Hi guys.

Well the problem is this, I find myself losing interest in the world of model making...........shown by my prolonged absence from armorama.........

I've been through this before but this time it seems to be sticking...............for some reason i just don't feel up to getting a kit out and start building like I used to.

It's not a confidence problem as I "have a gift" for this as my grandad says........In competitions I always come within the top six so it's not really an issue for me.........I try to alter what I build by scratch building and conversions to keep my intrest alive, tried new models and still nothing.......

I'm young, only 18, I have many hobbies and interests and an active lifestyle..........but this is really sending me cuckoo trying to find out why I'm losing interest..........

Has this ever happended to anyone before and how did you get over it???

I wouldn't worry at 18. There are plenty of things to keep you busy and lots of things in this world for you to explore still to come. For me I was heavily into models from 15-18. Probably didn't touch one during college. Then when I got my first job and moved to a new place I met new friends. Only in the last year or so at age 37 did I pick up again.

might just be modlers block something we all get from time to time summers probaly a quiet time as well for building due to holidays ect

I would't worry about it i dropped out for thirteen years,did what i wanted do and some that i didn't,and drifted back in.
Arthur

Try not to focus on the plastic models, but on the actual ones, and do something different, if it fails........

Lots of folks here stopped building at about your time of life and moved on to other things. I'm one of those.
If it's "in your blood" you'll be back, if not, look at the fun you had.
Good luck in whatever you do.
Chuck

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just take a break from the hobby. No one is forcing you to build and it shouldn't become a chore to build. I hit something like this recently and I didn't build anything but maintained my presence on Armorama and took the occasional visit to the LHS. Sooner or later, you'll see or hear about something you want to build and get back into it, even if it is a few years later. Hope this helps.
Kyle

Sounds familiar to me as well. I stopped building when I was 18 and did not pick it up again for 17 years. Been building again for the last 15 years and don't see any end this time - what the hell else am I gonna' do in my old age? :-)

Sounds like a raging hormonal imbalance may be at work here - we all go through it.

Cody

18 and taking top honors!? Maybe you are simply burned out? Perhaps you need a challenge that this hobby can't provide anymore? Do your other hobbies fulfill that creative need? Sculpting, painting (on canvas I mean), photography, writing?

Or maybe you are at a time in your life when you need more physical activities--sports?

Don't worry and definetly don't force yourself to build kits. It is only a hobby. As it has already been said, at 18 your head may need to be somewhere else. This hobby will always be there.

Just give it time...

Well, if you're just burned out, don't worry, I'm 16 and I find myself not building models, I just needed to get something new to do. Different era, different kind of thing. Don't worry, we all get burned out at one time or another. Thanks for your time.

I'll just echo basically what's been said here...

I didn't have much time to build during college and all that, and tried to start again when I got done and settled with a job, place to live, etc.

Right now it's more about time. As much as I want to go build, I find myself doing other things. Now, if I really, really wanted to, I could probably make the time, but other stuff comes along. I'm sure in a few months I'll start putting in plenty of time.

If it's something you enjoy doing, you'll be back. If you need a break, don't worry about it for now. Do what's been suggested. Try some other things and maybe once you burn out on those, you'll be ready to model again.

If it ain't fun...don't do it. That's been my motto for my leisure life. Work, well you've got to do it, but if you are miserable you seek a change. So drop the models, chances are in a year or two you'll pick it up again...it'll be fun again. At 18 it's time to worry about getting out in the "real" world whether its college or a job. Dating/relationship issues are now upon you. Enjoy life, build great memories !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think u are just geting burned out.
so stop trying to build for a week or so.
may be u might get back in it.
that happned to me a few years about,
i was building for like1 or 2 years.
and all the sudden i did not wanna build,
then last year after about 3 years i cam back to it,
just lay off of it for a while,
it will come back to u, do other things,
dont let it take up all your time like reading model maginzes and stuff like.

