Quick construction builds or OOB (out of the box) builds are an immensely pleasurable activity in this hobby. Whether you are an experienced modeller or just starting out, swiftly creating a miniature replica by way of a simple construction process without any desire to embellish or create any unnecessary distractions, is one I regularly return to. A pure trip down memory lane.
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 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
I’ve had to take a break from the hobby since the beginning of September due to some large home improvement work. Whilst doing plenty of re-shuffling of hobby stuff around I got to musing over why I model the subjects I do. Looking at both finished projects and ongoing work I do seem to have a propensity for depicting damaged or destroyed axis vehicles. So why is this?
Abandoned axis softskin vehicles lie in a field in Saint-Lambert-sur-Dive 1944, after the escaping from the Falaise gap
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!
05 June 2024
Over the last 12months or so I seemed to have slowly been developing a very worrying and most annoying allergy. I'm branding it GluFlu!
Sadly, it appears that the cumulative effect of continuous exposure has now meant I literally cannot currently spend any time in the vicinity of an open pot of adhesive, even with a mask on, without succumbing 12hrs later to one or even two days of really bad flu-like symptoms! So, I’m having to take a step back from any type of construction work! Hopefully not indefinitely!
This all started after switching to both white and green top Tamiya adhesives a couple of years ago. I think the catalyst might have been due to one spillage in particular and even though the mancave was thoroughly aired out and the cutting mat replaced, my nasal mucus membranes must have taken a huge hit, and I think subsequent and regular exposure has triggered progressively worse nasty flu like episodes.
Thankfully I can still airbrush (always with a mask), brush paint with acrylics, weather with enamels etc, without issue, so, it’s just painting, weathering and finishing projects for me for the foreseeable future. I'm really fortunate that I'm such a glacially slow project finisher and still have way too many queens of the shelf 🥴
08 July 2023
I’ve just got back in my man cave after a protracted absence, and I have been musing on why there are some projects, that don’t pan out as intended. I always plan to push myself and better my last creation, but on occasion many things can and do conspire against that happening. One such example is a shelf queen resurrection project, already some eight years gathering dust. Although to be fair, it was in fact thankfully sat in a box quite dust free, but the gathering bit sounds more appropriate😊 In February I had just finished a lightning quick build of the same vehicle by a different manufacturer and was lucky enough to get it published. This inspired me to pull this older build off the shelf and make it even better.
12 January 2023
Aside from documenting builds on here and via blogs on modelling forums, being a forgetful sort of chap I do keep records of the majority of my builds and projects. Not quite in the
'Memento' film style but still quite comprehensively to paper. I tried
doing it electronically but planned obsolesce pretty much screws that up
over time. Same could be said of recording to said modelling forums as a few have lost huge chunks of data, mainly image related when sites are updated etc.
If I’m interested in a subject, I usually start noting down a set of goals and go about sourcing material and then look at the kit options (Scalemates is great for this)
Next up is
build fixes and tips. These are usually written on the instructions but
occasionally I will add a page or two gained from kit reviews and blogs. For any incomplete builds simply
highlighting parts on the instruction sheet helps immensely in the extremely likely event I should ever return to it😀
I also have a few step-by-step sheets laminated for different types of builds. Building only AFV's narrows the lists down and although comprehensive, its simple to skip stages but an essential record for not missing any.
TBH, over time the most beneficial results from note taking are to educate myself on what works best, whether it be products or processes. With the added bonus of gaining a much better knowledge of the vehicles I am replicating in miniature.
01 March 2021
With the lockdown restictions many of us have been experiencing it has been a difficult time for all of us and although I have had more hobby time over the last twelve months it has been increasingly difficult to motivate myself. Now things are looking more positive and Spring is upon us, the creative juices are flowing, and it is time to get creative in the cave again. Whilst away from the bench, I had been evaluating why I had struggled with a few processes and techniques over the last year. Being self-critical is one way I continue to better myself as there is always room for improvement.
15 June 2020
It has been almost four years since my little outdoor mancave was built and in this time it has turned out to be a fantastic purchase, fulfilling all my hobby expectations and keeping my other half eminently happier. Although I would have liked a little more room, the garden footprint available was restricted so it took a little while to figure out how to make the available space work. Up until now it has been relatively easy to update and add a few components here and there, but the time has now come for a complete overhaul.
09 October 2019
Tis all well in theory, and no doubt a clean bench should work more efficiently. However, putting that into practice time after time, build after build etc is not always possible for me personally. I seem to be far more creative if I don’t continuously tidy up around me. It’s simply a distraction! Sure, I do clean up occasionally and it will usually be a big clean up, but although I know deep down it probably would be an easier space to manage without all the accumulated clutter, I’m not fastidious about routines. ADHD sees to that!
