10,000 hours

Not if you don't have the natural ability or aptitude.I could practice a 1000 hours but it doesn't mean I can do brain surgery.I may practice 1000 hrs painting pictures or playing the guitar,but may never become a master.The same with models,you may get Good and be satisfied,but still not be a master.

It's a hobby for me,just try to have fun and be satisfied.

With this particular hobby being an on again-off again kind of thing, I never expect to achieve that pinnacle. That being said, you must remember that there are two more points of view to be considered.

The first is the condition of being adequately pleased with the outcome, despite knowing that if you had put in another bunch of hours it could have been better. none the less, you are content.

The second is the outsiders view; when nonmodelers look at your work and say "Holy Crap, that detail is amazing!!", despite again, you know it could have been better, but you are still content.

A few years back I had the privilege of working with Robert Sumrall, then the supervisor of the ship model shop at Annapolis. When I was told that his people were the ones building the As Sunk model of USS Arizona, for the National Park Service, I recall telling the NPS Superintendent, Gary Summers, that if we find a beer can on the wreck, we'd better let Bob know what brand it is, because he will put it in there. Now that's detail.

Or, you may become a master (whatever that means, let's say very good) in a short period of time. I can think of two or three people on this forum alone who were creating beautiful models within a year. Talent and desire have a lot to do with the more professional skills, which is where I put scale model making.

As opposed to being a great sports player, where a lot of practice makes a big difference. 

I liked the book too. 

Well said.  I do enjoy the hobby for all the right reasons.  It’s an escape for me.  I have fun building and getting away from the grind of 60 hour work weeks.  You posted work on here and youre really good.  I bet you could paint a great picture with 1000 hours of practice.

Cheers

Paul

  If I go by a rule of thumb formula and conservatively take two hours as a reasonable time frame for modeling each day while taking in account the amount of time I might have put into model building in a lifetime of active and inactive periods. I come up with with 44,530 hours of practice........  and that's actually on the low side.

But yet, I'm still far from a master of this skill.

This brings up the old joke about how to get to Carnagie Hall, and the answer is the same.  I know there are many techniques I have perfected in modeling (I've been a model builder continuously for 75 years).  Carving was the first skill- I began scale modeling before plastic kits were available.  I have no idea the number of hours, rather I can think of years.  I believe it was about ten years (and the right tools) before I considered myself an expert carver.  With an airbrush, I would say it took about four or five years.  I now consider myself an Alclad guru, and that took about a similar amount of time- I started using it about the first year it was available.  I learned ship rigging as a teenager- I think it is easier for someone that age to learn new skills.  I considered myself a journeyman on that technique in about five years but that is one task I have continually improved on, and develop new homemade tools and techniques as time goes on.

Oh, 2D CAD was a quicker skill (I do a fair amount of scratch building).  I'd say I was able to convert photos and measurements to do threeviews I needed in about a year.  I am trying to learn 3D CAD now and it is a lot harder.

I do know one thing though from learning from the experts here.

There's a smaller overlap than one might think between building a high quality, well executed and attractive model and building something that catches your eye as a kit and looks like fun as a hobby.

If you said that you'd bought and built the newest XXX kit and you thought it was a good kit, and it interested me, I'd buy it, build it and probably like the results.

But if I bought four of them and built them one at a time, that fourth model would be excellent because I would understand the process and what the realities were of that particular kit. Not as much fun, but if turned into a "job", a better result.

Bill

I've been building kits for 50 years. I build them OK for me.  I paint them alright.   I can't scratch build worth a darn, or do figures.  I do this for the joy of it, and for the friends I've made.  I used to enter contests, that doesn't matter to me anymore.  Just slamming plastic together and painting it is good for me.  I no longer worry about all the details anymore, close enough is good enough. My wife and the cats don't care.

I'll never build a perfect model. I'll just keep slip sliding along doing the best I can with what I've got. I'll always wish I could do better work but at my age .......nope, that will never happen.

Jim 

Stay Safe.

Tojo72

Not if you don't have the natural ability or aptitude.I could practice a 1000 hours but it doesn't mean I can do brain surgery.I may practice 1000 hrs painting pictures or playing the guitar,but may never become a master.The same with models,you may get Good and be satisfied,but still not be a master.

It's a hobby for me,just try to have fun and be satisfied.

 

Some people are great sketch artists the moment they pick up a crayon or pencil. I have a stepdaughter like that. I could practice all I like, but I'd never get close to as good as she was as a young teen. Now she is very much better than I could ever be.

I started model building, which I guess was 1969 or 70, when I was 5 or 6 years old. I used no tools and twisted the plastic parts free and globbed them together with glue.

Later, I used an old pair of nail clippers and an old timer's pocket knife. Eventually getting Testors little glass bottles and a white paint brush.

By the time I'm in my 20s and 30s, I'm trying to replicate every single detail on a model kit.

By the time I'm in my 40s, fixing every little detail isn't as important to me. I still fix things and add detail, but only if I really care about it.

Now that I'm in my 50s, I'm virtually back to building kits out of the box, just drilling out holes, blanking over open spaces, etc.

I'm not having more or less fun than I did, it's just that a different level of effort is required to please me.

Years ago, I was an avid runner. I ran all the time, everywhere, every weather, always trying to improve my time. Today, I tend to jog on occasion, if it's nice out.

