Why did you come back ?

I drifted in and out of the hobby for some 40 years, 20+ years of military service sometimes stopped me. but went i got back to the states for a short tour i would start up again. Now that i am retired, and finally landed a steady job i build like there is no tomorrow, and i kinda buy kits, even when i have one that i am working at that monent... just to show i am working on 4 ships, so i build alittle paint alittle and wife compliant alot. I also have a huge CD collection and i listen to them while i work on models (I do not like tv to much). Not to long ago my youngest got involved in models and now he has a huge collection of Anime models. It seems that a few of us share a common problem and we managed to over come it. Kudo to all who managed to will the stuff alone. And now for my last line, boy did we open up on this.

I too started modeling at a young age. In high school, I got into girls and all that too but it didn't really keep me from modeling...ok, maybe a little less than before the girls. Anyway, after working a few years I went to collage. At about the same time, I got very deep into racing R/C cars. Between the two, modeling ended.

Then, a few years ago, after ending all my hobbies years earlier, I got back into racing R/C cars. Did that until 9/11. When my job changed and my funds fell, I quit R/C racing. I needed something to do so I started digging around the many unbuit kits in the closet.

Now, I race and model and managing quite well.

My hats off to you PIX,
I came back out of pure passion for something I loved as kid. For most guys Aurora is one more name on the model list of names. Aurora to me is the king and I want to know all the hows and whys of the great model maker. Everyday I look at my Aurora collection and say this is what I wanted for so many years.
Dales Aurora Models
http://community.webshots.com/user/dales_aurora_models

I've just read this thread finally and it's really good to see that some of you have used modeling as a substitue for various problems. I've been dealing this week with a very good friend I just found out has an addiction so I hope we can have the same success. I know God can take controll of this situation if my friend lets Him and then all they'll need is some moral support from myself, the church and others.

As for my modeling, I quit after high school because of lack of a good work area i.e. no central h/a in GA isn't too condusive Anyway after 12 years and a new house I decided to start back up but it's been slow going and not really spending the time when i had it. I have decided now that I need to do something with all the kits and detail sets I've invested in so I'm starting back as much as possible now. I should have my Marder III which is my first armor kits done soon then on to the 1/16 Tiger I!

Eric

QUOTE: For me God's strength was instrumental and still is now. All we have to do is ask and we shall recieve.

Sherm, I say amen to that!

I was raised in a christian family and was never involved in drugs, smoke and alcohol. However, I saw how these things can destory people's lives through the experiences of my relatives and some friends.

I have high regard for those of you guys of have the will and the strenght to turn away from these as I know how difficult and painful it can be. But I believe that we just have to realize that "we don't need these things"!. In fact, we don't get anything good from these things.

All of the guys here have special talents. (Just see those works!) I think spending our time in fruitful activities like modeling is better than wasting them in things that never do us any good.

Good luck to all of us in whatever problem we are trying to deal with.

Derek - Right on the money with God not tempting us. He does give us the right to choose, and it's these choices that we have to live with.

Myself I made many, many wrong choices throughout my life. Most of them centered around alcohol. It has cost me friends, family members, material possessions too many to count. When it came time to kick the booze habit there were only two left standing with me, God and my wife of now 27 years Terrie. Without their help and support it would have been an impossibility for me to kick the addiction. Now my faith is solid. Some of the friendships have been restored, others weren't friends at all, just drinking buddies. And for Terrie, well she finally gets the better part of the wedding vow that we took instead of the worse.

For me God's strength was instrumental and still is now. All we have to do is ask and we shall recieve.

These stories are just amazing and truely inspirational. I'm not going to bible thump anyone, but it did wonders for my father-in-law. Before I new him he was a big gambler, smoker, and drinker. Needless to say he found religion one day. What a change it has made in his life. He does countless volunteering in his parish and is the most giving guy you'd ever meet. He gave up his vices and is a changed man. My faith kept me going when I was going through my ugly divorce and numerous other situations. I know without it I would be in a much worse situation today. It just makes us better people to have a just cause to rally behind. It brings us together as a community with a common interest. Much like our little family in this forum. Best of luck to all as they pursue their goals.

