what is your mood when modeling

I have a colleague (also another Police Officer)  That got into modelling because he found it a good way to de-stress at the end of his shift.  He found that the repetitive nature of modelling (ever tried sanding seams on a 1/48 B1-B Lancer ?)  helped him wind down at the end of the day.  A Psychologist friend told me this is true as it allows parts of the brain that handle more complex tasks to shut down (so to speak)  while you attend to something simple.  Anyhoo, it works for me.  While I've sat down at the bench p***** off at something more than once, I never get up from the bench feeling p***** off.

Sometimes I go to the bench mad at the world (or someone/something in particular). By the time I figure out what type of music I'm in the mood for, look around at all the WIP's on the bench to see which one to work on, and get everything out to work on it, I've calmed down and ready to work (elapsed time = 1 to 15 minutes).

Jim 

Aha !

   You hit that nail on the head squarely ! Many times I hit the bench ( figure of speech, now ) I am so pissed at the world I want to spit ! Then to my surprise, I decide to do something I would not normally do. As in super-detailing an aircraft .

Remember,  I only worked on real aircraft for six years and that was cockpit arrangement, lay-out and finish assembly ! Then I would look up. Hours had passed, something new existed on the bench, and I was as calm as a clam !  How do you know when a clam is happy ? you can see all along the edges of their shells , all those widdle biddy ( Blue ) eyes staring back at you .

       But, like Don said, wood work is relaxing too .I sometimes pick one of the many oak or cedar blocks I have laying around ( last count 372 ) and try to see if there's a life sized humming-bird inside .There usually is too .That is very calming .Like an altered state ? Yes !       T.B.

Like Rex I don't model if I am too riled up.  While I do model for relaxation, I have learned to do something else if I am too uptight.  The mood that the modeling puts me in depends a lot on the task I have to do.  I find airbrushing not too relaxing. It can be a tension-producing thing, especially when applying a gloss finish.  Removing masking tape can be a very frustrating task.  I pull tape off with fingers and it sticks to fingers!  Taking it off those fingers causes it to stick to other fingers!

I find the most relaxing task is carving. I sometimes build whole models from wood, or make major parts for conversions in wood.  Once I start carving wood, some other part of my brain takes over, and I don't think about the carving. Instead my mind wanders and drifts into all sorts of subjects.  Sort of like meditating, an altered state!

I don't sit at the modeling desk when I am bothered.  I sit at this desk at those times, few as they are these days.  I reach out to the side and pull out any aircraft book I see, at random.

After just a little while, I am usually digging through this stack, looking for specific books or articles that somehow linked to what I started with.  Before too long, I have made another sheet of notes on some aircraft version, and am ready to walk on over to the modeling desk.

The rare times that I get angry, I grab a rubber mallet and a couple of tire irons,  and I change a tire by hand,,,,,,,,that has always "worn me out and calmed me down"

Rex

Relaxed,but workman like

...unless its a Classic Airframes kit...then it is the plastic's fault...

checkmateking02

I find it too easy to take a bad mood out on the kit  , so I avoid building unless things are basically copacetic.

After all, it's not the plastic's fault.  

Ha!

I find it too easy to take a bad mood out on the kit  , so I avoid building unless things are basically copacetic.

After all, it's not the plastic's fault.  

When I am upset, sometimes hitting the bench helps. Other times I just can't hold any concentration and walk away.

I like the former better than the latter.

I'M MAD RIGHT NOW. DOES THAT ANSWER THE QUESTION?