Why are model cars so fun???

[ScottForster]

For me, I guess it is the chance to own a car I have always wanted. It is a great stress relief to come home after a long day of delivering pizzas and sit down, and have control over something. So what is it for you guys??? What got you guys into model building??

[blubaja]

Eh..same. Aside from most of these guys probably, if I still can't find it in plastic...I might have to resort to diecast.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

I build models 'cause I love cars in general and it's a great way to own cars I can't in real life. I've loved cars in miniature ever since I was about 2 years old. I wouldn't build models if I didn't love cars first. The fact that I love doing paint and bodywork and coming up w/unique designs, color schemes, and rolling stock makes it all the better.

If I were 2 years old today, I'd be playing w/something diecast, and would likely not pick up the craft of building model cars as I got older, as the hobby itself isn't as accessible and common as it was when I was growing up. Every kid used to build models, in fact we had a model building after-school group in 5th grade.

[MidMazar]

Originally Posted by ZoomZoomMX-5

Every kid used to build models, in fact we had a model building after-school group in 5th grade.

I wish we had that in my school when i grew up. I guess it got shut down after kids started poking each other with sprues and hobby knives. Instead we had slot car racing in 6th grade.
As for me, i've been a car fanatic ever since i was little. I grew up watching my father and older brother in the garage constantly working on their cars., I can't avoid working on them, researching them, as well as admiring them. From 1:1 to my 1:24 cars, i will always love em! Like zoomzoom stated, scale models replace fantasies.

[gionc]

Originally Posted by ZoomZoomMX-5

and it's a great way to own cars I can't in real life.

This is a good point.

But I think I'm worst: sometime I love something in 1/24 and just ignore the 1/1 stuff.... are we talking of a kind of sickness?

[davesans]

I have always love cars since I was a kid the passion for Hot Rods when I was young was real strong my brother had one and so did my cousin. I am 42 two now still have all my Matchbox Cars and slot cars. I started building models about the age of nine years old mostly Military stuff at first. Then after seeing the movie Corvette Summer model cars were all I build but I stopped around the age of eighteen. I never lost the passion for cars it just grew as I started watching what was Indy cars and Formula 1 I started building again almost a year ago it a great stress reliever and I love working with my hands. Like others have said you get to build cars you will never get the chance to drive and it’s just pure fun for me.

[tonioseven]

I think there was a car in my delivery room and I saw it when I was born; I've loved cars ever since. I've had (and lost) more Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars than some small countries and then somebody messed up and put me on with model cars! It's a true terminal illness! Even though I haven't built anything in a few months, I still have all of my supplies ready for when I get the unavoidable urge to create my personal vision of automotive eroticism in miniature!

[turbo_b00st]

i say it began when i was 14 years old. At that point every boy/ girls was about to get his/her permit for driving, that is when i started looking into car magizines and coming to this website. When it was finally time to get a car, I didnt get the car that i really wanted. So with the love of cars still in me, I started to look into model car building on this website in the art section. Then it was an addiction to now.

[tigeraid]

I don't think it has much to do with being a kid--I started with the hobby a little later than most, for one.

For me, I could give the usual "it's a challenge and requires skill bla bla bla" but that's really not it for me--plain and simple, I realize that I won't be rich and famous, and while I may own one or possibly two fun cars at a given time, I won't own ALL the fun cars I could possibly want in my lifetime. Models, for me, are a way of realizing my automotive "creativity" and building my "dream cars" without spending a fortune. I mean, literally, I'm sitting here and I can name about five different ways that I might build a '72 Monte Carlo (my dream car) in terms of engine, chassis, body, paint, etc... Would I ever be able to do that in real life? Maybe once, but not five times. So I do it with models instead.

[WasteGas]

I guess for me, model cars are lot more fun to build than other kits. I build other kits too, infact I have yet to build a car kit this year. My LHS just haven't carried anything new lately that I want to build.

The thing with model car building that I like the most are the sub-assemblies. They're like mini kits themselves, they get fully painted and decaled. We use all kinds of stuff on our car kits like waxing and stuff. My car kits gets a special spot in the house

[brady_381need72c10]

Originally Posted by WasteGas

I guess for me, model cars are lot more fun to build than other kits. I build other kits too, infact I have yet to build a car kit this year. My LHS just haven't carried anything new lately that I want to build.

The thing with model car building that I like the most are the sub-assemblies. They're like mini kits themselves, they get fully painted and decaled. We use all kinds of stuff on our car kits like waxing and stuff. My car kits gets a special spot in the house

whoa!!! what kit is it and what scale is it to! cause i have got to have it!
and can you post a pic of that special spot in your room!

[WasteGas]

Originally Posted by brady_381need72c10

whoa!!! what kit is it and what scale is it to! cause i have got to have it!
and can you post a pic of that special spot in your room!

It's the 1/35 DML M1A1 AIM.

[924_CarreraGTS]

I would have to agree with most of you; it comes from a love of cars in general. My dad owns an auto repair shop, did so before I was born, and before that was a total gearhead since his own childhood (when he, too built models). It was actually some family friends who got me my first model as a birthday gift. I thought it was kind of fun (but still preferred my Legos, from which I engineering anything imaginable, but mostly realistic stuff). As I built more models, I soon alternated between models and Legos during the summer. Now, the Legos are boxed up in a closet somewhere, and my model desk looks like a mini-nuke was dropped on it

Since I love cars and machinery in general, but am not a millionaire, I build models of cars I will never own and many never see in real life (which seems to be a common reason here). The fact that I can (well, not yet, but once I get around to it ) look at a Mercedes CLK-GTR Le Mans race car (a very sleek, wicked looking car) from all angles, under the engine lid, and even the undertray, is reason enough to build. I'll never see that car in real life, or if I do, it will be squeezed in a crowd of people behind a cordoned-off platform. As a modeler, I can not only look at it from every angle and stance, but know that I was the one who built it. That's my primary reason.

The other reason is that it's just a part of my personality. I'm headed off to college in mere days to start the 4-year process of getting my mechanical engineering degree. I just like to design and build things.

Alex

[Daki]

its not a damn airplane that you have to rescribe when you put it together! LOL
but yeah mostly what everyone else has said. Love cars, always have, and some of the cars I would love to own, others just a challange to build.

[wanderlust]

Just like many others who have posted above, my interest in model cars stems from my passion for "real" cars. I began building models when I was about 9 or 10 years old, and that lasted for about 5-6 years. Once I became a teen and got my drivers permit, I lost interest. I still loved cars, but I much prefered driving REAL cars rather than building models.

Time went on. College. First job. Life. I'm 33 years old now, and I got the car modeling bug again last year. I didn't have much time to build though, but I started buying kits that I wanted to build "someday". Now I've got a closet full of kits, so I decided about two weeks ago to build one. I'm about halfway through my first model in 16(ish) years: a 2006 Corvette Z06. Having a good time with it, and it's turing out well. One of the best things I've (re)discovered about this hobby is that it's a nice escape from everyday life. Suddenly all that stress from my job is gone when I'm focused on the build.

Anyway, just as it was when I was a boy, I enjoy building model cars for two reasons: my love of cars (as mentioned above), and the ability to get "up close and personal" with cars I will never be able to own.

And now that I'm older and have owned many interesting cars so far, I think it will be fun to build models of all (or most) of those cars that I've owned.

I still don't have much time to dedicate to this hobby, but it's a nice break when I can get it.