All quiet on the western front

 

Apologies about not posting any updates recently but there has been zero bench activity of late. This has been due to some heavy duty and extensive home heating renovations. This has affected every room in our home, so as you can imagine it has been extremely disruptive. What it has meant is that all my focus has been required to liaise with and manage the builders to ensure a productive workflow with the least disruption as possible. TBH most of the work went without hitch and any little snags are slowly being ironed out.

In all this time both our garage and my mancave have had to accommodate all sorts of personal paraphernalia so even if I wanted to just chill in the cave, I had no way of getting in! December will be occupied with getting our home respectable again and ready for the ensuing festivities.  I should be back to some sort of normality early in the new year, so once the cave is accessible again normal service can resume.

Until then, a happy Xmas modelling to you all.

Los 

 

Some progress pics of projects that will feature in 2026 

M26 Pershing  

  A pair of Dodge WC51's

Three Stug III's  

 

And four IV's 

Why do I build what I build?

I’ve had to take a break from the hobby since the beginning of September due to some large home improvement work and whilst doing plenty of re-shuffling hobby stuff around the place I have been musing over why I model the subjects I do. Looking at both finished product and ongoing work I do seem to have a propensity for depicting damaged or destroyed axis vehicles. So why is this?

 

I’ve completed many unmolested Axis support vehicles, soft skin trucks etc, but you will rarely find I have deliberately modelled an operational Axis AFV. Even the ones I have completed without serious damage are destined to be stuck in a ditch or abandoned. I don't believe this was ever a conscious objective I set out to accomplish so it got me thinking. 

 My very first attempt at creating a wrecked vehicle

My grandfather was in the Royal Engineers during WWII and repaired many vehicles after the D-Day landings in Europe. Although I no longer remember all of his war time tales, I do recall his descriptions of the absolute destruction of both buildings and vehicles, some of which he was likely to have had to remove or work on. I can only conclude that it must have left a lasting impression on me! I have always enjoyed reading history, particularly military history, and events leading up to, and during the Normandy campaign have always held a fascination.

 

As well as my grandfather’s recollections, growing up in 60 and 70’s Great Britain, there was an endless stream of war films and retelling of events. I’m also pretty confident that those little Commando comic books that I so loved to read gelled together my interest in both military history and art, and must have driven my passion towards scale model making. 

 

Manufacturers of early plastic construction kits seemed to be far more focused on releasing Axis armour, so that’s what folks built. Although there is greater variety these days, is it any wonder why these subjects are still so popular? 

 

Looking back to when I returned to the hobby in the mid noughties, I did get a lot of inspiration from a guy by the name of Scratchmod who built some fabulous wrecked German armour. Also, the first Panzerwrecks publication had just been released, and this was a game changer for me. It brought my grandfather’s stories to life. There was something about all these once fearsome machines that now looked so impotent.  Maybe subconsciously I had no real desire to portray any Nazi vehicles in a good light, so any AFV's I would build was naturally portrayed inactive or as a scrapheap contender. So, whilst I do like to build axis AFV's I really do like to beat 'em up!  And I’m perfectly OK with that!

 

Scale modelling with ADHD

 

Being naturally blessed with wizard like hyper focusing abilities, you would assume that during the past decade I would have produced a vast portfolio of work. That is one of the upsides of the condition, however there are far more downsides and being neurodivergent makes things a little more complicated!

My condition appears to be getting more difficult to deal with as I get older so a return to scale modelmaking has been a lifesaver in so many ways. The hobby has created a quiet, calm, anxiety-free space that I rarely get to experience in everyday life. I love other shit too - obviously, I’m not completely mental, it’s just that most regular day-to-day stuff makes my cranium internals spin, like it’s occupied by ten highly caffeinated squirrels!

The ability to highly focus is fantastic but I have to be in the zone for the whole build; and that rarely occurs. This is the reason so many of my projects get shelved mid-build. I do save them, but the progress of time and how I assess improvement in my work usually conspires against them ever seeing the light of day again.

I have been evaluating my work-flow recently and to improve my modelling skills I have realised I simply must produce more completed builds. To keep myself engaged I have to keep things rolling along. Unfortunately, this means lowering my expectation of what I would like to achieve. I love spicing up a build, adding photo-etch and additional accessories, or placing a vehicle on groundwork, as this always makes for a much more rewarding end product. But it requires more time and effort and nearly always prolongs the process. For me, this can lead to issues and frustrations, and all to often I just move onto something more instantly rewarding, like popping open a new box lid!

Rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) is often linked with ADHD and it can result in extreme emotional sensitivity. I do beat myself up when progress doesn’t go smoothly, I don’t throw stuff at the wall, but I find it difficult dealing with setbacks. I see my work as a failure and often reject what I’m working on. To most neurotypicals it’s just a case of finding a simple solution to overcome that particular obstacle. Taking time out and going again. My brain doesn’t work like that; it takes much longer for me to figure that out. I get overwhelmed and find ways to avoid tackling things head on, which is what almost always occurs. On these occasions grabbing a new kit is the only way to get me back at the bench. If I don’t do that, I might not get motivated again for days, often weeks. And the cycle continues.

So, although I do get immense pleasure being creative and enjoy my time at the bench, I rarely actually produce much finished product. A quality end product is always my goal but it’s often unachievable and that fact can be self-defeating.

The answer: quick builds with deadlines. They are often the only way projects get finished and although I rarely appreciate how they turn out, others don’t seem to agree. Some of my most appreciated work has been built with a deadline in place and although that often doesn’t always give me 100% satisfaction, I have to acknowledge it will ultimately make me a better modeller and maybe, someday, I will learn to better manage and complete more involved projects.

One thing I do continue to embrace is the research associated with building a particular vehicle. It’s a rabbit hole that I was happy to go down and although it ultimately involves tracking down often difficult to obtain reference material, and aftermarket accessories, I do get an immense buzz out of it. I realise now it has always been a convenient delaying tactic to getting me to do any actual work. It might be self-evident by now that procrastinating is another skill I’m extremely proficient at!

Having a better understanding and knowing why I struggle so much to acheive regular modelling output can only be a positive step. This and my recent hobby glue allergy (no more building for me ) means there really is very little excuse now in pushing more of those incompleted builds over the finishing line!