Is Money the most important tool in hobby building?

money can buy you materials but skill, technique, and imagination are the best tools.

Even the cheapest, most basic kit is a passport to modelling enjoyment.

My current project cost me £3.65, or $6.57. It's a dead basic kit which I'm, updating with bits from the spares box.

I'm enjoying this as much as a £40 Tamigawa kit, not because the kit is state of the art, if anything it's the opposite, but because it presents a challenge, and an opportunity to excercise my imagination, and develop new or existing skills.

All that for £3.65? Bargain!

Karl

Its not the most important but it sure is good to have for it though.

Hmmm....

After being out of the loop for about the last 12 yrs, getting back into modelling has been a little different for me. One, there's half the kits out that there used to be.. (or maybe that is my perception) Two, everything costs twice as much now as it did then...

Ingenuity and creativity have been my friends... (I had to go back and pick them up on the way, I missed them dearly the first couple of kits since I have been back) Going to the LHS and seeing a set of sprue cutters for 16 dollars then realizing when I was in Wal Mart later, that the (manicure) cuticle removers were the same @#$ tool for 11 dollars less helped me get a grip on it...

Money is important for the normal hobby builder, but with a little work someone who invested 50 can produce the same result as someone who invested 700. I was talking with my dad the other day and getting some modelling tips. I asked him how he masked his canopies on the models he built for me when I was a kid. he asked me why would I mask my canopies. A 1 dollar magnifying glass on a pedestal and a detail brush from Woolco's were all he used. (a very humbling conversation to say the least)

I'm slowly overcoming my urge to buy... and think instead.

(P.S. I still mask my canopies...)

hahhaha as the song goes "Money, money isn't everything...."

It sure doesn't hurt!!

Ted

I only got back into modeling about 2 years ago and I have to say having the means to buy the various nice to have tools, air brush, compressor, etc along with the higher quality kits and model building books / magazines has helped my modeling ability more than just the age difference would suggest, even though I have most all the tools I would like, I have found that I probably rely on an $8 pair of sprue cutters, a $3 razor knife (like a little carpet cutter), sanding sticks and paint brushes for 80-90% of my modeling.

I also agree with the imagination comment, not just for building but for making tools, when I started scratchbuilding I saw a $60 cutting table for cutting styrene, I went to Home depot, bought a small piece of laminated wood, and a couple of squares, I made a table I think is better than the commercial one and I did it for about $15.

Money is important but I wouldn't say it is most important, now I would rate the internet very close to the top, I have learned so much just by coming to sites like this and asking "how do I...." it is amazing how helpful having hundreds of modelers available is particularly when you consider there is usually a lag of less than 24 hours before some good info has been provided.

to go along with rsaddlemire's response that imagination is the most important tool: don't forget imagination's 2 evil henchmen, ingenuity and cunning. to give you an example : a craft store in my town was selling academy's m12 for $18.00(normally something over $30) but with an instore coupon the final price was about $9.00. however, don't forget the old saying: money talks,b.s. walks.

money is close to the top. first kit i made i wanted to paint so i used old house paint and a brush made of my own cut hair a pencil and tape/elastic its sad i know but that was a long time ago it worked decently

i stand corrected fellows. model on!! later.

My point was that the modeler (aka prisoner) of that Iraqi rescue diorama personally didn't spend any money at all on his creation.
He had the passion, vision, and skill to create what he wanted simply with what was on hand. He didn't actively spend any money on his hobby, in this case.

But I know what you mean. Essentially, nothing happens in this world without money being exchanged.

But as an answer to this topic: "Is Money the most important tool in hobby building?"

Oh, noooo, no no no no no!

But I guess you could argue that money is the most important "tool" in life!!

well said robert, i guess i was on a different page. sorry fellows. later.

QUOTE: Originally posted by saltydog i saw that J-Hulk and yes, that was extraordinary friend. however, money had to exchange hands somewhere down the line to manufacture the toilet paper, and the prison had to purchase it. i may be getting too technical with this, but i'm just trying to say that most everything we touch today, money was involved somewhere to be able to do the given task. i mean, if i went out into my yard and broke off a limb from a tree and carved it into a beautiful representation of a given subject, i'd most likely used a purchased pocket knife in order to carve it with. somewhere, money is being exchanged. i'm sorry fellows, i didn't mean to screw up this whole thread with the technical BS, just ignore me and carry on, i'll go away. later.

I agree that money is the primary "factor" in modeling. In fact money is the most important factor in just about everything in the world...except nature.

However, when I think of the most important "tool" in modeling, I don't think of money. Oh, it's important in getting materials and kits, but then you just have materials and kits - you don't have models. It takes knowledge, skill, creativity, imagination, talent, dexterity, and patience to turn these "raw materials" into a model to be proud of. Money can't buy any of these things.

Enjoy your modeling...

i saw that J-Hulk and yes, that was extraordinary friend. however, money had to exchange hands somewhere down the line to manufacture the toilet paper, and the prison had to purchase it. i may be getting too technical with this, but i'm just trying to say that most everything we touch today, money was involved somewhere to be able to do the given task. i mean, if i went out into my yard and broke off a limb from a tree and carved it into a beautiful representation of a given subject, i'd most likely used a purchased pocket knife in order to carve it with. somewhere, money is being exchanged. i'm sorry fellows, i didn't mean to screw up this whole thread with the technical BS, just ignore me and carry on, i'll go away. later.

