HMMmm.... modeling skill? nope i dont think i have it. i have a certain liking for doing things right as i am an engineer but some of the stuff i see on here is beyond anything i could cope with, that doesnt mean wont build a model because someone has already done it better, dont beat yourself up about it, i dont. I dont have hours and hours of free time so its always a bit of a compromise, using resin or etch and not scratching too much is a must for me. i always end up with annoying flaws, a fingerprint here a scratch there but i will live it and try better next time.Only so many could hope to be a footballing genius but does that stop millions enjoying playing the game?

....hmmmm....sounds like you need a better glue? Seriously, practice does make perfect, (or at least better) in scale modeling as well. Don't give up, and just tackle one issue at at time. Like it sounds like you need some paint advice, or glue advice, so just ask away. The problem with the internet is it seems your always trying to get your builds to look like so and so's....when you should just be modeling for yourself.

Yeah it happens to all of us, I got so mad yesterday I had to walk away. Seems my biggest skill is losing stuff.

1). Tamiya P-51- can't finish - rear canopy vanished

2). Tamiya P-47 - can't finish- prop spinner gone

3). Dragon Royal Tiger- loader's hatch vanished- salvaged one from an old Tamiya kit

4). Italeri Steyer Tractor- can't finish- drive sprocket gone missing

Etc, etc, etc.........

I don't have it.

I don't think modeling is a single skill.  I started scale modeling in the wood "solid model" era, and I do have the skill for carving, since I got so much practice in those days.  I know folks who have better painting skills.  I tried model railroading for awhile (they invented "weathering", so I think my weathering skills are pretty good.  I know folks who can handle attachments of very tiny parts (both styrene and PE) very well- a skill I envy.

Gamera

Yeah it happens to all of us, I got so mad yesterday I had to walk away. Seems my biggest skill is losing stuff.

1). Tamiya P-51- can't finish - rear canopy vanished

2). Tamiya P-47 - can't finish- prop spinner gone

3). Dragon Royal Tiger- loader's hatch vanished- salvaged one from an old Tamiya kit

4). Italeri Steyer Tractor- can't finish- drive sprocket gone missing

Etc, etc, etc.........

I have that same skill!  OTOH, it does provide you with the opportunity to learn scratchbuilding and mold casting. 

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

I'm happy to admit I'm no expert but I model because I like it and we all make mistakes. I'm building a Panther at the moment and I've tried to use as much photo etch as possible on the track hangers. I've lost at least 30% of them, was I annoyed - oh yes! But now I'm going to change it from a prestine just out of the factory one to one covered in branches and mud after seeing some action!

Like many things its how you solve the problem that makes you look like an expert not how you *** it up

Phil

My models are far from perfect and like you every new one I start is going to be a show piece but.....  You hit the nail on the head saying you still enjoy it, especially after a day at work.  That's what it is all about.  Keep having fun.

Sounds to me like you are rushing the process and may need to plan your builds a little better.Get organized and allow the paint to dry thoroughly before handling them.If you encounter a problem,ask us here on the forum..You will get there if you try and just have fun with it.

Just like there are artists and people who paint,there are master plumbers,carpenters,masons,and so forth,then there are do-it-yourselfers.It's the same with modeling,no matter how much I practice,no matter how many years I build,I will never achieve the results that some have gotten.Not to say I haven't improved,but we all have our limitations and are only going to go so far.I don't find modeling frustrating,I have improved,and I am proud of my work,but I also know I'm not winning any contests either.

Firstly, if you enjoy building, then keep on building.  If it did not turn out the way you wanted it to, it is unfortunate, but does not matter.   Secondly, A car modeller in our club could not get the gloss finish he wanted.  Always some dust , or a spot sanded too much.  Now he weathers them and they are outstanding.  A blob of paint on the wing,  cut that panel out.  Glue on the canopy, smash it out.  Just by moving your aim a little bit, you can turn a disadvance into an asset.

Thank you for those who have replied.

I really do love the process of seeing something come together, no matter how bad it turned out I know I made it. I would love to display my finished model on this website someday but in reality that isn't going to happen.I know I go too fast and need some patience but  I would never give up  because 1) I have spent too much money on models, tools and paint 2) For the hour or 2 I do my models at night the process is enjoyable and the cursing is part of the process, 3) It reminds me of my childhood making models with my father, 4) the weathering hides the flaws and 5) It is a great hobby to do in the comfort of your own home and keeping my wife happy with my quietness(except the cursing part)!

Anyway,keep the comments coming, I don't have it but that's OK.

