Learning to build

[em-squeezie]

No, not your usual "how do i do this" topic...

I have an opportunity to take the last month of high school off and do whatever proect suits my fancy, because I guess my school's administrators figured out that by May, no senior actually cares about high school anymore. So after the AP tests, we're encouraged to do something we'd enjoy, usually something we'd learn from. People make films, learn to fly or cook, shadow professionals at work, learn arts, etc. I have to figure out what I'm going to do soon so I can register the project with the school.

I'd like to learn how to build models, beacuse I look at some of the work good model-builders can make and it really excites me. I love cars and I love custom cars and making models seems like a way to make exactly the car I want in miniature. So I want to learn to do it.

Do you think I could, given a month of time and a reasonable financial investment? I don't really want to spend more than a few hundred dollars but I realize that the "entrance fees" may be pretty high and model kits aren't necessarily cheap. I also realize that by the end of the month most students have slowly but surely stopped working on their projects for sheer laziness, but I'd like to give modeling a shot. The last time I tried to build a model from a kit, it turned out terrible, but I was using a paint brush, super glue, and my bare hands. Given a little more effort and concentration, I think I could get some decent skills by the end of the month, but I have no experience.

Any opinions? Thanks in advance.

[willimo]

Originally Posted by em-squeezie

Do you think I could, given a month of time and a reasonable financial investment? I don't really want to spend more than a few hundred dollars but I realize that the "entrance fees" may be pretty high and model kits aren't necessarily cheap.

Kits aren't necessarily expensive. Some of the "entrance fees" can b high, but it's quite easy to make do without these expensive things. Airbrushes, lathes, and many specialized tools are easily replaced by other tools and techniques. I'd reckon a good model could be built for much less than $100.

I also realize that by the end of the month most students have slowly but surely stopped working on their projects for sheer laziness, but I'd like to give modeling a shot. The last time I tried to build a model from a kit, it turned out terrible, but I was using a paint brush, super glue, and my bare hands. Given a little more effort and concentration, I think I could get some decent skills by the end of the month, but I have no experience.

Any opinions? Thanks in advance.

Everyone here started with no experience and we all still use our bare hands. There are a few threads right now on or near the front page about what you'll need to get started ( Here is one. ). I don't even think I'd get so much to get started, to be honest.

You mention you want to customize your model. That's great! That's the fun of it, if you ask me. In any case, think long and hard about just how you want to customize your car. Custom paint? Wheels? Adjust the ride hight? Shaved door handles? Full on wild body kit? All of the above? I don't want to discourage you or anyone from trying something new, but be very careful about biting off more than you can chew. If you try something that's far too ambitious, you'll stop halfway through not from sheer laziness, but out of frustration.

Start light, keep it simple, exercise patience, have fun, focus on doing all the small things right; and a month or two will be plenty to come up with something excellent.