Modelling slump

Don't worry Jason you'll come out of it. with the end of constrution season coming my job is keeping me so busy i only get about 2-3 hours a week to do any modeling

Take a break, sometimes that's what you need. No need to ruin a model by forcing yourself to do it.
Read a book or whatever else you like to do to relaz.
John
Helicopters don't fly, they beat the air into submission

Ive had two of these, only small compared to some, the first was a couple of months, the second is still going on right now, but only ahs been for 2 weeks

Well, the U-boot wasn't the best idea. The fit is atrocious and part of the hull was broken and super glue wouldn't hold the pieces together. i think a break is in order

Not a bad idea at all. I have Revell's HUGE U-boot sitting in the basement

Another possible approach to countering your current condition is to build something completely different than your normal genre: e.g., a sci-fi kit, a car model, or a figure. This really helps me when I have advanced modeler's syndrome (AMS), which I have had an acute case of for the past several months!

Blair

Well, I cannot argue with that logic!!

Yeah Jason, that was me about a year ago or so. My suggestion would be to try and concentrate on one kit, no matter how difficult or tedious it may become. After that, try and complete what you have going right now (the build, not painting). Put them away, and take a little break. A couple of weeks away from the hobby, not the forums or publications, etc, but from construction and painting will work wonders. Trust me, this is coming from a Psychologist

Cheers

Rob

Moses- I have those feelings right now. I have been jumping back and forth between a couple kits, but I cannot seem to find the urge to finish one. My daughters caused me to cut down a lot, but I still find it a nice diversion. I thought I was getting out of it yesterday with the 222- until I put the PE grenade screen on and it just doesn't want to go on. It appears to me to be about 1mm to big.

The best thing I could have done was take a solid 8 months off from the hobby. I still kept up to date with all the publications and even made weekly trips to the LHS, etc. My daugher being born was a perfect excuse for a long needed break. Before the break I was realizing that i couldn't concentrate on just one model. I would begin building, then I couldn't wait to get done to start another project and I would rush the first one. It was the best thing I could have done since I feel i am at the top of my form as of late.

Cheers

Mo

I can relate as well, an F-104, T-34/85, AFV 88 gun all stopped and put in the box for one bad reason or another. The T-34/85 really hurt as I screwed up the suspension on the wheels, put them on backwards (bet you didnt think you could do that huh, neither did I) and it wasnt fixable. I had alot of aftermarket stuff on the build. I am slowly gaining interest again, doing the Yamato in 1/700. Sometimes the luck just aint with ya, but give it time and it will get better:-)

I hear your woes, and it's clear that you're not the only one. I couldn't get myself to even START my current project, but now that it's under way, I feel a lot better. I usually go through a period between builds where I don't touch anything model related, just to kind of MISS the feel for it again

makes me feel better that I am not the only one that has these problems! To me, it seems like a combo of rushing and just plain old bad luck. Today, I made a bad snip with the sprue cutters and butchered one of the tow hooks. Then, after I tried to fix it, I dropped it and never found it. I had to fabricate one out of wire.. I stopped on it and went over to the Tamiya SdKfz 222, which seemed to help. That project is in the paint stage, so it was a nice break from tiny pieces. (I kept this one simple OOB with no figures as a break.) Well I gotta get out of it- the Bulge and Pacific builds start in a week

Everybody deserves a break! Relax a little bit and don't force yourself. Just like cars, we need some calibration and tune up every once in a while.

Good luck.

I was working pretty hard to finish my last build. After that was completed, I thought that finishing another kit that was in progress would be a snap. However, I've plodded on that build now. Burnout?

Speaking as someone with a long history of being a rapid builder, I've taken to addressing the tendency to ignore or rush through things by setting limited goals to be reached and then stopping for the day. This works of course only if the goal is reachable to begin with, but that's another issue entirely. Generally speaking, this method works well and prevents getting too rushed and making costly mistakes that have to be corrected later. It also adds to the enjoyment factor as the satisfaction derived from reaching the goal for the day is like a little mini-build by itself.

Other than taking a break and coming back later with a fresh outlook, there's not much else you can do to address the slumps that come to us all from time to time.

Just let it go for a day or so. Rake some leaves or do some other chores and the slump will go away and you'll back in top form. Happens to every one. Take a break.

Hi Jason,i know what you mean,in the last 2 years i have only built four kits,look at my profile and you will understand,but you hang in there as i did and it will all come togerther no more slump.

gdarwin[roy]

Jason: Sometimes the kits are just crappy to start , I have had bad copies of kits as well , that have gotten great ratings by other modelers . Or sometimes it is a good idea just to take a break from a hobby if it gets frustrating and do something else for a while , I do this all the time myself , as I feel it ends up being a better finish if your heart is somewhat into the construction to begin with . Sometimes I do more than one model at a time , switching off when I get bored , just to break up the monotony of the whole thing . My fave time is painting and weathering , which some dread . My least fave is scratchbuilding stuff , followed by some PE details , the tiny stuff , that can get tedious very fast . Another thing I do now that I did not do before is take my time gluing poorly fitting parts , hulls turrets etc , glue one side at a time instead of the whole thing , that way if there is a fit problem you may be able to correct it at different stages .

I too fell that way, it seems I finish one model, and screw up the next 2. In fact the schwimmy I was workin on took a dive off the shelf and totally oblierated it. Past the point of reasonable repair. Now I am working on a jeep and am about half way through and have lost all interest. Soooo, I built some of those PlusModel tool boxes this weekend. Nice diversion. And very easy. But, yeah, I get in the slumps also.

Ted

I know what you're talking about Jason. I'm currently building a Huey 1/35 scale for my brother-in-law that I've kind of reached a drop dead point waiting for some after market microphones to arrive. If I just had those couple parts I could finish assembly and move onto paint. It's a special build so I don't want to disturb my working area which is the dining room table to work on some of my other projects. It seems that everytime I pick something up on this project that I accidently break or loose a part. It's maddening and the only consolation is that I'm having to learn to scratch build some of the parts that have been consumed on the dining room floor. It'd sure going to be good too get back to building armor. I feel your pain. Semper Fi, mike