AVGBob Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 What do you guys do to get motivated? I have had been on a model building hiatus due to work and my personal life. Now that I have time to get back into it, I just am having one heck of a time deciding what to build. Any advice? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JFernandez Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Perhaps watching a documentary? Whenever I lose motivation I go watch the Military Channel's Dogfights. I don't know, that show just pumps so much interest! Just my two cents Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flyboyf18 Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 What I have done before is dig an easy kit out of the stash and just build it! Simple seat belts, no etch, just assemble paint and decal. HTH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Go and buy easy egg planekit that is fun to build.. Good luck...Oh yeah watch some aviation related programs ...always good and makes you think..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
xmh53wrench Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Build ya a Mustang....who doesnt love a Mustang?????? :D :D :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EagleAviation Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 I try to find pictures of lovely models from shows and forums, I get jealous and there rises my appetite for modelling! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jester292 Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 If the timing is right, seek out a local show and check out the display tables. Maybe a stroll down the isles of a local hobby shop? Of course, nothing is wrong with waiting until inspiration strikes you! Aaron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FAR148 Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 (edited) Build something easy with no aftermaket parts. Or build something different, a helicopter, something sci-fi, a piece of armour or maybe a what-if? What ever it is, have fun building it! Steven L Edited June 24, 2012 by FAR148 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Was kinda stuck to pick a build after a GB entrant, so i'm finishing a build i didn't finish from way back. Won't be perfect as some parts disappeared but at least it will be one less build cluttering my mind. After this is done picking another build will be easy. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 I agree w picking a nice easy build. Something like a nice 1/72 WWII plane or something. Small quick and easy and looks real good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bails Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Start by going to your stash. Pull out a kit you think you'd like to work on. Now, fondle the plastic for a few minutes. Next, remove the fuselage sides from the sprus and clean them up for dry fitting. Do the same with the wings. In short order you'll be gluing up bits here and there and you'll be back into it. Bottom line, start very slowly and let the former addiction take over. Its an awesome hobby. You loved it once and you will again. Peace, Bails-In-Minnesota Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rightwinger26 Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I build a nice easy Tamiya kit, a 109, or a the Spit MkI maybe, and watch WWI in Color while I build, does the trick everytime. Then post pictures in the gallery and let the compliments from all the wonderful people here do the rest. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thegoodsgt Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Select a model that most excites you, whether it's small or large. You need something that captures your interest and enthusiasm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 What do you guys do to get motivated? I have had been on a model building hiatus due to work and my personal life. Now that I have time to get back into it, I just am having one heck of a time deciding what to build. Any advice? ...You can have MY HAWK III if you want ..will that make you you want to get back to the bench? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
famvburg Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I'm wondering the same thing. I do, however, have more motivation than I do time tho. And display space and work space. Two are about to change. the display and work space. I'm moving into a house 2 1/2 times bigger than where I currently live. I have a work room picked out and a bedroom planned for the airplane display room as well as shelving on some walls and some hanging space under the balcony for some bigger in-flight stuff. I still have time to buy kits and conjure up projects so I have the motivation, just not as much as well as the time and energy I used to have. Up until about 10 years ago I was a very prolific (like dozens a year) builder and it's dwindled to a couple of kits a year for the last 7 or 8 years. I'm excited about my move so I think when I get settled in and especially as fall and winter come in, when i don't work so late, I just may be motivated enough to get back in the swing of it. I also am dating a girl who is behind me 100% on nearly everything I do, hobby-wise. She loves all of my models and toys and what I can do, as in what she claims is a talent that I have, so I even have moral support to boot! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
