lowfly

I bought a bigger mat and it just allowed me to put more stuff on it to clutter up the work area.

I regret to say that I have also disproved the "bigger mat" hypothesis. The clutter around the edges completely obscures where the mat ends and the table begins.   

Greg

I just had a thought. My modeling space tends to end up being about the size of my cutting mat. So maybe buy a bigger mat??

Interesting family history, GM.

 

LOL..Tried that and the third law states that no matter what size your work area is it will always be reduced.  I bought a bigger mat and it just allowed me to put more stuff on it to clutter up the work area.

GMorrison

 

Quantifying moment: did you go down with dad to the store to "put the tubes on the tester"?

When the TV picture started to shrink in size, my Dad and I would pull ALL of the tubes out of the TV and go to the local Walgreens. My Dad would stick each tube into the appropriate socket in the tube tester and I would push the "test" button. If a tube was bad he would buy a new one. Then we would return to our house and replace all of the tubes and hope for the best.

snapdragonxxx

6. Completed builds are never properly appreciated.

Now that is a fact. All the work and money put into a build then it goes on the shelf and forgotten. 

Jim's Laws of Modelling

1. Available bench space is always half the size of the kit your building.

2. A tidy up and clear out never works and is a waste of time unless you actually find a part you needed 2 years ago!

3. Anything that can go wrong or doesn't fit is always your fault and not the build.

4. No matter what, all painting ends up being done twice!

5. Decals are a total pain!

6. Completed builds are never properly appreciated.

That's a first!  Resurrecting your own zombie thread.   It's a good thread though. 

My Grandfather the modeler, born August 23, 1904.

I keep pushing stuff off to the sides, and it keeps coming back. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was living in some modeling horror movie.

modelcrazy

One grandfather build houses and furniture, the other repaired TV's. My dad was and electronics tech, model railroader, and RC flyer. I guess I take after all 3 as I was a home builder, electronics tech, RC flyer and modeler. It must be in the genes.

Steve

 

I agree about the bug running in the genes. My grandfather did a little model railroading way back in the day which got my father into model railroading. His interests in model railroading eventually led to an interest in control line and R/C modelling (particularly R/C planes). My dad dabbled a bit in plastic modelling, but only 1/25 cars and not very often. I remember the weekly (and sometimes bi-weekly) trips to our LHS as a kid with my dad and my older brother and although I was interested in the R/C side if the hobby for a short period of time, I always managed to venture over to the scale model kit aisle (my brother always made his way to the train section and has been a model railroader for more than 30 years now) and soon I was building model kits left and right. Now, in my middle-age, I'm still a scale modeller and am not an R/C or train guy. My teenage son expressed interest in building a kit several years back and now builds 2-3 kits per year when he has the time. My youngest son (grade school aged) is also now expressing interest as well (although he's too young to be dabbling in plastic cement and sharp objects, but might explore a snap kit for him), so it seems as if it may be in the genes. 

The only time I can work ina 2' x 2' space is when my club gets together fora group build day.  I'm very lucky in that I have a large rec room all to myself in the basement (my dogs come down and keep me company).  My work bench is 2' x 7' long plus a 3 shelf book shelf and I only allow two models in progress on my workbench at any one time.

GMorrison

HAH!

This picture from an online article elsewhere about a visit to Revell. The article is here:

http://craftsmanship.net/parts-recreation/

Ed Sexton, Senior Manager at Revell

Hey!! Is that a Tamiya kit he's working on??

WOW ! !  T.B.

tankerbuilder

Yeah Greg ;

That would've been me , forty years ago maybe .

TB, yep. Plus my back aches now off and on from all the hunching.

PS, I saw the gentleman in the pic we are discussing at the Revell booth over the weekend. It was odd, as we were discussing his picture in this thread.

Yeah Greg ;

That would've been me , forty years ago maybe .

Now THAT looks familiar! (the usable workspace, I mean)

But the similarities end with Mr Sexton gluing whilst sitting straight up, without glasses. I'm usually hunched over looking through the OptiVisors.

HAH!

This picture from an online article elsewhere about a visit to Revell. The article is here:

http://craftsmanship.net/parts-recreation/

Ed Sexton, Senior Manager at Revell

My entire work bench is 2 square feet.

Gary ;

Hey we have the same first name ! Yeah , till 1978 I had to model in a tie or my Co-owner would hit the roof .He would tell me I was being un-proffessional .I bought his half out and except on " special " nights with my ladies , ties are verboten !

That is a great story and cool pics!   I am really impressed to see your grandfather modeling in a tie.  How elegant!  Thanks for the great thread.

Gary

Great photo...good to see it runs in the family.  And I'm convinced someone needs to market a bigger cutting mat- like 3 x 2

THat's great, G...always cool to find evidence of a love for someting tha has been passed down. My own grandfather played guitar....

Now , G.M.

That is touching and funny .  My workspace  was at one time , every modelers dream . A 40' bench and a 15 ft.swivel table in the center with lighting . Plus a 48" x 60 " paint booth  ! Power tools galore . You know what ? My best work has always been produced on a space and in a space like I have now , 24"x 24" no matter the size of the model !    T.B.

Those are great photos GM, thanks for sharing with us. Alas, no modeler in my family but me...

Yes i put my coffee mug on the flat area of my bench vise.Just wide enough to hold the mug securely.

I was probably 20 years old before I saw another modelers bench and was amazed at how similar it (and every one since) was to what I had.  

Since we plop ourselves down in a chair and work on a subject directly in front of our mugs I guess workspace design has as much to do with how long our arms are as much as anything.

Greg

I just had a thought. My modeling space tends to end up being about the size of my cutting mat. So maybe buy a bigger mat??

When I got back to this hobby, I bought a nice 170 cm x 80 cm IKEA desk as a workbench.  But my modeling space is about the size of my 50 cm x 30 cm cutting mat. 

Greg, as Spock would say, your logic is unassailable.

i was in IKEA with friends and i saw some of the compact apartment setups. a friend asked if i could live in one of those and i said "XSure, as long as i have a 1000 sq ft garage attached to it.