I need an intervention

[jmatt]

Hi guys. I'm kinda new to the board and the hobby.

Here's my problem: It takes me forever to finish something.

I can't resist being a perfectionist (or as much as I can be with my limited skill set). And the more time I invest in a build, the more compelled I am to make sure I do everything the 'right' way.

The other half of the problem is that because I'm new, whenever I'm unsure about something (which is all of the time), I jump online and get sucked into endless YouTube videos and build threads. I'll start researching something, look up, and two hours is gone with almost nothing done on the kit. And when I'm not researching, I am experimenting with products to learn more about them.

I don't really have a ton of time for this. An hour on weekdays, maybe a couple of hours on weekends.

What I've done so far is pretty good, my one completed build won first prize in a local contest and wowed the guys over on the Warhammer board (a Valkyrie kit). If you google "warhammer 40k valkyrie interior", one of my pics is the in the top five ever viewed. That's mine, all the way on the right. You can see more of it here.

But I can't help but shake the feeling that if I stopped being so anal and just banged out a kit every four to six weeks, I'd learn more than I do wringing my hands over cockpit details that will never be seen.

Thoughts from a few veterans, please?

[digger303]

I'm NO VETERAN, but well done very nice.
Some of us have a cheap model we don't care too much about and use it as a test bench. So you don't spoil a your latest and greatest when trying new things. It can be stripped and repainted continuously. Different sections of the kit can also have different techniques side by side.
keep up the good work

Not so much time is wasted then.

[Joker56]

Fella, just build it for yourself , if you think it's done leave it, none of us build to be perfectionist , we build because we enjoy it,
If we all though the same way all kits would be finished exactly the same , it's because we are different , we work differently , see colours different , once you think it's done to your satisfaction , move on to the next build ,
Remember it's a hobby , your meant to enjoy it .
Peter

[digger303]

Fella, just build it for yourself , if you think it's done leave it, none of us build to be perfectionist , we build because we enjoy it,
If we all though the same way all kits would be finished exactly the same , it's because we are different , we work differently , see colours different , once you think it's done to your satisfaction , move on to the next build ,
Remember it's a hobby , your meant to enjoy it .
Peter

Very well said

[jmatt]

Fella, just build it for yourself

Perhaps that's part of my problem. My other hobby is comics and I'm active on a forum where I regularly post build pics, etc. My friends enjoy the updates and we talk about how everything is going. But when things slow down, as they frequently do, I start feeling an angst about taking so long to make my next thread update. And when things look less than perfect... I feel self-conscious about it in front of my buddies.

That being said, what's the best way to get good at this? Pain staking perfectionism or a volume of builds to get more experience? My goal isn't just to do this, it's to be great at it.

[Nev]

Just keep building more and more. The more you do the more you learn and the better you get!

[Joker56]

To quote Field of Dreams " if you build it, they will come" each one will teach you short cuts , different techniques, very much a learning curve

[Cymru]

Just keep building more and more. The more you do the more you learn and the better you get!

Great advice

[ElCapitan]

As a fellow slow-builder (with probably even less time spent actually modelling each week), I consider researching, watching videos and reading build threads as just another part of the hobby. If you enjoy doing these things then that's all that matters, right?

I agree with Digger, find yourself a model that can be used solely for testing techniques and products. I have a 1/72 Hurricane that I messed up in the first place and I now just try out different paints and clear coats on it.

[GangsterNo1]

I know what you mean. I think I am similar in many ways. And I'm not a veteran at all, I have built a grand total of 5 kits over the last 18 months when I returned after building 1/72 planes as a kid.

For me, the slowness and procrastination came from a fear of 'doing it wrong' or not building something I was happy with. I wanted everything to be the standard of the pros I saw online and in books. I was also new to airbrushing and was frankly quite scared of it, mainly due to the fear of cocking up a model. The pressure of social media like Facebook and forums like this is also something that plays a part. This isn't something other people create, it is my own reaction to people sharing their work with the best of intentions. I want to build stuff that people who I respect, think are good models.

Since I completed a model recently that I was really happy with, I have found that I am more motivated to build more, and I worry less. I think part of this is a growing confidence in skills and techniques, but also feeling happier with my own abilities in relation to others. We shouldn't compare ourselves to others but its entirely human to do so.

The hobby for me is also about relaxation and winding down, especially in the build stage. At work, all I have is idiots, deadlines and budgets. When I'm modelling that all disappears (except the wife on the budget element!) So try and take time to enjoy what you're doing while you're doing it and dont put yourself under time pressures. The therapeutic nature of sanding, trimming, fitting etc cannot be overstated, especially when you have some music on and a glass of your favoured beverage to hand. Hope this helps.

[wookiee76]

Don't worry and just build at your own speed, as long as you're enjoying yourself you're doing it properly! I view the better builders than i as standards to aspire to and try to improve a certain aspect with each build. As long as you're relatively happy with the end result in the end that is all that matters.
I say this as an apparent speed builder and i know i have a lot to learn and improve upon.

[Lysus]

I think digger and the others have this well covered, build for you. Also winning a prize right out the gate is an astonishing achievement.

I second the bench mule. Keep some cheap kits around to experiment on. It's also a nice way to refill the mojo; build something that's fast and easy so you can get experience doing the painting and such.

As for forum updates I wouldn't worry too much about it. Most folks understand you're posting in your free time and won't demand updates weekly

[jmatt]

Great advice all around. While I agree that I enjoy the research aspect of this as much as anything else, I need to get over my paralysis by analysis, as they say.

Gangster, I could have written your post, it's exactly how I feel. I appreciate the empathy.

I suppose as a noob, that my problem is the ying and yang of the thing: balancing my desire to be as good as I can against my desire to have more output and feathers in my cap; balancing the journey and the destination.

I think if I had five builds on the shelf, I'd feel less anxiety about my pace.