Once in a while, I ponder on my so-called "hobby" - something that has stuck with me for over 20 years.

I sometimes wonder why I got back to modeling (with a vengeance) after a 2-year hiatus. I look at a corner of my room and try to comprehend why I have over 50+ unbuilt kits, and over a hundred unassembled soldiers. I try to count just how much money was spent and the total figure remains untold.

Some of my buddies think I'm nuts. They don't appreciate my visits to the hobby shops several times a week. They are astounded that I buy 2-3 (in some cases, more) stocks of the same kit. They don't see the rationality of someone poring over countless photographs/images of a particular tank, plane or helo. They wonder why I also buy thin white strips of plastic and small bottles of chemicals - besides the mandatory paint and glue. When they observe me stooping over and picking up a seeming mundane piece of wire in the street they frown and shake their head.

My mother always tells me that its a waste of money. My father looks at my work and says he's impressed, yet you can see the look of dismay in his eyes in seeing the price tag and the ever-growing pile of models waiting to be put together. My sister wondered aloud in disgust on why am I collecting these kits...again. My brother is my ever-loyal fan - yet I know he feels appalled at the excessiveness of my hobby.

I had thought of various reasons...or excuses...why I became a modeler. As a child, I may have wanted to play with something that looked so much like the real thing. Maybe I wanted to see and hold something I'll probably never encounter in my whole lifetime. Perhaps it's an extension of my passion for the military might and for the high-performance automobiles. I possibly wanted to see a force of arms without stepping out of my room. It could be an expression of art, an attempt to show talent; maybe something to proudly show off to others.

Then one evening, not too long ago, I read this passage in a modeler's web site. My memory failed me on where I found it, but I felt compelled to save it in my notes - that simple paragraph gave me a sense of understanding at least why I continue to collect plastic models:


"Don’t do it because you don’t enjoy anything else, or because it looks easy. Do it because you like it, because it gives you pleasure, it takes your everyday anxieties away."


Just something I felt like sharing to you folks. Have a good one.



BlackThor 06


PS: Pasensya na, mga doods...pasenti-senti epek at feeling writer lang ako dito. Paksyet. #:-)

Parehas lang tayo men! Considering I have 62 Gundam kits which costs on an average of 1.5k each. Ouch, really burn the wallet. Ang masama pa dito, plainly assembled pa sya. So what did I do? I try to redo all of them, painting each one to perfection. As with military ones, I think I have 15+ at bay and I keep on buying! Nagtataka pa nga sila minsan bakit 2 of the same din binibili ko eh.

As with buying models, maraming panahon na rin na laging galit mom ko. Sinasayang ko daw pera ko sa plainly unbuilt plastics. Sabi nya bili na lang daw ako ng assembled one.

Pero wala, mas enjoy pa rin ako sa pagbuo ng plastics. The construction is the thrilling part of every model. After that, it is just either a plain toy or a work of art.

I guess we all have this problem.

It keeps me away from sin. Money better spent on plastic and acrylic rather than wine and women. If I didn't have this hobby who knows what level of Hell I'll be in. I'm already at Level 6

What the... Level 6?!??! You were at Level 5 before you got married. You're sinking lower my friend. Looks like I better take the test again. Who knows, maybe I've gotten worse since the last time.

Apologies to BT06, mukhang nagbago ang thread. But thanks for sharing. Its the enjoyment I get from building kits that keeps me in the hobby. Of course, being in the company of like-minded people is an added benefit. In 1994, when a friend asked why I'm into the hobby, I didn't hesitate & said "It keeps me sane."

Thanks,

Hunter

I must agree with Jeep. This keeps me away from all vices (alcohol drinks, cigs and worst yet drugs) Money spent for kits and supplies are good. However too much spending tends to be bad. I guess we must balance it

I agree, the hobby keeps us away from vices but this may become a vice in itself as we are prone to be frivolous. Let's spend/invest with moderation. Besides, with the kits we have in our stash, it may last us for a long time.

i'm always amaze with military hardwares. They are more sexy than top on the line cars. I always liked the military. Sadly enough, we have a poor armed forces. And I dont have enough will to try the PMA. My life-long fantasy is to ride on a modern MBT, especially if it's Merkava. That would be an ultimatre rush!

my friends are appreciative with this hobby, though, it's really damn expensive is all they can say. And they cant help thinking of buying a "toy" with that cost. Still, i like the sight of a finished model. As a newbie, i'm still strugling. But i know i'll progress soon. besides, when im building one, i feel like im in a different world just like when i'm reading my books.

Its a matter of obsession, addiction, relaxation & patience. All of us are obsessed & addicted to this hobby, eventhough its a expensive hobby. Relaxed everytime we sit and spend a lot of time, until we developed our patience and apply to our everyday life to face this stressful world.

The hobby has kept me from studying. And exercise.

