Just getting back into model building, I am in awe of some of the work out there that I see. And there's so much more to learn.  It ain't like when I was a kid.... a couple of bottles of paint, maybe a spray can or two, and hope for the best!  Even though I have not been actively building till about a month ago, I've been collecting kits for some time.  So now, my decision process is simple.... what kit will give me the opportunity to try out new skills and techniques, but I won't care if I mess it up?  That's the one that goes to the head of the line!

And many thanks to Alex modeling and you tube!  So informative!

Now that's a good reason to choose a kit!

This morning about 10ish or so a F-16 from Homestead AFB buzzed over my home. I have a few Hasegawa 1/48 F-16 kits in my stash for some time now its time to build one from the 482nd FW. soon.

I usually build aircraft from WWI to WWII. German,Japanese and the U.S..I just finished Hasegawas 1/48 scale SH-2 Seaking. I wanted something different and now in the process of building JJ Models The Essence of Freedom figure kit from my stash. I usually look at my stash open a few kits look at the color schemes and go from there. Sometimes it is quite hard to decide what to build next. I retired from the Navy and I also build naval aircraft from the 50's through the Viet Nam war and a little beyond.

I'm usually inspired by a book or a movie with the broad subjuct, then it's a matter of digging through the stash to find one in that category with sufficiently interesting box art and decent product reviews.

I ask myself what kit I'd like to finish building in a years time and start on that one...

Usually I will find a kit I like online and order it or I'll look up and something will speak to me. I usually build to test a technique or do a diorama so I pick a suitable kit. A lot of my backlog is kits I fancied online but lost the spark when it arrived.

My most recent selection was for the Dirty robot group build and I had four potentials. I asked myself what kit of the four was most likely to stay in the backlog if I didn't build it and picked that one. Much harder to drop it if I'm building along with others.

mightymax

I have a large stash and believe it or not this makes it difficult to decide. I wish it was like when I was a kid. I would get on my bike and ride up to Art's Hobby Shop on 35th Street. My next build was the one with the coolest boxart.and my allowance would cover. Max Bryant

 

Boy ain't that the truth! Except I went to Poriar's hobby/furniture store in Lowell Mass.

Typiclaly I would start something new right after I've painted a few parts of the prevoise build which would allow those parts ample time to dry.

Aha!

    Well, I will second your opinion on the race cars. I too, think the older ones have more " Panache" I guess!

I'm not sure how I decide on what to build. I recently participated in the 80 Years of Airfix group build and I built a dozen 1/72 scale kits I ignored in the past. One of those kits was the new tool Airfix P-51D flown by Bruce Carr, Angels' Playmate. I had met Bruce back in the '90s, before he passed. Right now I am enamored with the Cactus Air Force on Guadalcanal. I have a Hobby Boss 1/48 F4F-4 on the bench to be followed by a Hasegawa 1/48 Bell P-400. After those two kits I'm not sure. Maybe a couple of Red Tail Mustangs. I have a folder on my desktop full of pictures of airplanes from WWII training bases here in Florida that I might build a couple of. So I guess how I choose my next build is really a matter of whim.

Impulse, 'wild hair'...or whatever I saw last night on the History Channel. I've found the child-like excitement of 'I want to do that!' is a great antidote to the hemming and hawing that comes from over-thinking (or over-analyzing) a prospective project.

Interesting question.  A variety of reasons.  Being new I build one at a time.  The first kit was Revells F18E Super Hornet in 1/48 from Hobby Lobby.  It was cheap and the best from a limited lot.  The current build and the one next are inspired from reading Graig Symonds The Battle Of Midway.  It’s Tamiya‘s A6M2 Zero and F4F Wildcat.  Both 1/48.

Also in the stash is Tamiya F189 Ferrari driven by Mansell and Berger.  this was a no brainer loving formula 1 racing.  The older cars to me look more beautiful than the modern F1 machines.

A few nights ago I was watching Netflix Speed and Angels on F14 Tomcat pilots.  Decided I need to build a Tomcat.  I think I’ll try AMK‘s offering.

Usually something I see being done here, if I have it on hand, or a GB.  Then I get distracted by the next thing.....kind of the "SQUIRREL!!!!!" thing, and go after that.  

Needless to say, my shelf of doom is overflowing.

I have 4 or so going at a time.  Just finished two, a dragster and a hammerhead shark.   Close to wrapping up a late war Hellcat and mid paint on my f-4j for the vietnam group build.  Just starting on a dodge dart drag car.  And theres the Titanic that sits and mocks me.

So I'm all over the place.  I do also enjoy the group builds.  I have a few trainers to get started on and a jayhawk for the vtol build.  

I have no system whatsoever.  Total chaos rules my workbench.  Or sometimes a whim will do it.  But no system.

I build one at a time. after I've taken photo's of the finished build, I look on the shelves for the next one, or if I've seen a kit I really want to build under £20 (I'm a pensioner)and on ebay UK, I wait for it to come, do a lot of photo research of the real thing in the meantime, and get on with it when it arrives.

I plan my builds out in advance, 12 builds in blocks of 6. This way i make sure i have everything i need, especiallky for diorama's. There are several subjects that i ai to do at least 1 of each year, a 251 halftrack, one other German armour, a Norfolk airfield build and a Stuka or Ju 88. I then just fill in the rest depending on GB's and what takes my fancy.

I can tell you now what i will be doing the rest of this year and i already have an idea of what i am aiming to do next year.

I usually have two to three on the bench at one time. One of them is typically a ship, and the other one or two sometimes helps as a diversion of said ship.
Mostly I chose for GB's. I'll look to see what I have that matches and then of those, what stands out to me at the time.

Everyones reasons relate to me, but to answer your question..

How do you choose your "next build"?

It comes down to my thoughts and impulses that trigger my nerve endings. Basically I use my hands to reach out to my stash..... 

With my hands of course! 

Ben 

Hey, You talkin ta me?

   Yeah, I pretty much driven by what the Museum needs. But for me I pick one that's either started and go a few more steps. Or, I just pick up something that I stashed because it looked neat!

I guess I'm mostly driven by the GB's here. A topic comes along that just strikes my fancy and I have an available kit for and go for it. Although not always the case and sometimes I'll just go with something I simply got a hankerin' for. That may be why my stash contains a cornicopia of subjects, genres and scales.

I usually limit myself to one build at a time or else I'll get side tracked on one project while another stalls.

For choosing the next subject, sometimes I have a clear idea of what I want to do next and other times I am staring at the stash for an evening (or two). My wife laughs at me when she sees me doing it.

But other times, if I am reading a book or seeing a documentary that will inspire me as well.

I limit myself to 2 builds going at a time. Bandai Star Wars kits quickly accumulated in my stash so I have a Star Wars build going then something else. 

The "something else" depends my mood when I'm done with the last thing. 

T e d

Whatever falls off the hoarde- um stash and cloats me up side the head... 

Actually, my reasons are the same as all of the above. I have quite a stock of paints and glues so I don't even think about that. Recently, I've been thinking about building one of the stick and tissue models I have. Haven't done that for a long time. Might be fun. If I do, I'll just take one off the top of the pile and get to work on it. 

Jim  

Stay safe.

I have a small stash and I just have them stacked in the order I want to build them. Sometimes though if I have an excruciating build I'll find a simple easy one to do afterwards.