Dealing with Mojo Loss

[Twokidsnosleep]

I am interested in hearing how others deal with waning motivation or interest in a build, kit or even the hobby itself
How do you keep yourself going??
I am, ah, asking for a friend

[bfrd]

I don't know, but I almost asked this same question the other day.

[KungFuDrew]

Went through the same thing recently when I found myself sitting at the bench out of habit rather than any actual desire to build anything. However things went crazy at work and I didn't get any free time for almost 2 weeks, so my bench went untouched for a while. Once I did get some free time I started a whole new kit on a subject that I've never really modelled before, and I've found myself really enjoying myself again, so I'd recommend the same thing for your friend . Take some time off, and have a kit waiting for you that you normally wouldn't make, or a shake n bake kit that you'll be able to complete in a couple of days, and that should have your mojo back to full strength!

[DrSprue]

I dont know Scott! Im still new coming back to the hobby from about April/May this year. I used to make quite a few flying rockets back in the day and a few static models in the 90's and some in the 70's. Some aircraft and autos. What I am finding is that I am watching youtubes like crazy! All model related. Looking at these posts on this website like crazy... learning so much, but when it comes to getting to the bench Im almost exhausted. I put together a few parts and then the wife seems to have other (non-model like) tasks to add to it. Then, Im done for the day.

If I got into facebook and other type of model like user groups or heavy duty social situations I would not build a thing!
I dont like showing off, Im just building this stuff for me... and maybe find a few friends that can share a few things if we are on the same page.

I think what drives me to build stuff is that topic MUST BE AN IMMENSE THING THAT HAPPENED. Firsts!!

The Saturn 5
The V-2 Rocket or rockets in general.
The Shuttle
The Bell X-1
The SR-71 Blackbird
The Me 262, BF-109...
F-14's, F-16's, F-35's, A10's...
U.S.S. Constitution, Nuclear Subs
Science fiction Movie ships or crafts like the Batmobile, etc...

Stuff that blows our minds! .....
Hmmm I guess I just got back some mojo at the moment!! see ya later, Im gonna go work on a model....

[Nev]

Do what I do take a break. I do other things in between, when I feel like it I model again.

[Stokesy44]

This is what happens with me.

There are times when I'm just not interested, it could be during a build or between builds. It just happens. I accept it because I know it will not last. Why does it happen? Sometimes simple malaise, a slide into inactivity is the most common way. sometimes a bit of application clears the blockage, sometimes it doesn't and don't touch the bench for days - sometimes weeks.

I'M AN EMOTIONAL GUY - translation - I'm over-sensitive and easily blown about by whim and circumstance - I'm flakey

But all is not lost

Because of my passion for the subjects I build (I love history and have a thing for Sci-fi) my mind will not let me leave modelling alone for too long because it knows how I crave to immerse myself in that world and what fulfillment there is to be had once I get going on a kit again.

It can be frustrating, I have a stash of what I think are stunning kits so when I'm on a down time, it can really piss me off. I say to myself, what are you doing you very, very stupid person, look at this stuff!! But that's not enough to get me back to the bench. I go back when I'm ready, when it feels natural, not pressured or forced, it just happens when the modelling Gods align and I find myself sitting down again and wanting to build.

Advice - what the f*** do I know? I can only speak for myself. Don't force it, if the current build is not getting you going then maybe its the wrong kit. Take a break or shelve it for something different. Think to yourself, I'm not enjoying this, what WOULD I enjoy building right now? Stopping a build isn't an admission of failure or that anything is wrong. Its supposed to be fun and a challenge, when that stops, stop. No harm no foul.

A conundrum - It takes effort, it should be fun, but there's nothing riding on it - those are contradictory statements so don't be surprised when you question why you're building - and that's in general or with reference to a specific kit.

Don't grind it out, nothing wrong with being disciplined if you know you struggle to start a session and are OK once you get going, but if its like pulling teeth (pun intended ) then do something else or you really will start to hate the bench. Take the dog out, watch a movie, play with the kids, or the wife - ooh err!

