Which Kind of Modeler Are You ?

I'd be closest to mature modeler. I don't look in the box before purchase often, I use citadel sprue nippers, but the rest is pretty much par.

I think I'm about a bit of all of the above except the rivet counter and the master builder.

So who saw me on Google researching the last model I was going to build...then put away?

Somewhere between mature modeler and master builder, but closer to mature. No way you could call me a master.

I think I'm somewhere between the 'Mature' and the 'Immature'.

The difference is I actually try and finnish my kits, but like South Aussie, the finnishing often takes a while!!!

Karl

QUOTE: -Put into imaginary displays and dioramas that may never eventuate

I hear you on that one, with every kit i buy.

I'd have to be a immature/master modeler,i don't bother with the cheap and nasty kits
[unless i really want the subject ]i'd rather do a nice Tamiya or Hasegawa kit,i don't go for much aftermarket parts only seatbelts and brake lines on my A/C i'd rather spend time getting the paintjob right because bottomline you can add all the detail in the world
but if your painting is bad then the model is bad.
Aftermarket parts will come when i've gained more experience with Airbrushing and weathering.
Oh yeah Seanrgb your Phantoms look OK to me.

I'd call myself the solitary modeler. I buy kits of subjects that interest me, sometimes buy a few aftermarket bits/decals and add it to my kit stash. When it time for the next project I sit back and choose from whats in front of me and imagine it becoming a museum piece.
(yeah, OK in my dreams!)
Point is, I don't see myself in any of the above categories I just plod along at my own pace and try to do better each time, well when I get time!

i'm the lay in bed at nite type of modeller, thinking about all the great things i'm going to create out of this box of goodies i just convinced my wife that we just must have. of course she looks in the closet, under the bed, in the garage, in the attic at me!! and realizes, she married a hopeless romantic. semper fi, mike

I consider myself a SEASONAL MODELER. I do a lot of KIT COLLECTION year round constantly adding to my 1/48 scale WWII USAAF/USN stash. But work towards the MASTER MODELLER status from about November thru April. Weather just gets too nice to not be outside and play. Speaking of which... what the heck am I doing here?

*grabs golf clubs and runs out door*

tsk tsk.........way interesting posts.........
and don't it all read like therapy...

I'd have to say that I'm a senior or master modeller - but I'm not really interested in rivet counting.
I'd much rather see a really well finished model (and maybe slightly inaccurate) than spend months or years doing the anal retentive rivet count.
I always try to buy models from the "better" end of the scale rather than the cheap and nasty kits that take tons of work to make presentable - I just can't be bothered with them. I'd rather be choosy about what I buy and have a better starting point.

It's been good to read about everyone else's philosophies and habits. I don't fit into any of the categories, so I will describe my modelling too.

I buy kits:

-Because I really want to build the subject
-Because I like the subject and it is a bargain
-Because it is necessary for a diorama
-Because it is the best kit of a subject
-Because it is the cheapest kit of the subject
-Because of a group build.

The kits get:

-Opened and looked over , but I deal with any quality with good grace.
-Their instructions read
-Their subject researched; mainly on line or from library books, but I am slowly buying my own books. I don't go overboard with the research, but I love history, so I more or less just enjoy reading about the subject. Sometimes, hardly any research gets done.
-Put into imaginary displays and dioramas that may never eventuate

When I build:

-I correct annoying inaccuracies
-I correct easy inaccuracies.
-I ignore innaccuracies!
-I build out of the box.
-I build scratchbuilt interiors etc.
-I do extensive conversions.
-I build with care, very slowly.
-I build fast with less care.
-I build only four projects at a time; no exeptions!
-I start my fifth project. I justify it to myself somehow.

Towards the end:

-I lose steam
-I make mistakes
-I care less
-I care more
-I find upside down bits
-And pin marks that I thought were details.

When finished:

-no idea. I never have.

I am a walking contradiction!

I'm a bit of a rivet counter but not obsessively so (I mean which "rivet counter" would admit to that!) which is why I usually end up adding extra detail or looking for different decal sheets. I'm not a kit collector although the 80 odd kits on the shelf may disagree! Unlke Foster7155, Mobydick and others I have about 6 on the bench at present in different stages of completion (including 2 ships and an aircraft) and several partially builts back in the box in the cupboard. I also run a bit hot and cold and may spent hours one month model building and then not touch anything for a couple of months. I have atraget of one a month which I acheived easily last year but am hopelessly behind on this year - now if I spent less time in this forum maybe I could finish those 6........