Heh, I'm still in highschool, and when I tell my friends what I'm really gonna use that paintbrush for, or why I just bought laquer thinner, or what I usually do in my freetime, they usually go something like "OH MY S***! You build TOYS?!" But they're used to it now, and both them and I dont really care anymore. Some of them even got me models for my birthday! #:-)

My mom loves to pester me about how I keep buying models and haven't really finished any yet... she gets mad when I bring something home ("Models NANAMAN?! P**YETA!!!"), and when she sees them unweathered, undecalled, or without tracks she tries to make me display them.... lol... and to think it was HER idea for me to get into modelling (she wanted me to get off the damn computer so she could chat, email and/or do work) Still, I've been able to get a lot of models from my parents - only a few of the models I have have been bought with my own money, the most expensive being the DML M1A1HA I bought recently...

Shonen - SIXTY-TWO gundams?! Damn! I haven't even BOUGHT that many in my whole life (haven't had long to build a "wall of shame" yet...)! I have a friend who builds gundams too, and he wants to get "hardcore" and improve them with putty, spraying camouflage, etc... He wants an airbrush, putty and sandpaper badly.... lol

My girlfriend and I had a heated argument before I bought my Tamiya spray works set. To her and to many people it seemed like a waste of money. But I explained and explained to my girlfriend, and eventually she understood; modelling is a passion. It's the joy of creating things out of inumerable pieces of polysterene that fulfills those of our kind. It's the ability to accurately depict in miniature scenes that are lifelike and full of action and color that is our perfection.

However sometimes, some of us need to practice prudence. I myself don't wanna stock kits, so I just try to build what I can and not buy if I haven't consumed much of my current stash. Though seemingly impossible, I try to get by perfecting one kit than getting a lot of the same kit.

Unrealistic, but, I have to go by that.

TOOOYS! That's what they want to call it. Too bad not too many people appreciates it. As long as I have the time I'd indulge in it. It helped me relieve the tensions of my job before & now it helps me to keep my sanity during this very dull winter months when I have to spend most of my time alone. Fortunately my wife appreciates it & almost doesn't mind the bill that I get from my hobby. Sabi nga nila "Magpakatotoo ka Brother".

Yep, 9 years of snap on and done nothing else. That's why I wanted to redo all of them.

I have never apologized nor tried to explain/justify my hobby, in much the same way that I never criticized some other hobby, much more someone else's. A hobby is something personal, something that brings you joy, satisfaction, relaxation, a sense of accomplishment/fulfillment, a sense of belonging(when you belong to a club or group), and in our case, a history lesson or even an education. Expensive, yes, but what hobby doesn't entail some amount of monetary expense? I can think of other hobbies that would bleed your wallets dry and actually know of some people who have experienced that misfortune. Just be glad that we have a hobby, something we can do alone and even in our later/retirement years, God and vision permitting. We have nothing to apologize for.

Oh and Jeepney, Level 6 huh? I can just imagine how you got "upgraded".

Been There, Done that!!

Yes it makes you feel guilty knowing how much money you spent on our hobby and yet you're stuck to this addiction, It bothered me a lot especially the stockpiling and somehow sacrifice a few kits you don't need and sell it off. That was 10 years ago hehehe..
Somehow my enslavement to the hobby gives me solace after a hard days work.. I alot 2 or 3 hours a day. Keeping in mind my other duties and obligations as a familyman . So my advice to the bachelors and the young "once."
Go forth and create ...............models!!!! har har har.. what r u thinking?

level 7 ... during my hiatus for 4 yrs. without kits

MY wife buys me models in JMN at Harrison Plaza and sends them here to me in Saudi through some of my friends returning from vacation. One customer at JMN asked her if she was making those 1/16th TAMIYA figures herself. She replied "my husband does, it keeps him in the house"

NOW THAT'S A LUCKY GUY! GOOD FOR YOU!

Ok, for the privileged and lucky few who are married or significantly attached, (hey, it depends on your perspective hehehe) what does she think of your hobby/opium?

Ah yes, the Elder speaks! (and I meant it age-wise hehehehe)




Uh, I'd rather be with a supermodel hehehe... or better yet, Rhea Santos.... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

I know how you feel. I get that same remark from my mom and my sisters. Oh how I wish I could get my own place (couldn't afford one right now) where I can stock up and build kits to my heart's content and maybe find a girlfriend who (does not have to enjoy) appreciates this hobby.

True enough. I love the challenge of building even though some people, like one owner of a certain hobby store told me to buy an assembled model rather than kill myself putting together over a hundred parts, plus the so-called agony and torture of filling, sanding and painting (and putting decals) on them.

That way, I'd say with pride (if anybody would ask me where I got it, what's it made of?) I did it all by myself.

It sounds kinda weired pero sa akin parang feel ko may bonding kami ng model kits ko. A good example is a lost part. I know what it looks like and where it should be.

I have my own modeling room now and although it doubles as a laundry room and stock room I'm not complaining. She looks at my current project every now and then and prods me to finish it. I ask her advice when I have trouble deciding which kit to get. She tolerates my opium as long as it doesn't intrude into my domestic "obligations"