Well, I guess the title says it all... I am in need of some serious help!
Here's why.....

I have been in this hobby for quite some years now and i have a rather big collection of kits waiting to be built.

My "problem" is twofold, i love building, but i hardly ever paint the them!
I admit that my skills in painting are not very good and this I know, is what keeps me from finishing the model, I want it to be as perfect as possible, though deep down I know that is not possible.....

This also applies to the construction phase...when I make a mistake and it may just be an angle that is ever so slightly off or a hatch where the grove is not exactly the same width all around, I tend to put the kit away and start a new one...

I think in the last 2 or 3 years I have finished 2 models, but started maybe 8 or 10!!

How do you guys do it??.....how do you finish a model??
Any help, advise or contact details to a shrink is greatly appreciated!

I also want things to be perfect, but I do understand they never will be. The only thing to do is actually finish painting the models and move on. Let's face it, if you don't paint them, you'll never get any better at it and you'll always be disappointed. It's a hobby, after all, so you have to be able to be OK with your own imperfections. Striving to be better all the time is great. Getting hung up on not being perfect, and then not completing anything because it's not perfect, we'll that's closing on psychotic, isn't it?

If it bothers you so much that an angle is off just a tad, then do something about it. Pull it apart & scratchbuild better parts or, on the other hand, just live with it. In the long run there are only three options: fix it, live with it or just give up on the hobby & choose something that makes you more relaxed and less uptight. By putting anything not perfect back on the shelf, you are coming close to giving up the hobby anyway, so even the lack od a decision on this will actually constitute a decision. A hobby that makes you more miserable is _not_ what you're looking for.

Paul

Hello, fellow perfectionist. I just finished my first model and I'm not nearly impressed with the paint job I did. Just like you I love putting things together, that I'm really good at, painting, no. I talked to my local hobby shop guy and he told me that if you want to make a ship look real, DON'T make it perfect. Literally, hours after a ship takes her maiden voyage rust appears, paint chips, and barnicles hop on for the ride. I've seen pics of ships pulling into port that look like they've been sunk twice and rolled over a few times. I suggest you just paint them, cause even if you don't do an amazing job it'll look better than the 'right out of the box' gray. Hope this helps.

Hi Brian i too can sympathise with you , i love the building phase of modelling especially when you make modifications or try out scratch building but i too struggle with painting i just tend to do a bit start something else then go back hopefully after christmas when i get myself an airbrush i too should get more of my projects finished

Hi Brian,
Since you are expressing concerns about your problems and seem to have identified
them fairly well I would say that you are halfway to a solution.
It is nearly impossible to go from novice to perfect in just a handful of kits.
Build a kit to the best of your ability (don't bother about superdetailing or 100%
accuracy) and then get it painted. When it's done you evaluate it, what was good,
what was not so good, your faults, the kits fault for not beign perfect to begin with.
Ask yourself what YOU can do to improve and try this on the next kit.
If you have a difficulty with something specific then just ask here, someone will
answer.
If you try to get everything right from the beginning then it will only fail and make
you disappointed.

The big leap in satisfaction in my modelling came when I bought an airbrush,
still plenty to learn but I got a smooth finish almost from start, marvellous compared
to using a brush. When I stopped using scalpel/X-acto/similar knife was the next
big step, fine sidecutters and needlefiles make it a lot easier and my fingers don't
get cut to ribbons ....
There are lots of other things to pick up, some methods will suit you and some will
not. One step at a time ...
/ Robin

The guys are right , your down the right path by asking questions . One of the best tools we have ! We all begin some where but as for every thing if you want to be good at something you have to practice , practice and practice . Before I found this site my skills where average , noting great , but I did do a fair job . I was happy with the results . As I learn new methods and tips from the members here my skills have really improved . The positive feed back is great to have , it encourages me to move forward on improving my skills .

You already know how to assemble a kit , now work on the painting even if you don't have a airbrush yet , not everything is painted with one . This will help you improve on the brush .
take your time it's not a race to see who can build the fastest ! Work at your own pace . It can take me months before I have just an OOB built .

So don't be shy , share your ups and downs and progress with us . Just have FUN !

Here's an idea: build a model you don't care about. At all.

I sometimes have the most fun building a cheaper or older kit, on which I feel I can experiment a lot and not worry about 'ruining' it. It's a great way to try new techniques without risking an expensive kit or one that you've put hundreds of hours into. In your case, painting itself may be a new technique, so just go ahead and paint something that you just threw together or have given up on and see how it come sout. Use it to learn, without risking anything you care deeply about.

I just took a cheapo, poor-quality ICM kit and painted it using some techniques I'd never tried before. It didn't come out very well but I learned a lot without spending a lot of time or money. I then applied the lessons to another model and I am very happy with the result, even though it isn't perfect. Now I feel fairly comfortable with the techniques I was trying, but I admit if I were staring at a $50 kit with lots of hours invested, I never would have taken the leap to try the experiment.

