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How do you choose your "next build"?

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  • Member since
    June 2017
How do you choose your "next build"?
Posted by UnwaryPaladin on Monday, April 6, 2020 7:33 AM

I usually have two builds going at the same time. When one gets into the paint and decal stage with all the waiting, I start another kit to have something to work on.

How I choose the kits I build can vary greatly. Sometimes a movie, documentary, or Finescale Modeler magazine article will spark the inspiration, other times a build on this forum will motivate me to pull a similar kit from the stash. I've had kits that turned into a grind, so the following kit will usually be one that I hope will be an easier build. With this corona thing going on, I've been looking at my paint supply as a factor in build choice. I try to avoid mail orders as much as possible, so I've been leaning more towards the 1/72 and 1/144 scale.

So, how do you choose what to build?

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: West of the rock and east of the hard place!
Posted by murph on Monday, April 6, 2020 7:44 AM

I usually alternate between prop and jet.  Scale doesn't matter.  Right now I'm working on the 32nd scale Revell P-51D-5NA.  Next build is going to be a 48th scale Hasegawa CF-18B.  After that, I might break out my 48th scale Lacaster.  No rhyme or reason to my decision.

Retired and living the dream!

  • Member since
    March 2010
  • From: Boston
Posted by mach71 on Monday, April 6, 2020 7:53 AM

Good question. 

 

All of the same reasons you posted.

 

Sometimes my next build choose's me! If some people I know/respect/like from this forum are having a group build I will join it even if I don't normally build that subject matter. I've found this forces me out of my comfort zone and to try new things.

I find Group builds to be very helpful in keeping builds going along while exposing me to the vast knowledge of other builders.

Sometimes I just see a kit in my stash and it's time for that build.

Many times when a newer, better kit of a subject I have is coming out. That will motivate me build as a comparison. This is what just happened with my build of the old AMT Star Trek shuttlecraft.

 

 

 

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Western North Carolina
Posted by Tojo72 on Monday, April 6, 2020 7:55 AM
Hard to say,no formula,whatever hits me at the time the last one is completed.As was mentioned,sometimes you need a lighter build after a real test,sometimes it's a group build,or maybe a new release you just grabbed goes to the front of the line.

  • Member since
    July 2018
  • From: The Deep Woods
Posted by Tickmagnet on Monday, April 6, 2020 8:25 AM

I have a small stash and I just have them stacked in the order I want to build them. Sometimes though if I have an excruciating build I'll find a simple easy one to do afterwards.

 

 

fox
  • Member since
    January 2007
  • From: Narvon, Pa.
Posted by fox on Monday, April 6, 2020 12:52 PM

Actually, my reasons are the same as all of the above. I have quite a stock of paints and glues so I don't even think about that. Recently, I've been thinking about building one of the stick and tissue models I have. Haven't done that for a long time. Might be fun. If I do, I'll just take one off the top of the pile and get to work on it. 

Jim  Captain

Stay safe.

 

 Main WIP: 

   On the Bench: Artesania Latina  (aka) Artists in the Latrine 1/75 Bluenose II

I keep hitting "escape", but I'm still here.

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Monday, April 6, 2020 12:58 PM

Whatever falls off the hoarde- um stash and cloats me up side the head... 

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    December 2018
Posted by Ted4321 on Monday, April 6, 2020 1:06 PM

I limit myself to 2 builds going at a time. Bandai Star Wars kits quickly accumulated in my stash so I have a Star Wars build going then something else. 

The "something else" depends my mood when I'm done with the last thing. 

T e d

  • Member since
    February 2020
Posted by The Model Guy on Monday, April 6, 2020 1:20 PM

I usually limit myself to one build at a time or else I'll get side tracked on one project while another stalls.

For choosing the next subject, sometimes I have a clear idea of what I want to do next and other times I am staring at the stash for an evening (or two). My wife laughs at me when she sees me doing it.

But other times, if I am reading a book or seeing a documentary that will inspire me as well.

  • Member since
    August 2009
  • From: MOAB, UTAH
Posted by JOE RIX on Monday, April 6, 2020 1:25 PM

I guess I'm mostly driven by the GB's here. A topic comes along that just strikes my fancy and I have an available kit for and go for it. Although not always the case and sometimes I'll just go with something I simply got a hankerin' for. That may be why my stash contains a cornicopia of subjects, genres and scales.