Build for yourself, this one is highly specific to me. I love the forum and all the interaction but I have to guard against building for the approval of others. As mentioned, I'm flakey, emotional and sentimental so part of me craves the respect of my peers as positive reinforcement. But it can work against me as pressure to post my progress can also act as a hindrance. Sounds daft I know but there it is. What the forum (and even FB ) IS great for though, is keeping me ticking over if I am struggling with the bench. Watching and interacting with other like-minded souls is often enough to fire up my burners again and get me reaching for the paint and glue.

So for me, I accept it can happen but I take solace in the view that it will not last. Because while I'm away from the bench, my interests in the things that make me build kits do not go away, they sustain me and will get me back to the bench when I am ready.

[DrSprue]

Wow Stokesy that was cool! You all here sound like artists. I think we are all very creative in a way. I love history too.

[TheNordus]

I have a hard time with this myself. I was building my Jagdpanther diorama and I didn't like how it looked, really broke my inspiration. I had a string of kits that didn't work out well (Dragon's M6A1, those bogies just irritated me and they broke on me, and Tamiya's Flakvierling on a halftrack whose cab didn't want to sit on and left dirty glue stains on my beautiful paintjob) Right now what really got me inspired was remembering a modelling competition coming up this weekend that I really wanted to do a good kit for. What I did was I dug up a couple of kits that I wanted to do and started working on those. I managed to do a really good job on the BT-42 (well, at least I think so, I haven't added it to the gallery because I can't do photography) but I don't think I'm gonna be able to finish my Panther Ausf. D in time. I can only take one kit per category into the competition anyway so it won't be a big problem.

What I'm really worried about is how I keep changing between my favorite hobbies (drawing, video games, and modelling) so that there will be months or even years when I don't touch my models or don't draw at all, and I don't want that to happen. Last time it did I ended up throwing away a bin bag of half-finished model kits.

[digger303]

I have periods of intense modelling, then large periods of doing nothing. But as soon as I do mange to seat myself down and start cutting plastic I have a great time. Then let myself down by not finishing properly....I don't like the painting process so I lose interest and now have a heap of built but not painted kits.....what am I to do.. . discipline I guess. I find reading magazines gets my mojo going for a particular kit and away I go again.

[Twokidsnosleep]

My current status:

Good advice guys

[digger303]

My current status:

Good advice guys

yep.... very relevant. Happens to me a lot.

[bfrd]

I can relate to that as well. In fact that entire line of comics pretty much nails it.

[DrSprue]

Scott, I cant even find a close meme for what we all do.Your "me-time" sums it all up.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Ya, you get a few of those nights in a row after work and start wondering why the heck you have all these boxes in the closet and when you are going to build any of them and why you would buy anymore

[SteelScooter]

I have periods of intense modelling, then large periods of doing nothing. But as soon as I do mange to seat myself down and start cutting plastic I have a great time. Then let myself down by not finishing properly....I don't like the painting process so I lose interest and now have a heap of built but not painted kits.....what am I to do.. . discipline I guess. I find reading magazines gets my mojo going for a particular kit and away I go again.

You are not alone, I have half a dozen kits waiting for paint, I just like the building part much more. I do enjoy weathering though. When I get to paint them I will production line things like base coat and tracks. Once they are done I will soon end up with another half dozen waiting for paint. Don't beat yourself up about it, everyone is different.

[Tomcat64]

For me it depends on what's kicked the mojo into touch in the first place - earlier on this year I had a fairly full-on project and at the end of it I just needed a couple of easy wins to get restarted so went with some of the Bandai Star Wars stuff which had the desired effect.

At the moment life & work are both conspiring to leave me feeling a little too drained to contemplate much in the way of bench time - which is actually probably a good thing as I wouldn't be concentrating properly, probably screw something up and end up getting more hacked off with things. I know enough about myself to wait until the influencing factors have settled down again before venturing back to the bench for anything more than a quick ten or twenty minutes pottering on something.

I also have the added delight of the latest update of Windows 10 having screwed up the device driver on my laptop display so imagine a 4:3 ratio picture stretched to 16:9 with the resolution of an early Atari and you've got an idea of what I'm looking at. Turns out the device isn't supported under W10 despite working fine for more than a year... oh well. Anyway the end result is that I can't really keep up with the other builds that are going on as the photos are being displayed a little sub-optimally. Hopefully that'll be resolved in the next few days and I can at least start browsing again even if I'm not doing much creating myself.

