The Zen of Model Car Building - what drives you?

[Trans Am Erik]

Awesome thread! It is a zen thing, i can disconnect from everything else and focus on just car stuff. I don't listen to the radio though, commercials distract and discourage me. I watch car movies. I can get lost in bodywork. I love pushing the limits of what can be done to customize a car. Recently I had zen in full size cars. My friends, my fiance, and my Dad prepped my dream car (1977 Bandit Trans Am) for paint. I completely lost track of time.

[Sixx]

I love to create things. As Harry stated, not just car models. I also build figure models( when I can afford them, LOL! ) I also dig military models ( tanks & equip., no planes though, I like em but...) I have an extreme urge to sculpt a figure, maybe a dinosaur or a monster. I love dioramas, never built one yet!? It all puts me into my own little world, no worries about what's going on in the real world, just me and my dogs hanging out in the shop, chillin', sometimes my wife will pop in to chat while I'm doing something ( I got her to do some slot car bodies before, painted & foiled, I cleared em ) fun time all around!!! Sixx

[XJ6]

To me it is the challenge of every build....The best advice i have ever received (thanks to this model car magazine web site) is to treat each piece of the kit has a model itself....and that is a challenge when you have a kit of 177 pieces (has i do so now) ..so each piece i pick up drives me to perfection...

I would also like to add that some of the builds that i see here are just amazing....and the talent i see in the builds....is just who i am going to become....yes a master of the builds.

Thanks for reading...and Good Luck to All.....

Cheers...Don aka XJ6

[Lownslow]

drugs, women, rock and roll,women,music,more women with spanish accents,fus roh dah,arrows to the knee,cartoons, mad max and women did i say women not sure but i put it out there women.

[skmodelcars]

I have always liked cars and enjoyed tinkering. I built when I was a kid and it takes me back to simpler times in my life. I also have some repair and bodywork experience from my young adult days and fantasize the vehicle is the real one at times. Researching subjects helps me learn about cars I think are cool or would own if I won the lottery! I'm thinking of doing a landscape to use as a photo backdrop. The creating process is rewarding and It's just FUN!

[Dave Ambrose]

Hmmm.... Zen is about being present, stillness, and lack of desire, but we'll go with the contextual definition.

I like to build things. I can't afford to build real hot rods, so that energy goes into cars. I also like to build aircraft, but only unusual varieties.

For me, the deep feeling comes from connecting to my dad, who did build models, and my grandfather. Grandpa did not build models, but he instilled in me his emphasis on craftsmanship, awareness, and learning.

[sjordan2]

The context really, is Zen or not Zen, or both (heavy, man), taken from the approach of the author in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" - the coexistence of romantic vs rational attitudes. Kind of a left brain/right brain thing that I feel is experienced in hobbies like model building. But Wikipedia can explain it better...

"Pirsig aims towards a perception of the world that embraces both sides, the rational and the romantic. This means encompassing "irrational" sources of wisdom and understanding as well as science, reason and technology. In particular, this must include bursts of creativity and intuition that seemingly come from nowhere and are not (in his view) rationally explicable. Pirsig seeks to demonstrate that rationality and Zen-like "being in the moment" can harmoniously coexist. He suggests such a combination of rationality and romanticism can potentially bring a higher quality of life. "

Whew.

[Dragline]

HEAVY DUDE....

Bob

[seeker589]

I thought Zen was finding joy and peace in the mundain, monotonous or taxing task or challenge.

Oh well -

I want to see what is in my head in 3D and solving problems to get it there.That and cultivating, maintaining or creating friendships.

[Jdurg]

For me, it's the experience of starting with a bunch of plastic molded into various parts that on their own, don't really amount to anything. Then, after following the instructions for assembly and painting everything, what was once a bland bunch of plastic pieces is now a detailed automobile with engine, interior, etc. It's the sense of accomplishment that I've followed directions, been patient, and dedicated myself into researching the 1:1 vehicle and creating a miniature version of it.

I like building things and being able to follow instructions, recipes, plans, etc. and winding up with a great end product. I like to do woodworking (I built a poker table in my house from plywood and lumber and had NEVER done any woodworking before in my life. I've had people offer me $1,500 for the table, but I'll never sell it), I love to cook, and I love to build model Corvettes. Each time I do any of that, I will undoubtedly make some mistakes, but I can learn from it and do a better job next time.

Building model cars also helps me be patient and learn to wait before proceeding. It forces me to not rush into things and that's a life skill that comes in handy everywhere.

[sjordan2]

I just thought I would bring this over from the other thread about "How functional..." Seems to me the topic is quite similar...

Chuck Most, on 10 March 2012 - 06:38 PM, said:

A model car will never be driven, never have to operate upon public roads, etc., so in some cases I am willing to let a few details slide. Hey... I've never seen a 1:1 car with a big hole in the engine block and a big metal axle going through it, or the front and rear suspensions and exhaust done as one piece with the chassis, but I see quite a few models done that way.

Harry P.

It all depends on what your goal is. A lot of people who build model cars don't even think about whether or not what they build would be feasible or operational in the real world. They're not concerned with making an accurate miniature version of a full-scale subject, they're "creating." And that's a perfectly legitimate way to enjoy the hobby.

But others see the hobby as building a miniature version of a 1/1 subject (military modelers being the prime example), so realism, faithfulness to the real thing, etc. are the whole point of the exercise.

It's like art. Some artists paint in a very realistic style, and reproduce the real world in exacting detail... like Norman Rockwell or Edward Hopper, for instance. Others are "abstract" artists who don't paint what they see, but what they feel, like Wasily Kandinsky or Jackson Pollock. Both are equally legitimate art genres, neither is more "correct" than the other.

Same with modeling. Neither way is "right." It just depends on what it is you are trying to accomplish, and how you personally define the reason for building scale models.

[modelmike]

It Quiets the voices in my head....