WPWAR11;

        Hi. I have built professionally for over forty years. I always think there's something that could've made it better. Of Course that's after the fact. In my own modeling collection I am sure I have some I am inordinately proud of.

 There are certain builds where a certain thing, or group of things are my trademark. Like a fully detailed Wheelhouse in a 1/700 scale Buchanon Class destroyer. Why? Just to see if I could do it to something that small.

    Do I consider myself so good I cannot improve. Not on your life! I will probably learn new stuff and how to do something different till I cannot even enjoy this hobby( Art) anymore. That's the way it is. If you are always trying to build better or challenge yourself, for the most part, you are doing it right!

    When it becomes a burden, then walk away, Knowing you did your best, whether it was a cruddy kit or the most fantastic thing you ever got in a box.

When I was a kid in the 1950s, I told everyone that I wanted to be a jet pilot, specifically an F-86 Sabre pilot, but I knew in my heart that I didn't have the "right stuff" to be any kind of pilot, not if I planned to live my allotted three score years and 10. I could take flying lessons for the next 10,000 hours, or perhaps years, and still not develop the sharp vision, the quick reflexes, the dexterity, the patience, and most importantly the calm self-esteem necessary to be a safe pilot, much less an exceptional pilot. 

I could spend an equal amount of time building models and, and for the same reasons fail to achieve the kind of realism that many other modellers achieve. Nevertheless, I am pleased with the progress I've made, and I'm still approaching each step for each model with a reasonable degree of hope, if not confidence, that I will achieve best appearance possible, for me. And I've already had the pleasure of having people look at my completed models and say, "Wow! That looks so real!" They just need to look a bit more closely, just as some pilots should look more closely at their capabilities.

I chose never to fly with my good friend, Ben, who got his pilot's license soon after retiring at age 65. He seems to have been a "good" pilot, who operated a charter service for hunters in northern British Columbia, but he just didn't have enough experience for me to trust him (not that accidents can't happen to highly qualified, experienced pilots, as I learned from personal experience). Nevertheless, one day Ben took off under less-than-optimal flying conditions; less than a minute later his Cessna, in a vertical dive, plunged into a swamp, killing him outright.

Ben should have been more circumspect in his decision to cater to the desires of his clients, despite the weather. By the same token, model builders, if they wish to enjoy their hobby over the long term, should keep their own limitations in mind, along with the desire to improve the quality of their work as long as that desire doesn't come to feel like an obligation. 

Bob

Tojo72

It's a hobby for me,just try to have fun and be satisfied.

I agreed! I try to do the best job possible, not to impress any one, but, for me to know I have done the best job I can do. If other people like the finish product, then, it is gravy!

Joe

Having-fun

 

 

Tojo72

It's a hobby for me,just try to have fun and be satisfied.

 

 

 

 

 

I agreed! I try to do the best job possible, not to impress any one, but, for me to know I have done the best job I can do. If other people like the finish product, then, it is gravy!

Joe

 

Just because it isn't fun to you doesn't mean it isn't fun to someone else.

When I try to replicate a vehicle I crewed, I was having fun. Today, just casually assembling a kit is fun too.

We all enjoy the hobby of modeling in different ways, I like old sailing ships, others prefer tanks, etc. We all are doing this for the fun of it, it is not a job, so, let us enjoy whatever is prefered.

Joe

Bob, I'm sorry for the loss of your friend.

And yes, with your personal history you might stay out of airplanes.

Bill

Perfection and expertness is subjective I think. My wife, daughters, grandchildren as well as some curators and viewers at the museum think I'm an expert and my models are perfect, everyone on this forum knows diffrently. I strive for perfection (on most of my builds). I find the research and learning just as fun as building and painting. I do not believe will never acheive mastery no matter how many hours I invest. I have SEVERAL metals and awards, but that just means my build was better in the eyes of the judges than the other entries.

My current build of the Akagi is one that I am putting many hours (and dollars) into, but it will fall short of my vision. Hopefully others won't see the flaws unless they look very hard or know something of the ship that, by the time I'm finished, I don't. I will never achieve the standards I set but those standards keep me opening the next kit 

Rob Gronovius

 

 

Having-fun

 

 

Tojo72

It's a hobby for me,just try to have fun and be satisfied.

 

 

 

 

 

I agreed! I try to do the best job possible, not to impress any one, but, for me to know I have done the best job I can do. If other people like the finish product, then, it is gravy!

Joe

 

 

 

 

But to many modelers, trying to replicate each and every bolt, researching the vehicle to the most minute detail, is their fun.

 

Just because it isn't fun to you doesn't mean it isn't fun to someone else.

When I try to replicate a vehicle I crewed, I was having fun. Today, just casually assembling a kit is fun too.

 

Exactly right Rob,to each his own,enjoy it the way you want to enjoy it,and don't let anyone rob your joy however you work. 

I know when I was a little kid twisting off the plastic parts and globbing glue onto wings and wheels, I was having a whole lot of fun!

Come home from school, do homework.

Crack out a kit. Eat dinner,

Finish it before bed time.

I am not a master and never will be, but, I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.

modelcrazy

...I have SEVERAL metals and awards, but that just means my build was better in the eyes of the judges than the other entries.

 

Same here!   Sometimes, the kit would last 3 weekends,  (depends on how much combat it would be in).