Hi

man I haven't been on the site for about 2 months, still looks great.

How do you keep modeling motivated during the summer, once the snow melted I stopped almost instantly, I have a dusty half painted Tommy guarding my desk as we speak.

I conceptually want to get back into it but everything drags me away from it, even buying magazines and loading up on internet specials has stopped. Even watching a load of war movies, and re-reading a bunch of cornelius ryan did nothing I need help.

Later

Jeff

Jeff,

I know what you mean, although this summer has just meant that I worked a ton more (and since I work 12's on midnights I am still white as a ghost!). For me posting pictures and having everyone be so encouraging has helped a ton, if I start to get frustrated I just come here and poke around for a while. Helps to have so many people from all over the world be so cool as to take time out to give you a pat on the back, as I have told anyone that has just joined, great bunch of folks here!

Hope you get over your block soon, your Tommy needs your help, for nothing else but for King and Country!

Best regards,
Chris
(From Michigan so I understand about the snow thing!

When I was stationed down in the deep south, the weather was just to dang hot to do much outdoors in the summer.

In Texas, I spent over 12 hours a day outdoors either in a hot motorpool office (no A/C), walking between the tanks in the motorpool or in a meeting that had too many men jammed into one room. It was nice to be able to stay indoors and build a kit in the comfort of A/C.

In Alabama, I spent a lot of time on the road staying in hotels for a few evenings. I had a travel model tool box with some basic paints and I'd take an easy kit along with me that I could just about knock out in a weekend on the road. I built kits like Tamiya's M113A1, Stuart, Bulldog, M3 Bradley, M151A2 straight OOB without an airbrush. I'd just make sure I brought the proper amounts of paint in the right colors.

Up here in Mass., I still spend a lot of time outdoors or in the maintenance bays. It is nice to be able to sit indoors and relax at night.
(added because my son wanted to see it)

What Rob ain't telling you is that up here in the northeast, we've yet to experience anything like Hollywood spring, let alone a normal New England spring or early sumner. While there have been a few nice (count the days I rode the MC to work on one hand) days, this has been a crappy period since last November. It's so bad, I just got an e-mail that the 140th aniiversarry Gettysburg reenactment has had to be postponed a month, even though 15,000 reenactors had signed up. No telling how many spectators planned their summer vacations around this event,

Summer also means getting ready for the many fall shows in New England. As soon as the sun crosses the equator, we begin with almost weekly show/contests. And yes, the basement can feel really nice on those hot (do we have them?) unbearable days.

summer, Sun....where?
Not here in England

swatydog your in the wrong part been great up in the nth west (if you can call british summertime great!) I have busts of of frantic model building then it stops for a few days/weeks buying the kits doeesnt though :-) I like the idea of campaigns as it gives a certain edge to help finish the kit off I love building them but stall when th paint goes on
but if you can build your kits out side and have some beers too 2 hobbys into 1

When i get little blocks sometimes it helps to take a few days off. Then whether i want to or not, i set up and maybe only do about 15 minutes on something and then plan to put it away, but usually i get into right away and stay longer. Another good tip is to start up something you would never generally do. Its like starting a new hobby. Both of these have helped me get over quite quickly!

For me the group build did the trick, participating in the sherman build broke a several year dry spell for me. I also enjoy coming on the site and reading the comments from other modelers. This really seems to keep me fired up and motivated to build.

Me, as the teaching year ends I get into high gear.

Living in an apt, with a buisness downstairs and a 3.5yr old and wife, I don't get to spread out here at home.

Once the school year ends and the maintenance crew makes a cursory pass I have a whole elementary school classroom to myself to model in all summer...

after packing up and after inservice days and masters degree classes and family vacation...

oh wait, then it's mid aug and I have to get ready to teach another year..-grin-

actually I just got the filters of road dust/dried mud sprayed onto a modern German Marder 1A3 and NBC Fuchs this afternoon after school.

I keep the compressor under my desk at work and do some painting there on the weekends. It's my personal behavior plan. 30min of school work, 30 min of painting repeat as needed. -grin-


I usually get smaller subassemblies built at home and finishe 6-8 kits over the summer for the show season Al mentioned up here in the NE ( I'm in VT).

Mike
gearing up for AMPS 04... and Granitecon, and Sturbridge and AMPS east , and ...

Ditto to everything.

This is about my 5th post in two months... Or, since I got a summer job. That's what's keeping me busy most of the time. I'm also working on landscaping the yard. (which is good, since I work at a garden center) Haven't bought a new kit in ages, but have spent lots of money on plants!

On the plus side, I've been accepted and registered for classes at a local college. Two year degree in Horticulture, here I come! :-)

Anyhoo, looks like everything is under control here... Plenty of content, group builds, and zaniness from the DSB occuring.
Maybe this winter I'll get back to models, if I don't find a girl first.... (yeah, that will be the day!)