I know how you feel. Me too, I sometimes "quit" modeling for about a month or two. But after seeing how others strive so hard just to finish a model, they become my inspirations to build one myself. Also, as an engineering student, modeling increases my skills needed for my course.

Sixteen was about the time I dropped out of this hobby for a few years. I then got back into it and have been doing it on and off since. I honestly wouldn't worry about your lack of interest. Go do something else for a while and I am sure the modeling bug will bite you again. Like with anything in life, there are highs and there are lows. You are just in a modeling low right now. This is normal.

Here are some things I do when I am in a modeling funk:

Paintball
Airsoft
Cooking
Bulding and/or modding PC's
Reading books (usually sci-fi or suspense)
Work on the house

I see you already have alot of advise, and alot of it is similiar. Mine is more of the same. I can't resist adding something since I'm just back after a few years off of modeling. I put a few old finished models up for sale on ebay. Some requests came in for consignment builds, and the rest is history. I also build just for fun. "Let your heart not be troubled." The greatest person ever to walk the Earth said that to some of his friends. If there is pressure and confusion, back off and let it take care of itself. Turn that radio static right off in your brain housing group! Flush guilt down the toilet and spend your free time doing what you WANT to do. Modeling will always be there, that's our awesome disease, oxymoron intended. I remember just flipping through modeling magazines for about 6 years. That's all I needed at the time. And I didn't lose a step, I gained two!

At your age you have nothing to worry about, it's only normal to want to do other things to, you got a whole life a head of you.
Modeling will come back, just let life take it's course. I went thru a long time myself from my teens up to my older years before I got back into modeling.

Straightedge

I didn't loose my interest till now. It happens that I don't touch anything on my workbench for a month sometimes, but my interest is still alive. My father, who is in this hobby for more than 25 years, he lost his interest about 6 years ago, but his workbench still is there with all kind of staff and unmade nice kits on it. I can't touch them, because he thinks that that time of modelling will come and find him again someday. He still waits that time to come at the age of 62 now.

Don´t worry about that. Do what you feel and be happy.
I made a stop of 20 yerars and get in the hobby again in 1999 with 47 yeras old
One day without doing nothing you´ll be interesred again, this hobby never dies, sometimes it just sleep.

20 years was my hiatus... Life, time, money and other interest.

Always loved History so in my non -modeling time I drew and sculpted... just did not model.

One day I found an old model, Tamyia M3 Stuart, in the garage and thought "What the Heck...", built it and I was hooked again. That was 18 months ago. And though I have been off for a few months due to a new career change (started teaching High School last fall) I am still enjoying.

Biggest thing to remember is it is not a problem. Go enjoy and model when you feel like it. Something will catch you interest and you will be back at it. Till then, there is a lot of life to enjoy!

John

Ahhhh, 18 huh? It was about that time that someone handed me my first shot of Jack Daniels at a party. Then the ladies started talking to me....

I didn't lay an eye on a model for eight years after that. I had found a new "hobby". Don't worry mate, you'll eventually tire of the partying and come back to your little pieces of plastic.

Seriously though, don't sweat it. As you can clearly see, just about all of us took a break at that age.

Stuke

I don't think this could be a real problem. I've been going thru this since I started modeling but I still get back to the hobby. Right now I'm kind of in the same fix you're in. I even enlisted in one of the campaigns here & went on with the build. Halfway thru it I just lose the drive. Now my build is on the shelve half finished & I don't know if I'm even gona beat the deadline. Oh well, it's summer anyway maybe it's the outdoor activities that got me busy. Enjoy!

Thanks for all your reply's guys. I guess ur all right in a way......

What the heck! I'm only 18, l'll live a little first, before the wife, kids and House payments start.........lol

Thanks again..........

its happened to me in the past, the lost of intrest and its rather normal, seems everone went throught that. iam only 15 and i have a lot to explore. but its only after a month away from home that i realize howq much i love the hobby.

Frank