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Why do you build model kits, including ones with personal customization?

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  • Member since
    February 2016
Why do you build model kits, including ones with personal customization?
Posted by JonBailey on Monday, December 6, 2021 4:32 PM

Modeling gives a material presence to my fantasies. A model is a bit more substantial than a mere picture. 

For me, it is all about putting a fantasy together in an affordable 3D physical form and decorating my home with it. Most of us will never afford such fantasies as we can actually drive, sail or fly in the real world. I am now building an AMT Kenworth W-925 scale-model semi truck from a kit. It will have a custom one-off livery. It is to represent a full-size truck I might own if I were a trucking company or an owner-operator. If I were rich, I might use my tractor to haul a semitrailer converted into a luxury RV for living on board with a David Hasselhoff/Knight Rider-like garage in the rear to keep my 4x4 pickup. Next, I have a 1/96 scale-model jet airplane kit, Boeing 727, from Atlantis. It too will have custom livery and represent a real-world private aircraft I will never afford. My fantasy is to pilot my private jet to Africa to hunt bull giraffe, black wildebeest and sable antelope on safari and take home the hides for full body mounts in my hunting lodge in some beautiful PNW forest. Finally, I have a Bell 205 (civilian Huey) helicopter kit by AMT which will receive the same livery theme as the jet plane. I have a fantasy about exploring the wilderness of the American PNW in a private helicopter at low altitude with the remote possibilty of spotting Bigfoot or perhaps pilot my very own bird on a North American trophy bull moose hunt. Only millionares and billionaires can realize such fantasies. Modeling to me is all about the wonderful world of make-believe inspired by the neighborhood of Mr. Rogers. 

Neighborhood of Make Believe Ep. 1. - YouTube

Current Model Worked On; 1/25 AMT Kenworth W-925 Tractor Kit, Future Models; 1/25 AMT Wilson Cattle Trailer, 1/96 Atlantis Boeing 727, 1/48 AMT Bell 205 Helicopter

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Western North Carolina
Posted by Tojo72 on Monday, December 6, 2021 4:34 PM

It's my hobby,I enjoy doing it.

  • Member since
    July 2015
Posted by MR TOM SCHRY on Monday, December 6, 2021 4:42 PM

For me, there are several factors involved in my choice of kits/subjects.  For aircraft or armor, it's my love of history, especially WWII that's the driving force.  For ships, it's either historical reference or the beauty of a sailing ship.  For autos, cars that I'd love to own myself if I had the funds, fat fendered cars of the 30s & 40s, customized vans of the 70s, muscle cars of the 60s, or custom car kits from my youth like Tom Daniels, or Deals Wheels.  I find that by modeling from some many genres it keeps my modeling "***" fresh and I tend to need less down time.

TJS

TJS

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Bethlehem PA
Posted by the Baron on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 8:22 AM

Tojo72

It's my hobby,I enjoy doing it. 

Amen!

And it keeps me off the streets. Big Smile

The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.

 

 

  • Member since
    March 2007
  • From: Northeast WA State
Posted by armornut on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 8:32 AM

Ditto

we're modelers it's what we do

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Western North Carolina
Posted by Tojo72 on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 8:46 AM

Just like there was a huge thread over on Kitmaker about the ethics of modeling war machines in general,ot those of "evil" countries or groups,it went on and on.My answer was I just build them because they look cool,no big reason behind it,same here I like history,but it's just the joy of reproducing cool looking stuff.

fox
  • Member since
    January 2007
  • From: Narvon, Pa.
Posted by fox on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 2:10 PM

As was said above, "It's my hobby and I love doing it " since 1946 (6 years old).

As my wife says, "I know where he is at all times and he doesn't hit the local bars".

Jim Captain

Stay Safe.

 Main WIP: 

   On the Bench: Artesania Latina  (aka) Artists in the Latrine 1/75 Bluenose II

I keep hitting "escape", but I'm still here.

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 4:18 PM

Because it's fun.  Or at least it should be.

"The degree of enjoyment one derives from this hobby is inversely proportional to the amount of rivet counting."

I only learned this late in life, but it holds true for me at least.

OK digging deeper, I like to solve problems.  The telltale trait of the engineer.

 

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    January 2013
Posted by seastallion53 on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 5:17 PM

I love aviation and history so models are a sort of miniature aviation history, plus it's just fun.

  • Member since
    May 2004
  • From: Land of Lakes
Posted by cbaltrin on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 6:28 PM

I loved air planes as a kid --well, still do--and wanted to learn everything I could about  them. I enjoy learning about history as well. On top of that I love to paint and create  things with my hands. Testors paints smelled really good too -- that did not hurt antying Propeller

On the Bench: Too Much

  • Member since
    January 2021
Posted by PFJN2 on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 10:52 PM

Hi,

I seem to recall a similar thread to this in the past, but maybe I am getting websites mixed up.

Anyway, to kind of paraphrase what I had posted on that other thread, I guess that maybe at first I started building models just as a hobby/as something to do, but later I found that I began to collect kits of various ships, planes, military vehicles and cars that I had an interest in and wanted to find out more about.  Having a scale model of something often helps me maybe see a little better why things are shaped the way they are and how one ship/plane/caror tank might compare to other similar items.

So I guess maybe you could say it started as a hobby but has grown into being part of a learning process for me.

Pat

  • Member since
    October 2004
  • From: Orlando, Florida
Posted by ikar01 on Wednesday, December 8, 2021 12:26 AM

As had been said above, it's fun, gives a link to the past.  If a military kit,  my Father's in I do WWII and my own iif I do Vietnam.  

I would do models of the cars I used to own but in most cases models aren't available.  However there are a few that I have seen and would like to have owned such as the Black Beauty  from Green Hornet, 1966 Batmobile, Chrysler Turbine car, and a few others.

Building gives me a way to get my mind off things, compete with other builders, give people a model of a subject they want, and in the case of Fantasy and Science Fiction, see where things go with modifications and scratch builds.  My newest attempts will be starting to do figures.  We'll see how that goes.

  • Member since
    June 2018
  • From: Ohio (USA)
Posted by DRUMS01 on Wednesday, December 8, 2021 11:18 AM

For me building is not only a hobby, but I would also call it therapudic and allows me to escape for juat a moment from the stresses of daily life. I not only enjoy putting the kit together, but the research and learning about the real thing and learning new techniques is also enjoyable to me. During the research or when building I often find areas of the kit that are not accurate or poorly molded. Making modifications to a kit provides an additional challenge to add something in a way that makes it looks like it was part of the original model while accurizing it too. I also like using modification skills to build a display setting that compliments the model for show. 

While modeling is mostly a personal thing, it is also a collection of brothers and sisters who I enjoy getting together with to share accomplishments, ideas, and comradrie (like this forum). And last, modeling challenges your hand and eye coordination, problem solving or reasoning skills, and privides genuine satisfaction or reward once it is finished. 

Thats why I model and modify stuff.....

DRUMS01 a.k.a. Ben

"Everyones the normal until you get to know them" (Unknown)

LAST COMPLETED:

1/35 Churchill Mk IV AVRE with bridge - DONE

NEXT PROJECT:

1/35 CH-54A Tarhe Helicopter

 

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