QUOTE: Originally posted by saltydog well, lets face it, ya gotta have money to model no doubt, so i'd say that money is way up the priority list for this hobby to function.

I guess you didn't see that diorama posted here last month or so of Private Jessica's rescue in Iraq, complete with figures and a CH-46 (or 47?), made by a guy in prison out of nothing but toilet paper, toilet paper rolls, and other commonly (well, in prison) available materials. It looked pretty darn good.

So as I mentioned before, all you really need is passion, vision, and skill.
You do not need money.

Me, personally, yeah, I need money, 'cuz I'm lacking in one or more of those three criteria!

well, lets face it, ya gotta have money to model no doubt, so i'd say that money is way up the priority list for this hobby to function. if money didn't exchange hands, who would mold kits into existance? who would manufacture tools and gadgets to make this hobby easier to access? who would form clubs and contests? even with your imagination, the majority of people couldn't build a kit if they had no money to purchase one. i know i certainly couldn't scratch build an airplane from what i have lying around my home with the limited knowlege that i have. to do research to find out if i could, i'd need the internet, which costs money to have, or gas for my vehicle to travel to a library, which involves money. we like to say things that tickle our ears when it comes to this subject, but without money, this hobby wouldn't exist. so my vote is that yes, money is the most important tool of this hobby. as i look over at the workbench, i just dont see how i could've gotten to this point in my hobby career without it. some of my tools were given to me, some were purchased, but money exchanged hands somewhere down the line for that tool or kit to come into existance. later.

QUOTE: Originally posted by MikeV I say the most important "tool" is patience!

I'll second that!
Paul

All you really need is passion, vision, and skill. Probably in that order.

Welp, I just got my Silentaire Scorpion2 compressor(189$) beautiful compressor..
Got my Paasche VLS airbrush (95$)
Another 50$ on, pastel chalks, paints, thinner, brushes, a couple of little tools and a model of an Tamiya M4 Walker Bulldog tank.
All together 334$, really not that bad, I was able to find an old coffee table out in my garage that I am using as a table, stripped the carpet out of my 1 spare bedroom, got an old desk to use for storing stuff in as it has shelving on the sides, and also has a nother seperate building table..
My trainset will cost a HELL OF a lot more than modelling when you add up everything else. Considering the facts modelling is a LOT cheaper than hobby trains.

Heres my . The most important tool is the love of the game


James

There's no question that this can be an expensive hobby.
But it doesn't necessarily need to be.
Scratchbuilding skills WILL improve (for most people) with a good set of precision tools.
But that's not always the case. I know a guy with a garage full of Snap-On tools, and he doesn't know which end of a screwdriver to hold onto. Go figure.
Imagination, tenacity, physical skill, and creativity are the four most important ingredients for a quality build - and the whole mess is helped along nicely with a good set of tools. Ask any engineer.
You don't need to go and spend twice as much as the purchase price of a kit for all the aftermarket goodies to make a nice model that you can be proud of - sure, it's nice to have all that stuff, but it's also nice to do it yourself.

I would also have to say if ya spent a bit more up front on the core tools you have to do this with, everything else will be cheaper. Spend your money on your ab, compressor and essentials like glue putty knives and core paints. Everything else after that is in smaller does and easier to manage. It's always the most expensive when you are starting out and have nothing. Thats what I had, a month later and 400 bucks I had all my core equipment, and good stuff to didnt chince out on it, I was up and running. Everything else now is resupply which is always cheaper and upgrading as I see fit and can afford. Its good when you use your head from the beginning.
-Jeff

Another good filler is Elmers Wood filler. Search garage sales, flea markets and the like for all sorts of "stuff" (including trash - people throw away the most amazing array of stuff that can be useful)

Shop in places that are not normally considered "normal" for hobbiests ie: discount stores, salvation army (or similar), hardware store, super markets and art stores.

Paints: Paint by number kits are good for 1 or 2 projects.
Acrylics and oils: Buy the tubes, learn to mix out of a basic pallette of color and thin accordingly for brush or A/B with the appropriate thinning agaent. Tubes will last a heck of alot longer than bottles.

Most importantly (as previously mentioned): Time, patience, and imagination are your most important tools. Skill and everything else comes with practice.

QUOTE: Originally posted by RustyFord It would be nice to know some techniques that you guys used to save money, mixing paints watever.... yah know like the blood guts of your teniques, if you guys don't mind sharing....

Hmmmm....well I scratchbuild a lot and I get my styrene and acrylic stock for free. I've spent, maybe a nickle on my current project.
You can buy a quart of MEK at Home Depot for about $4 and it is a great glue. The same active ingredient as Tenax-7.
Bondo putty from the auto dept of Walmart is dirt cheap and makes a great filler for modeling.
Go to dollar stores and discount stores like Big Lots on a regular basis. You never know what great modeling tool you'll run across. Last time I was at Big Lots I found a Dremel style circular saw and manderal set for........a dollar!
Yes I know Woody is a cheap skate!

I believe that TAG_LK said it first ... but, my thoughts on this thread ... my works out to be: ... TIME ... time is the most important tool in hobby building ... without the time to build at your own pace ... your own comfort level ... the results just aren't going to be there ...

I'd say that a desire to improve and try new things is an important tool in this hobby. There's no such thing as too much money, but time, patience and a love for what you're doing will make up for any shortfalls you may encounter on the financial side.

Of course, your mileage may vary...

I would say time, which is very important, and patience.

heheh, I think the underlying factor no matter what you do is money, you need a house to display your product....