The Zen of Model Building

[Tom Geiger]

meraki [may-rah-kee] (adjective) This is a word that modern Greeks often use to describe doing something with soul, creativity, or love -- when you put "something of yourself" into what you're doing, whatever it may be. 
 

Interesting!  I thought it would be Japanese, surprised it’s Greek.

[Danno]

Ommmmmmmmmmm.

Ommmmmmmmmmm.

Om feelin' it!

??

[afx]

Let it in brother!

[Tom Geiger]

Go for it Dan!

Owa  Tagu Siam

[Brudda]

On 4/21/2021 at 9:11 AM, Tom Geiger said:

I like different perspectives.  

I enjoy the build process. I like to put a lot of care and thought into my builds, and try to increase my skills and do something unique on every model.

But I do cherish my finished models. It’s like my miniature Jay Leno collection. These are MY cars and I have them all on display in an old China cabinet I just invested $200 in adding new shelves!  

These are my babies! I’ve only given away a few, ones I specifically built to give away. The rest of them are dear to me!
 

 

I gave this to a close friend. A fellow modeler. When I first started the hobby, he helped me all thru the contests and just building in general, He builds aircraft and usually wins . The build was really fun and put me on the map for autos. But it just sat there. And Steve really liked it so I gave it to him. The kit is around $1100.00. I just do this. Some people think I’m nuts, and I probably am, but this is what I do. Here is a pic of that model.

[keyser]

Not nuts. Fun for you is build to that level. Awesome, few get there. Kind and generous. We share tastes, and are fortunate enough to swing some kits like these. But hunt, and the build more fun. Hourly rate for build like that would be high. 
Consider it cheaper and more fun than a therapist ???

[espo]

15 hours ago, Brudda said:

I gave this to a close friend. A fellow modeler. When I first started the hobby, he helped me all thru the contests and just building in general, He builds aircraft and usually wins . The build was really fun and put me on the map for autos. But it just sat there. And Steve really liked it so I gave it to him. The kit is around $1100.00. I just do this. Some people think I’m nuts, and I probably am, but this is what I do. Here is a pic of that model.

Beautiful looking build. As for giving it to your friend that gave you guidance and I'm sure some encouragement along the way makes perfect sense.    

[LL3 Model Worx]

I fully understand this feeling.

The therapeutic nature of the process is what always attracted me to the hobby.... thats why i don't care much about my completed models.

Just relaxing and trying new things is what really does it for me.

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

11 minutes ago, LL3 Model Worx said:

The...nature of the process is what always attracted me to the hobby.... thats why i don't care much about my completed models.

Yup, creative manipulation of tools and materials, with a goal in mind, but not driven by achieving the goal: the journey purely for the sake of the journey, not a rush to get somewhere so you can then rush to get somewhere else.

[LL3 Model Worx]

4 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Yup, creative manipulation of tools and materials, with a goal in mind, but not driven by achieving the goal: the journey purely for the sake of the journey, not a rush to get somewhere so you can then rush to get somewhere else.

Well said! That's it exactly.

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

I’ve had this same philosophy now for some time.

sometimes people don’t, or can’t understand how someone can spend months or years on a project, but for me, it’s not so much about the final result, but getting there.

There are times when I even get a little bit of guff from other hobbyists for spending a week on a steering wheel, or 3 weeks rebuilding a dash board, but I really love working on the intricacies of certain aspects of the build.

I even find myself feeling something of a mild depression after finishing a build that’s been on my bench for a year or more, and if it wasn’t for the thrill of the thought of what I had planned for the next project, it would be hard to move on.

I almost can’t imagine opening up a box, throwing on some paint, and sticking a model together in a couple of weeks anymore.

There’s no longer any joy in that for me.

 

 

 

Steve

Edited December 18, 2022 by StevenGuthmiller

[OldNYJim]

36 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

There are times when I even get a little bit of guff for spending a week on a steering wheel, or 3 weeks rebuilding a dash board from other hobbyists, but I really love working on the intricacies of certain aspects of the build.

A comment I’ve seen more than once on your build threads Steve is “but you won’t see it when it’s done” - particularly relating to your masterful detailed-up interiors.

Those comments are somewhat missing the point, in my opinion.  Same way I stop at the rural stop sign in the middle of nowhere on my commute home every day even though 9.5 times out of 10, there’s no one to stop for and no one would see me if I didn’t.  Like a modeling conscience!  If you don’t do it, you’ll always know you didn’t…

Plus, of course, we get to see those details whilst they’re in progress, even if they may not be very obvious when the project is done.  All part of the journey!

[StevenGuthmiller]

4 minutes ago, CabDriver said:

A comment I’ve seen more than once on your build threads Steve is “but you won’t see it when it’s done” - particularly relating to your masterful detailed-up interiors.

I hear that more often than you might think, but I've just learned to shrug it off and chalk it up to those people that "don't or can't understand".

From the responses I've read in this thread, there are plenty of modelers that "do" get it.

 

I recently had the exact statement presented to me on a Facebook group, and my response was that if I cared about not spending time on things that will never be seen, "I'd screw the wheels to a block of wood for a chassis, eliminate the entire interior and tint the windows dark, and glue the hood shut".

 

 

 

Steve

[Joe Nunes]

With me it's simple, the build will be finished when it's finished. No hurry, no deadline, and I enjoy the hobby time. I am not sitting at the hobby bench to please someone else...just me.  If another model builder likes what I am doing then that's the icing on the cake, if not then usually there is somewhere else they can go to in order to find something that they might enjoy more. Simple enough. ?

Joe

[stitchdup]

I find it varies for me. Somrtimes i'll sit at the bench and just swap wheels about for hours and other times i'll sit down and blast through parts. I do find i start to lose interest in a build once i'm getting near finished and can see how its going to look complete. I dont know why i'm like that, but it doesn't worry me. I intend to come back to these builds sometime but i have so many build ideas that it may be some time. Some builds i'll add details in just one area, and others i'll go all out customising but once the first primer is on my interest still fades. I guess i'm more interested in seeing if my ideas work than finishing. I'd love to finish more builds but keeping my interest in a build is just difficult for me when i see my ideas worked or not

[OldNYJim]

On 12/17/2022 at 7:16 PM, Joe Nunes said:

With me it's simple, the build will be finished when it's finished. No hurry, no deadline, and I enjoy the hobby time. I am not sitting at the hobby bench to please someone else...just me.

I feel like this too, but also I have a LOT of stuff I wanna build!  I’ve been working on some tricks to help me build a little more efficiently and in a more organized way to help make good use of the time I have free.

Of course - the urge to carefully consider every little detail and spend as much time on it as possible to make it as good as it can be means you can’t RUSH a project, but I’ve found some ways to get some of the repetitive work that I do a lot handled in a better way.

For example, every build I will probably paint a distributor.  So…I printed 25 distributors and painted them all at the weekend.  I often need a battery, and have a design that I did recently that I’m pleased with - so I printed a bunch of those.  Little things like that.

Somewhat off topic - this thread about being ‘zen’ reminded me of this ad I used to see every day in the subway in NY, promoting an addition to one of the subway lines:

I always thought it was ironic that the “Zen Master” was feeling so anxious about the new subway line opening.  Maybe he needed to build a model to take his mind off it? ?