Hi, I hope someone out there can help me. I seem to be suffering from what i can only call 'builders block', that is I just can't seem to get interested in building anything these days. Has anyone else ever suffered from this and what did you do to correct the situation? I am mainly an armor builder 1/35 & 1/48 with the odd 1/72 for fun. Do I try something else? Any help would be really appreciated as I live in Canada and we are just starting our hibernation season so it's housebound for the next 4 months. Thanks.

Regards;

ron

This happens to a lot of modellers including me. Get something you don't normally model - a car or a scifi kit or something fun like a Tamiya Dinosaur. Just clean it up, glue it together and paint it like you would have when you were 10 years old

Any time I suffer from builder's block, I look through google images with keyword 'tank' or 'military'. This usually inspires me.

What Pat said, to an extent. Search your mind on something that has always peaked your interest and build that...an old TV show when you were young maybe{or a recent show}. Ever liked Star Trek or Star Wars...plenty of stuff out there for those.....maybe a TV show car or truck...Maybe a figure of something you like...anime, women, comics...
We all get buiders block at one time or another, not just from life{family/yardwork/job}. We eventualy build thru it...at the moment I'm rehabbing an old Tonka Truck{twin boom wrecker} for a Christmas gift for my son...well, maybe I'll give it to him-lol.

Yep, it happens to us all.
I have got a builders block about aircraft at the moment, so I started painting some figures, but that started to wain as well.
Luckily I had a model show come up and seeing and talking to my fellow modellers has inspired me into doing some sculpting.
Other times when I have had builders block, I just watch some films, or read a book and that usually manages to get the creative juices flowing, whether it is an aircraft, tank, spaceship or figure that has rekindled the interest.
You will soon get over it, so don't worry or force yourself into building anything, or you will end up like me with a stash of half built kits .
Andy

I get that way to after 2 or 3 builds I get blocked up so I just wait 2 or 3 days, go on line look at what some other modelers have done and I get reinspired and off I go on another building binge. aceses5

Hi, I am an artist. I often have this problem in doing art. My best solution I find is to busy myself with cleaning my workbench, cleaning up, packing and ordering my work area etc. This eventually lead me to picking up things and starting again. Do NOT start to build in this state it only leads to disaster. Wait for that inspiration to arrive as you busy yourself with the mundane stuff that also has to be done. That's my two cents worth. Hope you are building again soon.

I think it's normal to have "blocks" when you do something creative.
I'm not only a modeller,I work as designer, and i spend my free time also drawing and painting.
That's fun but although I thnk i'm very lucky, sometimes i fell a mental tiredness, because doing something creative doesn't mean doing always something relaxing.
Usually to get out of this empasse, i look for something that can inspire me, so for exemple i read interesting books, i visit art exhibitions or i see some stunning film.
Otherwise you can do as Pat said;
Buy a cheap kit (buying a SF kit is the best choice), mount it and paint it and don't worry about accuracy.You have to feel like a kid who are playing with his first kit.
Doing that you can experiment new techniques that you'll use in our "serious" kit buildings
Anyway don't worry. Kit modelling is an addiction hard to stop



cheers and good luck

Take a break for a bit. Walk away and do something else. I am just getting back into the hobby after a year and a half. While it wasn't because of builders block (just life, kids work etc.) I found only after a month or so I was ready to get back at it. Its only now that I am able to devote sometime to his hobby.

It might only take a week to get the blood flowing again.

Hi Ron,
I've had builders block for a few years now, and am only just getting back into it.
I think it was mostly due to having our first and second child (they are now 4&6), and moving away from friends who were builders too etc.
I recently had a bulging disc in my back start playing up again, which stopped the full-time job and gave me a lot of spare time to use. I've still got heaps of unfinished projects to work on, so I prioritised a couple of them and started working on them in front of the TV with my wife. I really recommend a small construction tool kit which can be taken anywhere (like the loungeroom) so you can keep projects moving ahead when you're away from your bench.
I also agree with the idea of cleaning up your main workspace which will make it easier to work on stuff and may inspire you to work on something you'd forgotten about.
Part of my "stuckness" was because my space had so much other stuff which was acting as "visual noise" and stopping me from seeing the good projects I had in the pipeline. Less is more. Chuck out or donate a load of things you no longer need or want. Not neccessarily kits, but other things which we collect for reasons we can't remember. It really does drag down the sense of accomplishment to be constantly reminded of the stuff you haven't gotten around to yet.

I usually start by tidying up my modelling area and fixing up things. Maybe sorting out a bit of the storage issues. I find one of the biggest blocks to be, whan you actually get the bug back and have to tidy up before starting, you tend to put it off.
When everything is nice and tidy, its amazing how the mojo comes back naturally. Sitting in a tidy modelling area with everything arranged nicely, open a few boxes and look at the parts and instructions. You´ll find the interest you had originally for the kits coming back. And best of all ... theres no mess to put you off!

I had to step away from armor for total lack of interest from being bored to death of too many panzers and shermans...this is my recent attempt at armor since then and I have to admit...it's been fun. Not your normal run of the mill armor, but a steampunk themed steam tank might just get me back into armor again.

Laugh at it...love it...or whatever, maybe trying something out of the ordinary might help....

Yes that's it, i absolutely agree...working in a mess can reduce the modelling enjoy



actually me too I have to tidy my modelling room...

Now Bob..... I agree with everything you said till you got to the too many Shermans, that 's downright heretical or something....
Seriously that is a very cool tank. Like a T-28 off steroids?
To get back on topic.... I found about every thing said is good advice and works. For me I find if I pick up some small item that needs a little work to finish it, I do and that leads to another and another. Before I know it I've got a bunch done with the good feeling that goes with it.

I also try to devote at least an hour every day to modeling. Even if I just sit and think / reflect on what I've accomplished so far / or the next step or two on a project. I also try to see each piece / part as a mini-model that can be completed easily, again getting the good feeling. Eventually all those mini-models end up as a completed model.
Just what works for me.

Jake

I've been sitting on that bench since march this year. Tried 1 model in that period and guess what happened..... Nothing!

My advice?

Leave it be. Do something you do like.
Clean up your bench. Put your projects away. Maybe even reduce the stash, or sell off almost completely like me, but don't throw everything out. You might need it at a later date.
And then wait it out. It'll come back..... or it will not.

Yup!
Do Something ELSE entirely!, It's JUST a hobby
Any other interests?
Clean up work bench,
Cruise Ebay (model kits, obviously!) for kits less than say $10.00. & see what takes your fancy, preferably a kit with FEWER parts than your AGE! The differential is the time in months it will take you!

Hey Ron,
Put your X-acto down and step away from the kit!
I'm right there with you. I signed up for all these campaigns, got the kits out, finished a few and started a bunch, then... nothing.
What everyone else has said is true and applicable. I'm taking advantage of the lull to work on all the other stuff I either wanted to mess with or need to do around the house. For example, I'm about to finish an air cannon I built out of scrap pipe and a sprinkler valve, finally fixed my Daughter's TV, worked on my truck, etc.
My point is we all have enough chores in life. It's a hobby. Enjoy it while you feel like it. Once it's forced, your enjoyment and quality diminishes.
Besides, I'll bet $5 that your "Builders Block" clears up as soon as you acquire a "Shoveling Snow" Block.

Charlie

Pretty much get out of my builders block by changing to a different type of model, as stated above by other modelers. I mostly do armor and dioramas. When the block came, I switched to sailing ships and then to airplanes. So now that I have dealt with the builders block my next mission is to deal with the insanity of having so many half finished models, not to mention all the ones still in the box , untouched....... .........Al