A sad realisation about my model building

[OBIO]

I just came to this sad realisation: They could build a real North American T-6 Texan in less time that it has taken me to get a model of one built half way.

Today, I finished packing the stuff in my office/sim room closet, which included about 10 model kits that I bought 3 or 4 years ago. Deb asked me why I didn't pack away the partially completed Texan model...and that lead to the discussion on the likelihood that I will ever finish the darn thing. I have been working on this model for 3 years....and it still needs the engine, cowl and prop installed, landing gear doors installed, canopy installed, lower wing surfaces brushed with a aluminum/silver mix I made up, and the decals applied (that is if they have not dry rotted by this point).

So, 3 years to have an uncompleted T-6 Texan model versus how many real Texans being built every day back in the 40s?

Good thing I wasn't a worker in the North American factory that built the Texan....we'd have a line of 80 and 90 year old men waiting for me to finish their training aircraft so they could go off to fight in WW2.

OBIO

 

[FAC257]

I got an urge several years ago to try to build an aircraft model which I hadn't done since I was a kid. I loved building aircraft models and was okay at it.

I found one of the large scale Monogram B-29 kits in a hobby store, bought all the glue, paints & brushes. It only took me a couple of days with that kit to realize that with my smashed and caloused fingers from working I couldn't finess the smaller pieces anymore. With my failing eyesight from getting older I could see what my fat fingers were trying to do anyway.

I got really frustrated and it made me feel old that I couldn't do something anymore that I used to enjoy. I got a few cockpit pieces together and painted and the fuselage painted and then it just sat that way for months. I finally threw it away because I didn't like the quality of what I had done and realized I was never going to finish it.

FAC

 

[AckAck]

So, 3 years to have an uncompleted T-6 Texan model versus how many real Texans being built every day back in the 40s?
OBIO

If you had a hundred people helping you build it, it might be done by now, too.

 

[TeaSea]

Sorry to add to your remorse....

My buddy built an RV-7A in that time.


Do you hate me now?

But don't feel bad. It's taken me that long to paint some shutters.

 

[OBIO]

Yes, TeaSea, you are now on my "Rice Cake" List. I say "Rice Cake" because the language filter will not let me type the word that best describes what Rice Cakes taste like.

OBIO

 

[Ivan]

Model Kits

I have several hundred unbuilt. The last one I remember doing was a very poor Polish kit of a Yak-1. The problem with this kit was that the propeller was pretty horrible, the wing trailing edges were too thick and there were obvious places were parts didn't quite meet up well. I made myself a custom scraper out of a No. 11 Exacto blade to get into that area, cleaned up the mismatches, thinned the trailing edges, made my own propeller blades and didn't complete it when all the problems were solved.....

Don't feel alone! I have CFS1 planes that have been at 95% finished for about 5 years now. This is a hobby, we do whatever we enjoy! Finishing is optional.

BTW, I wish the B-29 wasn't just tossed. I could use pieces from a kit that big (probably 1/48. I am always short of pilots, engines, propellers and the like.

- Ivan.

 

[ThinkingManNeil]

I just came to this sad realisation: They could build a real North American T-6 Texan in less time that it has taken me to get a model of one built half way.

Today, I finished packing the stuff in my office/sim room closet, which included about 10 model kits that I bought 3 or 4 years ago. Deb asked me why I didn't pack away the partially completed Texan model...and that lead to the discussion on the likelihood that I will ever finish the darn thing. I have been working on this model for 3 years....and it still needs the engine, cowl and prop installed, landing gear doors installed, canopy installed, lower wing surfaces brushed with a aluminum/silver mix I made up, and the decals applied (that is if they have not dry rotted by this point).

So, 3 years to have an uncompleted T-6 Texan model versus how many real Texans being built every day back in the 40s?

Good thing I wasn't a worker in the North American factory that built the Texan....we'd have a line of 80 and 90 year old men waiting for me to finish their training aircraft so they could go off to fight in WW2.

