colour, for example: Humbrol 21 Gloss Black Enamel or Tamiya TS - 29 Semi Gloss Black Acrylic . . . 

All of this might sound like massive OCD, but it does help me enormously to think in an organised  and methodical fashion. Also, during the period when I was building up to 10 or more Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud motor cars, these notes, photos and references were absolutely invaluable for repeat builds . . .

David

[Mattblack]

Well I've started my next build and although it is a pretty simple OOB job I actually remembered to dig a notebook and pen out of the drawer... and I've even made some notes! Just what colours I want to use on what parts and to drill out the exhaust before I paint it so far but who knows, it could be a game changer... 😁

[Andrew McD]

I annotate instruction sheets and keep a rough log of progress during a build.  Writing things down helps me remember what techniques work well during a build and noting my errors helps avoid them in the future.

[carrucha]

I keep notes as I build.  After the build is complete, I write up a "build sheet" with list of paints and aftermarket parts used.  I also note modifications, building issues and techniques used so I can use as a reference if I plan on building the kit again.  I keep the sheets in a binder.  I find it very useful and handy.

Edited yesterday at 04:27 AM by carrucha

[dragstk]

Ive started keeping notes. Especially for paint, so that if I have to go back and touch up, I know the correct color. And as I get older 🫤, I write down who I bought parts from, so I can give credit when the model is at a show

[Twokidsnosleep]

That is what my build threads are for. I often refer back to them. Try to make points of what paints and techniques used.

Not trying to show off, it is my memory aid

[customline]

I make notes before and during my builds but I forget I took them or can't remember where I put them if I remember that I took them.

I have, I dunno, six or seven builds in boxes that are in various stages of progress due to the squirrel factor and there are parts for those builds scattered about. I'm a real freaking mess. 🤣

[Chariots of Fire]

I've kept a time log for most of my scratch build projects.  Included are brief descriptions of the work done and when necessary a sketch is included to show the most detailed things.  Like Stephen I only build one thing at a time.  For me doing the detail things is a reward in itself so it doesn't matter how much time it takes.  I have built one type of truck 3 times and although the outside looks the same, some of the details on each one are a bit different because I didn't keep track of the process.  No mind though, and I got them all done.😎