Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

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DavidWomby
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Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by DavidWomby »

For weeks I have been looking forward to getting home in Florida after a summer in Nova Scotia so I could get my hands on some plastic and glue, etc again.

Now I'm here and the stash awaits and I can't find the mojo to start anything or finish my two kits that were almost done when I left.

Weird.

David
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Softscience
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Re: Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by Softscience »

Don't force it, that's how screw-ups happen. The urge will come when your brain feels ready.
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Re: Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by rob_van_riel »

Softscience wrote:Don't force it, that's how screw-ups happen. The urge will come when your brain feels ready.
Sound advise. However..
dwomby wrote:Now I'm here and the stash awaits and I can't find the mojo to start anything or finish my two kits that were almost done when I left.
Could it be that the half built models have lost their fizz? Sometimes starting out with something new can help. I realise that's how permanent bench residents are made, but who cares, really. If you have an LHS, spend some time wandering around in it, pick the first kit that catches your fancy (however far from your usual fare), and get to work on it right away. The odds of that particular kit becoming a success story are slim, but it will get you back into the flow, and you might learn something interesting in the process.
Weird.
Well, that's what we all are up to some extent. At least something is still as expected :ha:
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splash
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Re: Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by splash »

What I do to regain my mojo, is pick a simple no pressure build (minimal detail & simple colours) and blitz it, like I just did with my ArmourFast Comet tank.

Regards Splash
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jamesaw
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Re: Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by jamesaw »

I have the same problem. Started the Airfix B17 and there it has sat since February. It took my son coming back home for reading week to get me started again. His inspirational message were words to the effect "you should get going on building a model again dad".

I recommend small steps. The B17 needed masking prior to the aluminum coat so I spent a couple of hours just applying tape and Maskol while my son worked on his LRDG 15cwt. I find as I get closer with the masking, my enthusiasm for getting the airbrush going is starting to return.

Splash's suggestion is also a good one. I find that coming back after a long absence I worry that the skills (such as they are) have gone rusty. A quick blitz on an easy kit works wonders to restore confidence!

Howard
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DavidWomby
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Re: Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by DavidWomby »

Thanks for the encouragement, Howard. I'm still in the doldrums here.

I have tried to follow Spash's excellent advice but each time I pick out a kit I think will be a simple build and paint job I get bogged down in thoughts about accuracy, alternative markings, etc and come to a grinding halt again.

David
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Re: Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by beany »

dwomby wrote:... a kit I think will be a simple build and paint job I get bogged down in thoughts about accuracy, alternative markings, etc and come to a grinding halt again.
In that case do something totally outrageous David to overcome those thoughts, something like this for example:
Image

Just print out images from the internet and cut them out and glue them on if necessary- it wouldn't be the first time I've done that for want of a waterslide decal or two?!
Just focus on enjoying the cutting, gluing and painting without worrying about having to actually represent anything REAL!!

Cheers
Al.
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MarkyM607
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Re: Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by MarkyM607 »

beany wrote:
dwomby wrote:... a kit I think will be a simple build and paint job I get bogged down in thoughts about accuracy, alternative markings, etc and come to a grinding halt again.
In that case do something totally outrageous David to overcome those thoughts, something like this for example:
Image

Just print out images from the internet and cut them out and glue them on if necessary- it wouldn't be the first time I've done that for want of a waterslide decal or two?!
Just focus on enjoying the cutting, gluing and painting without worrying about having to actually represent anything REAL!!

Cheers
Al.
Oh no!, not that Boston(?) again!!!! :shock: , only just recovered from seeing it the first time!! :ha: :ha:
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Re: Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by pmmaker »

dwomby wrote:Thanks for the encouragement, Howard. I'm still in the doldrums here.

I have tried to follow Spash's excellent advice but each time I pick out a kit I think will be a simple build and paint job I get bogged down in thoughts about accuracy, alternative markings, etc and come to a grinding halt again.

David
This is what led my to quit the hobby entirely about twenty years ago. It was the point where all those concerns just made building seem more like work rather than fun.

Today when I lose my mojo, I buy myself a "cheapie" kit or a lower end, simple to build kit and I just build it as it is. Instead of building it to "WOW" the masses, I build it just to have fun slapping a kit together (My Hasegawa P-47 was such a kit http://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=16209;) and the heck with all the other stuff.

My only other suggestion is to just step away from building for a while. Sometimes I go months without even going into the workshop. Then one day I go in there, see those wonderful models staring back at me, and I just start building again.

pmmaker
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Re: Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by ShaunW »

I can sympathise, Dwomby. I've my worst modelling year since I joined the forum back in November 2011. Two completions and that's it. I've recently abandoned a Boeing 737 build that I rescued from the Shelf of Shame as it just wasn't shaping up and have a 1/48th Sea Harrier looking accusingly at me from the back of the workbench that I started nearly a year ago. Like Elvis, the mojo has currently left the building. Hopefully it will return soon but I've learnt over the years not to force it so I content myself with continuing to comment on here and watching everyone else's builds.
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Re: Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by PaulBradley »

There's a lot of it going around - I'm in a year-long slump, and not just modeling-wise. And without wanting to get political, I believe a lot of it is probably to do with the current world situation that has affected both the US and UK - on my recent visit to the UK, I did notice a general air of gloom and doom, which was in stark contrast to my previous visits. The evening news was always thoroughly depressing viewing and there didn't seem a lot of optimism amongst those I spoke with. That pervasive trait permeates even the most hardened psyche.

PLEASE NOTE: This post should not be viewed as a license to air political grievances, and anyone who does so should expect sanction!!
Paul

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DavidWomby
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Re: Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by DavidWomby »

beany wrote:
dwomby wrote:... a kit I think will be a simple build and paint job I get bogged down in thoughts about accuracy, alternative markings, etc and come to a grinding halt again.
In that case do something totally outrageous David to overcome those thoughts, something like this for example:
Image

Just print out images from the internet and cut them out and glue them on if necessary- it wouldn't be the first time I've done that for want of a waterslide decal or two?!
Just focus on enjoying the cutting, gluing and painting without worrying about having to actually represent anything REAL!!

Cheers
Al.
Maybe, Al. I couldn't be as 'out there' as you but maybe a whif?

David
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DavidWomby
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Re: Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by DavidWomby »

Thanks, pmmaker, Shawn and Paul (et al.).

Don't know when this down period will pass. I thought perhaps it was the lack of a GB that I was participating in but then I discovered there's an MBox GB going on on Britmodeller and a Airfix/Frog/MBox whif GB on Hyperscale but neither of those has so far sparked me. I know it will probably pass soon and the urge will return so I should not force it but it feels like I am wasting good modelling time.

David
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Re: Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by IronMan129 »

I have the same problem, since my Daughter was born in Feb I've only finishes a few models.
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Re: Start of my 2017-2018 modelling season and - no mojo

Post by Dazzled »

I find the best way out of a mojo slump is to finish something. It doesn't matter what it is but just to be able to say "done" snowballs to the next kit.
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