Model building stage fright?

[Bozothenutter]

What you are describing is anxiety, everybody suffers from it occasionally.

Problems are when it is all the time with everything.

I have ADHD and anxiety is one of the byproducts.

It can be debilitating, but for me a way to deal with it is:

- change context.

Just sit in your hobby room and see what happens.

- start research.

Bit of a double edged sword this, can make the anxiety 3as well.

- start somewhere  anywhere!

Start sanding the roadwheels for example, your hand will take over and stuff will start to happen.

- Embrace the anxiety.

Write down the worries and the accompanying solutions.

You know what to do now.

 

Regards

 

Sudesh

[ckw]

Just some random thoughts

 

1 - what are you trying to do? Build very good examples of selected subjects or a collection on a theme? These are not necessarily exclusive, but the time required to build contest winning models automatically reduce the size of the collection you can achieve.

 

2 - are you building for others to see or for yourself? If the latter, just work to a standard you're comfortable with, gradually upping your game when you feel you're ready to do so

 

3- Detail/accuracy/weathering etc. Don't over stress it. You are making a plastic "representation" of a real object. It is not an exact replica. For example, I've seen some incredibly well finished and detailed models, but the landing gear doors have not be thinned to scale thickness. It is next to impossible to get the true look of slightly dented metal panels (look at pics of the side of a real B-24).  It can be done - I remember seeing (might of been on Top Gear) a 1/12th scale true replica Ferrari ... down to a complete working V12 engine - but unless you're prepared to go to these lengths, then everything is a compromise. Once you accept that, it's just a matter of finding the point of compromise you're happy with

 

4 - When in a hole, stop digging. Don't feel bad about not completing something if you're no longer in the mood. The model will happily wait til you're ready. I recently completed a model I put aside 30 years ago 🙂

 

Cheers,

 

Colin

 

[Kushan_Farsight]

To be honest, i find this site is probably the best cure to 'build fright'! For years before i joined this page i would jump on Hyperscale or various other sites, and you will see these exquisite models, with incredible detail and paint schemes and weathering, and it used to make me shake my head in dismay as i would never be as good.  Probably made 2 or 3 models over 5 years, unhappy with them all

 

But then you come on BM, and can see hundreds of different modelers tackling kits at all skill levels, and aside from picking up a couple of tips and tricks along the way, you realize that all these 'masterpeices' are the result of dozens of small steps and stages.. the end result can be overwhelming, but that working on a bit at a time keeps it manageable.  So now im half way though a P-47 build, and taking progress shots to add to a 'yet to be created' build log, and i find that documenting a project can be quite satisfying and motivating in itself. Just from tips and tricks picked up through a few build logs and FAQ threads, im already seeing an improvement to my models, and its driving me to get more kits into the build queue, and invest in a cheapy airbrush!
 

So i would say just pick up a smallish kit and get going! its the best motivator.

 

 

 

 

[Mike]

I've merged this topic down from two to one.  A note for @WelshZeCorgi, we prefer it if people post a topic once, as it'll generally get seen in the View New Posts listing, so doesn't there's need the blunderbus approach to gain traction - in fact, the opposite happens, with attention diluted across multiple threads

[Coors54]

Yep, common problem we all have from time to time, some really good tips here as well.

 

Couple of phrases that seem to crop up all the time on this subject and they really irritate me -

 

"the size of my stash is intimidating" - so sell some (heresy I know but oh so liberating) and don't buy anymore for a while, only keep the very rare or say three that you are going to build soon. He who dies with the biggest stash is NOT the winner.

 

"I don't think I'll do the model justice" - is the kit bothered? I know you have paid good money for it but unless you start it that money is gone and not giving you anything back. Even if you make a right Horlicks of it you have still spent the money, you ain't ever going to get it all back.

We don't think that about any other purchase we make, your nice shiny toys of any description are never used to their full potential but no one ever says they are not "doing them justice".

 

Anyway go and enjoy yourself as will I by getting frustrated folding tiny bits of brass etch....

 

Dave

 

 

[Lawzer]

As @BIG X and @badger (among many others!) have said there’s many reasons for mojo block.  Personally I have a 1/24 typhoon and 1/24 ju87 sat on a bookcase looking at me. Typhoon is painted and gloss coated. Ju87 primed.  I worried about them both for a few months but now I think they will still be there when I get round to them.

 

as a few others have said (I’m the same!) we have no problem starting kits but give yourself a break.  As @Graham Boak said there’s maybe other stuff to worry about rather than sticking plastic together.

 

chin up fella - you’ll build ‘em when you’re ready! 👍

[Kingsman]

3 hours ago, Coors54 said:

"the size of my stash is intimidating" - so sell some (heresy I know but oh so liberating) and don't buy anymore for a while, only keep the very rare or say three that you are going to build soon. He who dies with the biggest stash is NOT the winner.

Hey - I resemble (and made....) that remark!!  He who dies with the biggest stash is in fact a) broke and b) leaving his executor with a considerable problem!!

 

Every now and again I do sell off some stuff when I realise that something was not such a good idea as I first thought or that I didn't need X after-market set.  I have about £1,000 worth (RRP) in the eBay pile as we speak.  But several times that value still on the shelf.

 

I suppose I have a theme in that the great majority of stash stuff is IDF.  I don't do WW2 German or US and I don't do any Plain Green Things if I can help it.  A nice colour scheme (but not German WW2!) is infinitely preferable for me to spending hours/days/weeks trying to make a monochrome scheme look anything but monochrome.  And yet I have a lot of IDF stuff to build, which are obstinately monochrome shades.  But I just find IDF stuff so interesting.  I'd far rather do a dozen different IDF Shermans (yes, there were that many variations and I will - eventually) than a single US ETO version.

 

Yes it is annoying when someone else gazumps a modelling project idea you have.  But so what?  You still want it.  Someone else's model isn't in your cabinet and you can't flaunt it to admiring relatives and visitors or your local model club.  And there might well be inspiration there you hadn't thought about.  Oh, that's a good idea/trick/technique/solution.......  And sometimes you realise you've bitten off a bigger chunk than you first thought; looked easy, actually not so much.  Put it away or sell it off and find something else.

 

In terms of finishing, I'm of the Magnus Magnusson school: I've started, so I'll finish.  I don't allow things to accumulate unfinished.  But that implies picking something to start that you want to finish.  Because You want it, for whatever reason or inspiration that happens to be.  Perhaps that's why I like to build more than one at a time: subjects with a similarity or a relationship, perhaps, or that require some cross-kitting.  Switch between them, or perhaps have a bit of a production line going e.g. on wheels.

 

But the over-riding thought must be that this is a hobby that helps us unwind, divert ourselves from work and other stresses etc.  In which respect making it stressful is counter-productive.  Do it to a level that makes you content.  Enjoy some research online, on paper or in museums.  That can be inspiring in itself before you ever get to building anything.

[JohnT]

23 hours ago, Ratch said:

Its called Advanced Modellers' Syndrome (AMS) and the cure is to get a cheap Starter Kit and build it on a Saturday afternoon, complete and paint it in under four hours.

Ratch

sounds like the proposed group build of modelling a kit that you did as a kid should become compulsory. Rules - buy it retail from a shop and same day glue paint and transfer it OOB giving not a jot about accuracy aftermarket or all the other stuff we fret and get anxious over. Ideally the kit should be a dog regarding accuracy and done with tube glue and hairy stick either sitting on the floor or at kitchen table. Filling gaps prohibited 

 

 

[Murdo]

57 minutes ago, JohnT said:

Ratch

sounds like the proposed group build of modelling a kit that you did as a kid should become compulsory. Rules - buy it retail from a shop and same day glue paint and transfer it OOB giving not a jot about accuracy aftermarket or all the other stuff we fret and get anxious over. Ideally the kit should be a dog regarding accuracy and done with tube glue and hairy stick either sitting on the floor or at kitchen table. Filling gaps prohibited 

 

 

 

As a wee fella I had several models where the undercarraige had been broken off and rebuilt with what I had available (sprue, matchsticks etc)

 

Humbol Enamel paint was thinned with paraffin - I kid you not! My dad had a paraffin heater in his "study" (bedroom) so the stuff was in plentiful supply. It cleaned the enamel out of paint brushes perfectly too.   

 

I really think I'd like to build a kit in that way again...