Kiwimo!  What a wonderful topic you've started (and I mean that sincerely).  I tell ya...it seems like I can build one model that is an absolute show-stopper.  True works of art that even surpass all of my own personal expectations.  But then I'll start on the next model and I can't glue two pieces together without botching it up beyond all belief.  All I can say is that what you are going through happens to every single one of us.  Don't let anyone ever try to tell you otherwise.  As Farmboy once said "Anyone who says differently is selling something."

Modeling is not an end.  It's like perfection.  It's not a so much the goal but the journey to the goal.  Will anyone ever achieve it?  Absolutely not, but with each passing build, we get a single step closer.  We all botch something up on a model.  On the next model, we'll get that part right but we'll botch yet another item up.  And the cycle goes on and on and on.  So please don't get discouraged or think of quitting.  As you mentioned, going off to work on a model is an escape from the everyday.  When you're glueing a control column to the cockpit floor, there are no bills to pay, no politics to worry about, the outside world simply ceases to exist.  For a brief moment, model building allows you to escape all that even if you do get a fingrprint on the canopy.  The problems of model building world still beat the problems of the real world any day.

Eric

If you enjoy it keep doing it. I'm sure you just described alot of people in here in your post. I've experienced and seen posts, group builds and WIP's that were full of , fingerprints on paint/glued areas, painting the wrong color in the wrong part of the model, lost parts, parts that keep falling off, dogs that eat models, super glue that got applied too close to clear parts and ruined them, not test fitting prior to assy and the list goes on! You just described modelling pal. I enjoy it through all of that so I keep doing it. Keep hanging in there, don't get in a hurry and don't compare your builds with others. Thats just not fair to yourself. You will get better with time and thats that. Have a good day and thanks for the good thread, Joe

Seeing what some modelers post often leaves me questioning my own skills.  But just as anything, the more I do the better I get and I've managed to post a pic or two of my finished projects.  Best advice I can give is follow the simple mantra I use when building "The next one will be perfect!"

I have long spells between builds, so I get nervous when it comes time to start a new one.  I end up buying a cheap to get back in modeling shape, get frustrated and take another long break.  Sometimes, especially with decals, everything goes great but ine little mishap ruins it.  I love having the completed models, but there are some steps that I really dont like: cockpits, painting, masking glueing and decals.  For me the reward comes ( with aircraft) when the wings go to the fuselage and after the final decal is on.  As i do more airbrushing, i am starting to enjoy that step more.  I most definitely do not any any Innate skill, but each one I build looks a little better than the last.  I am 38 and i put myself at a 6th grade modeling level.

In my 64 years of building, I have kept saying to myself "The next one will be better". Some have been, and some, well I won't say how they turned out.   I've switched from 1 type to another. Same answer. So, I just build whatever strikes my fancy to the best of my ability. As long as you like building them, keep building.

Jim

Not sure if i have the modelling skill, that would be for otehrs to judge. But i enjoy what i do, i am happy with my end results and if others enjoy what i am doing, thats a bonus.

And i am forever breaking a part of putting my fingur in some drying glue.

Why yes.... I have it!  The ability to screw up a perfect model just as the last paint is going on!    Look below....... my signature should be most helpful.

As others have said, keep at it if you enjoy it.  Also, keep why you are modeling in the back of your mind.  I, for one, don't have "it."  But, I love the history and modeling, to me, is a way to learn even more.  In some aspects, modeling can be a lot like poker....it is easy to learn, yet takes a lifetime to master.

I hope years from now, when I look back on my early builds, I can smile and see how far I've come.

Enjoy.

What a great, thought-provoking thread!

Well, as a published author here at FSM, I have to tell you that--honestly--many of the builds that I have been honored to have been published articles here in the magazine have had disasters of sometimes MAJOR proportions happen to them! The last one that was on the recent cover--my M48 Patton--had a major track malfunction--they broke into like, a dozen pieces when trying to assemble them--it's even documented in the WIP, still here online somewhere. But I didn't let it beat me!

Then there was the Jagpanzer Kanone--different tank, same problem. I couldn't assemble to resin tracks. I just couldn't figure out how to do it. I had to make new, correct tracks out of the incorrect, generic ones in the kit! Then the recent 1/72 Trumpeter Sturmtiger I just finished here--I couldn't get the tracks to join by any Earthbound method known to man!

I royally ruined the one plane I tried to do here---a Stuka. The carefully-applied and masked paint job lifted on the last masking, and I didn't have the patience to fix it. A dirt track modified car that I built a few years ago took me some 8 or 9 repeated finish "fails" to finally get a good finish without the different paints reacting to each other. Car models can just about put me in the looney bin sometimes, trying to get a good gloss finish or to get the proper "sit". And I just completely destroyed a very expensive AMT 1974 Javelin model that had a disastrously bad paint/primer mismatch problem that made the body irredeemable. THAT one HURT!

