# Desperately Seeking Motivation.



## fubar57 (Apr 22, 2011)

Gadzooks, who'd a thunk. Have about a dozen models in various stages of abuse, spent the last month downloading over 400 books and magazines for reference, read all hobby sites on-line daily and haven't put glue to plastic in about 2 months. I will even go so far as to sit at my table and stare at the instructions. Summer and golf are calling so if any of you can offer some inspirational stories about how you got over my new found plastic phobia, it would be appreciated. (I work 6on/6off so time isn't an issue and have Tamiya to Hobbycraft so the ease and variety is there.)


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## Crimea_River (Apr 22, 2011)

Move to Calgary. It's never summer here.


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## fubar57 (Apr 22, 2011)

Lol...live north of Calgary. Think I have finishing issues. Have a Spitfire that just needs the canopy fitted.(Arii kit, broke the original.) 5 need paint, 2 need decals, and 3 need to be thrown against a wall.


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## Ruud (Apr 22, 2011)

start with the decals. That is easy to do for just a short time, just to get into the swing again. I often find that the "next step" is what will hold me up (starting to paint, canopy clean up/masking). I find it easier to do something if it is just able to be done without a lot of prep work.


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## Lucky13 (Apr 22, 2011)

Just to point out, this is _NOT_ me with a new username.....


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## A4K (Apr 22, 2011)

Jan...


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Apr 22, 2011)

I WAS wondering there for a minute Jan. Fubar, I am suffering from the lack of motivation also but I think mine stems from the fact I am building way to many 1 to 1 scale models. All I can tell you is get back at the table and do something. If that doesn't help you may be outta luck.


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## N4521U (Apr 22, 2011)

First of all, post a list of your unfinished kits, in the order of what to finish first. This would usually be in order of difficulty or ease to finish. This should keep you busy for a day or two! This may be just so we can see how far behind you really are. LOL

And one of two things will transpire..... you will become so depressed you will dismantle your work table, or you will bloody well get crackin!

But then just posting one easy one will make it obligatory to keep you goin..... See my VVS P-40 if you need proof. If I hadn't committed to the GB I would have chucked it just after I started. 

Anyway, good luck mate! You got people here to keep your head above water. Bill


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## A4K (Apr 23, 2011)

Good advice Bill, I could use that myself!


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## N4521U (Apr 23, 2011)

And I should follow my own.


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## Lucky13 (Apr 23, 2011)

I think that my lack of motivation is due to lack of space.... Well, with 2 1/48 B-17's and incomming 1/48 B-24J......Duuuh!


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## N4521U (Apr 24, 2011)

Gosh did we scare him off??????????????


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## Lucky13 (Apr 24, 2011)

Maybe dug such a deep hole, loooking for his missing motivation, that he can't get up....


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## Wurger (Apr 24, 2011)

I would be careful about the deep digging. He can hit an underground resistance movement.


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## Lucky13 (Apr 24, 2011)

I'm sure that he'll be back soon aaand with pics too!


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Apr 24, 2011)

We hope.


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## A4K (Apr 27, 2011)

Yep, and with some of our own too..!


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## mikewint (Apr 27, 2011)

I'm kinda with fubar57 on this one. I'm trying to get the JU88 finished before the weather turns nice. Right now with all the storms/rain I'm working on a 1:1 model of the Ark


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## Crimea_River (Apr 27, 2011)




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## A4K (Apr 27, 2011)

Mike...


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## Airframes (Apr 27, 2011)

After the weather here in the last year, I've got an Ark going spare, FOC --- shipping is extra though !!


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## Wurger (Apr 28, 2011)

You have forgotten Terry...... The Ark Royal.


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## mikewint (Apr 28, 2011)

that's for The Royals though, No?
P.S. Terry, did you get your invite?


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## Airframes (Apr 28, 2011)

I did, but I told them I was busy on Friday !!


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## A4K (Apr 28, 2011)

And rightly so Terry! We can't be having with these young royal upstarts having weddings all over the place and expecting one to turn up at the drop of a hat!
One has standards to uphold...