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

QUOTE: Originally posted by claymore68 I believe that God will not tempt us with anything we can't resist and I walked away from weed and coke cold turkey.

Very true, but he also does not expect us to to do it all by ourselves. He is constantly watching and waiting to help us out - all we need to do is ask.

QUOTE: As I drink less my thoughts seem to turn more to religion, I probly should go back to church, it's only been 10 years.

Being part of a good church family is almost like therapy. There is nothing better than being part of a group of people that truly care about you, accept you for who you are, and are willing to help you out.

I have got to say, as well, that you guys are an inspiration. Your courage, will power, and determination are an example to us all. Fortunately, I have never been down that road but I do recognize certain 'addictive personality traits' within myself and I know that without God, a great wife (who was headed that way), and a wonderful family, that could very well be me as well. As the saying goes, "There but for the grace of God, go I".

Congratulations on your progress so far and may God grant you the strength to keep on keeping on.

Ray

claymore - do what you feel is right for you to do. I believe that everyone has the ability to overcome their own difficulties, and sometimes it requires being brutally honest with oneself. Your bravery in controlling your impulses has not gone unnoticed by me, my friend. Take care & do what you can, one obsticle at a time. Spirituality has been important for me also. I try to follow a Taoist belief (that's the one that was used in the old Kung Fu T.V. show), and it has helped me immensely. Good luck again !

I believe that God will not tempt us with anything we can't resist and I walked away from weed and coke cold turkey. the differance is that the drugs were a part of my life for a few years, while I've been drinking for 21 (I'm 35). I may yet need AA and it's a comfort to know it's there. As I drink less my thoughts seem to turn more to religion, I probly should go back to church, it's only been 10 years.

claymore - anyone that calls himself a councellor and behaves that way is a disgrace. It sounds like he was more concerned with his own problems, and unwilling to help others with theirs. Its tough, I know. At the end of my drinking, I had 3 jobs. I was manager of a package store (beer & wine), I was doing sound for a band, and I was the house soundman at a local nightclub. I lost all three jobs within 2 months. I checked myself into an inpatient program for 2 weeks. When I got out, the landlord told me that I no longer lived there. That's when I knew it was time to quit. When you find that its the thing that you most want to do, the psychological bond with the booze is broken. Its then a matter of physical attachment.
All I can say is, when the time is right, you will know. I applaud your determination to do it by yourself. (If I had the same experience that you did, I'd probably do the same). Hang in there, buddy. After a while, you realize that you're not missing anything by not drinking.
GOOD LUCK ! ! !

Congrats to Pix and Sherm on the sobriety.
Drinking cost me 2 jobs in the last 2 years so I also needed a hobby other than beer and came back to modeling after many years. I had a counselor for my alcohol will power problem but he told me it was it a BOTHER to drive 20 miles to see me. That was my last session. I still drink but it's getting less and less.

Not a problem, Bruce. Do you have a particular ocean picture you would like to use ? (I live 100 mi. inland & I don't drive). If you have an ocean pic, just light your model from the same direction from which the sunlight comes. I've never done a bow wake before, but I have a couple of ideas that may work. You can send them to me at bi55ll@comcast.net
Talk to you later.

Hey Pix:
Nerves of steel huh? What if the models are plastic and wood? Hee hee!
I forgot to mention that I have been enjoying your in-flight pictures as well ... When I get the corvette finished do you think you could put it in the ocean?
regards,
Bruce

I got out of modeling in 1978, when I was about 16. It was a gradual thing. My interest in modeling began wavering when I got my first drum set and began whamming away to Led Zeppelin, Foghat, Black Sabbath and so forth. (I'm sure my parents wished I'd get back to modeling if only for some peace and quiet!) Then in 1978, I discovered a new hobby: collecting old telephone pole insulators. My model kits were immediately banished to the closet and my workbench became an insulator display. In 1979, my parents and I moved to Hawaii; beforehand, we had a yard sale and I sold all my model kits and didn't look back.