OBIO

Don't feel bad; I have kits in my stash that are approaching the 15 - 20 year mark. In fact I just sold off a couple because I realized they were beyond my talents as a builder and would likely never get built by me. I have a T-6 kit myself (1/48 scale Modelcraft/Occidental that I think eventually got re-boxed by Italeri) awaiting to be built. I even had a set of custom decals for it made up so I could do it in a civi-warbird ersatz Royal Canadian Navy scheme for an SNJ that I dream of owning. If you think straight model building is bad enough, try using photo-etched parts when you don't know what you're doing

Just to make us all feel inadequate, anyone else here familiar with the work of Master Model Builder Guillermo Rojas-Bazan? Take a look at some of his work on his Walkaround Models page

N.
N.

 

[N2056]

 

[hubbabubba]

ditto...

Virtual models are quite less messy to make and even a one-finger typist (two if you count shift key...) like me can manage.

 

[PeteHam]

It seems I'm not alone.

A mate gave me a 32nd scale F-14 for my 40th birthday.

That's over 20 years ago and it's still only half built and I haven't touched it for nearly 20 years.

Another thing in storage, waiting .....

Pete.

 

[andersel]

Tim - a look at your situation from a slightly different perspective might be somewhat illuminating. In the distant past, before my eyesight started to fail, and before my hands stopped working correctly, I used to be a model builder. Like a lot of the other guys I had boxes and shelves filled with model kits. At least one partially completed one on my work table. The same was true when I started fiddling around with R/C planes, too. I just loved to chop balsa wood. But over the years I figured out something about myself that, upon further reflection, seemed to apply pretty much across the board. To whit; I really enjoy the process justas much as the product. Perhaps more so. So think of your partially completed kit(s), and those just waiting for your attention, as delayed gratification. The longer the process the better it will make you feel. And, after the model is finished, what do you do? You don’t just sit and look at it. You start building another kit! Think of it all as a continuum. A loooooong one!

LA

 

[OBIO]

andersel

You hit the nail on the head with this statement:

I really enjoy the process justas much as the product.

This is especially true with my paint kits development. I have 3 folders of paint kits on my external HD, another folder on my secondary (D) drive and maybe 10 CDs/DVDs full of archived paint kits. I really enjoy the technical aspect of creating a paint kit....laying out the panel lines, enhancing the details, creating layer after layer of work in Photoshop. I think I enjoy that aspect of painting sim aircraft more than I enjoy actually painting the sim aircraft. I have so many completed and nearly completed paint kits for so many planes that it is a downright shame that I have not used those paint kits to produce new skins for the planes I made the kits for. A case in point...the C-82 and C-119 by Daisuke Yamamoto. I have paint kits done for both planes...yet have not completed a single new skin. Brian Gladden's C-140....have a paint kit for it done and not a single new paint. And I have a paint kit done for Brian's C-140 that turns it into a C-120 (full cloth covered wings, no flaps) with the optional D window (since it is part of the model and can not be removed via painting.

The model kits....they were bought at a thrift store for cheap....none have the instruction sheets and most have parts missing. Once done, they will just be ceiling hangars....something to add a little air power to my sim room.

OBIO

 

[Naismith]

My better half 3 Xmas's ago bought me a Tamiya Bismarck, relevant paints & cement, because apparantly I am difficult to buy for and she figured I like aircraft then I had to like ships too. It sits unopened on the top shelf of the closet. Maybe one day.....

 

[TARPSBird]

Whether it's actual plastic kit modeling or virtual modeling, I like the concept of "good enough". If it looks good to you and you're happy with the results, it's good enough. I know some modelers enjoy the challenge of detailing an airplane, tank or ship to the Nth degree, but you don't have to be that nit-picky in order to have fun.
When I worked in HO scale in my model train hobby I was too pre-occupied with detailing, as if everything had to stand up to close inspection. Other HO modelers seemed to have the same affliction. So I switched to N scale and Lionel 3-rail O gauge. N is small enough that you don't need to mess with a lot of detailing to make your layout look good. With Lionel nobody expects super-detailing so it's no big deal.
Bottom line: Did the plane go together OK? No real obvious blobs of plastic cement? Does the paint job look good? Decals in the right places? There ya go, good enough!

 

[Willy]

I started a 1/144 Boeing B377 Stratocruiser about 10 years ago that I've never finished. My eyes just can't deal with that small a scale anymore.

Also have a '30s TWA DC-3 that just needs the decals put on. It's been that way for 4 years.