Toodle-oo!

YodaMan

Ahhh--Rhode Island.Right on the bay,humid and cool.and humid.While it is busy being humid.So when it starts to get too warm to work upstairs,the AC is downstairs,I can assemble,and watch those darn red Sox.Then since the spraybooth is now in the cellar,it is ultra cool.So I just shift the main building location.
As for motivation,I like gluing most things together.Eyelids and fingeers being no-no's....
(++) (++) (++)

I guess it may be a matter of geography...

When I lived in Alaska, in the winter I modeled almost every minute I wasn't working, eating or sleeping -- or shoveling snow. In the summer, the modeling shut down in favor of fishing, hiking and cutting grass that grows way too quick in the Land of the Midnight Sun. I was also a member of the IPMS club in Anchorage that meets WEEKLY (unheard of in most U.S. clubs). It was funny, because many of my fishing buddies were also IPMS buddies -- nothing like being waist-deep in a salmon stream with a silver or king on the line and discussing a dio idea or what tank kit we hope will be released next! We'd still go to the meetings, but the conversation would end up shifting to fishing. Guess you could have called us the "I Prefer My Salmon" club from about June through August.

In Wisconsin, it was almost the same story, except for more time with my family (folks and siblings) and a shorter winter. My model production fell off. Fishing was still great -- just for different species with lighter gear (love them walleyes).

Now I'm in Kansas. My in-laws are closer, so we spend a bit of time with them. I kinda got into a vegetable gardening kick because I have a bit of land and have always felt a great satisfaction with feeding my family from my own hand, not everything from a supermarket (that's also why I hunt and fish, in addition to the primal recreation factor). In the heart of summer, however, it gets too doggone hot and humid to spend much time outside. I retreat to the air-conditioned bench. BTW, hunting is great, but the fishing pales to the Alaska/Wisconsin experience (besides, I'm not really into catfish, bass and brim ...)

I have built some of my best models after taking a break for other interests. I think it gives you a new perspective and prevents "burn-out." Have a great summer!

Heys - interesting thread.
thewrongguy - welcome back.
Yodaman - HEY - haven't seen you around...

I can totally understand the sun and nice weather pulling you away from plastic inside.
I simply forgoe sleep. I wake up at 5:30am, shower, walk the dog, and play with plastic before anyone else in the house wakes up.

Being involved in the campaign here and the group build On the IDF site keeps me building no matter the time or season. just hope summer doesn't get to bad just hate painting in the sweltering heat .

Josh Weingarten Aka shiryon

glad to see not just me who has otherhobbies that keeps me away from the modelling side of life just as well I'd be insane by now
if I did it all the time any way heres a picture of my 1/1 scale money pit which keeps
me from the bench must be insane from the glue fumes ect cause I got another one to start this winter
http://groups.msn.com/shamefulsstuff/ser2scooterresto.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=111

Jeff,
being 40 degrees centigrades outside in the shade in Milano these days, and having my "modelling centre" in the basement where it's 20 degrees, I dont know where I find motivation to get out of my cave and stop modelling...
Ciao

Granitecon is a nice show. I did well there last year and went out to the local Hooter's for lunch with clubmates. If Noreastcon returns to Sturbridge, it MAY happen in 2005. The locals have instituted enabling legislation to require all vendors to have a local tranient vendor's license which also requires a state transient vendor's license, increasing their costs dramatically. As part of the organizing committee, we are discussing the feasability of running the show there again. The next two regionals will be in Schenectady and Poughkeesie, NY, respectively.

I live in Canadas "Banna Belt" though I've never seen any bannanas, lots of grapes though. we're parrallel with northern california, so the weather is great here. It's odd however I talk to friends across the river in Detroit MI and they say how horrible it is, guess they never spent any time up in Ottawa and skated to school. We had 55' F weather going into late May which is unheard of here and that pushed me back to the painting booth a little, but now it's getting close to 75-80 F which is perfect.

I had a new marader all ready to go, a nice winter scheme then the sun comes out and my mind starts thinking about getting a project car to work on at night.

ah well winter always comes soon enough

I have four projects that have stopped dead now that the sun has come out here in the Pacific Northwest. We don't get much of it out here, so when it rears it's head, my fiance and I get out to enjoy it. I don't see any modelling getting done this summer with so many vacations planned, and a move from apartment to house in August.

Oh well, I'm only 28.. plenty of time ahead of me to get those 100+ kits done.

I would say that since you live in the great white north you should enjoy the summer for the three days its here and then get back to it when it turns cold next week.

Rob

So, what's the problem dude? Take a break and enjoy other things. This is a hobby, not a job. I've gone spells where I haven't touched anything in months, then spells where I do it morning noon and nighty nite nite. I have other obsessions and hobbies besides this, this is just my oldest and biggest.