Spraybooth Logic
Who cares what people think?
 
“I don’t want anyone to see THIS model.”  “Man, this thing is ugly, don’t even bother looking at it.”  “This is embarrassing to have people see this model.”  “Yeah I just finished something, but it doesn’t fit the theme.”  “Geez, when I see your stuff I just get embarrassed by my own.”  “That’s why I quit building.”  “I could never do that.”
 
Sound familiar?  At any model meeting in the country these things are being mumbled by disgruntled and/or frightened modelers.  So, what’s wrong with this picture? For some of you reading this, you’ll say “nothing, I’ve felt the same many times”.
 
Ok boys and girls, get really close to the paper now, Uncle Dave is going to tell you something (I mean it, get closer, NOW!). 
 
SHUT UP!!
 
Now before you go running away crying I want you to repeat after me.  This is only a hobby.  One more time, “this is only a hobby”. 
 
A hobby as defined by the New Concise Dictionary (like I’d have a real dictionary with really long sentences in it) is “an activity carried on for pleasure.”  Now, go back and read the first paragraph, do you see any pleasure in any of those comments?  Well, only if misery truly loves company.
 
What do the above attitudes have in common?  They are all defeatist in nature.   The one I hear most often is “I can’t do natural metal finishes, I really wish I could”.  (Insert evil laugh here)  I have you now, you have accepted your inferiority.  My evil plan is now complete!   My continued validation at contests is guaranteed!!!
 
Being that I’m feeling quite benevolent I will take a paragraph to tell you the secret of Bare Metal Finishes.
 
Put your model together.  Get the scratches and seam lines out.  Spray old silver over the entire model (at least where it’s supposed to be silver).  Let dry four days.  Sand and re-spray spots that are rough.  Mask off a few panels and color them with Alclad.  Unmask and repeat until you get the desired result.
 
Oh, come on Dave, it’s much harder than that.  You’re leaving stuff out to make us look foolish.  You evil evil man! 
 
I’m sorry to say that what is above is exactly how I go about a natural metal finish.  It takes time to get the scratches and seam lines out and it takes additional time to mask for the Alclad, but there are no other hidden secrets.  It ain’t brain surgery.
 
Modeling is a very simple pursuit.  Some plastic, some resin and maybe some photoetch, glue them together and paint.  Granted there are some folks with an extreme amount of talent.  There are artists out there that simply blow your doors off with the things that they do.  But how did they get to where they are?   They saw something they liked and went and asked how it was done or just plain figured it out.  They then applied the technique and practiced (that should read… did it more than once a year) it. 
 
So what pleasures do you get out of our hobby?   Is it winning awards at contests?  Is it seeing the guys once a month?  Is it buying your next “got to have kit for” your shelf of doom?  Is it researching your next project?  Is it the pre-meeting lunch?  Is it assembling/gluing/painting or decaling?   Is it putting that firecracker in the cockpit and blowing that sucker up?
 
We all derive our pleasures from our hobby in different ways, that’s obvious.  One point that isn’t obvious however is that we need to share those pleasures with others that have a clue and not those that try to spin the propeller or roll their eyes when you told them how many hours it took you to finish the model.  We all need each other.  We are in the classic co-dependent relationships.  You are my enabler and I am yours.   These relationships take place in person, over the web and in newsletters throughout the country and the world for that matter. 
 
While we all may have different motivations and different interests and different approaches we all do share one thing, we love modeling.   So the next time you are feeling inferior or you don’t get an award at a contest, take a deep breath and remember why you are modeling. 
 
-Dave