So…as some of you have noticed, I’ve been sharing my recent builds (after almost two yrs of being in a funk and not having any motivation to work at my project table). And, I’ve been getting the “likes” as well as some nice comments. But, the following comment this morning truly surprised me:
“I am never going to be a great scale modeler but your work is inspiring.”
This following (after the “=====“) is what I wrote back to him, and while writing it, I thought I might as well share this with everyone else.
This is especially for those beginners who don’t have the confidence to start a build, or who think “I’m never going to be able to be as good as the modelers I see on FaceBook”…
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Jim – thank you so much for this comment! Believe you me, I don’t consider myself to be anywhere near the category of ‘great’, or ‘inspiring’; I feel i’m just an intermediate modeler.
With that said, I’ll share how I started (in early 2017). I bought the simplest Bar Mills and Fos Scale ‘beginner’ kits at first ($20-40), and did a bunch (a dozen?) of those first. I then moved up to the $45-70 range and did a bunch of them (probably another dozen or two).
With each kit, the time I took to weathering them increased; trying stains, then paints, and powders/pigments, new techniques, shingles vs rolled roofing, adding detail parts, weathering more things, etc.
After doing these first 20-30 kits (and boy, if you saw them now, you could tell a beginner did them!), I then moved up into the ‘intermediate’ value/complexity kits ($80-120). I’ve still not worked on one of the advanced kits (i.e., $150-200 range).
I’ll also want to share this with you: sometime around that second yr, I tried to start on the Bar Mills, Gritty McDuff’s ‘limited edition set’. While I did completely finish two structures, the main building has been sitting at 85% complete for several yrs now, and the fourth structure was never started – a case of me biting off more than I could chew way, way too soon. I’ll also share – I started on an FSM kit in late 2020, and while I made some good progress, I think I became a bit overwhelmed at how much I still had to do, before it was finished. Again, I bit off more than I could chew – I didn’t – at that point in time – have the necessary/required patience to complete it.
By complexity, I only mean the time it takes to do them. None of the intermediate/advanced kits are ‘complex’ or require more thinking than any beginner kit – all of them are just a series of walls to glue together; but, it comes down to more walls, and more windows, and more doors – all of which take more time to add on, AND, TO THEN WEATHER!
I have to say, once I figured out that when I ‘rush’ my builds, they come out looking lousy; but when I take my time, THAT’s when they turn out a lot ‘better’.
These five builds I’ve done this past month – the kits are in the $40-70 range, they really not complex at all; but, I’ve been using them to increase my level of patience (so I don’t rush), as well as to increase my weathering skill set.
Thanks again for your compliment; and good luck with your future builds!
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Lastly, it’s a coincidence, but Doug at Fos Scale just created a video, on “the worst scale model kit goes to…”, and it turns out, it’s the unbuilt kit sitting on your closet shelf; I spent the majority of my adult life being an armchair model railroader – I didn’t have the guts to start a kit, start a diorama, or start a layout – since I thought none of what I built would ever look like the ones I see in the mags/Facebook/YouTube, etc. The only way to move from a beginner to intermediate (and then, to advanced) is “practice, practice, practice”.
I want to thank Art at Bar Mills Scale Model Works, Doug at Fos Scale Models- Unique Structure Kits, Kenny (KC’s Workshop), Jeff (Carolina Craftsman Kits), and Randy (Downtown Deco) for creating these great kits that we all want to work on.
Lastly, if it were not for Frank Varga encouraging me to post examples of my builds a few yrs ago, I wouldn’t be here now sharing these thoughts with people who need the same encouragement.
