Boy, do I feel very amateur!

The answer is yes, I do feel that I don't even come close to them.  The models you see in GSM are often award winning.  They are the best of the best.  Most of the builders are VVVVEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYY experienced and there is no shame in not matching their performance level.  Every day you drive a car, but when you see World Cup Rallye on TV you don't feel shame for your driving skills.  This is a hobby, its natural to want to do well at what you do, but if you don't feel that you do as well as those folks it shouldn't bother you.  Enjoy building and painting; as in all things, be proud when you do YOUR best.  After 1.5 years of serious building, I still SUCKED HARD.  If the things you build look remotely real you are ahead of the curve.  Alot of the models you see in GSM took longer to build than you have been serious about building.  My advice is to not let it discourage you.  Be inspired by it.

MortarMagnet wrote:

The answer is yes, I do feel that I don't even come close to them.  The models you see in GSM are often award winning.  They are the best of the best.  Most of the builders are VVVVEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYY experienced and there is no shame in not matching their performance level.  Every day you drive a car, but when you see World Cup Rallye on TV you don't feel shame for your driving skills.  This is a hobby, its natural to want to do well at what you do, but if you don't feel that you do as well as those folks it shouldn't bother you.  Enjoy building and painting; as in all things, be proud when you do YOUR best.  After 1.5 years of serious building, I still SUCKED HARD.  If the things you build look remotely real you are ahead of the curve.  Alot of the models you see in GSM took longer to build than you have been serious about building.  My advice is to not let it discourage you.  Be inspired by it.

         As MortarMagnet says be inspired by it, this is what I try to focus on. I know I probably will never get to those standards because of lack of skill or just not having the time to devote to the perfect model. What I try for is the very best I can achieve and aslong as I can say this and still have fun, (I model as a stress relief/hobby/get my mind on something else, and I just try to get a model tothe best standard I can) then I am happy. Although I do applaud those guys who do such fantastic models but not every body can be "the best of the best" .do your best and have fun doing it!   regards.

I thought that too when I went to the Nats in Atlanta last year. I've been back at the hobby for 2 yrs really, and I thought I was decent when I had to stop for a while- 10yrs. Boy was I wrong. I am amazed at the level of detail I see now and amazed that I thought I was ok. I'm not bashing my old work just coming to a realization that with improvement anyone can be great. I haven't finished many kits since I have been back yet started several. After each one I can tell a noticeable difference. Mostly because of all the fantastic people here at this forum. I am working on a 1/32 Academy F-16C/J and I think that my cockpit is as good as several I saw that won awards. Now my motivation is to enter one of my kits. I'm not worried about winning- what I like is knowing that mine competed against world class modelers from around the world. And to talk to others in the hobby and learn from them. What an awesome hobby this is!