So it happens to all of us. Summer rolls around and your hobby room is emptier than your wallet after a trip to the hobby store. Not that there aren’t kits and everything else in there that you could possibly need, it’s just missing YOU.

Hey, its summer, why would you be indoors? Why indeed?

I have written on this subject many times before. There are just low points in your hobby interest. Sunny days, boats, motorcycle and convertibles are all good reasons for those low points, but for most folks its kids, grad parties or the “honey-do” list.

It’s ok, really I mean that. Sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder and sometimes a time away and doing other things will really help you when you are once again ready to jump back in and build.

But all is not lost. One thing I’ve found about summer is that I find a good amount of time to read or do research. After all you can basically take books or magazines just about anywhere, can’t you?

Also summer is a great time for air shows. We have a couple right here in town that can be a lot of inspiration. You can meet some of the guys that fly the planes you model, you can photograph actual aircraft in great detail or you can just walk around and listen to people talk smart about the aircraft that they are looking at.

Another thing to do during the summer (this is the classic killing two birds with one stone deal) is to spend a bit of extra time at Home Depot (or whatever your local hardware store/ lumber yard is) and look around for tools that you may be able to use for modeling. I keep an eye out for specials on router bits for my milling machine. They are pretty spendy generally, but if you catch them on sale you can pick them up for a song. So when you are there looking for that new rake or lumber to fix the fence, take a walk through the tool aisle and see what treasures you can come up with.

Also, watch places like Micro-Mark, Amazon or Barnes and Noble for sales. Summer is a big sale time for “specials” and extra discounts.

Last but not least, keep an eye on Ebay. Summer is by far the best time of year for modelers to get real steals on items. There are far less buyers and there are still a lot of guys out there selling. Also the odds of getting into big bidding wars are really diminished.

Enjoy your summer! (Nope, no shut-up and builds today!) I’ll be down at the farm with my dogs if anyone is looking for me.

-Dave