 

[wombat666]

I'm still scratch building large scale cars (1:12th and 1:6th) for a select few clients.
Great for financing my own self indulgent projects.
Current build is a 12th scale 1961 Ferrari 156 'Sharknose' Formula 1 car, knocking up the body from aluminium sheet is proving a challenge .........

The only styrene I bother with these days are the brilliant 'Wing-nuts' 1:32 scale Great War series, obviously produced by a company with much love and enthusiasm.

 

[Ferry_vO]

When I was young I made quite a few kits (Aircraft, cars, tanks, trucks) but very few survive. A few months ago I started again with two models. One (Italeri YF-12) is almost done, it just needs a few more decals. The other (Revell Heinkel He-70) was a really mess and needed lots of filing, sanding, filling etc etc! It ended up in the garbage bin before it was completely finished but I enjoyed the time I spent trying to complete it. It was a cheap kit anyway..

 

[PRB]

Here's the current state of my model building hobby. Lots of unfinished work, and un-started for that matter. Once my move is complete I'd like to get back to work on that 1/350 USS Missouri kit you see there. Some of you people will recognize the shape of the USS Tennessee (or California or West Virginia) resin type hull. Those models are beautiful, once completed, but they sure are more work than your run-of-the-mill Tamaya plastic kits.

 

[Odie]

I just came to this sad realisation: They could build a real North American T-6 Texan in less time that it has taken me to get a model of one built half way.

Today, I finished packing the stuff in my office/sim room closet, which included about 10 model kits that I bought 3 or 4 years ago. Deb asked me why I didn't pack away the partially completed Texan model...and that lead to the discussion on the likelihood that I will ever finish the darn thing. I have been working on this model for 3 years....and it still needs the engine, cowl and prop installed, landing gear doors installed, canopy installed, lower wing surfaces brushed with a aluminum/silver mix I made up, and the decals applied (that is if they have not dry rotted by this point).

So, 3 years to have an uncompleted T-6 Texan model versus how many real Texans being built every day back in the 40s?

Good thing I wasn't a worker in the North American factory that built the Texan....we'd have a line of 80 and 90 year old men waiting for me to finish their training aircraft so they could go off to fight in WW2.

OBIO

Oh, don't get me started on the cabinets full of UNSTARTED models that I have at home! At least you got one started, OBIO! I just collect them with the intent of putting them together....:mixedsmi:

 

[jhefner]

Whether it's actual plastic kit modeling or virtual modeling, I like the concept of "good enough". If it looks good to you and you're happy with the results, it's good enough. I know some modelers enjoy the challenge of detailing an airplane, tank or ship to the Nth degree, but you don't have to be that nit-picky in order to have fun.

When I worked in HO scale in my model train hobby I was too pre-occupied with detailing, as if everything had to stand up to close inspection. Other HO modelers seemed to have the same affliction. So I switched to N scale and Lionel 3-rail O gauge. N is small enough that you don't need to mess with a lot of detailing to make your layout look good. With Lionel nobody expects super-detailing so it's no big deal.
Bottom line: Did the plane go together OK? No real obvious blobs of plastic cement? Does the paint job look good? Decals in the right places? There ya go, good enough!

That's the level I strove for when I built plastic models before, and when I am building planes for MSFS. I like to think my FS planes are about like the 1/72 Monogram and Revell kits I used to build; not incredibly detailed, but good enough to represent what they looked like. And usually just fine for obscure planes I focus on; I leave the micro detailed models of more familiar planes to those with more skill and time.

I only have about an hour a weekday; maybe several on a Saturday to work on them. So, it takes me forever to do what I do; one with such a level of detail would take me years. At least my FS models don't have glue smears and messed up decals; my pride and joy in modeling was a Dodge Daytona that had no glue smears, and I had painted the numbers on the dashboard gauges with a toothpick, and detailed the engine. Even in photographs, it looked realistic.

And yes, it is the modeling process that I find enjoyable. Where I get bogged down is in the detail texturing; usually in the VC. It take self discipline for me to finish a project through to completion, rather than setting it down half-finished and picking up another project to start on.

I know my virtual hanger is piling up with planes that close to being completed, but set aside because I was getting hung up on getting the last details right. I am trying to focus on finishing those before I pick up something else; I am tempting myself by gathering research materials for future projects.

-James