Benefits of Building Scale Models and How to Buy Your First One

Whether you’re interested in cars, planes, bikes, ships or pop culture icons like the Millennium Falcon, there’s probably a hobby scale model that you’ll love. Building hobby car models and other types of vehicle sounds like child’s play, but there are many reasons why even adults partake in this activity. There are many benefits that building model car kits can provide for people of any age, gender or personal background, the most notable of which are skill development, stress release, instant and ongoing gratification, and building your own trophy collection that you can show off with. Let’s elaborate on this matter.

Skill Development

source: model-space.com

No matter what type of model you choose, there are a couple of stages you need to go through to complete the project. These can include learning the look and history of your model, constructing it, painting it, and even weathering or applying decals to it. All of these stages require discipline and skills such as researching, planning, drilling, cutting, sculpting, gluing, sanding, detailing and painting. As most builders would tell you, there are some areas of this process that they’re better at than others, but the job of building models is that you can get acquainted with more skills as you progress and learn with each project.

Stress Release

Most of us go through at least some degree of stress in our everyday lives, and the best way to try to relieve some of that stress is through our interests and hobbies. Whether it’s watching movies, watching your favourite sports team play, catching up with friends, or building hobby car models, having something to take your mind off everyday problems is necessary. If you have a quiet disposition or are simply an introvert, scale modelling is your best bet. A few hours spent putting together or painting a model can clear your mind and make you calmer.

Instant and Ongoing Gratification

source: haynes.com

You can break down a potentially long-term, large-scale project into bite-sized pieces, which provides you with the benefit of noticing progress over a short period of time without feeling overwhelmed or bogged down by the large scope of the model building. As you get closer to completing your model, you’ll get a sense of personal achievement, and with every new scale model you build, you’ll notice a continuous improvement in all of your skills.

A Trophy Collection

Personal trophies always provide a sense of pride and a little something that you can show off to your friends and family. A well-built scale model can give the same level of personal achievement and self-esteem as a player of the day ribbon or a gold cup for winning your local sports championship. And the number of trophies (read models) you reward yourself with is limited only by money, time and type of scale models you commit to.

How Do You Pick Your First Scale Model?

Picking your first model is a big deal. While it may not be a big commitment in terms of money, it can affect how you view the hobby. For some, the first scale model they build can also be their last, as they may deem the hobby unfit for them. For others, the first model build can be the beginning of a hobby that can stretch over many years. The first and most important thing is to buy a model that you’re excited to build. Passion and enthusiasm go a long way in almost everything we do, and it’s no different in model building.

source: falkeeinsmodel.blogspot.com

Next, you have to decide on the size of the model. Sizes are represented in scales, like 1/8, 1/24, 1/36, etc. and these scales represent how many times the model you’re going to build is smaller when compared to the real-life objects it’s replicating.

Further, you have to consider the difficulty level of the model. Choosing a model with a high level of complexity that’s comprised of hundreds of small parts is a bad idea for your first time. Start off with something that has fewer parts and not too many stages for completion so that you can become more familiar with the building process.

Of course, you also have to consider the quality of the model you’re buying. Although scale models have come a long way in the past few decades, there are still some models that don’t have quality parts, leading to ongoing problems and complications.

And lastly, you have to consider the paint job. It may be tempting to get a model with a detailed and complex paint job, but it’s recommended that you start off with something simple. The simpler the model is to build and paint, the higher the chances of successfully building an aesthetically-pleasing finished model. Airbrushing and masking are great techniques to get amazing finishes, but trying them on the first go can undo all the work you’ve put in when building.