How to be less stressed while building

You are getting good advice from everyone.  It's all for fun, don't worry about perfection or even being the "best".   Just build what you like.  I have been doing this since the 1950's so I don't think much about the technical aspects any more. I still enjoy putting plastic kits of all types together.  We are a small, small, small group. 

What everyone else said. 

Or This;MJY65

   A dentist next to where mine was working on me yelped in pain! Then was looking for a Bandage. His Patient bit him! A well known person from the modeling world said this: "If you take plastic out of the box, and mess with it, it is no longer perfect!" and I say "If you are pleased with what you've done, then to your viewers it is perfect!"  

Thanks to the OP and all of the FineScale members who responded, I have returned to more regular modelling after nearly a month of "model funk". The problem, as it usually is with me, is the need for perfection, which always sabotages satisfaction. It was beginning to seem that every time I sat down to work on a current build, I'd make a dumb mistake, which would often lead to several minutes to a few hours to correct, if they could be corrected. But I have to admit that I've worked "smarter" with each new model, and I am making fewer and less-problematic errors. I'm a long way from a winning entry in a model show, but that doesn't bother me as much now as it did, thanks to this thread.

Bob

Bobstamp

Thanks to the OP and all of the FineScale members who responded, I have returned to more regular modelling after nearly a month of "model funk". The problem, as it usually is with me, is the need for perfection, which always sabotages satisfaction. It was beginning to seem that every time I sat down to work on a current build, I'd make a dumb mistake, which would often lead to several minutes to a few hours to correct, if they could be corrected. But I have to admit that I've worked "smarter" with each new model, and I am making fewer and less-problematic errors. I'm a long way from a winning entry in a model show, but that doesn't bother me as much now as it did, thanks to this thread. Bob

 

Good to hear!

I was like you up until my past couple of models.  It's not so much that I want perfection, but mistakes like glue on a windshield, crappy paint finishes on car bodies, parts not fitting right, etc would be frustrating.  I wouldn't want to go back to the bench, because I knew I would be spending the next couple of hours fixing mistakes, rather than moving forward.  

Only the past couple of models have I made real progress.  They are no where near perfect, but I'm getting decent results and not making big mistakes.  I know how to airbrush properly now, and I'm using the proper techniques, etc that I've learned through trial and error.

Really enjoying model building more than I ever have now!

I think everyone felt it.

I guess you need to ask yourself a question: what if I really get a bad result? What will happen?

We all understand that we need to learn firstly if we want to create good things. Maybe it would be easier for you if you LET your work to LOOK BAD. You will learn and your results will improve over time.

Scale modeling has provided me a leisure-time creative outlet similar to the fun aspects of my work that I enjoyed before retirement (designing, building and debugging new product prototypes). I find it to be a mostly stress-free activity because it is solitary (no people stress) and free of meetings, bureacracy, paperwork and silly corporate nonsense. Also, if I screw it up or am disappointed with the results, it won't hurt, kill or bankrupt anyone and I can take a hammer to it which can be quite pleasurable when it's a particularly a foul kit! Don't stress the small stuff and scale modeling is figuratively and literally "the small stuff" so have fun and model-on.

My motto, (which I repeat in my head many times while building), is

"Close enough, for government work!"

berd

I'm on my second model and and feel very stressed(From finding right supplies,what things are compatible, etc.) I feel like I can't mess up, do you guys have any tips on reducing stress while making models?

 

Hi Berd. I started building as a child way back in the sixties. By the seventies I was starting to get serious and by the eighties I was pretty happy with my skill set and knowledge. I was pretty succsesful in competitions and soaking up everything that Verlinden and Shep Paine could teach. Then life got in the way, and apart from the occasional figure, I didn't attempt another kit until last year after I joined this site.

So many new products, it was totally confusing. Acrylic paints, PE, resin, tools and soooo many producers of kits and supplies. And when I actually picked a kit from the stash and started it, I realised how much I had forgotten. My skills had gone. I had forgotten how to use an airbrush. I had also lost the all encompassing passion that I had once had for everything modelling related. It was very confusing and then I discovered that I was scared of stuffing up. I am currently building a model for a group build and I have arrived at paint time and I have been making excuses for not proceeding, because I am frightened of stuffing it up. Ridiculous! I never worried about it before. If I stuffed up, I would put it down to experience and move on. And then I read this thread with all of its great, simple and so true advice.

My point is that you are not alone. Listen to the advice, as I have and move on. Later today I am going to mask and spray that model. I will listen to music and maybe sip on a cider. I will go there with a positive attitude and if it dosen't work out? I will sit back, work out where I went wrong and then set about fixing the mistake.

I thank all of you who have responded to this thread for Berd, because it has provided just the support that I needed too. Stick with it Berd and don't expect miracles, even the experts make mistakes. Its a great hobby and there's lots of good advice and support out there.

Bobstamp I am very sorry for your loss and I thank you for service as I do to all the other veterans on this site.

Hi Dodgy!

    Hey! I have been doing this Proffessionally and Semi-Proffessionally and just for myself for more years than I will admit. Guess What? I still stuff it up occassionally!! Then I pour a Fosters lean back and laugh. How could I pull such a Newbie stunt, then correct what I stuffed up and keep going!

   When you learn to laugh at your mistakes, no matter what the reason, then you won't do it as often. But, you need to remember, for the Average Bloke it's a hobby and should be looked at as such, Mistakes and all!

     The laughter is what breaks the stress, believe it or not! There was a movie about an american Submarine in W.W.2 that was so desperate for yarding that the Chief of the Boat had to use Girdles from the Nurse passengers, on pumps and White and Grey primer mixed to a real nice shade of Pink to keep her together. Yup, Operation Petty Coat! I tried to build that sub and mine kept coming out Mary Kay Pink! Guess what? it's because I was using gloss paints with no talc poured in to dull it.( Yeah ,that was before anyone offered Flat or Semi-Gloss paints!) Add talcum powder to flatten it!