john53 Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Stay away from "Dogfights" That show cost me more money than its worth!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aerofan Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 What do you guys do to get motivated? I have had been on a model building hiatus due to work and my personal life. Now that I have time to get back into it, I just am having one heck of a time deciding what to build. Any advice? I absolutely know what you mean. Work/employment status, personal finances and life in general takes up alot of one's mind. However, to take a break from it all I usually pick up a book from Squadron, Concord, or whatever is on your shelf and get inspired to build something seen in print. Too bad for me it only lasts for a few moments before the drudgery of life sets back into my mind again; still constantly worrying when the pink slip will come after my hours have been drastically cut in half and the boss' annoucement, "With the changing current economic events and techological improvements, we may or may not have a need of your (me and my co-workers) services.". It's the reason I'm not able to finish anything lately. Hopefully, you'll find the book idea useful and won't be easliy distract by life's worries as me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aaronw Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 [shameless plug] Come build an AVG P-40 for the Pacific War GB, we can always use another shark mouth [/shameless plug] Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Randy Wise Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Well AVGBob, almost all of us have been in this rut. I've been out of the hobby for almost three years now. In 2009 I started a Corvette frame-off resto-mod in my garage. I have another year before she's finished; I'm into the "Big Ticket" items now (new drivetrain, body back on, paint and interior), but I've discovered that I'm having more free time on my hands so I've started pawing through the stash, looking for some motivation. I know I'm no different than anyone else; I have some half-completed projects packed in boxes. To ease myself back in I'm picking a build that is over half done, but one that I've wanted to complete for some time. It's not an aircraft this time. I have a 1/350 Essex class conversion to the Bunker Hill - Feb 1945. The hull is already build-up; the island is detailed; the deck galleries installed. I'm presently working on the air group. Over 80 tiny planes. But two things have drastically changed since I last put X-Acto knife in hand; I need reading glasses now to see those itty-bitty plastic landing gear doors on the F4U's... and I don't have my workshop anymore!!! During my hiatus, the wife converted my room back to a spare bedroom. Now I have to carry everything down to the dining room. This is not good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crazy Snap Captain Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 (edited) Agree with the FAR148 on the What If. Get a kit and go nuts on it. Good way to get rid of some unwanted spares as well. No need for references. Gets the creative juices flowing. Edited June 25, 2012 by Crazy Snap Captain Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I would say it depends on a lot of factors. If you've hit burnout, trying to push through and build once again doesn't always work. Just relax and it will eventually come back. If you build something during this period, it should be relatively few parts, not cost much and you should try your best to just stick with the instructions and paint guide as the primary references (Airfix kits work well for this, even if you do have to cross reference paints elsewhere due to the Humbrol numbers). Just put your normal first class work into it, but don't use resin or try to get too crazy with it. Just take some time and build (even if it is only an hour a day). In almost no time, you finish and feel like you accomplished something. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MattC Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I hit burnout a few times, when I started to feel a bit like a production line. My solution was to go with how I felt and pack it in for a while. I figured that if I forced it, then I'd end up hating it and never come back, so better to just take a hiatus. It'll be here waiting when you're ready. Its only a hobby, just do what you're telling yourself you want to, do something else, draw, paint, play skittles, it really doesn't matter. What happened to me was that I found that after a while, I got the aviation bug back, started watching some favourite films, and eventually it just came back. It'll go again I'm sure, but I'm not unduly worried, nor should you be, like most things in life, I think we drift around a bit of a core, sometimes I eat pasta for days on end, sometimes I don't eat it for months. Sometimes I like metal music, other times I have a few months of blues or whatever. The main thing is to just be honest with yourself and let it be as it is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rustywelder Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Stay away from "Dogfights" That show cost me more money than its worth!!! +1 the wife gets a nervous tick every time i watch an episode. The airshows I've been to this year have provided alot of insipartion (and wounded my wallet) for myself, and now I've got my 4yo son beggibng me to build him a blue angel for his room. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
galileo1 Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Stay away from "Dogfights" That show cost me more money than its worth!!! Man, you can say that again! Never, ever, have I been interested in the F-8 Crusader or the Israeli Mirage IIIC but, sure enough, after watching Dogfights, I went and bought 2 of each! I'm trying to stay away from it now :) Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B-17 guy Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 What do you guys do to get motivated? I wait for fall and the cold crappy, damp weather. Warm and sunny means I'm outside. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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