Is model building a dying art?

Besides what Duke said, there is another way to work around the feeling that "judges are too picky"

Take your models to a different contest, one where the judging works in the opposite direction.

In Gold-Silver-Bronze judging, you don't get dinged for each error, knocking you out of the top 3. You get positive points for each aspect of building the model, and if you accumulate enough points, you get the award for the points you earned.

If a person can't build a Bronze level model, then it is clearly not some "picky judge's fault",,,,,,,,it is the model itself.  You also don't lose out because you have a really good model, but there are Three better ones there that day,,,,,,,,all Four could get Gold.

Rex (builder of Lead and Copper level models)

Rex, I like the GSB judging; if done right, it helps to improve your skills, while acknowledging the work you've done.

   I am 18 and I have been modeling since I was 5 . My first kit was the tamiya m4a3 105 .  I think that yes the hobby is very unpopular mainly because it takes a lot of time to turn out a good piece of work and because of the instant speed of modern tech it makes the majority impatient with modeling. For example it usually takes me about a month or two to complete something of 1/35 scale not counting my shelf of doom (my revell huey gunship has been there for about a year).   At the same time the population of our planet has doubled or almost trippled since many of you were born and even if one or two people get into modeling out of every thousand the hobby still grows as a result. 

Remember try to get as many of the younger crowd interested as possible / I don't want to be the only one building models 50 years from now. 

I took a very long break from modelling after I turned 18 but am getting back into it now because I loved it so much.

I was limited by funds as a kid, limited by space as a young adult, limited by time as a adult, etc. etc. But now as most of my friends are married with kids and don't have a lot of hang out time, I need things of my own to do in my spare time. So I'm back at it with new skills to put into the hobby, and the ability to get all the tools I need to do a job right.

I also enjoy 3D model building on the computer but it's not as satisfying as building something someone can look at on a shelf and admire.

I'm 66 and started building at 5 or so. Initially stick and tissue, Guillows and Comet, then the Revell 1/72 fighters and Airfix through High School, College, and a number of years after. Stopped awhile ago when I got into re-enacting and antique cars. Retired now, I'm looking forward to doing some modeling again, I have a pretty good stash to work from.

My son did some modeling with me when he was little, but never really got into it although he still has an active interest in aviation. My daughter's heavily into re-enacting, swing dance, and can drive the Model T, A, and Jeep which impresses the heck out the guys.

My memory from my youth in Denver was a more vibrant hobby, lots of good shops around, but it wasn't really "cool". A couple days ago I was in Hobby Lobby looking at their very meager selection of kits when a young mother walked by and remarked how she couldn't believe kits were still around at all. When I asked why she thought that way, her response was that they were so frustrating to put together, took forever, and never looked like the box top anyway, so why spend the money? My next question was going to be how she knew that, but she was already walking away.

The old car hobby is also suffering from being an "old persons" thing. Basically that young people don't have the time, inclination, or money to participate. However, every time I start to feel concerned about it, I'll meet someone quite a bit younger than me who has genuine interest.

I don't think it's any more dead than it was when this thread was started almost 6 years ago. 

I'm 15. I'm currently building my first model kit, the RMS Titanic. I never really hear about anybody else building model kits. People on YouTube, yeah, but nobody in person. 

Interesting old thread.

I don't believe the hobby is dying out any more than it ever was in the past.  Probably since about the mid-80s, I'd guess it has been more difficult to get the younger ones into this hobby for a number of reasons - $$, availability, and most importantly, far many more "interesting" things to do.

I remember going to Jean's Model Shop that was located in Houston's Sharpstown Mall (curiously was mentioned in the movie Apollo 13, the neighborhood not the model shop, as that was where the big Houston investors were attempting to lure the early astronauts to live even though it wasn't really that close to Clear Lake).  It was always a treat to be allowed to go in there.  My parents even bought something for me on occasion.  When I was in middle school, there was a model shop in the old 40s-era downtown, which was easy to get to after school.  A buddy and I would go in there nearly every day and just sit there and look at and talk about all the models.  I don't recall ever actually buying anything - I mean, I was 13 and didn't have any money or had already spent what I did have on movie film or records.

