Workschedule - how to plan projects

With two small kids and a time consuming job, its hard to find the time needed for finishing kits, so I've made a simple workschedule to make it easier to plan the workflow in projects.

Take a look at it here: Workschedule (http://www.taffelhome.com/images/modelcars/workschedule.html)

Since I'm quite new to this hobby it would be nice to get some feedback from builders with experience.

The schedule is not ment to be a step by step guide, but as a help to quickly find out what to do next if you are in the middle of a project and want to get things done.

BTW: The idea came up after reading the inspiring thread The Dino 36 hour Challenge (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=511671) by klutz

When you start managing your hobby like it's a project, that's when the hobby stops being fun.

Knock over all of your piles of model boxes. Whatever box opens and spills over the floor is the next kit;)

Knock over all of your piles of model boxes. Whatever box opens and spills over the floor is the next kit;)

And whatever breaks is your first subassembly.

Will you do my taxes? Please?

This may not be the best approach to building kits. While I certainly understand the value of organization and the scarcity of availible time, modeling as a hobby is rife with things that just won't go as scheduled. It's therefore impossible to plan other things based on completion of early things. Unless you really enjoy schedules, it's also likely a very efficient way of removing the majority of fun from modeling. It's a bit like scheduling the completion of a jigsaw or crossword puzzle. If you're holding yourself to a schedule, when do you relax and enjoy it?

Fun as Stevenski's Dino post was, I think few of us (Stevenski included) would hold it up as an example of how to build. He was really just trying an unorthodox way of treating his Advanced Modeler's Syndrome (an afflicion he developed in record time). I'm fairly certain it didn't cure him.

I think perhaps the best advice that can be offered would be to start simple and take things as they come. Even those of us who have been doing it for years can't really predict how long a project will take.

Oh, and by the way- I'm really not sure that you do want an E30 M3....

I'd schedule a little more time on filing and test fitting. I usually group a kit in four sections: exterior, interior, engine and chassis, and spend at least one day (2-3 hours) on each. Also, I suggest that you start the exterior first, and work on other sub-assemblies while waiting for the primer, body color and clear coat to dry.

I agree that a structured timetable approach may not be the best way to assemble the model... it can take the fun out of the build and make it more like work than a hobby. However, being in a similar busy situation myself (work, family, etc.), I think the idea of creating a workflow of a project has merit. You at least have a step by step process of building a model efficiently, therefore maximizing the time you spend. I can't even count how many occassions I've wasted time by jumping around steps in my project build.

I often schedule projects in my head. Haven't stuck to one yet. :)

i work 10 hour days so when i come home im too tired to work on them but the thing about my job is i get to think about what i want to do to my cars while im at work so when o come home i lock myself up for about 2 hours get something achieved then walk out. i do the most damage on a weekend

i would never make a plan for how long things would take for building models or for certain stages of building because in the end you will never be happy if something dosn´t turn out the way you want it to,sometimes it takes longer than you think.It should stay a hobby,take time.

Wow that is one heck of a time table graph? I actually agree with the thought a liitle bit but each modeler definetely has there own style and routine. I have been building now for about 20 years and I have learned and improved the most after finding this site, scratchbuilding became my new passion. Only problem with me is sometimes I get so indepth with the details that after 2 years of off and on progress I don't always remember everything I wanted to do and usually move to something else since I would get modelers block pretty easy. My orange EG HB that was my last model completed (and only one in '05) was the first time I actually made a type of schedule, or really I just made a list of all the plans I had and I organized them by "Engine", "Engine bay", "Interior", "Chassis" and finally the "body" (I have found that with so much custom work it is easier to build from the inside out ending with the body, this way I know it will all fit after the customizing) After I made my list the model really came together in record time, I have started making list for all my current builds now and it really helps me focus and does not take any of the fun out of it. In fact is is making me even better and definetely more productive:licka:

woah dude, thats take=ing the fun out of it. besides it never works like that. you have no time allocation for stripping bad paint, finding that missing tire, etc.... Just build at the pace your comfortable with and if you spent less time online youd have more time for models, kids etc....

I have a work schedule like that too. I break up model building into days and allocate a small section of model building task to them. I do not have to build everyday though. The reason for doing so is because i tend to want to rush things through and cut short "drying and waiting times" so a work schedule will actually slow me down and tell me that i have done my fair share for the day and it's time to stop before i get pissed at myself when i see the final product all screwed up. LOL.

I have a work schedule like that too. I break up model building into days and allocate a small section of model building task to them. I do not have to build everyday though. The reason for doing so is because i tend to want to rush things through and cut short "drying and waiting times" so a work schedule will actually slow me down and tell me that i have done my fair share for the day and it's time to stop before i get pissed at myself when i see the final product all screwed up. LOL.


You are very wise my friend!

You are very wise my friend!

just had to find solutions to curb my "lack of patience" problem and to prevent my room from getting filled up with more slip-shod builds. LOL

Hi 356speedster - it's me :biggrin:
I've just seen this thread and for obvious reasons I want to add my :2cents:

Personally, I think the most important is that you build models the way YOU feel best with. If you're the kind of person that feels best with a timetable approach, go for it! Just be prepared IMHO for frequent re-scheduling ;)

The area you touch in this thread is a little similar to questions like "what's the best airbrush?" or "whats the best paint/thinner ration?" - i.e all answers are actually inherently subjective without black/white answers. Everyone works out what's best for them.

