Seb -
A veteran newbie? Isn't that an oxymoron, like military intelligence?
Welcome to the forum - there's a lot of ideas and techniques and other stuff bouncing around in here - have a look and you'll find something that'll help you - I guarantee it.
If you think you're not any good at modelling, I can also guarantee there isn't a single person who looks at this forum who was entirely happy with their first serious attempts at modeling - I know I wasn't.
I was 4 or 5 when I started building and loved every minute and loved every model - many ended up being repaired 10 or 12 times before I eventually destroyed them. I got pretty serious in my teens and realized I couldn't really paint and decal worth a damn...........It's really only in the last 15 years or so that I've been building models that will take trophies at contests (I don't enter them, though). The important thing is to enjoy it, and if your current model is better than your last, then what a bonus! I now build almost exclusively on a contract basis for collectors (haven't built a model for myself in almost 4 years) , and even when I'm embarrassed at the quality of my work, my clients are astounded at the detail and finish. We're always our own harshest critics - so you might think your models aren't very good, but I bet they look pretty alright compared to some of my early creations. Take some pictures and post them on the forum. We all like to see other peoples work. Go for it -
Cheers
LeeTree