I am 55 currently, have been building since I was 3 (Monogram's P-40B Flying Tiger that my parents got for me at a K-Mart and Dad undoubtedly helped me to build), but I did take time off in the early 80s through the mid-90s due to being more interested in things like my 8mm movie camera, baseball (was a high school player), girls, and then college.  But curiously, I can't say that I was 100% model-free during those years.  I remember building a pick-up truck, Monogram's original release of the 1/72 B-1B bomber, a few of the snap-together Star Wars models that came out after the release of Return of the Jedi, and then in college, after Top Gun, I built Revell's big 1/32 F-14.  Right toward the end of my time at A&M, I took a speech class where I needed some props to talk about how Hollywood did visual effects, so I put together a Monogram A-18 and a Revell A-6 Intruder.  In those years, model building was just something to do when I wasn't on a baseball diamond or didn't have a date (which was regrettable frequent).

I came back to the hobby in 1995 when I happened to be in a K-Mart (different location that where I got that P-40B), and happened across a big selection of models.  I probably would not have gotten back into the hobby on the back of the Monogram P-40 or Spitfire that I found that day, but the Monogram He111 and Revell 1/32 Beaufighter sold me.  I've been building consistently ever since.

I did try to get both of my kids into the hobby.  My son built a P-51D and my daughter did a snap together Hobby Boss Typhoon, but that was as far as they went.  I actually had more success with the oldest son of my neighbor, who was frequently found hanging out with me in my workshop, and I helped him build his F-14 and F-106 kits that his mom grabbed from the nearby Hobby Lobby.

Hussein

I'm 15. I'm currently building my first model kit, the RMS Titanic. I never really hear about anybody else building model kits. People on YouTube, yeah, but nobody in person. 

 

Well joining forums like this helps to get you know people,maybe some in your area,try to attend some shows nearby.

Yes it probably is difficult,kids your age don't seem to be into them.There are lots of young people into the Sci-Fi stuff,Gundam,World of Tanks,cars across the forums and at shows.

   I don't think the hobby is dying either. The demographic has however. When we were kids sleep overs, show and tell, yes, the local hobby shop, were our exposure. We could walk around the display, see what the product looked like. We would watch a friends big brother snip parts and say hey that is cool. Some of us coukd actually speak to people who had first hand knowledge and experience with the items we wanted to buikd.

     Today it is all internet...almost.....pretty hard to get a reaction from simply a 2dim screen, sure the box art looks cool but the buyer may not have a clue what to do once they see the pile of plastic in front of them. Yes there are plenty of You Tube and other tutorial videos however most I have watched are far above my skill. I have tinkered since childhood myself. In this world of immediate gratification time spent gluing and painting is simply not interesting to a younger crowd.

     On a darker note how comfortable would you feel letting your 10yr old child hang out with a bunch of middle aged men? I hate to put that out there but it is true to a point. I'm not a parent but I would for sure have that concern, heck one former member here had a negative interaction with the law. 

    Opposite side of that statement is THERE ARE MANY GOOD PARENTS out there who happily come to club meetings with kids, most were builders once and now have an excuse to get back to the hobby.

   No I think this hobby will contiue...it might change abit but until my wallet is empty, stash is gone, and my ashes are blowing in the wind we need not worry.

If somebody had asked me last week I would have said it is a bunch of old guys and the hobby will go with them.

My mind was completely changed on Sunday and I have actually been thinking on this subject since then!

Of the 2,000 to 2,500 people in attendance at the large show I just attended the old, grey haired, bespectacled, builder I think of when I think of the hobby were a minority. The average age was late 30s to early 40s and there were easily more teens to early 20s than us oldsters. There were also a very surprising number of young girls and women clutching their newly bought hoard of kits. 