Let me put my Dino thread into context for you.
I am also new to modelling - I started about 18 months ago and have "only" manged to finish 4 kits in that time.

Of those 4, the first was built in about 3 weeks and was crap (only one member on this forum has seen it and has sworn never to mention it again :nono: ). I tried to build it "by the book".

The second (Cobra 427) took me about 2 months and was a bit less crappy but it got me hooked into this hobby and made me want to keep pushing my limits and add new skills. I still biult it pretty much by the numbers.

The third (Mini Morris) took me about 3-4 months and it started getting there in terms of being "not crappy". This one was definatley not planned all the way through and I started going back to things I had done already to add something else.

My 4th (Boxster SE) took about the same time and saw me starting to "think for myself" and do things "my way". This one was started, stopped, started stopped - I actually started it before the Mini.

My current build (2CV) has been going on for 9!!!!! months now because I am scratchbuilding and modifying a lot of parts and I get it wrong 4 times for each piece. No timetable any where in sight for a million miles :lol: just more and more nervousness that I'll FAQ it up before I finish it.

That's where the Dino comes in.
I was letting off steam :) As MPWR said, it was therapy - I needed to finish something - just like you.
Of course I kind of had a schedule (which BTW I think I got wrong) and I definitely had a deadline but hey! I didn't make it, did I :) To make things even funnier, last night I started thinking to myself, since I didn't finish it yet, maybe I could go back and add a couple of the things I had to leave out :rofl:

I also have 3 kids and a demanding job so I get little hands-on building time. I do my planning now in my head. I "think" the kit through while driving, in the bath etc. I have built ach part in my head a few dozen times before I actually touch it and then it goes and surprises me anyway!

Focus on making your model well and for yourself rather than on schedule and you'll be really happy, I'm sure.

Also I think it's really cool that you asked his question out loud because what you get back are opinions and thoughts, some of which you'll agree with and some you won't but in the end you'll make up your own mind and that's what a forum is for isn't it?

EDIT: Jeeeeeeeeeeez I just saw how much I wrote?!?!? Didn't plan that post very well, did I :lol:

See what you started Klutzy, spreadsheetsLOL, i hope your happy!

I must say that plan looks too much like a MS Project plan to me! But I was also inspired by klutz_100 when he posted his great Dino thread and it did make me think about how I plan my project. I read somewhere that it is good practice to split a model into specific parts (ie engine, brakes etc) and focus your attention on working on one part of a model at a time. I find if I keep moving from one part to another I make mistakes.
Keeping a vague plan of action in your head is a great idea, I also think about the what I am gonna do next with my model while at work etc.

Deepraj

Four words for you: Go With The Flow.
whatever works for you man!
But planning to the minute will lead to a lot of frustration.

As for me, I never plan time wise. I sometimes work for maybe 5 minutes and then call it quits. I've also been sitting if front of my hobby desk for over 6 hours non stop.

My :2cents: is (are?:screwy: ) "listen to your heart".

Btw, I work 8-5:30, have a live-in gf so basicly I don't have much time either. But time planning has never even entered my mind.

Steve

For me that schedule would take the fun out of the hobby. Sometimes I MAY plan my work phases for the coming weeks (only in my head) and even then I almost never meet them. Loosen up. Besides I always have more than three projects going so there goes the schedule.

From my experience: I start to screw up, when I start pushing me to do work on my models. Or pressure me to advance certain areas of a model job.

That´s why I always start with the body, I like it the most. everything else will be done later, when ever I feel ready for it. No hurry, no plan, no screw-ups!

But again, like someone said before, it´s all up to your personal modeling taste!

Ha, I hardly schedule anything, even though I should... No schedule on modeling for me, thank you very much!

you guys think he schedules intercourse too?

Yeah, I think like most people, my project sheet involves a calendar and not a clock.

you guys think he schedules intercourse too?

Off course ;-)

No, just kidding :-)

There is some great feedback here, but I think some of you have understood me wrong.

The idea was not to make a time schedule, wich is ment to be followed by the clock or even by the calendar.

What I want to make is a form that I can take a quick look at when I continue the work on a car to get a idea of what is done and what to continue to work on without having to go through the whole project process in my head each time, becuase then I just end up daydreaming in front of the workbench and nothing gets done.

And as others have mentioned most of us are working on several projects smultanious, so if you have one form for each project, then it will actually be a good help when switching between the kits.

I will try it on a few kits to see if it does any good, otherwise it will be deletet from my harddrive :-)

There is some great feedback here, but I think some of you have understood me wrong.
I think you are probably right or at least have over interpreted your spreadsheet ;)

A liitle Post Script to my original post.

I do make notes now while reading through the instructions at the start. I do this to highlight any areas of the build I think will be problematic or to write down ideas I have for changes or detailing - these notes act as an aide memoire later on.

Something else I shall start doing is to jot down notes during the build of how I did things for a build diary - particularly what paint/colour/gloss I used. I have already noticed that I want to repeat something I did on a previous build but I can't remember exactly how I did it or what I used. :rolleyes: