I am very lucky in that my wife is very supportive of my hobby. She does not question what I spend on kits, books, or anything related to the hobby. If I show her a model she will comment on it but other than that she does not appear interested in the hobby itself. She also does not mind the time I spend on the hobby.

My wife is supportive in the that she doesn't mind my spending time and money on it. although after an exaustive week in Borden she said "If you've seen one green tank you've seen them all". I now travel to colllections alone. I have a room to myself(see Gallery) and a daughter who wants to build tanks when she's older(currently three) All around I'd say I get great support

Josh
aKA shiryon :-) :-) :-)

My wife is generally supportive of all of it, she almost never raises an eyebrow when something arives in the mail or comes from the local hobby shop. She's not so interested that I get much in the way of any critique on anything, but occasionally she will comment. She is very supportive of any trip for a contest or museum, especially if I stay within my budget. I keep waiting for the day when she actually counts the number of kits out in the garage and says "enough", I guess when that happens I have to decide if I should keep her!!

Rick Cooper

I know this sounds kinda odd coming from a female but......... #:-)

My hubby really shows an interest in the kits after I finished them. Doesn't really care about spending the $$$ on the books and stuff 'cause he likes to read them. I just wish he would get my glass cabinet made so I'll have a safe place to put them ....

Penny,

Display cabinets aren't all that difficult or expensive to make. Maybe a little time consuming, but it's definately worth building some to protect your hobby.

If your hub doesn't have any set plans yet, I can pass along the dimensions for these. Basically 4' x 4' x 1'.

Thanks,
Kevin Keefe
Mortars in Miniature

My wife is glad I have taken up a hobby besides the computer and is pretty supportive, I have gotten around 30 kits or so 2/3 of them off e-bay and she says as long as the bills get paid I can get what I want. And if I point out things to her she can see where my skills are improving, I've only been building since Dec 2001 and I try to improve at least one or 2 skills with each build.. last time she asked me why I had so many unbuilt kits squirreled away, I said I was getting ready for my Unemployemt period... which unfortunely started last week. now all I got to do is decide what to build. Since we live in a apartment I don't have room for a permanat hobby area so I use a card table and I have a large roll around metal shop toolbox I keep in the closet when I'm not working. so overall everyone is happy .

Delbert

This made me smile. 75% of my stuff, the missus buys for me. As I work long hours monday to friday and have to travel for 3 hours each day, I send her to town for what i want. She glady ´does it as its an excuse for a day out. But fair play to her, if stuff needs picking up from the post office she will ahve that done as well. If I run out of a colour, she Has it waiting the next evening when I get home.
But.......... when she wants something.......... I get a full accurate list of everything she has done for me in the last 2 months, as a reminder of "how much she has done for me".
I guess I can live with that

Depends on the mood she is in. Its either grudging tolerence or outright hostility. On more than one ocassion she has threatened to squash my collection. Sigh!

My wife is very supportive of my hobby (Thank You God for giving me this woman!). She almost always accompany me at the work table and sometimes help me with the more delicate parts...(PE, tie-downs etc). She even helps me decide which kit to buy! ( e.g. King Tiger Porsche turret or the Production one? A6M2 or A6M5 Zero?)....now, how to make my mother thinks that this hobby is not merely for kids......

My wife would rather me stay home and model than hunt, fish, or play softball. She says that at least she always knows where I am. She doesn't know anything about modeling, but she does buy whatever kits I mention after reading MMiR. I love her!

Patrick

Oh,YEAH!Sure!!!Rub it in my face!!! My wife hates my models!!!!!She sees nothing nice about it.As far as my old hobby of drinking and fighting.....she seems to rather have me do that.She fights with me and is driving me to drink.
Really,though,she doesn't like my hobby.Thinks I obsess to much on the details,spend too much money on them,and way too much time(though I haven't worked on one seriously for 2 weeks).I am a young man still(35.I'm not dead so I'm still young)and don't womanize, drink,or do drugs(though,The glue is a nice substitute).I am a father of 4 and work for myself as a carpenter .Is my "hobby" such a bad thing when I get to come home relax and simmer down without a bottle in my hand(beer,whiskey,or bong.Yes,the 80's didn't miss me)? #:-)
I say we band together and have a twelve step program of our own
(1) Buy kit
(2) Get References
(3)Discuss on forum to get all the needs and adjustments for said kit
(4)Purchase all needs for said kit
(5)Read instructions and make notes as to where adjustments will take place in assembly
(6)Assemble kit and all aftermarket and scratchbuilt parts
(7)Inspect said model
(8)shoot said model with paint
(9)Decal before mentioned model
(10)Dullcoat said kit
(11)Weather said kit
(12)display said kit(otherwise known as cofessing to your higher power)
#:-) #:-) #:-) #:-) #:-)