"Not only do I not know what's going on, I wouldn't know what to do about it if I did". George Carlin

  • Member since
    October 2019
  • From: New Braunfels, Texas
Posted by Tanker-Builder on Monday, April 6, 2020 1:32 PM

Hey, You talkin ta me?

   Yeah, I pretty much driven by what the Museum needs. But for me I pick one that's either started and go a few more steps. Or, I just pick up something that I stashed because it looked neat!

  • Member since
    June 2018
  • From: Ohio (USA)
Posted by DRUMS01 on Monday, April 6, 2020 2:46 PM

Everyones reasons relate to me, but to answer your question..

How do you choose your "next build"?

It comes down to my thoughts and impulses that trigger my nerve endings. Basically I use my hands to reach out to my stash..... 

With my hands of course! Big Smile

 

Ben 

"Everyones the normal until you get to know them" (Unknown)

LAST COMPLETED:

1/35 Churchill Mk IV AVRE with bridge - DONE

NEXT PROJECT:

1/35 CH-54A Tarhe Helicopter

 

  • Member since
    July 2014
Posted by modelcrazy on Monday, April 6, 2020 3:02 PM

I usually have two to three on the bench at one time. One of them is typically a ship, and the other one or two sometimes helps as a diversion of said ship.
Mostly I chose for GB's. I'll look to see what I have that matches and then of those, what stands out to me at the time.

Steve

Building a kit from your stash is like cutting a head off a Hydra, two more take it's place.

 

 

http://www.spamodeler.com/forum/

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Monday, April 6, 2020 3:08 PM

I plan my builds out in advance, 12 builds in blocks of 6. This way i make sure i have everything i need, especiallky for diorama's. There are several subjects that i ai to do at least 1 of each year, a 251 halftrack, one other German armour, a Norfolk airfield build and a Stuka or Ju 88. I then just fill in the rest depending on GB's and what takes my fancy.

I can tell you now what i will be doing the rest of this year and i already have an idea of what i am aiming to do next year.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: UK
Posted by PatW on Monday, April 6, 2020 5:01 PM

I build one at a time. after I've taken photo's of the finished build, I look on the shelves for the next one, or if I've seen a kit I really want to build under £20 (I'm a pensioner)and on ebay UK, I wait for it to come, do a lot of photo research of the real thing in the meantime, and get on with it when it arrives.

Remember , common sense is not common.

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Monday, April 6, 2020 5:53 PM

I have no system whatsoever.  Total chaos rules my workbench.  Or sometimes a whim will do it.  But no system.

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    November 2003
  • From: Naples, FL
Posted by tempestjohnny on Monday, April 6, 2020 6:27 PM
I usually overdue my commitments on GB's so this gives me the motivation for my builds

 

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: USA
Posted by keavdog on Monday, April 6, 2020 6:29 PM

I have 4 or so going at a time.  Just finished two, a dragster and a hammerhead shark.   Close to wrapping up a late war Hellcat and mid paint on my f-4j for the vietnam group build.  Just starting on a dodge dart drag car.  And theres the Titanic that sits and mocks me.

So I'm all over the place.  I do also enjoy the group builds.  I have a few trainers to get started on and a jayhawk for the vtol build.  

 

Thanks,

John

  • Member since
    August 2014
  • From: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Posted by goldhammer on Monday, April 6, 2020 6:32 PM

Usually something I see being done here, if I have it on hand, or a GB.  Then I get distracted by the next thing.....kind of the "SQUIRREL!!!!!" thing, and go after that.  

Needless to say, my shelf of doom is overflowing.

  • Member since
    September 2003
Posted by mightymax on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 12:02 AM
I have a large stash and believe it or not this makes it difficult to decide. I wish it was like when I was a kid. I would get on my bike and ride up to Art's Hobby Shop on 35th Street. My next build was the one with the coolest boxart.and my allowance would cover. Max Bryant
  • Member since
    January 2020
  • From: Maryland
Posted by wpwar11 on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 8:08 AM

Interesting question.  A variety of reasons.  Being new I build one at a time.  The first kit was Revells F18E Super Hornet in 1/48 from Hobby Lobby.  It was cheap and the best from a limited lot.  The current build and the one next are inspired from reading Graig Symonds The Battle Of Midway.  It’s Tamiya‘s A6M2 Zero and F4F Wildcat.  Both 1/48.