 

WelshZeCorgi: Just have a bash at something simple.

[Steve Noble]

The day I build the 'perfect' model will be the day I stop building models forever. It's never happened yet. I've come close a few times, but there's always something that I'm not 100% happy with. It's why I keep building, striving for perfection, but I know it's never going to happen. Keep building, switch subjects to keep your interest up, but all in all have fun with building. If it's not fun then take a break and return later on...

[MikeC]

On 11/27/2019 at 8:58 PM, Troy Smith said:

Find something of interest,  but a kit you are not too bothered about,  don't over complicate,  make the goal getting it finished.

may I refer you to the only thing I have completed in a very long time,  

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235052380-hurricane-airfix-72nd-fabric-wing-mki-oob/

 

see above.  

unless you are retired,  or idle rich, you just have not got time to do this, unless it's your job.   Cranking kits out will be easier if you build ones that can be built fast,   rather than updating old kits to a modern standard, or adding masses of extra detail or AM parts

 

I would also refer you to this, in light of some of the above

https://jonbryon.com/2018/06/19/on-increasing-productivity/

by @Jon Bryon

 

which has some interesting insights.   

 

HTH

Yes, agree with all that.  On increasing productivity, here are some more thoughts: http://www.scalemodelsoup.com/2015/04/5-ways-to-increase-your-output.html

 

13 hours ago, Coors54 said:

Yep, common problem we all have from time to time, some really good tips here as well.

 

Couple of phrases that seem to crop up all the time on this subject and they really irritate me -

 

"the size of my stash is intimidating" - so sell some (heresy I know but oh so liberating) and don't buy anymore for a while, only keep the very rare or say three that you are going to build soon. He who dies with the biggest stash is NOT the winner.

 

"I don't think I'll do the model justice" - is the kit bothered? I know you have paid good money for it but unless you start it that money is gone and not giving you anything back. Even if you make a right Horlicks of it you have still spent the money, you ain't ever going to get it all back.

We don't think that about any other purchase we make, your nice shiny toys of any description are never used to their full potential but no one ever says they are not "doing them justice".

 

Anyway go and enjoy yourself as will I by getting frustrated folding tiny bits of brass etch....

 

Dave

 

 

My stash has, in the last few years, shrunk from over 150 to just over 30.  A lot of these have been sold via the sales forum on this very site.

 

I've stopped trying so hard, and that's meant I've relaxed a bit more.  And no-one's ever said "what a rubbish model" when I've produced it - quite the opposite.  We are often our own worst critics, what stands out to you, nobody notices.  And most people will not notice if you don't move the radio "transmit" switch in the cockpit to the correct position for the mk 2 when the kit's a mk 1.

 

Finally, if you do chuck a kit in the bin, the modelling police will not call round and confiscate your paints, or anything else.  You've still had a modelling experience, it's not the end of the world: learn from it if applicable, and move on.  Enjoy your modelling.

Edited November 29, 2019 by MikeC

[zigster]

I'm always amazed at amount of guys stressed about "right shade" of paint. Is Gunze better than XXX???.

Then they cover everything with a thick layer of AK "post production improvements". Just a shandy?

A shandy??? I do like auto censor :-))

Edited November 29, 2019 by zigster

[Ratch]

5 hours ago, Steve Noble said:

The day I build the 'perfect' model will be the day I stop building models forever. It's never happened yet. I've come close a few times, but there's always something that I'm not 100% happy with. It's why I keep building, striving for perfection, but I know it's never going to happen. Keep building, switch subjects to keep your interest up, but all in all have fun with building. If it's not fun then take a break and return later on...

Snap

[Smithy]

3 minutes ago, zigster said:

I'm always amazed at amount of guys stressed about "right shade" of paint. Is Gunze better than XXX???.

Then they cover everything with a thick layer of AK "post production improvements". Just a shandy?

A shandy??? I do like auto censor :-))

 

I'm an aircraft modeller but agree with that. I used to obsess about colours and paints but now highly suspect that such pedantry and excessive worrying is ultimately pointless and misguided. Sure you want something very close to what you are modelling but you don't want to get too silly about it.

[ckw]

I am pretty certain that concern amongst some modellers about the right shade is greater than that of those who applied the paint to the real thing (esp. in the field!) - and then there are the scale effect contingent.