My wife is very, very supportive and helpful. I do discuss with her prices and kits before I buy though. She also has friendly relations with the other modellers and suppliers that I know. Also because I am wheelchair bound and have a nuromuscular diesease which means at times my hands shake to much to do the models it does take me more time and effort to do them. But I do get there and am inproving every day. Also I am weak and often can't hold up a cup of coffee let alone a dremel for long so she helped design and modify my modeling bench to help me with my modelling. In my terms God and me love her for it.

Cliff (I'm still a driver) :-)

Yor first problem was letting your spouse "think".

MSW

I think my wife realizes that as long as I am down in the basement in the modelling bunker I am not getting in too much trouble. The loud airbrush compressor pisses her off, more so if ER is on, but I think she realizes it is a pretty cheap hobby considering a lot of folks in my neck of the woods build 1:1 scale cars to race.

Just my 2...

My fiance isn't too thrilled with the hobby. She thinks it makes a mess of the place, the built kits have no purpose, the unbuilt kits take up too much room, and worse, she can't stand that it makes me a pack-rat. Gotta buy-research-scratchbuild-buy some more, and everything needs to be stored somewhere.

However, being the patient and loving woman that she is, most of the time she just swallows her feelings and lets me model away happily.

Can't complaing about that.

Mika

My wife really love my work. She thinks that I am very talented and that what I do is am art. She does not like, sometimes the subject matter, since I do WWII german stuff. She is Jewish and when I bring home a really good reference book that I am excited about I tend to forget who I am talking to. She beleives that there is no difference between the German Army and the Nazis. So that is the only problem she has with my modeling. Hell she even goes to some of my model shows also.

My wife has mixed feelings. First, I should say she is a wondeful, wonderful person. She IS glad that I am not out doing soemthing potentially destructive and that she is able to know where I am all the time. She is also glad that I can do something constructive, that I have a talent for it, and that she can see that talent when I am done with a model. But (you knew that was coming) she doesn't like how much models cost. We are on a very limited budget and can't afford a whole lot in the way of models or supplies. She also thinks I spend a little too much time on modelling and foruming (for lack of a real word). Last, she doesn't like how ugly tanks are. I know what you are saying, they're supposed to be ugly, but women think a lot of aesthetics. I might paint one up in racing colors, or daisy's or something to make her happy. Overall, I think the response I get from her is definitely positive, and she is very impressed with how well I can do a model, so she lets me develop my "potential" (inside joke).

I am really sorry for those of you who have said your wives don't support you. Maybe if you tried to point out to her how you have been supportive of things she does, she might understand the need to be more supportive. Hobbies, by definition, are not exactly productive. You don't do a hobby because it makes you money (though we've all had that dream before), or because it is a societal thing. You do it because you're good at it. You have skill, and your significant others need to recognize that skill and the need to express it. Let her know that there are other things you COULD be doing and your not because you choose to be at home, in comfortable surroundings, and you want to be around her in case she needs you or vice versa, not out racing a car, or hunting, or drinking, or messing around with someone else. Maybe then she will be less ambivalent. Again, my condolences to you unlucky few. I thank God my wife is supportive as she is.

Rob

A spouse of mine wouldn't like modeling, and that's why I don't have one! :-) Actually, I am enjoying the single life much more than any of my friends seem to be enjoying their marriages right now, so I can't complain. If I was married, I would never have been able to do my "Saturday" diorama. (Not military, but shows a man rebuilding a Harley motor on the dining room table, with a woman glaring at him, and a plaque reading, "Gee! Honey, I thought you were staying at your Mother's until Saturday.") After all, I got the idea, from my own escapades, when it just got too cold in the garage, and I moved indoors.

My modeling isn't much more spousally friendly. I tend to see my house as a giant work and hobby area, and there is no room for clothes in my closets, as they are all stacked to the ceiling with kits. Half the time, the spraybooth is hooked up to the dryer vent, you always have to move a model, guitar part, or car part to sit down, (Or sometimes an X-acto knife. )and I park in my driveway, to put the race car in the garage.

Bachelor Heaven!
Dave

My spouse thinks I'm crazy and she doesn't build models.

She isn't thrilled by my model stacks in the closet but I'm not thrilled by her shoe, boot and purse collection

She is happy when I'm working on the kits less happy when I'm surfing these "hobby porn" sites

MSW