Also in the stash is Tamiya F189 Ferrari driven by Mansell and Berger.  this was a no brainer loving formula 1 racing.  The older cars to me look more beautiful than the modern F1 machines.

A few nights ago I was watching Netflix Speed and Angels on F14 Tomcat pilots.  Decided I need to build a Tomcat.  I think I’ll try AMK‘s offering.

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Towson MD
Posted by gregbale on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 8:09 AM

Impulse, 'wild hair'...or whatever I saw last night on the History Channel. I've found the child-like excitement of 'I want to do that!' is a great antidote to the hemming and hawing that comes from over-thinking (or over-analyzing) a prospective project.

Greg

George Lewis:

"Every time you correct me on my grammar I love you a little fewer."
 
  • Member since
    June 2017
  • From: Winter Park, FL
Posted by fotofrank on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 8:36 AM

I'm not sure how I decide on what to build. I recently participated in the 80 Years of Airfix group build and I built a dozen 1/72 scale kits I ignored in the past. One of those kits was the new tool Airfix P-51D flown by Bruce Carr, Angels' Playmate. I had met Bruce back in the '90s, before he passed. Right now I am enamored with the Cactus Air Force on Guadalcanal. I have a Hobby Boss 1/48 F4F-4 on the bench to be followed by a Hasegawa 1/48 Bell P-400. After those two kits I'm not sure. Maybe a couple of Red Tail Mustangs. I have a folder on my desktop full of pictures of airplanes from WWII training bases here in Florida that I might build a couple of. So I guess how I choose my next build is really a matter of whim.

 

OK. In the stash: Way too much to build in one lifetime...

  • Member since
    October 2019
  • From: New Braunfels, Texas
Posted by Tanker-Builder on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 10:35 AM

Aha!

    Well, I will second your opinion on the race cars. I too, think the older ones have more " Panache" I guess!

  • Member since
    April 2020
Posted by AmpLighter on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 1:18 PM

Typiclaly I would start something new right after I've painted a few parts of the prevoise build which would allow those parts ample time to dry.

  • Member since
    March 2010
  • From: Boston
Posted by mach71 on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 1:19 PM

mightymax
I have a large stash and believe it or not this makes it difficult to decide. I wish it was like when I was a kid. I would get on my bike and ride up to Art's Hobby Shop on 35th Street. My next build was the one with the coolest boxart.and my allowance would cover. Max Bryant
 

 

Boy ain't that the truth! Except I went to Poriar's hobby/furniture store in Lowell Mass.

  • Member since
    July 2019
Posted by Robotism on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 1:23 PM

I ask myself what kit I'd like to finish building in a years time and start on that one...

Usually I will find a kit I like online and order it or I'll look up and something will speak to me. I usually build to test a technique or do a diorama so I pick a suitable kit. A lot of my backlog is kits I fancied online but lost the spark when it arrived.

My most recent selection was for the Dirty robot group build and I had four potentials. I asked myself what kit of the four was most likely to stay in the backlog if I didn't build it and picked that one. Much harder to drop it if I'm building along with others.

  • Member since
    February 2005
  • From: Nashotah, WI
Posted by Glamdring on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 5:47 PM

I'm usually inspired by a book or a movie with the broad subjuct, then it's a matter of digging through the stash to find one in that category with sufficiently interesting box art and decent product reviews.

Robert 

"I can't get ahead no matter how hard I try, I'm gettin' really good at barely gettin' by"

  • Member since
    January 2006
  • From: Pineapple Country, Queensland, Australia
Posted by Wirraway on Friday, April 10, 2020 10:46 AM
I try and build in the order I bought them. Ageing decals usually rules my decision. A lot of my kits were second hand whenI bought them 10 years ago. Just Started Revellelogram Bf110 circa 1998 and decals are pretty bad.

"Growing old is inevitable; growing up is optional"

" A hobby should pass the time - not fill it"  -Norman Bates

 

GIF animations generator gifup.com

  • Member since
    March 2003
Posted by Clifford on Friday, April 10, 2020 1:53 PM

I usually build aircraft from WWI to WWII. German,Japanese and the U.S..I just finished Hasegawas 1/48 scale SH-2 Seaking. I wanted something different and now in the process of building JJ Models The Essence of Freedom figure kit from my stash. I usually look at my stash open a few kits look at the color schemes and go from there. Sometimes it is quite hard to decide what to build next. I retired from the Navy and I also build naval aircraft from the 50's through the Viet Nam war and a little beyond.

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