Like some of the posters here have said---you have to remember that modeling is for FUN FIRST! But on a second level, I think that what makes a modeler "have it" or not is what they do when the going gets rough. When I screw up in a major way, I put the model down,get away from it for a while--maybe even a few days--and then come back to it, more determined and resolved to not let it beat me. And even then, sometimes it does. But more often than not, I get a handle on it and turn it into something to be at least NOT embarrassed of!

We all "don't have it" sometimes.....  

I don't have any skill in modeling. I can put them together fine because I can follow directions. But when it gets to painting and other detail work, I suck. That is where artistry comes in in my opinion.

I am nowhere near as good as 90% of the people here but I'm okay with that. I build for my own enjoyment, not to enter contests or win awards. As long as I have fun that is all that matters to me. Sure, I want to get better, and with each project I think I do.

You should post some stuff here so you can feedback. Maybe someone will end up sharing a tip or two that makes the difference.

kiwimo

A stray finger print,

Wear latex gloves. you'll hate it so much you'll swear never to let glue get on your fingers again.

as for 'skill' you have to keep pushing the envelope and also try new techniques. you'll soon find what works and what you like doing.

Keep your skills, I'll take the fun.

Firstly,I would like to thank everyone for the words of encouragement and I love the fact that everyone is willing to share ideas, tips and techniques and nothing seems "exclusive".

When the going gets tough I might have said "this is the last model I make" but of course I don't mean it. I would never give up because besides being fun and usually relaxing and  like others have said, the research and history behind each build is just as fascinating at making it. And even though I suck, the model was still made by me and I am proud of it. I might have improved just a fraction over time but for the most part I am a below average model maker, but I take heart in hearing that even the pro's have bad days too.  I love making models, especially world war 2 aircraft and one day I might just post a photo for some feedback or a chuckle or 2!

I still don't have it but I am not looking for it anymore.

Looking forward to your views but in the mean time Happy Building Everyone

PS: I am currently building a Revell  Lancaster Dambuster and came across a YouTube documentary "Bomber Boys" a BBC documentary during my research. I am sure everyone has already seen it but If you haven't I highly recommend it. www.youtube.com/watch  The actor Ewen McGregor and his brother who is an ex RAF pilot made a documentary about Bomber Command as a follow up to their Battle of Britain Documentary. Lots of history, info, close ups and interviews with surviving crew members  and at the end of the documentary they get to fly in one of the last 2 airworthy Lancaster bombers. Such a beautiful flying machine!

KIWOMO...

I absolutely could not have expressed it any better than you have!  Spot on to my own experience.

As others have said, enjoy the build.  I have begun WIP's but have always had to give them up because my work looks so awful compared to others.  However, I still get a little thrill each time I open up another kit.  I'm not sure what to do about comparing ourselves to other's work.  Sometimes I have to go away from the forums for a while because I know I cannot come close to what others are doing, but mostly I like seeing what others have done.  Every once and a while I see something that I can maybe try myself.  And folks here are great to converse with, even if all you need is some commiseration over a screw-up 

One thing I have determined to do is finish every kit I start (in fact I have had 3 kits that I did not finish).  I just have to pass over the mistakes and keep going (I have a Tiger sitting on the shelf with no tracks).  But I, like you, still enjoy the build.  I love gluing plastic!

The fact that you say you love to model, should be all that matters! Don't be discouraged.

I'm far from skilled, but I try. I couldn't even come close to some of the great posters here, but I do enjoy the hobby and it's a great stress reliever. I'm always trying to inprove, but every finished model I do could be better. I doubt any of us will be 100% percent satisfied with a completed build. There is no perfect build. Bottom line is to have fun. Have fun or the hobby doesn't become one any longer.

YOU ARE RIGHT ON !

Now don't get me wrong . If you walk away from modeling , you ARE doing yourself a disservice .I build for clients and it seems when I build for me , It'd just not got that zing ! Doog and the others are right .You enjoy it ! That's what counts .Slow down and don't try to finish that plane or whatever in a week .Stretch it out and then you will be slower , yes , BUT , more in tune to the model and building your skills  , remember YOU CAN DO IT ! !  Shoot , to build for others , a base skillset of over twenty years of building these things was needed ! Go to the U.S.S. WISCONSIN - museum website and you'll see what I mean .    Tanker-builder P.S. I only did the severe details