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## Airframes (Apr 28, 2011)

Absolutely old chap !


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## Lucky13 (Apr 28, 2011)

Probably don't even serve Guinness!


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Apr 28, 2011)

There's always hope Jan.


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## Vic Balshaw (Apr 28, 2011)

There will be plenty of nice frothy stuff and celebration in this house once the whole shebang is over and we can all get back to normality........................




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.....bottoms up chaps!!!!!!!!!!


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Apr 28, 2011)

Why wait till it's over?!


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## Vic Balshaw (Apr 28, 2011)

Suns not over the yardarm yet!!!!!!!.................and I have to cook dinner.


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## fubar57 (May 1, 2011)

Greetings all. Sorry for not responding but when I go to work, it's out of town so I'm away from the interwebs for those days(14 hour days).(enclosed is my ride). Thank you for the positive responses and in the remaining days off I am going to select a project and again attempt to finish it. Reading this thread and others on this site makes me wish we had a model club in this small town(pop. 2500) as I'm sure talking with others would also help me get over this funk. Pix will follow and critics are encouraged. I'm a grown man and can take it. Oh, there may be tears, but it can only make me stronger.


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (May 1, 2011)

I like your ride.


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## BikerBabe (May 1, 2011)

I want one, too! 
Take care, stay safe - and you'll be back home before you know it.


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## Airframes (May 1, 2011)

If that's the 'car' - what the **** is the garage like !!!??!!!


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## N4521U (May 3, 2011)

Can you show us the Ramp to get the little one into the "camper" ?

Holey moley!


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## fubar57 (May 4, 2011)

As haul trucks go, that's a mid-size.(Only holds 200 tons) Anyhoo, after much pondering I've decided to try,try,try to start/finish Hasegawa's 1/48 Hawker Typhoon MkIB. Not liking to finish a model of the masses, this will be converted to the photo-recon version. I'll start a new post in the "Start to Finished" section. Please don't expect this to be a speedy build as I have been unjustly accused of having(Hey!!! Look.....a squirrel) A.D.D.. There is a picture of the plane in the Squadron/Signal In Action Series #102. I've read about the problem with the fuselage insert and think if I get through that, no problemo. Again, thanks again for the responses. Geo


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## N4521U (May 4, 2011)

Hey Geo, we don't Expect anything, it was a short haired squirrel wasn't it, just enjoy the achievements in doing. If you give up red dye no. 2 you'll stop seeing them squirrels. I did a Typhoon for the BoB Gb. Never knew much about them coming from the U.S. Concentrating on the Commonwealth aircraft now. But trying to do a series of USS Yorktown aircraft as I served on it in the early 60's as aircrew with HS-4. Anyway, look forward to seeing the progress on the cam ship. Bill


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## JKim (Jun 28, 2016)

Apologies for dredging up an old post but I thought it'd be more appropriate to tag onto an existing (albeit five year old) discussion than to start a new one. Do you guys find that your motivation is related to the subjects that you are modeling? I've always been a fan of Axis aircraft even as a boy so whenever I stray to do an Allied aircraft, my motivation seems to get kicked down a notch. Being involved in the Group Builds helps a bunch due to the interaction of fellow modelers but I still noticed that my Spitfire 24 build petered out at the end even though the build went very smoothly. Conversely, I was really jazzed with the 1/32 190D-9 build from beginning to end despite the disappoint of throwing out much of the resin that I had planned for it. 

I'm planning to do a P-51B for a friend of mine and since it doesn't fit with the current GB's, I'll be taking it to the Start to Finish board. I'm worried that I'm gonna run out of steam because I'm not a huge Mustang fan.


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## Capt. Vick (Jun 28, 2016)

The beatings will continue until moral improves!


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## Crimea_River (Jun 28, 2016)

I've had motivation issues as well but it tends to be related to how much time I spend on a kit. The longer I spend, the more I want to get it done and over with.

We Canucks also have 4 months of what's called "summer" up here (currently about 1/4 of the way in) in which other pursuits may take precedence. So, for me, I tend to spend a lot less time on the hobby between May and September.


