I was warned but I didn't think it was true.

[afterburner]

Yup,

Eight months ago I became a dad. My kid is fantastic- he sleeps 8pm to 7am, eats like a machine, but is still skinny. I know where it goes as I witness it every time I change a diaper. He's fun to play with but holy cow. . . I haven't touched a kit since he was born. I know, after he goes to bed would be ideal, but by the time that rolls around my wife and I are utterly exhausted. Plus, he claimed my nice spacious office/hobby room- we live in a reworked Craftsman and the other room only has space for the spare bed and dresser. It was the trade off for the cool little house. I knew it was going to eventually happen, but I had hoped to be able to manage my time a little better. Not a chance. And I sorely miss working on kits.

Anyone here dealing with the same thing? Several of my local pals are dealing with parenthood as well but don't have hobbies so I can't get words of wisdom from them. They haven't smelled glue since adolescence and aren't pining for it like I am. The one plus is that my small hobby budget has been building in the bank- it's a shame the Nationals isn't closer this year.

[niart17]

Oh yea, I know exactly what you speak of. Our first daughter is 3 1/2 and our second is 14 months old. I know at first it seems as though you'll NEVER have time for anything else, but slowly but surely you'll start to be able to cram a little time here and there as they get older. They start walking and holding their own bottle to drink so you don't have to hold them as much and eventually they start enjoying playing on their own and just need you to be close to them for comfort. So don't give up, you'll be sniffing that glue again before you know it. And if you're lucky, maybe your son will find an interest in modeling as well and you'll have a little two-man model club going.

You could also look at it this way, now is the time to start getting some research done on future projects, that's what I did.

Good luck and enjoy your new baby, this time really does fly by so don't blink!

Bill

[peebeep]

Twenty four years later and I'm still waiting for enough kids to move out to claim back some hobby room space!

You'll find that once your sprog is at school then things become a bit easier and you have more time for yourself. But unless you're wealthy and can afford a big spread then space is always likely to be an issue, especially if more than one sprog is part of The Plan. Enjoy while you can, believe me time will start to fly for you.

peebeep

[datahiker]

I've got a 6 y.o., 4 y.o. and 16 month old. The only spare time I have right now is late at night when everyone's in bed. Most of my modeling is shoehorned in about 20-30 minutes at a time, which is OK for building and puttying/sanding, but makes it really hard to airbrush anything. On weekends I'll brew some coffee and try to get some work done. I hate the taste, but it gives me the extra "oomph" I need sometimes.

Once he gets older it will get easier, so be patient.

My only advice is if you're really tired, don't bother. I've had quite a few sessions dedicated to fixing everything I had screwed up when I tried to work on a kit while extremely tired.

I tried setting up a portable rolling station when I was in an apartment but it just wasn't stable enough to build on. Now I have a huge corner of the basement and a massive work desk, which is awesome.

[afterburner]

Thanks for all the wisdom- I think it's probably going to be a little while before I can get back into it solidly. Like mentioned above, it'll come in short bursts but hey, at least it's something. There is always the possibility of rearranging the small (read: tiny) spare room and trying to incorporate my building into there but who knows. I airbrush with acrylics so smell isn't a huge issue though I don't want any drifting into mini-me's room.

The kitchen table isn't an issue- plenty of workspace and it's in a side room so it'll feel like an office. I can probably adapt my spray booth to use one of the windows. It's probably best that I haven't had time as it's been truly hot and humid in Charlotte this summer. Much more than last year and I did have a few instances that I had to empty the moisture trap on my setup. I just miss it as modeling is a fantastic way for me to burn off stress. Nothing like sanding down super glue that has dried too hard on a joint. I think part of the issue is that I have two kits in-progress that look so fantastic, just lack about 15% work to get them complete. I'm jonesing to see the final product or take them to a show.

Maybe over the next several weeks I can figure out how I can get a little kit time in. I think I'll definitely wait until cooler weather sets in.

Many thanks!

[Big Kev]

I went through a period of about 8 years where I didn't touch a model at all, which encompassed returning to full-time study, getting married, buying a house, and having a baby. I reckon my daughter was 4 or 5 before I finally felt like I could carve out the time for modelling again.

Kev

[blunce]

With a 19m/o daughter, the only way I've found to get any modeling in is to do it after she and wife have gone to sleep. I stay at home to take care of her and keep her out of daycare, so I'm able to have a few hours every weeknight to myself.

[k5ikl]

Forget modeling for awhile and enjoy the little guy. Believe me he will

grow up faseter than you can believe. You can model later, but spend

every moment you can with him. That time passes so fast.

:lol:

Jerry

Father of 3 and grandpa of 10.

[thegoodsgt]

Not exactly the same, but I'm in a similar situation. For various complicated reasons, my elderly mother had to move in with me in January. She's fairly self-sufficient around the house, but she relies on me to do the cooking, cleaning, etc. In some ways it's like caring for a child, so I get the exhaustion that parents feel (not having been a parent myself yet).

[Lenny]

Oh yeah i'm feeling ya! I've got a 22 month old and a 3 1/2 yr old. Between that and my crazy work sked, i'm hanging on by a thread. I'm able to surf the modeling sites on the road. Once a month I can get an hour or two. I can build one 1/48 kit a year at this rate.

[Sunliner]

I've got two boys, 7 & 4. I went a good year or three hardly touching a kit but it's well worth it. I almost sold off my meager stash (~30 ish kits) but I'm glad I didn't because I did get back in though now we're into soccer and t-ball so building's still sporadic, but that's ok.

The really cool thing was when my oldest was about five or six and came up and asked me if we could buy him a model to work on. We've been through about a dozen snap-tite kits -they all have really "interesting" paint/decal jobs but I'll keep them forever.

-Mike

[George Creed]

I wrote a little bit about this on my clubs blog site http://www.pasadenamodelers.blogspot.com as part of my "Revelations" post.

Bascily, you will go through several stages in your approach to the hobby.

For me before the young one was here I was building and learning and improving.

Then as she grew older and I had more repsonsibilities in helping her get transported to soccer, gymnastics,dance, school events, social engagements etc. I found that I build models but didn't produce those fantastic next level masterpieces you see all over the place. BUt I built I brought I had fun I sometimes won awards and sometimes I didn't but I kept building and buying and having fun---and even completed some models along the road.

Then she learned how to drive, and then she went off to college and then I began building better and more detailed things ( planes, helicopters, armor, subs, ships, etc )

Where the hell 21 years went is beyond me---but I've got a ton of built models as well as way more unbuilt models and I'm still having fun.

So enjoy your kid (more important) and enjoy the hobby ( lots of fun for you) and as to a space to build as Clint Eastwood said in Heartbreak Ridge "Overcome Improvise Adapt"....

[parche]

There is a reason my Foxbat has been in progress for 3 1/2 years.... my 3 1/2 year old daughter. And I am ok with it. I spend time out at sea where I don't get to see her or my son or wife and it is important that I spend time with them and the models take a backseat... granted my beautiful wife is very understanding and allows me to do the model thing here an there so that is awesome. Enjoy your kids... there's only so much time.

Cheers,

Dave

[Superjew]

There is a reason my Foxbat has been in progress for 3 1/2 years.... my 3 1/2 year old daughter. And I am ok with it. I spend time out at sea where I don't get to see her or my son or wife and it is important that I spend time with them and the models take a backseat... granted my beautiful wife is very understanding and allows me to do the model thing here an there so that is awesome. Enjoy your kids... there's only so much time.

Cheers,

Dave

You guys are lucky. Im 25 and worked in a daycare for 3 years so Im real good with children and can change a diaper and all that, my side hobby that makes money for me is I want to become a succesful investor (my stock picks are NLY NOW 15% dividend FTW, and EPD 6 months ago) in part because my parents have an estate that Im going to inherit from their succesful investing and my grandparents estate that they are going to inherit from their success in the stock market. I figured Id just leave the fortune to my brothers kid but Im starting to doubt he will ever have one. I guess I can adopt, because I am particularly unskilled with women (Have not had a gf, or a night with a woman in about 7 years going on 8) and would like to keep the same genes with the family name for my estate when Im done. But I may have to breakdown and adopt a kid as a single parent someday, Im hoping between now and 15 years from now.

Edited July 20, 2010 by Superjew

[toadwbg]

Honestly, having kids helps me appreciate this hobby. After I put the kids to bed I can relax downstairs at my workbench knowing my real job is done.

Sure I don't have as much time for the hobby, but I live for the kids first.

[madmike]

God help me, I am going to be a Grandfather next January....

Now I REALLY feel old!

[craigcol]

Hey Afterburner,

To echo comments above I know what you are going through, we have a beautiful 3 year old son Joshua, and another on the way! (wife is 3 months pregnant). I have not completed a model since my Tamiya P-47N in December '07, every weekend seems a blur of family orientated stuff, and when I do have a gap I just want to nap!

Having said all that I wouldn't trade it for anything, kids are a true blessing from God, cherish every moment!

Now that Josh is older, he does spend time with me in the garage and was actually a lot of help on my silent compressor project I recently completed. He seems to like 'planes (as he calls them) and loves to open Dad's kits and "feel" the plastic!

Good Times!

[Bonehammer73]

Same here... my daughter is a mummy's girl. At first I thought I had it covered when she was 1 year old and I had two hours to myself on alternate weeks, meaning that once the choirs were done there was some time to do some hobby work here and there. Then my husband got an offer to work as a teller, meaning more opportunity to do extra hours, and I was screwed.

She can play on her own all right, but the tiny little bits of metal and plastic are irresistible and I'm only safe when she's asleep.

If you miss the hobby, my suggestion is to wake up early rather than hang around at the end of a long day. If my little darling was less of a nite owl, I'd do that, but what with a full-time job, the housework, and the late babysitting, I really need all the Z's I can catch.

Edited July 20, 2010 by Bonehammer73

[B-1 Nut]

I'm probably in the minority here, but having our son didn't really slow my building down any. This probably had more to do with my work schedule/situation than anything. I used to work from home, so I was there ALL THE TIME. I recently moved back to the town where my company is located and I actually go into the office every day.

I had to move into a new house with no spare bedroom....that killed my building more than anything else.

Honestly, I used to do most of my modeling from about 9:30pm to about 12:00am.....after my wife and son were asleep.

Staying up late never bothered me much, so I kind of enjoyed doing it. Some nights I wouldn't stay up, or I'd read, or watch TV. I'd say probably 30% of the nights I actually worked on models.

I usually did some on lazy Saturdays/Sundays too if going outside wasn't an option. If I had pressing things to do, no modeling for me.

I'd usually get 2 or 3 models built per year. Might could have squeezed in 4, but 2 to 3 was fine with me.

Hang in there.

JED

[mhoupt]

My kids are now 11, 10 and 7. Through those early years I would work on a bit here, bit there on different kits. I may decide for example that I was going to pull out the airbrush and I would shoot the base color of a cockpit on 10 different cockpits. Then over time in those small 20-30 min segments after they go to bed, work on the detail or put wing halves together or work on the missiles. Basically I broke my kits down into little segments and did what I could to have fun and relax a bit. As a result, I have a large unbuilt but started stash (75 airplanes maybe). Something nice though is now I am starting to roll them out. I have finished two of those kits in the past month and am heading on to two more now.

Just hang in there and build what you can. Before you know it, the kids will want to build with you.

Mark

[speedlimit]

I'm in the same boat as you guys. My 2 & 1/2 years old daughter takes most if not all of my free time after work. Ever since she came to this world it takes almost a year to finish 1 decent model. No regrets though, I manage to steal an hour or so a week to work on the bench. My daughter takes priority and don't want to miss out any opportunity to be with her everytime I'm home.

Eric

Edited July 20, 2010 by speedlimit

[ALF18]

The topic title says it all - but I'll go one further. Before having our kids, I used to nod wisely and say "yeah, I know it'll change our lives..."

Man, was I understating the obvious!!!

Kid 1 hit like a nuclear bomb. Kid 2 was like secondary explosions killing whatever was left standing after the first bomb hit.

17 years later, we are the happy parents of a son and daughter born 14 months apart. We started getting our lives back about 5 years ago, when we could leave them alone in the house for a while, and do basic things like go for walks together in the neighbourhood.

Now, the boy is a high school grad, and going on to post-secondary education this fall, and the daughter will graduate high school next spring. It took forever to get back to some semblance of normality, including time to make models - but the time flew by so fast that I look at pictures of them as toddlers and can't believe that was almost 2 decades ago!

Enjoy it while you can. Kids are the reason we are on this planet, and they can be a real source of joy and fulfillment. There's just that niggly little detail that they take away your non-parent lifestyle for many years - overnight.

ALF

[jester292]

My little girl is 9 months old, and I get 0 time at the bench. I work on the road 3-4 days a week, so I know that it will be a while until I get to the bench, but I still have a little time each week to keep up with ARC!

Aaron

[TXCajun]

Buddy, it's a hobby. You can put it down and you can pick it up. It will always be there waiting for you.

Your new child on the other hand... you get one shot. One shot to be a great dad. One shot to make a difference. One shot to take this little miracle of creation and mold him/her into a positive member of society and a joy to you and your wife in your silver years. In short, you have an opportunity to build something better than a model...

...a legacy

Don't screw it up.

[Army_Air_Force]

I've got an 8 month old baby girl, and I'm doing more modelling now than I did before, usually on a board on my knee while watching her play or after she's gone to bed.