Guy's,

My own models fall into being a collection of opened boxes and extra parts, stashed in a wardrobe, have so many models that are contract builds, so my own get pushed to fit in between all the other 'there not mine builds'. One major problem is with contract work the same client will bring more models, hoping to have his model built for him, when you've started on someone else's model. It's never ending, but going back to my own model subjects, in some cases models that are mine may take over a year to complete.

Rob

i think when all is said and done most of us fall into one category. we either sit at the cpu or we go into the lhs. we find something that sparkes our interest. we purchase it and think about it all the way home. when we get home we put it in a place where we have easy access to it, as we intend to build it.

now once we do those things anything goes but those steps we all share.

joe

OMG............
i've a 1/48 helicopter major conversion in work (200 hrs + w/ 4 up and down years)...........a 1/200 NWA DC-10-30 bare metal foil project in work..............a Silver Surfer (yet to be alclad) project..............and now about 30 (definite)remaining kits of the original 350+ (intended)...........blah blah blah blah..........
i'm an anal compulsive perfectionist kitbashing conversionist.........
so i guess i'm a major part of each of your catagories and then some........
and i bet a few folks i've been associated with would have a less than conservative perspective on the type of modeler i am............
but, i love the hobby & the people it lures to the LHSs'.

I'm a little bit of some of those you mentioned but there is one I would like to add that kind of fits me. It is the type of modler that has great ideas, a well equiped workbench but has a minor problem with the fact that when the brain tells the fingers what to do to get the job done right the fingers go on their merry way doing something not quite right. Result - a lot of started kits that are in some need of repair. I have built the same kit many times due to the repairs I have to ake along the way.

Richard

my one isn't there , i would say rubbish builder , i buy a kit , assemble the kit badly , paint it by brush because i don't know how to use a airbrush, get glue over the cockpit, and generally make complete hash of a good kit ( please see the raf phantom)

QUOTE: Originally posted by Dwight Ta-ala I am an OUT OF THE BOX - BUILD IMMEDIATELY - type of modeler. I buy kits and build them OOB right away. No whines, no complaints just a completed model on the shelf.

You make me sick Dwight.

I guess I'm the mature modeler. Most accurately though, I'm probably the "normal modeler". You know, buys kit, then builds it? Yeah? Nobody's heard of this?

I guess I'm a Mature/Master modeler with a passion for collecting all the books on a certain subject that I can find. Sometimes I think I only buy the kits so I can get 3 or 4 books to go along with it.

I am an OUT OF THE BOX - BUILD IMMEDIATELY - type of modeler. I buy kits and build them OOB right away. No whines, no complaints just a completed model on the shelf.

I am the immature modeller and the mature modeller. For one exception, 'usually' I build the kit and dont forget about it. I love dry fitting it and making the noises of the tracks squiking, . and the guns firing.......

I guess I fall into a strange catagory. i get things that I get a good deal on but still want to build anyway ( Can't remember the last time i paid full price for a kit) , have never asked the place to open the kit ( I like suprises I guess) Not very paticular on it being 100% accurate and so what if I like to move it across the table pretending it shooting at stuff?

I am the modeler that ZOKISSIMA descrbed I really don't care that much about accuracy as I'm the only one around that knows or cares about the subject. And there truly is nothing like opening a new kit:) Besides I never even thought about opening the kit before taking it home. I guess that is cause there is not a LHS local to me. I would have to drive a couple of hours to go to one:(

I don't think I fit into any of those moulds.
I see a kit I like, a subject I like, I buy it, taking price into consideration.
Take model home, open box, and inhale (there's just nothing like a new kit). Puts on shelf with full intention of building.
When I eventually DO get around to building it (I will build all those 30 sitting around) I take the parts off with clippers, clean up, dry fit, enjoy the experience. From an accuracy perspective, I'm definitely not a rivet-counter. I could care less whether the track pattern is correct or not, or whether the unit markings are right. I like the vehicle, the technology, and have a general interest in the history of it, but I do not model for the sake of preserving history, so accuracy isn't my most sought-after attribute.

So I taped a few planes together, even use rubber cement once, so I can make staffing runs on the cat, is that so immature?

I guess I'm closest to the "mature modeler". I'm kind of different in that I NEVER start a
new kit untill I've finished the one that's in progress, & I never take more than 6 weeks or so to build a kit (7-10 days if I have unlimited free time). I'll also build alot of kits that other people would consider sub-par & spend alot of time with putty & sandpaper to make them look decent. Bad fit has never deterred me from buying & sucessfully building Revell & Monogram kits--I consider filling & sanding an integral part of the modeling process (admittedly, not my favorite part). I'm not into aftermarket stuff & believe in making the best of a kit OOB. While very few of my models could be considered masterpieces, I can also say that I never ruin a kit, give up on one, or do a
poor job. My time & money are too important to waste. I'm a solid modeler, but by no means a master.