I have been struggling later to get any motivation to do any modeling. Of course the excuses roll out (e.g. Modelshipwrights news stories, chores children) but in reality they are just that excuses.

Then I read an article by John Murphy in the Model Military International magazine issue 5 and he said and I quote “ I wonder sometimes if I’m the only modeler that gets so far with a model and then WHAM I hit this wall and then can’t seem to find the motivation or interest to finish the project” .. “every time I have pulled it out of the box and placed it on my workbench I always end up finding an excuse to do something else”.

These words really hit home for me. A top modeler and magazine editor struggling like I am it was an honest and revealing article.

Here is my workbench with my Airfix E-Boat sitting there ignored, stagnant and very lonely.






I love this model and have had a burning desire to build it since 1975. Sure a few things have gone wrong in the construction but hey I just can’t seem to get remotivated.

Have I overcome it yet nope I haven’t.

Will I? I sure hope so.

Have others had a similar issue?

If so how have you overcome it?

My latest theory is to just sit at the workbench as long as is necessary without distraction until I start working on it knowing once I start I will be away. It may take minutes or hours and its radical but I think it should work.

I will keep you posted.

Cheers

Sean

It happens to me all the time. Thre was a time when I could crank out 15 -20 a year and put several on a diorama. Even with this wonderful Kongo in frmt of me, there are times when nothing gets done for 6 or 7 days. This weekend i up and decided to start getting organized on it and systematically start getting sections done. I didn't do what i planned, but I found that I actually got more done than i had planned by just concentrating on one aspect. (all the itty-bittys on ALL 3 decks)

I needed a 10 year break, sure hope you're quicker. I'd like to see that boat finished!

Maybe it works if you find something else you don't really like to do and can use modeling as an excuse to not do the other thing?

Sean,
Believe me, most ALL of us go through it from one time or another. When mine gets bad enough, first I clear the bench of ALL partial builts - then just pick a simple, quick kit that I really want for myself - that usually does the trick.

For me, it is usually a 1/144th scale aircraft. Small, inexpensive, and the kits are really getting better. Just give it a try, you might find it will fire you up again.

Take it easy...........................Bruce

We all go through this at some time - in my case many times!

Build something different. If your main interest is ships, build a tank or something; a really beat up muddy tank, just to take you out of your comfort zone and stretch your brain cells a bit.

Sean, my friend, in the 30+ year love affair with little plastic (and resin!) fiddly bits that I've been involved in, I can't remember how many periods of "burnout" experienced...real life has alot to do with what you want to do in your "me time", and these pressures can make your hobby into more of a chore, than the total enjoyment that it used to be....best thing to do is to carry on just as you are, pour your energy into what is making you happy at the moment (MSW News, etc ), and the feeling will come back, trust me...just stay in tune with the hobby, and that urge to build will once again be upon you!
~Gunny

Hey Sean,

Everything your fellow modelers have suggested works. To add my two cents in, I find that if I get a section of the kit and what I need to to work on it and move into the den, I'll get more done than if I were sitting at my hobby desk..

Kenny

I've found that working on a common goal, like the campaigns, can be a motivator, especially if the subject matter is intriguing and can elicit interest among our peers.

--Karl

Sean,
Like you, I sometimes have to wait for the 'muse' to continue with a model. My recommendation - try something 'off the wall' - a little whimsy that you can knock up in a night or two and that you can laugh about sometime later. See my Loch Ness diorama in the Members Gallery and you'll see what I mean - it also goes down pretty well at exhibitions.

Jim S

Model something completely different for awhile. I got half way through my IJN Chuyo and had to shelf it. Having done ship models for the past few years I was sick of them and needed a break. I'm finishing up a very small N scale model railroad shelf layout right now. I'm actually looking forward to going back to ship modeling now after a three month rest.

Another tip: put an audio book on and listen while you model. For me, the books plot creates just enough distraction to keep me on task with the current model and not let my mind wander to what else I could be doing.

Im going thru a variation of that at the momment...slipways closed due to unexpected basement renovations, lots of dust/dirt all over the place, builds in boxes and under tarps... how to start again?

I took the opportunity to inventorize my paints, tools, etc and draw out a layout of my "dream workbench". Catching up on reading material, getting inspiration from watching military history documentaries.

During build time, I usually have a main build but also 3-4 other going at the same time..when I hit the wall on one of them (or get to a step I need to research), I switch gears.

I second the audiobook/podcast bit... listening to 'other stuff" takes the edge of the tedious parts of the hobby and emphasizes the relaxation aspects. I listen to audiobooks, and baseball and soccer, er, football podcasts while I build.

I have never experienced this so-called "burnout" where I have had no motivation to work on my models. Maybe I haven't been doing the hobby long enough, or built enough kits, but I am the total opposite, all of the time. All I want to do from the the time I get home, to the time I go to bed, is work on my model. In reality, however, when I get home from work, it's dinner time, then do the dishes, then play with daughter, then clean up her room, then bath her and put her to bed, and then, if I'm lucky, I have about an hour to work on my model. And most nights I have something else to do. So I'm always itchin' to jump on my model and start gluing. I limit myself to one kit at a time, and I don't start a new kit until this one is finished. Otherwise I lose focus. The downside is, about 3/4 of the way through with a model, I'm really anxious to get to the next one.

Been there too... and too many times !!!
Sometimes, to "cure" myself, I pickup something completely different of what I´m working at the moment...other times, I just take a "vacation" for a week or two...and take the time to clear my mind doing other stuff (non-modeling related). You just have to find what motivates (and what doesn´t) you.

.

When I get block on one model I start another one. That seems to work for me.

My biggest problem with building is family and work. But in the end some things just have to be put on the back burner for a bit.

You'll get past it Sean.

Thanks Guys for all the great advice - much appreciated.

I will conquer this - watch this space.

Cheers

Sean

Don't force it... for some reason, it's not fun, and you don't want to make it LESS fun... it takes longer to get out of it.

Me, I go buy the cheap $10-15 pre-painted kits at the local hobby store and slap a couple together in 15-20 minutes and pop them on top of the computer monitor while I go do something else for a bit. So I get to look up from time to time and see something finished, and I take a break. Sooner or later the looking up at something recently completed will get me thinking and itching... maybe only for ten minutes here and there, but it eventually "takes" and I'm off and running again.

Got a 48th scale TSR-2 that's almost done... feels good!