I'm sitting here with two models nearly finished. One waiting for a dull coat and the other decals. And I already have a dozen ideas on what I want to do next. Do I continue on DML's excellent M2 since I now have the tires that was holding that up? Or maybe the new Hasegawa 1/32 P-47 I just got last week? Then there's the Hobbyboss A-10. But I've been itching to do another Tiger and I have Skybows 1/48 Tiger I Late calling my name. And even though I have two on the bench right now, I'm normally one of the guys that only does one at at a time so that makes the decision even more difficult.

So my question is, how do you guys choose what to do next? If you're like me, you sit there looking at a stash of unbuilt kits. All of which you bought with the express intent of building them next. But you still buy more and now, how in the hell do you choose?

It depends on how I've been building my kits. I'll go through a run of kits where there is a fair amount of AM/scratchbuilding. Then I'll build a kit OOB. Sometimes I'll build a kit based on an idea for a diorama. I even go back to where I got my start. Aircraft. Then I go through the same thing with A/C. Lots and lots of AM/ scratch building. Then I need a break from that.
Every once in a while I have several that I want to build. Then I ask my wife (who is MOST supportive of my hobby/habit/addiction) for a tie breaker. She mostly likes A/C, but really does appriciate well used armor.
I'm always picking out my next kit from my stash before I'm done with what I'm currently working on. Life is good!

Cheers
Dave

Sometimes the decisions get made for me depending on vendor submitted stuff to the site, but when I'm on my own to choose what to build next, the decision is usually based on three main factors:

1) What did I build last? I try to avoid repetitive building of the same vehicle or similar subjects and paint finishes.

2) What type of project do I want to do next? This will vary on whether I'm in the mood for a complex project or just want to do a simple OOB or near-OOB effort this time around.

3) The wild card...inspiration. I've got a wide variety of subject material in my stash, so lots to choose from. Sometimes it all boils down to looking at what's there and saying...that one! is next.

Cary,
1. Face your stash.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Put your hands out in front of you.
4. Walk towards your stash.
5. When you touch something, hopefully a kit, stop.
6. Remove item from stash
7. Open your eyes
...Start your next build. "Q"

Right now I'm choosing my builds by what strikes my fancy when I'm ready to pop open a new kit. With the stash growing by the day, I may eventually take a different tack (such as poring over the list of kits on hand to see what I have and want to move on to). That said, I figure I'm in this for the fun, so I'll go where my whims take me.

I'm actually scared to start those big projects... so usually I chicken out, and get a 1/72 armor out. Right now I have a JS-2, a Hummel, a KV-2, a Tiger (P), a Tiger II (H), a JS-3, a Firefly, a Bison and an artillery tractor in the last stages of weathering -all small scale. I forced myself to open the DML pnzIV, and start building it... (My desk is flooded by small tanks right now.)

First, I look to see if anything jumps out at me, and pick that. If nothing does, I eliminate what I have just finished building right away. I build all modern. So say I finish a Leopard 2. I wont build another tank right away.
Then I go by what I dont have yet. A while ago I had no US air defense vehicle, so I picked up a HMMWV Avenger. Then I had no cannon artillery, so I picked up a German service M110A2. Then I wanted a softskin, so I got a 10 ton truck. Now, I'm working on US artillery (an MLRS) and since I have had the urge to build something Russian for a while, a BTR-70 personel carrier.

And I ALWAYS see if there is a campaign running that I want to enter! That helps narrow it down a lot Although I dont have a stash to choose from. I have to wander the hobby shop to find my next build.

It's whatever has inspired me. I'm building the Robot from the Lost In Space movie at the moment. I've built and finished the Seaview, and finishing up a Fokker D VII. There's no rhyme or reason, just whatever seems like fun at the moment and what might help develop my skills or force me to learn a new one. Mostly, it's been whatever I can find to build that will push me further with working with my airbrush.

nite all

Most of the time my next project is inspired by a rare photo in a magazine or book , It was just one recently that made me build a Zis 5 Pontoon carrier and pontoon apart from the cab and chassis , wheels it is a total scratch build . It will be on display at MAFVA Nationals in June . cheers ian

I was going to say I ask my wife because she knows what I like better than I do. Nice to know I am not the only PW'd modeler out there.

I'm going through this right now. Inspired, yet not ready to tackle something huge. Done a bunch of armor, but don't want to mess with planes, either.

When I get like this, I try to get an idea from my family. My son wanted a Matt Kenseth car built, so I'm working on one for him. My wife likes Corsairs and P-38's, so that may be next. By then, I'll be ready to dive back into my own desires.

Or, I just keep a few 1:72 or 1:48 kits on hand to knock out in a pinch.

- Frank

I model on a budget, so I wait until Hobby Lobby's models go on sale. Then I pick one that has a good selection of figures and, hopefully, some inspiring box art. I don't really have a stash of kits like most modelers do.

With some many projected started, and half finished, I need help deciding on what to finish, not help with what to start.

Dave,

I'm with you on that one sir!! I have at least 3 other kits in various stages of painting or construction. But it is so fun to walk into the stash room and dream of potential builds )

Darryl

Exactly how I do it! I don't like to build the same thing twice either. In my stash I have a couple of pieces of armour, cars and planes. I like to have a mix, that way you always stay much more aware of what you are doing and it doesn't become building by rote.