Don't sweat lack of perfection

I build for myself. If others like what I've done, great. If not, tough noogies. It doesn't bother me at all. I build to my own expectations and nobody else's. Do I dislike rivet counters who whine about a build but never post anything of their own? Absolutely. Do I accept constructive criticism? Always. Do I try to get better with every build? Yes. Do I get frustrated / upset if there's a boo-boo? Who doesn't. Do I enter contests? On occasion. Do I win? Sometimes? Do I sulk if I don't win? Nope. I seek out the builder and ask for pointers so I can get better myself. This is a hobby and it's supposed to be fun, relaxing and a stress reliever. I know it is for me.

Having said that, I know a guy who builds a fantastic, museum quality model. I approached him at a club meeting once and asked him for some pointers on a few things. He basically told me to 'get stuffed' but not in those exact words. He has such a high opinion of himself that he expects to win every contest he enters. He has an arrogant 'Hey look at me! I won again!' swagger / saunter as he walks to the awards table when he wins. If he doesn't win, or gets beaten out by a better model, he has a hissy fit and blames the judges and everyone else for his not winning. It was very rewarding to see him put in his place when a Best in Show Award and a trip to Tamiyacon was about to be announced. He stood up and started to walk to the front of the room before the winner's name was called and another winner was chosen over him. He just about blew a gasket. His child like antics have alienated him from alot of people. That is NOT the kind of model builder I want to be.

RadMax8

 I think in the back of my mind there’s this notion that I should be better than I was years ago, and since my bench time is so limited now, I feel the pressure to maximize it, so I don’t build anything. 

Is is that weird, or what? I need to take the advice issued in this thread and just cut loose. 

 

I can relate to this statement.  In my retirement I've been trying to "hobby" without pressure and, it is proving very hard to do.  At least for me.  Yes, I am somewhat a perfectionist which really causes the majority of my troubles but, I'm glad to see that others face the same issues.  Maybe there is something that I'm just as good at !

RadMax8

 I think in the back of my mind there’s this notion that I should be better than I was years ago, and since my bench time is so limited now, I feel the pressure to maximize it, so I don’t build anything. 

Is is that weird, or what? I need to take the advice issued in this thread and just cut loose. 

 

I can relate to this statement.  In my retirement I've been trying to "hobby" without pressure and, it is proving very hard to do.  At least for me.  Yes, I am somewhat a perfectionist which really causes the majority of my troubles but, I'm glad to see that others face the same issues.  Maybe there is something that I'm just as good at !

I started building “seriously” when I was in high school. I had the time to devote to a hobby, and was a veritable sponge to any new knowledge I could find. That trickled into college, and by the time I was done with school, I was a damn good modeler (in my own humble opinion ha). I entered my local contest a number of years, came away with some ribbons. But it was never about that for me, I just took my builds to throw on the table, see what stuck, and go blow money in the vendor section. 

I took a hiatus when I started working because I didn’t have a good bench space in my apartment. When I moved into a house, I started getting my work space together. My wife and I built a house, and I’ve got my own room (on the first floor even!) but something odd has happened... I feel more pressure to be “perfect” now than I ever did entering contests. It causes a paralysis and I end up losing bench time because of it. I think in the back of my mind there’s this notion that I should be better than I was years ago, and since my bench time is so limited now, I feel the pressure to maximize it, so I don’t build anything. 

Is is that weird, or what? I need to take the advice issued in this thread and just cut loose. 

Hi,

Our hobby is all about having fun and experiencing the enjoyment of building our models. IMHO,  what we do is build an impression of the real thing, not a perfect minature of the real thing, as that would be impossible.I'm a retired architect. Architects tend to have a strange association with perfection. If you hired an architect and told him (her) that they could work on your design until it was perfect, the architect would work on your design until they died. Their last words would be, "But it is not yet perfect". When I first started building models I tried to make them perfect. That was no fun and was very frustrating. As soon as  I stopped trying to build the perfect model I started having fun. 

The particular kit may determine how much perfection it is worth trying to obtain.  If I am building a kit with major flaws (bad fit, lack of detail, etc) I have a choice. Is this kit worth putting the effort into that would bring it up to a prize winner?  If not, I either do not enter it into a contest, or else accept that it will not be a prize winner, though maybe I want to show it as a neat and unusual airplane.

I like to enter contests, but realize awards are influenced as much by the subject and quality of the kit as by the art of the builder.  I accept that.

plasticjunkie

Well I’m the minority here. I do build for enjoyment and relaxation but will enter competitions to see how well I do. If I win then that is fantastic, but if not, no big deal to me.

Don't get me wrong.  The contests are great - the more models on the tables the better as it promotes the hobby.  I really enjoyed going to contests and meeting folks - so much goodness.  I've just personally pivoted - maybe too lazy to go to meetings and contests ...lol.  AMS had something to do with it as well ;)

Well back in the day, 1978-to 2014, I did build with contests and clubs in mind.  I won a bunch of awards. I went to few Nationals and judged there to. I still am pres. of an IPMS chapter and I used to judge at various contests. I was head armor judge at a few.  That's were I learned a lot of modeling skills from.  Now I just build for enjoyment.  I stll have the skill set to make me very happy.  I just dont care if some little kit errors are there.  In fact, i just built a kit I built way back in 1959 when I was in 5th grade.  It was a Revell kit of the USS Forestall, I bought with money I borword from my Dad, who really got me into modeling.  I did pay him back.  The old kit I got was a auction item I got for a buck or so years ago. Of course it was the USS Ranger redone with Phalanx missiles and gatling guns and more modern AC.  Both times building it were fun, for different reasons of course. I did do it OTB.  My mine point is that IPMS and other modelers are  very helpful in learning how to put these little pieces of plastic together.  Of course Fine Scale magazine does help as well. 

Well I’m the minority here. I do build for enjoyment and relaxation but will enter competitions to see how well I do. If I win then that is fantastic, but if not, no big deal to me. 

John, tankboy51, Eagle90, Bruce, and goldhammer,

Thanks for your comments. I guess what I continue to find while building models is that the learning curves - whether easy or steep - are part of the enjoyment of this hobby and that being able to look at a finished kit that has been a challenge gives me a measure of satisfaction that keeps me in the game. That goes for some of my models that did not turn out very well.

Even the models I've trashed after having made some errors for which I don't yet posses the skills to have recovered usually cause me to think about what went wrong and how I might have either avoided the mistake(s) or corrected them. That in itself is, I believe, a sign of healthy progress.

In any case, like you guys say, it's the enjoyment of the hobby that counts.

Mike, I'm like you....I'll continue to hack and whack on plastic for the enjoyment of it.  But I'm trying to hold myself to higher standards on each build and try to improve.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  I don't worry too much about it.

Have heard many horror stories on showing  and judges, and I really doubt I'll ever get into that phase of the hobby.  Had enough of competion in 4x4 racing in my younger days and with what went on it that.

Ha, I look in the mirror everyday and know perfection isn't attainable, so, I don't even try with my model building. I just enjoy the challenge and the experience of building.

Exactly!!!!  It is a hobby to be enjoyed!  I've never entered any of my builds after I went to my first show and saw a teen get dragged through the dirt on his build and heard "judges" scrutinizing an aircraft (that I happened to have worked on for 20 years) who obviously had no idea what they were talking about.

Anyway....this is a fun hobby.  Enjoy your work...enjoy everyone's work, and learn from others...pass on what you've learned.  And you will probably make some great friends along the way.  

Same here.  I haven't competed for years.  I only build for fun.  

Exactly why I took a break and stopped competing.  Enjoy the hobby.