One my goals is to approach my model building like my father approached his playing of the violin.

He was an amateur violinist all of his life, continuing even in his early 80s when he had to pry his left arthritic hand off the neck of his violin with his right arthritic hand. He never could afford a professional-level violin or bow, and wasn't sufficiently talented to ever make a living with his music. He often played with my paternal grandmother, a pianist who first played for silent movies. I well remember him playing Rachmaninov in the bathroom, which, he said, had the best acoustics in house. In his late 70s he became concertmaster for the local college-community orchestra, but only when his best friend, Concertmaster Albert Ketchum, died.

I need to accept that at my age, 78, and as the "beneficiary" of my father's arthritis, I will never build a model plane that looks like it's a real plane just rolling out of the factory, and if I build a model ship, it's never going to appear to be on its maiden voyage. I'm doing pretty well on the "weathering" front, but that not because of any modelling talent! I just make a lot of mistakes that make my models look like they've gone through combat or survived years of hard duty in the air or at sea.

Back when working and occasionally buying a new car, I was never devastated by the car's first dent, scratch, or permanent seat-cover stain, because then I could relax and stop being so protective of something that didn't care about being protected. I need learn how to make the best of every modelling mistake, knowing that I'm enjoy the overall model-building process just as I can enjoy driving a car even if it has a scratch!

Bob

I find that I Kinda build about 3 projects at a time .  I build them for my own enjoyment so there is no stress involved.  I recently built a hobbyboss m1070 truck and trailer build for my local V.A. and it was a monster to build: as i wanted every detial to be correct--- that i quess can be stressfull but i enjoyod every min of the build

berd

I feel like I can't mess up, do you guys have any tips on reducing stress while making models?

Now matter how long anyone has been building, or how good anyone is, we all mess up. It's all part of the learning curve. If it is stressing you out, step away from the bench and pour yourself a cool refreshing beverage to get some perspective...

stickpusher has the best answer:  like I said before build for yourself and dont sweat what others will tihink If you arent entering a contest or buildindg for a customer ENJOY the hobby build what you want to see and don't sweat the details

Sorry for the double post but i just wanted to say that even on all my models I treat every step as a project.  test fit read and reread the prints For me this is the fun of the hobby.  ITs all in the detials

I suggest a sound prof room  so when your wife starts screaming  your name you can legally ignore her and you won't have any problems such as glue on the windshields etc etc

   NOW THATS FUNNY

armornut

   NOW THATS FUNNY

 

X2 

Been building for 71 years. The building is enjoyable, relaxing, and challenging.

I'm a "putty thrower". I customize model cars, and do scratch-building and kit-bashing.

I love all of it, especially the planning and the gathering of parts and making everything fit together to look like the picture in my head.

They is always something challenging to figure out and I thrive on that.

I love all the advice about relaxing and enjoying the hobby. It's a gift to have something to do when retired that you love and can share with others here or friends and family.

It gives you a life to enjoy and eBay is always a fun place to go for those parts you need.

Hey Stik!

       That's a neat model,how do I build one? No , seriously i went to Hobby Lobby the other day and what did I see new. A model kit of Ramen Noodles! C'mon now! Isn't anything sacred?

     Another way I blow stress out of the water is to experiment with something. For instance. I took a perfectly good Train Caboose and sanded All the detail off and removed the end rails and steps. I re-did it with Evergreen strip and stair sets.That was fun!!

berd

I'm on my second model and and feel very stressed(From finding right supplies,what things are compatible, etc.) I feel like I can't mess up, do you guys have any tips on reducing stress while making models?

 

Rum.

Cherry Admiral Nelson with a cherry Pepsi.

Tanker-Builder

Hey Stik!

       That's a neat model,how do I build one? No , seriously i went to Hobby Lobby the other day and what did I see new. A model kit of Ramen Noodles! C'mon now! Isn't anything sacred?

     Another way I blow stress out of the water is to experiment with something. For instance. I took a perfectly good Train Caboose and sanded All the detail off and removed the end rails and steps. I re-did it with Evergreen strip and stair sets.That was fun!!

 

I bought that kit for my wife - Cup Noodle.  Brilliantly engineered kit and very fun.  This will get you out of any funk!

Tanker-Builder

Hey Stik!        That's a neat model,how do I build one?

stikpusher

 

 

 

 

Tamiya makes A wonderfull 65 dollar tool to open those cup noodles

goldhammer

The day I don't screw up a kit will be the day after I quit working on them. Your builds will just get progressively better as you build more.  Don't get frustrated, if you hit a snag, step back for a few and visualize what you were doing, what it is and possible solutions to get where you want to go.

Well said. I have not learned the lesson yet that the perfect build will probably never happen for me. Though, I know that is the case, I still strive for it, and that sometimes stresses me. And what I mean by a perfect build, I mean a build that I don't mess up somehow. I'd like to get through a build and be able to say, dang, no mess ups! Why? I have no clue. It's just a goal. But, I CAN say that I roll with it better now. Now, when I do mess up I say to myself, well, maybe the next build.  

that's my goal too steve , I always have a what the &#$#% have I done now , time for a glass of vino and a think . 

You should treat every kit as though you are working in a restoration shop and the longer you take the better it will come out.lots of CDs are helpful and if you are married get ear plugs it always seems that when you are about to put that important part together they call you I'm lucky I have a downstairs area cause I can alwaysSay sorry I'm down here didn't hear you

Listen here;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BMaFNc0hew