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Why do you build models


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I enjoy creating, plus I enjoy teaching others. One of the clubs I am in, the Colorado Modeling Militia Enjoying Sci-Fi, aka the CoMMiES, has turned the hobby into a very social one as well. Plus, I love building aircraft I have worked on and admire.

Vern

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The habit of a life time. My dad built flying models and from an early age, so did I, as do's my brother still. I have been able to limit my building / collecting to only those aircraft that have actually flown from 1903 to the present day and have been produced in 1/72nd scale. Some how each one gives me a sense of ownership of a tiny part of the real thing and as someone said previously in this discussion, "because it is great fun".

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A chance to learn the structures and shapes of an airframe in a way looking at them doesn't allow.

A link to my past, and good times with my Dad.

An activity I share with my children.

Kits offer a degree of guaranteed outcome (it will look like an aircraft, at the very least) with scope to add my own creative touches.

Each build teaches me something new about materials and methods, which is very satisfying.

Having a project on the bench sees me put aside time for myself, which has been a rarity in recent years.

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Creative outlet, relaxation (most of the time), improve my skills, keep my brain active, cheaper than owning a horse(which my wife does and this is way cheaper, believe me!), control my own little world and through club meetings and shows work on my socialization skills.

Oh and the thrill I get when I get a new (or new to me) kit in my hands and the plans I make to bring it alive!!!

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The reasons are multi-faceted for me. Research is a big reason, and that applies just as much to my SF model builds as my aircraft ones as researching proper colors, weathering and the like can be just as time consuming as researching proper colors for an aircraft serving at a specific time. At the end of the build I have still learned something new, be it a historical item, a technique or how a tool or product I used worked. But in addition to that, since ultimately what I build is going to end up in my own collection (very rarely do I ever do commission builds) I like ending up with something that is unique and different. Sure, it might look like others depending on how popular the subject or paintjob is, but ultimately it is still something I completed in my own way.

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1 for the Challenge of creating something from 100's to sometimes almost 1000 pieces...

2 for the enjoyment and fun

3 I LOVE History and to me each model represents a piece of it

4 cause I am a nerd

5 just to have something to do

5b b/c I have nothing else to do

6 if i did not build models I likely would be a insert X here and therefore not enjoying life as much

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Pure unadulterated lifelong love of Aircraft. Until I actually joined the Air Force I had a giant 1/72 collection that had scheduled missions every day bombing ant beds. My Moms 10 acre land was even divided into the different North Vietnam Route Packages. We had a really old radial arm saw with a long 24 foot rectangle platform that I had rigged up as an aircraft carrier. Great memories. Then I became an adult, joined the air force, started building 1/48 and trying to detail them. It has never been as fun......

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Because I enjoy it!

Paul

Even the sanding? :taunt:

Actually, I enjoy sanding MUCH more than painting. Painting exists to prevent me from spending too much of my time on models... I hate it

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I think I could take everyone's answers, roll them up into on one big answer and say that's why I build models.

Stress relief

Blood pressure relief

Mental stimulation

Maintenance of manual dexterity

Cheaper (and more productive) than sitting at a bar with friends

Keeps me at home so my wife doesn't have to wonder what I'm doing - not that she needs to worry about that

Time filler now that I'm retired

A love of the hobby

Recalling the memory of my late father who bought me my first model (a Spitfire) when I was a kid

Creating something with my own hands

A commemoration to history

Building a replica of the real deal and giving it to the men who flew them

Because it's fun

Mike

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I build for a few reasons. One, my lifelong dream, if a basketball career never materialized, was to be a fighter pilot. Well, because of a heart/lung issue, neither career came to be. Building models is about the closest I'll get to being a pilot. Plus, I've learned so much by building different kits and coming to places like this asking questions.

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ndNFmCn.jpg

I'm with ya bro.....wan't another cold one?...it's my turn to go get'em. Modeling allows me to create my own private little world, where things are as I like them.

Edited by #1 Greywolf
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