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Modeling in General
General discussions about modeling topics.
Modeling in College?
Buckeye198
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Posted: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 - 02:16 PM UTC
I have a nice workbench set up in the house where I now live, but I will going to college in September (THE Ohio State University) and I was wondering if anyone else on these forums is actively building models or has done so while in college. What did you do to continue this great hobby while not pissing off your roommate?
barkingdigger
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ARMORAMA
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Posted: Thursday, August 12, 2010 - 06:30 AM UTC
Robbie,

I have no magic solution, but offer this advice. Give it a full term to settle in at college before you think about kitting out for building in the dorm. If at the end of term you still feel you have the time, the space, and the concentration to build that's the time to grab your stuff on your next trip home.

If however you find there are too many new calls on your time, not enough "safe" working space, and not enough privacy then I suggest you concentrate on the studies. Building can always wait til you are home on break. I certainly didn't have time when I was "studying" (or is that partying?...) so I effectively parked my hobby activities for a while until life settled down a bit. Of course I didn't think of it that way - I just turned around one day and realised I hadn't used glue or X-acto for a few years. But have no fear - building is in the blood, and you'll get back into it soon enough...

Hope this helps,

Tom

PS: When I finally did settle enough I started small with a shoe-box of tools in my rented room that could be stowed away safely. It took years to get proper work space and a house to wrap around it!
Sabot
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Posted: Thursday, August 12, 2010 - 11:17 AM UTC
I went to college several hundred miles from home. I did not have a car and the distance was too far to knock out in just a three day weekend; I'd spend a day going home and a day coming back, literally wiping the weekend out.

At first I left my kits at home, but after the first long weekend at school (Labor Day 1982), the campus became a virtual ghost town on the other long weekends like Columbus Day and Veterans Day. When I went home at Thanksgiving, I brought back a couple of kits and my modeling supplies (less any spray paints).

Of course, this was pre-internet days when there was only one pay phone in the common area and just a house phone (for local campus calls only) per floor. One TV in the lounge and no cable, only broadcast stations.

I built mainly Matchbox kits and whatever kits I could find at the local stores. Stored the supplies in a shoe box in my wardrobe and displayed the finished kits on the shelf on my desk. I didn't have any issues, and it kept me busy while the rest of the more local students went home on the weekends.
HeavyArty
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Posted: Thursday, August 12, 2010 - 03:40 PM UTC
I did very similar to Sabot, only a few years later. I started out with nothing when I went up and found I wanted to build when I had time. I brought a few kits up and it slowly grew. By my senior year I was sharing a house with a couple other guys and had plenty of room. I ended up bringing my whole bench and complete set-up to the house and got pretty serious into modeling again.

I would take it slow and see how it goes and how much time you have on your hands to model. Then start bringing them up and have at it.
GALILEO1
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Posted: Friday, August 13, 2010 - 03:55 AM UTC
I agree with everyone's comments. See how it goes during your first year or so. If time and space permit, bring a kit and a few essential supplies to work with. I personally wouldn't try to do any painting while you're there since it is this part of the build that needs the most attention, space, and concentration (to get a good finish), and also because most likely you will get someone mad. The 'plus' of just working on gluing the stuff together and not painting anything until you can devote enough time to it is that you'll get pretty good at the basics.

I was lucky that I actually commuted from home daily (about 100 miles or so) for my both my undergraduate and graduate degrees and didn't have to live in a dorm. However, believe it or not, even then, I just felt that I did not have much time to devote to the hobby. So, for 7+ years of school (did graduate school as soon as I finished my undergraduate education) I finished almost nothing except for a couple of small and quick OOB projects.

My suggestion...enjoy college and the many new things you will be exposed to. Put something together when you have time but concentrated on the studies as it is the result from your hard work that will allow you to get a nice job (yeah, even in this economy you can still find some good jobs) which, in the end, will be what allows you to continue to enjoy the hobby for years to come.

Hope you enjoy school as much as I did!

Rob
Buckeye198
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Posted: Friday, August 13, 2010 - 04:16 AM UTC
Thanks for the advice everyone! I am very hesitant to put away my tools as I am just starting to get serious with my kits, but there will always be time, I suppose. If no one hears from me for a while, you'll all know why. Hopefully I can still stay in touch and keep my skills sharp though!
barkingdigger
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ARMORAMA
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Posted: Friday, August 13, 2010 - 04:43 AM UTC
Even if you can't build, you can always surf! Drop in and post from time to time - university is all about research after all...

Good luck!

Tom
pseudorealityx
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Posted: Friday, August 13, 2010 - 04:58 AM UTC
Honestly, I think you should enjoy college for what college is for. College is a time, for the most part, where you're finally away from family and most of your friends you've grown up with. You can really "find yourself" in that sort of situation. Take advantage of it, and live it up.

A hobby that includes sitting in a room by yourself for long periods of time just doesn't lend itself to that, IMO.

You can always come back once you're settled on the other end.


-Jesse
modeler (1992-1998, 2010-???)
tankmodeler
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Posted: Friday, August 13, 2010 - 09:38 AM UTC
All the posts about waiting a while when first going to university are true, but even in Engineering I did have time to build. I lived at home, so painting wasn't a problem, but in a dorm I'd forego that until you get the lay of the land.

Building, on the other hand, can be done in small spurts and in a small space. If I'm away from home on a business trip for more than a few days, I'll frequently bring along a kit to clean up or build. Scratchbuilding takes a little more permant set-up, but not much and if you have your own study area, even in the dorm, you can set things up for a few days to work through a part of a project before putting it away until the next time you get the urge.

Granted that it was a long time ago, but in university I worked bloody hard, played bloody hard, socialised _and_ had some time to build every now and then. Keep a couple small kits and some simple tools in a tote & bring them out when you have one of those long weekends off. It can be a great thing to get a break from the studying when you really don't want to pay the inevitable price for going out & partying.

Good luck in your studies!

Paul
Grumpyoldman
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Posted: Friday, August 13, 2010 - 02:00 PM UTC
A decent fishing tackle box will can hold just about all your supplies, including a small air compressor and air brush. (I'd stick with acrylics to keep the smell down)
Or you can just as easily stick with doing just figures and small vignettes.
Buckeye198
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Posted: Friday, August 13, 2010 - 03:45 PM UTC
I had NEVER thought to use a tackle box before but that would really help me out both at home and potentially at college! I think I know what I'm doing tomorrow!
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