How can modelers pump out build after build???

[LoneWolf15]

I was a wee bit upset with myself when it came to last year's output , only three builds ! Four, if you consider the ' 65 Impala pro street that I finished the second week of January . That being said , it took Kathie all of 5 minutes to change my outlook on said subject when I brought this to her attention last week.

She allowed me to finish my little rant , then proceeded to open up four travel boxes in the shop that we use for the shows . She then laid out 20 finished bodies on the table that I had done for our display tables for this year's upcoming shows . " Do these count towards last year's production " ? Yep ! They sure do ! I had forgotten all about them . Leave it to the Blonde to keep me grounded and tranquil.

As long as you're still having fun with it , the pace or production does not count . Quality over quantity should always rule the day ! Cranky is correct ! It is an addiction ! God help us , every one !

Donn Yost

Lone Wolf Custom Painting

[Agent G]

Five cars, one armored car, two planes, seven tanks in '10.

I'm still having fun and don't care how many get built in a years time. The Mrs is all about my hobby/addiction, and adds to the insanity.

G

[rick6343]

Since getting back into the hobby about six years ago, I made it a point to actually finish stuff on a regular basis. Stability has been difficult-since then I got married, had a kid (with a second on the way), moved three times, remodeled a kitchen, built a workbench, etc. I was shocked when I realized that in 2010 I finished a record 6 builds! I try to stay focused, but also remember that it's supposed to be fun. If an unfun project makes me not want to go down to the bench, I shelve it and try something else. One side effect of that is some builds are easy to finish-just pull out one of those half-done models! In the end, though, my favorite part of building models is the building. A case full of finished models is nice, but I really like putting them together. As long as I'm doing that, I'm happy. High productivity is nice, but I won't sacrifice fun for it.

[Bernard Kron]

How we build, how many we have going at a time, even how many we ever finish, is all about who we are and our relationship to this hobby (or, frankly, any task at hand). For myself, when I got started again in modeling cars (and I don't build anything else) some 3+ years ago, it was all about two things. First, and most importantly, it was about getting these darn images in my head out on the tabletop. Second was learning or re-learning the skills and techniques that would help me accomplish the first thing. So #2 gets me to the workbench and trying stuff and #1 gets me to finishing a build with some regularity because if I don't that darn picture in my head won't be realized in model form. So that's my relationship with the hobby and probably why I'm fairly productive. If I haven't got the skills yet to see a project through then it goes back in the box. For me there's no lack of other potential builds to get to. I consider it both a blessing and a curse. Other issues, like time, skill, efficiency, and even budget and materials also have a bearing on your output. But in the end it all doesn't matter (unless it really bothers you that you're not getting stuff done, in which case you should do something about it). Each of us has a unique relationship with our hobby and what we do about it is an expression of it. The rest is just details...

Edited January 25, 2011 by gbk1

[samdiego]

My first competitive builds would take months. Now that I build just for me and the photos that I post here, It's so much easier on the head. I can do 1 a week , maybe 1 1/2. And time is the factor. I've been on and off unemployment for the last two years and have really been burning up the unbuilt kits that I have. Constant building has been my habit since around 1965. I do have long terms, there has been a half-finished wood Spanish Galleon on my dresser for three years (everybody should try one at least once)/ But I never went through the phase when some other aspect took over my life. All of my women and real cars accepted the fact that there is going to be model stuff on the coffee table. Of course being single now just enables me

Edited January 25, 2011 by samdiego

[oldscool]

I think the when we see people who build crazy numbers yearly, I think these people have an abundance of something most of us lack. Time. They either are retired, unable to work, perhaps are single and thus don't have the daily grind that keeps us from the work bench when we'd rather be building. I'm not saying thats every case, but it's a likely scenario.

Bingo! That's what I think in 95% of cases. Can't wait till I'm retired so I can build my butt off.

oldscool the lonesome polecat

[niteowl7710]

i have a shake and bake method that hasnt failed...

So what you're saying is that your builds are done by chicken obsessed creepy little girls?

[Joe Handley]

Wow, you guys have me beat, I usually can barely finish 1 model every 2-3 years

[samdiego]

Wow, you guys have me beat, I usually can barely finish 1 model every 2-3 years

But if that's your pace, then that is your pace. Even if it's not a Gerald Wingrove end product, at least your interests are developed enough that you cruise through here and read the mag. That counts as hobby participation also.

Edited January 25, 2011 by samdiego

[Joe Handley]

But if that's your pace, then that is your pace. Even if it's not a Gerald Wingrove end product, at least your interests are developed enough that you cruise through here and read the mag. That counts as hobby participation also.

Well, I usually a tinker with a few kits here and there, not really doing much other than the fiddly pre-paint stuff on them. Now on occasion I get a bug and throw together something simple (usually the Revell snappers or that AMT Challenger I built last fall) but hopefully cool and different looking. Between work (although that didn't stop the Challenger), weather (I live in the Chicago Burbs), other hobbies, and the internet (spend way too much time on that ) I don't get much styrene work done

[ra7c7er]

I too have ADHD but that hardly helps me build much. For me the number of kits I get done depends on how much free time I have. Right now since I have been out of a job I build fairly quickly. At the same time though I know that when I get back to work my builds will slow way way down and probably get more detailed. A good vision of what I want helps but I rarely have a good vision for long and wind up building box stock.

[samdiego]

Oh yeah, the ADD thing. How many times have you been scouring the parts yard when you find something

(Oh look, a squirrel!)

that sends you off in a completely tangent and another project? Answer: just about every time.

Edited January 25, 2011 by samdiego

[Nick Winter]

I used to finish around 7 cars a year, now I'm down to, well for 2010, I finished exactly 7, but 5 were started in 2009, this year I have finished exactly 0 so far, and for 2010 I started 12 builds, so I'm a little swamped.

Nick

BTW if I get more than 1 done this year I'll be a happy man.

[DRG]

I do most all of my time model building on Saturday's and Sunday's.

I get up around 6 A.M. fix coffee and head for the Hobby Room

Turn on the computer, open three windows. 1- Model cars Forum 2. Facebook 3. Multiply.

I then spend my time going from one to the other.

So far this year, nothing done.