Good luck and ..... just do it

Comrade! This is my problem as well. I also have a long list of unfinished kits sitting around and reminding me of my inadaquecies. From where I am sitting I can see 4 tanks, 3 submarines, 3 cars, and 6 aircraft kits that need to be finished. Like you, it's the painting stage that I mostly screw up in, though I also have a Tamiya Merkava kit that I stopped working on because I glued some of the turret stowage box hinges crrooked. But the thing to do is to admit it won't be perfect and power on through. We learn from our mistakes.

Recently I actually finished a Tamiya Renault UE. It's not perfect, but I did learn some things from building it. I'm still at the point of building OOB and I haven't delved into weathering. I might not weather as I like to build my kits more as a "ideal" example of the subject rather than something that has been used or damaged. But maybe once I get to the point where I am more confident about my painting skills, I may dip my toe into weathering.

I would say to go ahead and paint those kits that are at that stage. So far, I've been doing well with airbrushing but so far my subjects have had only one color. Still, at least I can do that much! I also did a bit better at painting smaller detailed things so that was a good thing about building the UE. And take some of those kits where you've screwed up the build and evaluate it. Decide if it is something you want to try to fix. If not (like I will do with the Merkava), move on and complete the kit. Just because you've made (in my case) a Merkava or UE, doesn't mean you can't make another!!

Brian your not alone it happens to just about every one and those who say it doesn't are lying. If i could count the times while building i messed up a piece and wanted to start over or how many times i have stripped the paint off to repaint . But at least i don't do like when i was a younger builder i would crush the model if i screwed up but this is why there is a eraser on pencils. The advice i can give is if you make a mistake or feel you have just step back breathe in and put the kit down for a while, don't let it get the best of you.

Brian we all have it. In varying degrees i guess. But it comes with the hobby. the building is easy. it's the painting and weathering that throws us off especially if the camo scheme is a little complex. my models are not painted all that well either but i know i have to paint it. i've only been in this hobby for over 3 years but my buddies at the local club seem to like my builds so i guess i'm on the right track. the only way we'll learn a skill is by doing it as often as we could. don't let it thow you, but throw it either hehehe

Unless it cannot be fixed I usually just go with it and have it be a lesson learned not to repeat that mistake. Even tanks side-by-side are not the same identically, there's always something just not quite the same.

Finished is better than perfect. I live by this. "Q"

Brian,
Do not feel bad my brother. I too have this same challange, but I've come to terms that I can't be perfect, even with the best referances on paint, interiors, and all that.
What may look like to you may look to others.
I'm my own worst critic.
I've just recently started posting my work on this site, and I've gotten some +++++ comments from my fellow modeling peers.
This has made me want to finish some of my projects. 41+ to be exact.

Perfection is not what it's cracked to be. Making yourself happy with your work should be #1, everything else will fall into place.

Thanks for the support guys...nice to know that I am not alone

I have nearly finished Tamiya's old chieftain..my first model in a long, long time!

It's not perfect, but I used it to try to develop my painting and weathering skills.

Actually it feels good to finally finish a model!

you could set yourself a challenge,
for every kit you dont finish, you could give one away to a young family memeber who is interested in moddeling, starting with the most expensive.!!
haha
:D
good luck

Welcome to a hobby where perfect is in the eye of the beholder! I've seen some "perfect" builds that looked like crap, and some firstimer builds that were outstanding. Even the pros screw up, just remember, this is a hobby and you should have fun!!!
That said, don't build things you have no interest in. There's no incentive to finish them if you're not interested. Also, "perfection" can ruin the fun sometimes. Don't get hung up on tiny things you won't see when the build's finished. I've stopped doing interiors in my tanks since you spend hours painting and detailing, and then you can't see 95% of it anyway.

HAVE FUN. that's what this is about!!!

Speaking as one perfectionist to another, I can say that I feel your pain. Let me share my coping mechanism:

I look at each project as a skills enhancing exercise. (think of it as going to the gym for your modeling skills) I find that _every_ model I build has its share of flaws. Some of them are minor and some of them glaring. I've become ever more proficient at troubleshooting mistakes and errors. What once would be a project ending boo boo now ends up being a deep breath and a cup of coffee moment.

Much to my surprise I find the quality of my repairs enhance my satisfaction with my modeling efforts.

Painting started out very intimidating for me many years ago (paint mixing rations, brush PSI, masking etc...)but I realized that the only way to ever achieve that "perfect model" is to get stuck in. So for me, that is my quest: to create perfect model. It may never happen and if it does I might just quit modeling forever thereafter (not likely).

My best advice is to not be afraid to fail. Even in failure the seeds of future modeling successes are sown.

(There. that's my 'soul surfing' for today. )

please pose some pics for us

Despite decades of modeling, I have NEVER produced a 100% (to me) satisfactory kit--but I have found that in producing dioramas, even an imperfect kit is just an element of a larger storytelling project. For me, this puts my construction shortcomings into perspective as I strive for something greater in the telling.

Furthermore, over time I have come to accept imperfections as a part of a model project's 'personality'.

--Karl