As for falling asleep on the sofa - count me in!

[styrcrazy]

if i don’t feel like modeling then.... well... i just don’t build anything. This sometimes lasts die weeks.This happens mostly during builds that don’t go very well, or real life takes too much of my energy. But the mojo always returns (until now)

[DrSprue]

Is it my imagination (as I read these posts so much as well as dozens of you tubes) but did quite a few of you that went to Telford all seemed (cant think of the word here) just drained!! or saw so many hobby related stuff that you all seem quite burnt out? Maybe its just me.

[Lysus]

I know what you mean. Or, what your "friend" means.

Lately I come home and I'm all



The clouds are clearing for me and it looks like I can get back to my bench, but the one project I have on there is, well I'm not too excited to pick it up right now. I want to build, but not that one. A few weeks ago this was a powerful emotion, I wanted nothing to do with it since I was so tired and the build sat there, lubricating the flower beds me off.

Time has passed and I'm thinking maybe I should grab just anything off the shelf and see what happens. I want to try to light a kit that some AWESOME person gifted me, but I think maybe I should get my tank refilled first. Maybe try this I-16 everyone's so keen on lately or something. A trip to the LHS in a few minutes might help me decide

I do it as a way to organize my thoughts through distraction. A break in the rhythm of daily struggles. So I feel its loss but if I can't be excited to do something then it won't do the job of relieving any stress.

[SprueSurgeon]

I suffer from this fairly regularly and different things have helped, the last time it happened I built a small airfix ship HMS HOOD 1/700 or it might have been 1/600 but that helped, time away from the bench, although the hardest it did help the most, I dropped out of the hangouts too, as the old saying goes abscence makes the heart grow fonder, reading or another hobby for a few days, or try to find out what it is thats bringing you down if its the kit your on box it up and put it to one side, i hope this helps you

[dogsbody]

I start drinking heavily and .. no, wait! I do that all the time anyway. I don't know .... I forget what I was going to say ... got to stop leaving the lid open on the tube cement.



Chris

[digger303]

This would be a nice one to build
http://www.themodellingnews.com/2017/11 ... takes.html

You like choppers Scott and what better than one of the first...

[Lysus]

This would be a nice one to build
http://www.themodellingnews.com/2017/11 ... takes.html

You like choppers Scott and what better than one of the first...

Talk about bugs in your teeth...I don't think you could pay me enough to ever drive that thing...

[Twokidsnosleep]

This would be a nice one to build
http://www.themodellingnews.com/2017/11 ... takes.html

You like choppers Scott and what better than one of the first...

Talk about bugs in your teeth...I don't think you could pay me enough to ever drive that thing...

No Axis for me thanks. I have Timmy's H1 Huey on route from England at the moment from one of the Friday Night auctions
It is not a lack of kits that I have, perhaps it is the opposite of that...too much to do too little time and energy, that is my funk

[TheNordus]

No Axis for me thanks.

What, are you a racist?

[Twokidsnosleep]

No Axis for me thanks.

What, are you a racist?

I am going to take that comment as a joke, ha ha. Not

[TheNordus]

I am going to take that comment as a joke, ha ha. Not

Yes, it was a joke, but I was also interested as to why not, especially since I think the Axis had the coolest gear of that period.

[digger303]

I am going to take that comment as a joke, ha ha. Not

Yes, it was a joke, but I was also interested as to why not, especially since I think the Axis had the coolest gear of that period.

They certainly lead the way in a lot of area's.
Heck it's on my radar....looks kind of cool. It would look so good next to an apache or a hind . Think of the pioneering spirit behind it all and how it's evolved.....yeah cool.