About 1995, years after I'd moved back to California, I saw a kit of a radio-control fishing boat at a yard sale and thought my friend in Hawaii might like to build it, so I bought it. After I got it home, I had an idea: On the days that my work would be rained out, I could build the model just for something to do. So I bought a few basic modeling tools and a couple of bottles of paint, set them aside and didn't touch them until the first rainy day of the winter. That first day, I said, "Gad, I've forgotten how much fun this is!"

To make a long story short, my modeling gradually shifted from something to do on a rainy day (not many of those in Los Angeles) to a full-time hobby by about 1998. The fishing boat went from something I would build out of the box to having numerous scratchbuilt parts made for it; some of them because of poor fit. (The boat, built as a static model still sits on display.) And I got a nice little backlog of kits; not the hundreds or thousands that many people have, but about a dozen. Now that I'm out of work, I found that working frequently on models helps keep me out of trouble. Today, I'm in Phoenix, house sitting for my parents and I even brought my current project so I can work on it here in Arizona. (The model hasn't melted yet!) I even bought some aftermarket parts at a model car show that was being held today just west of Phoenix.

Pixilater, congrats on your 10 yrs! I stopped modeling around the time I started driving and thought cars and girls were a great substitute. I had some clunkers so I got pretty handy with a wrench and then cars became my hobby. I did some racing(expensive) found a great woman who I am married to for the last 31 yrs and when the kids came the cars went. I went back to modeling till the days I wouldnt be left alone when they were toddlers. I started to learn a few musical instruments on my own and both my sons became musical also. I went back to modeling for a bit and they picked it up too . Then the days of driving all over for soccer and ice hockey started and the models went away again.
Now, both boys are married, I am a grandfather and peace has come over the land. The models and Tommy are both happy to be reunited.
Again Pixilater and Sherm congrats to both of you!

Reading these posts, I realize I am truly in the company of extraordinary people. Thanks so much for sharing your stories. There is some genuine inspiration here that makes the frustration of an ill-fitting kit seem trivial. I applaud your honesty and courage. I think, in some small way, that we NEED to build kits. Turning a box of rattling plastic pieces into a thing of beauty is an accomplishment seldom realized in the "real" world. Thanks again for sharing !

I took some time off from modeling when I got into college, mainly because my band, girlfriends, and drugs became more of a misguided priority in my life. After I joined the service, I cleaned up my act. My wife was gone a good deal of the time, and a friend got me interested again in Warhammer, which I had played when I was younger. After putting together countless tanks, guns, and troops, I offhandedly decided to try out the real stuff again, and was hooked. I still play alot of Warhammer, but spend more time on aircraft than anything.

demono69

What a come back Pix!!! Bravo!!!
I to am back into modeling after 30 odd years off. Raising a family of 4 kids,divorce after I became disabled...blah,blah,blah. I've had 5 major surgerys since 1995. My last work was in 1993. I was an Executive Chef and all fine scale dinning resturants,clubs and hotels. I went through sitting and pouting and wondering"what the hell amI going to do now?" Well in 2001,after my second neck fusion,the aid that was helping me at my house took me the doctors the get a check up. Mind you this is only 2 weeks after surgery. This aid was driving not to nice for someone that just had any kind of surgery. I asked her to please be a little more careful on the way home. Well,she sat their POed all the way home,then when we got to the enterence to my complex,she turned into the driveway at 20mph and went over the speed bump with otu stopping. My head hit the roof of the car and come to find out she broke my neck again.
I need to do something with my brain(yeah right) and my hands. In my profession I had to be perfect or just as close to it as possible every minute. My body will not let me be that way 99% of the time. With the help of my girlfriend,she had the airbrush,and since I still can't drive,she erged me to do something that I could use my head and hands. Modeling was and is the ticket. I have build 2 computers,nice but when your done it is way to costly to just start building another one.
I'm have a great time either building or researching the next aircraft to build. Also,with all of my new friends here at FSM,well I keep busy and a little more happier doing what I loved so much as a kid.
Thanks to everyone at FSM and all the hobby stores in my aera that have helped me get back into something that I can try and be perfect at once again. Itis in my blood to do the very best at whatever I try.
Hope this is not to much crap,but it is all true and I left out a lot of other medical crap-o-la.

