Only two things will make you a better modeler

At various points during my articling year, I found myself repeatedly hitting my head on my desk. As it turned out, this was common amongst frustrated law students and easily explained those bruised and flattened foreheads. Another common thing law students run into is what I call that ‘ol codger lawyer. That guy (and it is always a guy) is always nearby when physical bouts of frustration are in full swing. Usually with his arms folded, a condescending wall lean and a smirk permanently planted on his face.

My ‘ol codger was Morris and he was rather snarky, rude, and unsympathetic to us students. But eventually, over those twelve months, I think he took a shine to me. Or, maybe his meds finally kicked in. Either way, he offered some helpful practice advice such as: “no one knows everything on the first day,” and that “Peterson IS an asshole”. There may have been other tidbits of advice but the only one still I remember is:

“The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

Morris – ‘Ol codger lawyer with accurate albeit plagiarized guidance. Oh well, at least he was right about Peterson.

We builders start out with all the enthusiasm in the world. We grab kits and paint. We slap them together. And when we are all done, we go and grab another. In these early stages, we can’t help but get better with every kit completed. Each build means improvement with basic building skills, better paint, and noticeably better results.

But at some point, most of us hit a wall. Maybe we stop getting better with every kit or no matter what we do, we always seem to have the same build issue. The traditional places to turn to for guidance have been print media and local clubs. Today we have a lot more. We have very well-made books with detailed pictures featuring specific techniques for every category of models. We also have online blogs and forums with all sorts of build sequence pictures. Finally, we have free, on-demand video.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video has got to be worth a million.

Each of those sources of guidance is chock-full of every conceivable accessory, tool, or finishing supply item designed to give us every ounce of precision or to make our hobby lives that much easier, vibrant, and satisfying. We also live in the age of incredibly cheap electronics, software, and the internet. It seems every week there are new and interesting tools and supplies; available to us at the click of a button.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am all about learning how to use nice tools and where to get them! The problem is that some builders quietly fall into a trap. Some start to believe that owning reams of superior reference materials, stocking shelves full of exotic tools, and gleaning knowledge from watching endless hours of YouTube instruction will make them better at making models.

But… come on now. Morris may have borrowed that whole ‘success before work‘ thing, but it applies nonetheless.

We all know that guy who has all the do-hickeys and bebops. He has the $600 airbrush, all the latest kits, and knows all there is to know about the latest finishing techniques. But he doesn’t have time to build a thing. We also know more than one guy who longs to make those amazing scratched, chipped, bleached and weathered models found within two or three clicks on the socials. But he never attempts anything outside of his fifteen-year-long comfort zone.

Maybe that “guy” is us.

Well, guy, it is really simple. Only two things make a better modeler and they don’t cost a dime: Investing the time in developing those skills and taking risks to try new things. In other words, that fancy new airbrush might help you get there eventually. But you still have to take a big breath, fill it full of paint and use it a few times.