It was time to quit modeling. Not just quit for the evening, but for good. This didn’t seem like a life’s event to take lightly, after all I have a couple hundred kits yet to build, I have references that need referring to and most of all, I need validation! While all these things are true, a couple months ago the thought of quitting crossed my mind in a very serious way.

I had just finished a couple of Tamiya Spitfires and they had turned out ok. I was working on the next aircraft of my captured collection, a Fine Molds Judy, along with another Spit and a FM-2 conversion when it hit me. I’m just stinkin’ bored with modeling.

Now this feeling hits at least once a year, when dog training season hits (we train hunting dogs and run in competition events). Training takes up 3-4 nights a week and at least one day a weekend. It doesn’t leave much time for other things. In past years this has bitten into my modeling time, but I’ve always had the urge to go back to the hobby room and work a couple hours a week. In fact I kind of obsessed about it. This year was different.

It was different in that I really stopped caring about airplanes (gasp!). I had no idea when or where the air shows were, or even if there were any. I felt like I was dragging myself to the hobby room to work on stuff. Looking at my shelves of doom, there was nothing there that I could get really excited about. I was starting to worry a bit.

Then one Saturday, while out on a hobby shop tour with the boys, I picked up a small scale armor kit (a Revell Sherman). I figured that worst case I would add a field element to my shelf of doom.

I brought the kit home and broke open the box and started to build. I have to admit that I felt like a little kid again. I had no references and really had no idea what I was doing; I just knew I was having fun. Everything got cut out and painted, then assembled. It was pretty cool. After playing around with some weathering and putting a final flat coat on I stood back and looked and declared it “cool”.

Total elapsed time for this exercise was about five hours. A normal aircraft takes me 40+ hours each. Hmm, I wonder why this was so enjoyable. For the last three months I’ve had a ball building armor of various shapes and sizes. It’s like when I got back into modeling ten years ago; heck it’s more like being twelve again only this time without the firecrackers!

So the theme for this month is to try to find something in your modeling that will be fun. For some reading this, that’s not a problem, you’re having a ball. For others you have experienced what I have and are just looking for a change. I would suggest small scale armor, but building a car may be your thing or a sci-fi model who knows. It just has to be something that you have an interest in and are willing to try.

Will I quit building planes? For a while. However, I’m back to being pretty geeked about Eduard’s release of a Ki-115 in 1/48th, so I think I know what will bring me back to things with wings! I know I didn’t feel that way a couple months ago.

So if you are having fun modeling, shut up and build! If you are in the modeling doldrums shut up and go build something different!

-Dave

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