 

Modelling is part craft, part art - as I said before, you are creating a representation, and you can also make your own rules as to what it is you're representing. For instance, I don't much like weathering, so I build my aircraft as they would be as if restored for the ultimate preserved warbird collection.

 

At the end of the day, if it looks right to you, and meets your own personal standards, that's good enough.

 

Cheers,

 

Colin

[Smithy]

4 minutes ago, ckw said:

At the end of the day, if it looks right to you, and meets your own personal standards, that's good enough.

 

Well said, and in a nutshell what is actually important.

[zigster]

Well, Mr Smithy, looks like guys are going funny around those variations in hue.

For some reason, I would say, those questions are from our younger group of modeling club.

Then I should say: Brittish armour for Operation Overload was SCC 15 - Tamiya mix : XF-61: 5 , XF-62 :2, XF-3:2.

As Queen prescribed.

Z

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

I get this. I often have a clear idea of what I want to do, but looking at all the bits I think "not today" and put it back in the stash.

 

I swing between simple almost OOB builds (I'm not a zealot and can change an instrument panel or exhausts or add seatbelts without raging at the wasted money) and more involved builds. I usually have both ongoing at the same time.

[WelshZeCorgi]

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts. I will try to keep all your advice in mind. In fact, I will probably read through all your responses every time I sit down to build. 

[Wince]

I have obsessive compulsive disorder (I’m open with it and don’t seek any special treatment) so getting back into this hobby is a triumph over my innate perfectionism that means I’ve trashed so many kits because they don’t live up to my ideals of what is right. But I’m also an artist by trade and the blank canvas unleashes all sorts of anxiety until I dirty it up a bit. I get the same feeling over a new kit and I regret trashing a lot of my stash over the fear of starting one. Now I see each kit as a challenge albeit one fraught with perfectionism and me hating it!

[Wince]

To give you hope, I’ve just “wrecked” wash on my jet provost. My wash sank through the clear coat and now have pinkish roundels but it is what it is. Only my 6th kit eying back into this hobby and it’s a reminder next time stick to what I know (wash before decals then pick up the wash afterwards)

[pacificmustang]

On ‎12‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 10:09 AM, WelshZeCorgi said:

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts. I will try to keep all your advice in mind. In fact, I will probably read through all your responses every time I sit down to build. 

God, No! Don't do that!  You'll never get anything built as then  all your time will be taken up by reading😆

[Wince]

On 02/12/2019 at 23:09, WelshZeCorgi said:

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts. I will try to keep all your advice in mind. In fact, I will probably read through all your responses every time I sit down to build. 

Best advice is crack on mate. I am my own worst enemy and as a returnee to this hobby I’m embracing approach I had when I was a 14 year old boy and a good enough approach. I’m still to post my work on here all brushstrokes and all but what I will say is most models are viewed from reading distance not the macro images we are used to seeing in magazines and online. Enjoy the hobby and each kit is a learning curve that you will push yourself to improve on the next one! We are our own worst critics and remember this hobby is fun!

[Timbo88]

Hi all. Just had a read through the many posts above and have to agree with those that promote the importance of having fun in this hobby of ours. 

Numerous times over the years I too have ground to a halt and started thinking too deeply about what I'm doing, how, why etc.

At the end of the day we are - mostly - simply filling in spare time in our otherwise busy lives. Have fun, it's only a box of plastic pieces after all! If all else fails maybe think back to when you were young and made those old Matchbox and Airfix kits. How did you approach model making back then? I just dived in and made the things, thinking of the real machines as I did so. I made lots of errors but I still had fun. I still make errors but I'm not competitive and don't really care if my end results are not as good as those in model magazines (though I like to think I improve a little with each passing year).

I fill my spare time with a relaxing, interesting and fulfilling hobby. That's good enough for me.

[fewr9fkr9595]

I have that feeling towards some of the planned builds in the stash. Want to get it going but keep putting it off. Various eduard stuff (72nd & 48th) like mig-21’s, spitfires, 109’s & 190’s with all the brassin cockpits/engines/gun/bays/weapons/exhausts/wheelbays etc etc that I am scared to start because each is a massive project which I fear I won’t do justice to...