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## Airframes (Jun 28, 2016)

I have similar feelings to Andy, and I'm experiencing it now, with the Mitchell.
Bags of enthusiasm and motivation to start off with, and looking forward to getting the finished model into the planned diorama setting.
But as the build continues to drag on - mainly due to health issues over the past months, I'll admit - I just want to get it done, and move on to other things.
I tend to really 'immerse myself' in the subject, focusing and concentrating on almost nothing else apart from the details, history, background etc of the subject being modelled at the time, so I've vowed to myself that, in the future, I'll restrict this practice to a few 'special' subjects, and try to do more OOB builds, or as near OOB as possible.


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## Crimea_River (Jun 28, 2016)

As much as I'd like to put my models into a dio, I can't get that far past just wanting to complete the kit.


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## Capt. Vick (Jun 29, 2016)

And irony of ironies, I keep chugging along with my hangar build. Has the world gone mad?!?!?


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## fubar57 (Jun 29, 2016)

Well....my thread, my thoughts. I've noticed that you only use the best of kits and you always turn out excellent models. Nothing wrong with that but maybe, somewhere in the back of your mind, something has gotten bored; take perfect piece 'A', glue to perfect piece 'B', paint, repeat, finish. Perhaps occasionally you need a challenge. Grab an early Special Hobby, Classic Airframes(not Terry) or dare I say it.....Hobbycraft. For me, nothing is better than going one on one with a kit that hates me and then at the end of the day after 4lbs of mud and paint have been added, success. Having said that, my next kit is always a Tamiya or something else shake and bake. I've only got 6 more Hobbycraft kits to build and then the curse will be lifted

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## Crimea_River (Jun 29, 2016)

That wouldn't work for me. Mudding and sanding is the worst part of the hobby to me.


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## JKim (Jun 29, 2016)

It's interesting to note the different motivations that we have for building models. As you've noticed Geo, I prefer to work on good kits. Taking a good, solid model and making it even better is a motivating factor for me. Taking a bad kit and making it good... not so much. I'm not sure of the exact connection between the things I am good at and the things that I enjoy doing but there is certainly a connection. Scratchbuilding... forming new parts with different materials... is something that I am not good at. So I will avoid projects that require lots of scratchbuilding. As I get better at certain things, that can change. For example, I feel much better about detail painting around the cockpit area and I even look forward to it now that I've discovered how useful a magnifying loupe and a good set of fine brushes can be.

There is usually something specific about a model that excites me before I start. These form some tangible "targets" for me. They could be the features of a particular resin or photoetch set. Or a particular camo scheme that I envision. It could as simple as a good spiral on a prop spinner or the look of weathered exhausts that have been hollowed. Some things to strive for. I've noticed that if I don't hit those "targets" to my satisfaction, my motivation takes a hit.

But my main point of bringing this up was to ask if the subject matter has any bearing on your motivation. My enthusiasm for Axis fighter aircraft of WW2 is much higher than for anything else. Motivation for those subjects is built-in and I usually don't run into that feeling of having to plod on to the finish, even if the build is challenging. The Spitfire... I just wanted to get it done and that was a VERY GOOD kit that went together without a hitch.


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## Capt. Vick (Jun 29, 2016)

Geo,

Maybe you have gotten all the pleasure you are going to get out of those unfinished kits. Maybe you only enjoy getting them to the point they are at now. And if that is the case, so be it. Maybe you'll come back to them at a future date, maybe not. Point is, it's a hobby for enjoyment and if you're not getting enjoyment out of it at the present time, it's all good.


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## Андрей (Mar 17, 2021)

fubar57 said:


> Gadzooks, who'd a thunk. Have about a dozen models in various stages of abuse, spent the last month downloading over 400 books and magazines for reference, read all hobby sites on-line daily and haven't put glue to plastic in about 2 months. I will even go so far as to sit at my table and stare at the instructions. Summer and golf are calling so if any of you can offer some inspirational stories about how you got over my new found plastic phobia, it would be appreciated. (I work 6on/6off so time isn't an issue and have Tamiya to Hobbycraft so the ease and variety is there.)


 
Coronavirus helped?

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