[schweinhund227]

If a project drags me down? I store it ~ or in the extreme, I bin it! Why ? if the love and energy to work it is gone... why bother?
I clean my bench area... a really good clean! sort all my tools and restock perishables. (C.A. and applicators mostly)
I then go thru my stash and flush all those dreaded crapy models still laying there! I don't feel sorry for anything I toss...( I truly don't )
They are not even worth the postage to friends or acquaintances! ( sort of stuff that will bring me or you in that dreaded spot we find ourselves in)

I pick up a good old Tamiya kit! (aka mojo booster) monochrome kind of kit! nothing camouflage heavy and start fresh!
Low part count + good molding + good fit! pretty sure it will boost anyone mojo!

Keep expectations at minimum... just enjoy the process!

and when that doesn't work? I just close shop and do something else altogether!

[Twokidsnosleep]

If a project drags me down? I store it ~ or in the extreme, I bin it! Why ? if the love and energy to work it is gone... why bother?
I clean my bench area... a really good clean! sort all my tools and restock perishables. (C.A. and applicators mostly)
I then go thru my stash and flush all those dreaded crapy models still laying there! I don't feel sorry for anything I toss...( I truly don't )
They are not even worth the postage to friends or acquaintances! ( sort of stuff that will bring me or you in that dreaded spot we find ourselves in)

I pick up a good old Tamiya kit! (aka mojo booster) monochrome kind of kit! nothing camouflage heavy and start fresh!
Low part count + good molding + good fit! pretty sure it will boost anyone mojo!

Keep expectations at minimum... just enjoy the process!

and when that doesn't work? I just close shop and do something else altogether!

Oh that is all good stuff
The clean bench and restock is a super idea. I do that just to the desk area if I am having a tired night...just put all the tools and stuff back in their spot
I hate having unfinished projects lying around, three at the moment, as I like to finish what I start
I don't know if I have the guts to purge kits like that

[schweinhund227]

If a project drags me down? I store it ~ or in the extreme, I bin it! Why ? if the love and energy to work it is gone... why bother?
I clean my bench area... a really good clean! sort all my tools and restock perishables. (C.A. and applicators mostly)
I then go thru my stash and flush all those dreaded crapy models still laying there! I don't feel sorry for anything I toss...( I truly don't )
They are not even worth the postage to friends or acquaintances! ( sort of stuff that will bring me or you in that dreaded spot we find ourselves in)

I pick up a good old Tamiya kit! (aka mojo booster) monochrome kind of kit! nothing camouflage heavy and start fresh!
Low part count + good molding + good fit! pretty sure it will boost anyone mojo!

Keep expectations at minimum... just enjoy the process!

and when that doesn't work? I just close shop and do something else altogether!

Oh that is all good stuff
The clean bench and restock is a super idea. I do that just to the desk area if I am having a tired night...just put all the tools and stuff back in their spot
I hate having unfinished projects lying around, three at the moment, as I like to finish what I start
I don't know if I have the guts to purge kits like that

That's what I do ! You don't have to do it ! LOL don't forget.... not all kits were made equal ! Have a great week end !

[Lysus]

If a project drags me down? I store it ~ or in the extreme, I bin it! Why ? if the love and energy to work it is gone... why bother?
I clean my bench area... a really good clean! sort all my tools and restock perishables. (C.A. and applicators mostly)
I then go thru my stash and flush all those dreaded crapy models still laying there! I don't feel sorry for anything I toss...( I truly don't )
They are not even worth the postage to friends or acquaintances! ( sort of stuff that will bring me or you in that dreaded spot we find ourselves in)

I pick up a good old Tamiya kit! (aka mojo booster) monochrome kind of kit! nothing camouflage heavy and start fresh!
Low part count + good molding + good fit! pretty sure it will boost anyone mojo!

Keep expectations at minimum... just enjoy the process!

and when that doesn't work? I just close shop and do something else altogether!

Oh that is all good stuff
The clean bench and restock is a super idea. I do that just to the desk area if I am having a tired night...just put all the tools and stuff back in their spot
I hate having unfinished projects lying around, three at the moment, as I like to finish what I start
I don't know if I have the guts to purge kits like that

That's what I do ! You don't have to do it ! LOL don't forget.... not all kits were made equal ! Have a great week end !

Speaking of...

Sometimes getting a new tool or kind of paint gives me a jolt of inspiration to try it out...