The Mother of All Slumps. ( Advice NEEDED Badly! )

Thank you everyone for all your great advice!

Oddmanrush and Manny made fine points that really relates to me. While I do have a workbench in my apartment to work on my kits, I think I have been looking at model building as work and not for fun. I have a few others kits on hand to work on and just might take Manny's advice and start my F-86D and shelf the Phantom. Another thing is as some of you know, a couple of years ago I had 20+ model kits, all my tools and reference materials all stolen from me by a person I was living with who kicked me to the curb and kept all my kits and tools. This really discouraged me from model building and still does sometimes. I am still trying to replace everything I lost and lack of finances for this has been a major problem.

I also live alone now and have no one here to show off my work to and I think this had been a contributing  factor because this is the first time I have lived by myself and I am used to having someone here to show off my progress to. My EX wife was very supportive of my hobby and always appreciated and encouraged my passion for the hobby. My current girlfriend has no interest in this hobby and knows nothing about military weapons systems and hates when I bring it up. I miss this encouragement and support I used to have because it really motivated me to do my best on every kit I built.

My problem also is the lack of good reference materials. I used to have all the books about modern combat aircraft and never had to use the internet to look anything up unless there was a specific detail about my subject I wanted to know. It's not easy to work on a kit and have to stop and look it up the internet before I can get back to workbench. Our library here has a very ( very ) limited selection of books on military aircraft.

OK, I am starting to ramble on here but I think you guys get the idea. I do hope to break this slump soon and get back to this wonderful hobby.

Thanks again everyone!

Manstein's revenge

Just do it.

Exactly, just get youself one of Manny's women and you'll be fine.

Sh*t-can the idea of restarting/finishing the current project...  If you're anything like me, you have a favorite part of the assembly process, and you've likely passed that stage with the Phantom.. My favorite part is the cockpit on aircraft, so a new build may re-ignite the desire...

There are a lot of good inspirational pointers here. I usually respark my interest by doing what Tigerman suggests, that being either watch a documentary or related film on the subject or read a book about what I'm attempting to model. You'd be surprised how fast that can get you back on track.

On the other hand, I will not purchase a model or start modeling a kit that I wasn't interested in building in the first place. I generally go to the hobby shop with a specific purpose in mind. I'm not an impulse buyer when it comes to models. Then I feel I'll have some interest in what I"m trying to create. Either that, or I find someone who would like a model built for them, like my father or my uncle for instance. Its hard to lose interest when someone is looking forward to your work.

I often find that I don't lose interest in building the model itself but I lose interest in the work involved. I don't have a dedicated work space. I store all my items in drawers and cabinets and work off the dining room table. So when I want to model, nothing is readily accessible. So If I don't feel like pulling everything out to work on, I won't. Thats the hardest part for me, the set up and the tear down.

Oh, we have all been there. I can think of a few things that will hopefully spark your interest.

1. Watch a movie or youtube clip that contains your subject.

2. Model another medium. For instance, I'm an armor builder, so I would build a plane.

3. Go to a local hobby club or an IMPS event. I guarantee after seeing other's works, you can't help but want to hit the bench.

4. Read a good related book

I was suffering though what you were going through for sure. I decided that tracks and wheels were getting tedious, so I started work on my dormant Zero. Well the passion started to flare up and this weekend I added 4 more props to my stash at the IMPS show. I still love armor modeling, and I'm working hard to finish my Abrams, but now I have a nice balance in the stash, so when I burn out on one, I have another medium to pick me up.

I say continue not to do any models if you really don't want want to.You shouldn't need to force yourself to participate in your "hobby".When you feel like it ,you will know and you will start up again.Forcing yourself will result in a bad half-hearted effort.It's not work after all,no one is making you.Just do it when you are 100% ready.

Air Master,

I think we all go through the loss of interest stage. We do have other things going on in life.

"Just doing it" doesn't work for me either. If I do it results in crappy workmanship and fubar's.

Time is the best healer.

Rand- I feel for you brother!

I had a similar experience a few years back.  What I did to overcome it was to put aside the kit I was working on, completely out of sight.  I looked through the stash, found a subject that really looked like a fun build, and just built it for the fun of it.  After that, I was able to pull out the kit that put me into that awful rut and finish it.  I hope that helps, and also hope that you are able to break your slump.

Build something else then. The last thing any of us need is a ball-and-chain. Go buy an armor or a car model.

Easier said than done there Manstein. I have tried the " just do it " attitude and I sit there just looking at it and then lose interest. This is driving me CRAZY!

Just do it.