I saved this as it’s an amusing reminder of what a day in the life of ME can be like
I can quite easily go to put the bins out, get talking to a neighbour, forget to actually put the bins out then inexplicably go to the local shop, buy shit I don’t need, come home, see a hobby parcel from the postie, forget or even loose what I bought from the shop, open the parcel, it’s a book, start reading it, see an image, go to the PC, to for more info on the image, get a Facebook pop up, get lost in Facebook for an hour and only when I need a pee does this cycle get broke. Whilst peeing I remember I went to the shops but can’t remember why or what for. I now forget about the book I am reading and start looking for my shopping. I then see food in the Fridge I would like to eat so start preparing a snack. I then make a brew. My wife then asks me if I put the bins out so although the food might get eaten the brew will most certainly go cold. And off we go again!!!!
So, as you can see, a clean bench is the least of my worries! Dealing with my condition when it comes to the hobby can sometimes be a bit hit and miss and even if I do remain focussed to get a project off the line, I start way more than I actually complete. Even though I rarely return to an old project I am annoyingly precious about keeping unfinished work in a state so that I can regain momentum quicky. My finished builds go in cabinets in the house, unfinished projects remain in well-marked storage boxes in the cave. That process for some unexplained reason, I keep on top of!
My dedicated garden mancave is smaller than many children’s bedrooms. At less than 3x2m internally it has undergone three major changes since it was built. I like to think each one has improved my ability to carry out tasks more efficiently, but the reality is the more 'stuff' I have, the harder it is to manage! Consequently, I do separate my space into work areas. Being right-handed it naturally flows left to right. First space is the 'build area' the next is the 'prep for paint', followed by the spray booth, a 'finishing' area and finally a little worktop photo both. Often if I am on a 'roll' with a project the build area won't get cleaned as I move onto the prep area. I know it will be a distraction and God forbid if I discover anything whilst cleaning up, that rabbit hole will be explored!
So, to the original question. 'Do I keep my bench tidy’. Truthfully, no, not really. My life is pretty messy, so it rarely bothers me that the bench is too. It is however great to see other modellers benches and to see how others work. I copied someone else’s arrangement for splitting my bench into different work areas and it instantly helped. The very fact I don’t have to tidy up the build bench to instantly progress to the next stage helps workflow and I like to think I’m a fraction more productive because of it.
Happy days
After posting my intentions earlier in the year to get busy completing the numerous shelf queens, guess what? Procrastination set in yet again! 😳 A bunch of new purchases distracted my plans, and I set about building those immediately! Models started are Dragon's medical version Kubelwagen, Miniart's Mercedes Typ 170V saloon, and my second Tamiya Steyr 1500A. All are ready for a coat of Tamiya fine primer.
There is a plan afoot I promised myself. After inspiration from a series of photographs, the plan is to display each of these recent builds on a series of interlinking bases showing a stretch of road with a single or several models on each base.
Dragon's relatively old Medi Kubel is a lovely little kit and apart from some additional sculpting of the canvas roof, fitted together painlessly. I found the styrene quite soft so removing small items from the sprue and sanding was very easy. The engine door, driver’s seat and wheels will be left off to aid painting and the all in one clear screen will require some masking on both sides before painting commences.
It’s been a long 10 months since I touched a piece of
styrene and a great deal more since I boxed all my modelling paraphernalia away
for the house move. Over the last month I have been steadily getting the man
cave operational. Such is the current state of the memory banks I had forgotten
about a few purchases I had made since re-locating which made discovering them
again quite a nice surprise! Every day's a new day. 🤔
Anyway, the mancave has been up since Aug 2016 and weathering nicely on the
outside. It’s only a 3x2m space but plenty big enough for my needs.
Productivity away from the bench 2015-2016
So it turns out I was quite busy for short periods at the (temporary)
workstation's I resided on during our prolonged house move! No painting
but under the circumstances quite productive! I started building the
Dragon Ferdinand premium kit, an ICM Renault AHN (Lastkraftwagen), Riich models
Skoda RSO Radschlepper, the ancient Tamiya Sd.Kfz.7 primemover, Roden’s Opel
Omnibus, Tamiya's Tiger I mid production, a Takom Type 2.5 VW crew cab and
lastly a kit bashed soft skin build. This comprised an Italeri ambulance, a Ford
V300 chassis together with Dnepro Model's resin fenders and Einsheitskabine
(wooden cab)