Having been on a couple of model forums since about Christmas I am also floored by the number of new and reissued kits the manufacturers are pumping out now. There are probably very few kits from the sixties or early seventies that have not been rereleased. Companies such as Round 2 release 4 or 5 kits every month, Airfix has dozens of all new molds in the last year and even Revell has upped their game with new stuff. We have seen new companies such a Kintech, HK Models and half a dozen others I can't think of pop up in the last 10 years. There is no way on earth all these things are being supported by a hard core old-timers club. We also need to stop thinking that North America is the hub of all things. This hobby is Asia and Europe (especially Eastern Europe) is HUGE.

As much as we may like to consider that the internet may be sucking the life out of such hobbies the reality is probably the total opposite. YouTube, forums such as this (this thread was revived by a 15 year old after all) and the many, many, many sales sites all help in promoting the hobby and making things you would never see or hear of when you bought your kit at the Five and Dime easily available.

We remember the old kits of our youth and think of that time as the golden age of modeling but I feel that now is the more appropriate holder of that title!

   My local club has a new member, and he is probably 12. It is so much fun to see the excitment when one of us" old timers" donate a kit or books, one gentleman even donated a brand new Grex airbrush for the young man to work with. I will be attending a contest in Seattle end of next month, hopefully with thus thread in mind I will take notice of participants as well as observers. More than likely my faith in the hobby will be restored.

armornut

   My local club has a new member, and he is probably 12. It is so much fun to see the excitment when one of us" old timers" donate a kit or books, one gentleman even donated a brand new Grex airbrush for the young man to work with. I will be attending a contest in Seattle end of next month, hopefully with thus thread in mind I will take notice of participants as well as observers. More than likely my faith in the hobby will be restored.

 

I was surprised enough with the crowd that I mentioned it to my son. At first I was all like "OH look at all the young people that came to support grandpa" and then was "OH wait they are buying a pile of stuff" then the awards came and all these really young guys came up to get their medals and that clinched it. Mind you there were also probably 100 times as many people there than I expected so right from the start I was confused.

I was 5 yrs old and and am now 63 with a small break in the Navy.

I answered this post back in 2014,and 9 years later I'll still say no,it's alive and better then ever.

Somebody said the internet is actually helping the hobby,I agree,now I can share information and tips with modelers from around the world.Now I have acess to kits and aftermarket from all over the world including little cottage industries.3-D printing,the hobby is evolving and expanding.

Tojo72

I answered this post back in 2014,and 9 years later I'll still say no,it's alive and better then ever.

Somebody said the internet is actually helping the hobby,I agree,now I can share information and tips with modelers from around the world.Now I have acess to kits and aftermarket from all over the world including little cottage industries.3-D printing,the hobby is evolving and expanding.

 

The whole 3D printing thing is going to revolutionize the industry. I had no idea they could do what they do until I recently joined a model car forum. Whole bodies flawlessly printed, carburetors with full linkages and even little rebuild tags, specialty wheels and tires you could only find in resin if at all. I can see the resin aftermarket being completely replaced and even full kits coming out in a file you just print yourself.

My grandson was never into modeling but now has a 3D printer and is starting to head down that road.

Been building models for 67 years.

First one was in Wichita Kansas age 5.

Had my own rifle since I was 9 (.22 still have it).

Never quit, never will.

Weight lifting 34 years.

Never quit, never will.

I'm now 72.

I'm 84, been building since 1945.  I believe modeling is in a golden age.the number of kits and the amount of aftermarket is awesome.  Attending National and Regional meets- in fact, almost any contest, the beautiful models I see convince me that model building is not a dying art.  Some of the Junior catagory wins are great! And the Adult winners are fantastic.

I'm 82 and have been building since 1946 (6 years old). Lets see 2023 - 1946 = ummmmmm take away 1 from the 2 makes the 3 13-6=7. Wow, I remember how to do it.  77 years.

For those who see the error of 1 there, I won't be 83 till later this year, if the man upstairs doesn't call me before then.

Stay Safe.

Jim 

Oho!

 Still going since 2014! Still building too. Has Parkinsons shut me down, No Way Jose' Saw something interesting on -line though. A model show in the U.K. Although mostly boats and ships(well it is an island country now ain't it?). There were many entries by Yongsters.Well I don't mean 60 year olds either. Try 10 an up to the mid 20s. So it ain't dying, it's just taken a different direction.