Excellent stories by all....I left modeling before my teens as I just kind of lost interest in it....right before someone had bought me a B-17 kit and I looked at all the pieces and just thought "Why?"...so I never ended up building that one....

In college, I ended up in a band that took up a lot of time....started getting into WWII right after the D-Day 50th anniversary and then before you know it, I got an interest in those awesome planes. Started toodling around...but really gained momentum after my grandfather died and I found out only by reading his obituary that he had served with the Marines at Iwo Jima and Okinawa....decided then that I was going to learn as much as I could about the war before all those great men were gone...and I haven't looked back since. Now I am building models for them and loving modeling more than I ever have!

QUOTE: Originally posted by J-Hulk Anybody else out there who "got back into it" after joining a club?

I guess you could say that. I remember building models when I was very young but I never really 'got into it' and I didn't do any modelling through my teens. Once I left home, being the solitary-type of person that I am, I decided to give it a try again. Although I seemed to purchase models rather regularly, I never seemed to get much building done. Having a job where I traveled, a LOT, didn't help either. After getting married and a couple of kids I decided to break out some of the kits and really get serious. Having an extended leave from work allowed me to start attending the local club meetings, and the rest as they say.......is history.

I strongly encourage everyone out there who has not had the opportunity to get involved in a local club to give it a try. It will definitely keep you excited and active in the hobby even if you can't always be actually building.

Ray

I did alot of model building in my teen years but as I got older I found that partying was more fun so I continued on that line. But as I grew up partying was'nt as much fun and responsibility creeped in. Having a family I needed something to do from home and then remembered how fun modeling was so I came back and it seems to be more rewarding then I remember.

Thanks, tigerman. Have a drink on shermanfreak & me. If thats alright with you, shermanfreak. Congrats on your rejection of "Good Old John Barleycorn !"

Pixilater, I went into the aircraft forum and discovered some of your various works and must say I'm impressed. Keep up the great work and good luck in all you do.

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

Pix, you are an inspiration!
Lot of amazing and emotional stories out there.

I never really left the hobby, but I would have to say I became much more serious about it after I came to Japan. Back in the States, I wasn't in a club, there were no contests or shows, no decent hobby shops in my hometown, none of my friends really modeled, and I didn't have Internet access. I did have my subscription to FSM, though, which kept me motivated and informed of the latest techiniques, products, etc.

Then I came to Japan, joined the local modeling club, entered shows, had easy access to a myriad of amazing hobby shops, finally got Internet access, PLUS I still have my subscrtiption to FSM, so my involvement in the hobby increased a million fold!

But I would have to say it was joining the club, seeing those guy's great works and being encouraged by them to do better that really inspired me to become more "serious" about modeling.

Still a long way to go, but man, I'm having fun!

Anybody else out there who "got back into it" after joining a club?

Key,

My father was a carpenter; I'm lucky if I can hit a nail twice in a row. I do a bit better with wrenches, welders (Pop taught me)., trying to get my own business going building Street Rods and such. Wish it was as easy as plastic ....

Pixilater,
I commend you on having the guts to share your story with us here. I'm sure it wasn't easy. May you thirst
only for models!

I can't tell you how I came back to modeling, because I'm fortunate enough to have never left. Some months are more productive than others; sometimes work will keep me from the plastic for two to three weeks at a time, but
it's always there waiting when I return. I find that very reassuring.

For me it's just a simple case of not having enough money in my college days to support the hobby.

I stopped for more than 10 years.

I stopped building after my Dad had passed away. He .bought me my first kit, showed me the ropes, and we shared a lot of enjoyment building together. Just didn't seem right to go on without him around. My wife got me refocused on building right after we got married. Bought me an Accurate Miniatures P-51C and the rest is history.