An Expensive hobby?

[Guest]

Bit of pressure from the other half regarding costs of models themselves, paints, brushes and all the other overheads involved. Nothing too heavy- but throw in a couple of yet to be completed DIY tasks (left because of more important things to do- ie, modelling, ahem,)

and massive faliure to tidy up after two small children, and it comes under scrutiny.

So anyone found any cheaper alternatives to the usual brandname stocks?, a cost cutting homemade diorama base? or a way of doing something just as good but cheaper? .

[AlanG]

My wife tried the 'expence' tactic with me until i pointed out to her how much it costs me to ride my motorbike a year or how much it costs me in fuel, weights, rigs and bait to go fishing ni a year on average. She soon shut up lol.

As for cheaper things to use. Just keep your eyes open. People tend to spend loads on pigments to look like earth. Why bother? You have millions of tons of it outside your house. Use it. also i have stripped down some old electric cables i had. they are all various sizes and i'm going to use the wire for detailing u/c bays and cockpits. Saves buying them.

[Guest]

One thing I sometimes do is use the box that the model is delivered in as the diorama base. I'll flatten it down, fold it in half, cut if nescesary, and then start building on it. I then coat the sides with Tamiya texture paint to look like soil, and no-one will know that it's actually built on a cardboard box.

Most of the time you can find cheap kits that are on offer, if you're not looking for something specific. I always look at the 'specials' section of a site when ordering paints or something, just to see what's going cheap. There have been a fair few times that I've added something like a £3 tank onto my order, and when it arrives it turns out to be really good value for what you've paid. Hobbyboss and PST are brands that I always seem to see on offer, especially with their KV-1 tanks.

[Guest]

My other half daren't even bring up the subject on how much my hobby costs after she disappears down the hair and nail salon every few weeks, not much change out of a hundred quid every time:moneybags:, Between the mortgage,kids,bills,building an extension and trying to get my motor back on the road i don't get to spend lot anyway:sad:.

I try and make bases from off cuts the chippys at work leave, Ron (spanner) uses gloss varnish for water effects and plenty other stuff he finds in his shed, i'm thinking of building a spray booth from an old kitchen cupboard with a bathroom fan cut in the back and a sealed bathroom ceiling downlighter in the top, thinking that once the painting has finished the door can be shut stopping dust and bugs landing on your pride and joy.

[Guest]

You will be surprised at how you can save money in your modelling without having to compromise on the quality of what you do. In the past I have used cheap pine picture frames as diorama bases, wooden coffee stirers as wooden planks to make packing cases and a whole load of other cheap household materials have been used as replacement modelling materials. As was said earlier artists pastels can be bought in any art shop very reasonably and can be ground into a powder on a piece of sand paper to make an equivilent pigment. Don't forget you can mix the powders just as you would paints to blend the colours you want. Don't forget as well the powder paints that kids still use in schools. The powder again makes superb pigments and can be used dry or mixed into a wash in any one of a number of solvents.

One of the great buzzes of modelling is using household scrap items in your builds.

[Guest]

Bear in mind, you gradually build up accessories, If I added up cost per jar, the paint I now have since returning to the hobby i'd probably have a hot flush but paints, you buy once then it's a measly couple of quid per replacement, brushes, buy once, look after them, they last years, airbrush, same, files, hobby knife, drill bits etc etc all one time purchases.

The only real expense can be the models themselves but that depends on what you buy.

Out of curiosity what does your missis do for leisure / hobby.

In most relationships it's easy to see a single hefty cost in a partners hobby spend and forget your own.

If I were to add up all the 'bargain' jumpers, dresses, shoes etc my wife gets on ebay again i'd probably take a hot flush.

As for tidying up after children, theres no point, I frequently smarten up my wee fella's room and five minutes later, while being utterly silent, he manages to make it look like a tornado's passed through.

Re costcutting, just keep an eye out while out an about, there are all manner of things which can be used.

[yak face]

Hi apome, if youre after alternative (and usually cheaper !) ways of doing things then check out the 'unconventional modelling materials' thread in quick tips section, its full of great cost cutting ideas ,not to mention some really useful ones too , cheers tony

[Guest]

I agree with what the guys have said. As far as kits go, yes some are a really high price but most cost less than one person spends in the pub of an evening. Some even less than a pack of 20 fags. You don't have to buy the top end kits to be a modeller. In fact, due to a recent group activity where some of us built older Airfix kits in 1:72 and proved that a kit costing less than a fiver can be made into a good model, in fact this is actually closer to proper modelling than the so called 'shake and make' kits costing 2 to 4 times more.

As for diorama and add on bits, I believe you have two different camps. There are people like me that has to buy all the bits required but never build much and there are real modellers who never throw anything away and see that twig on the street that will make the perfect fallen tree for their Ardennes diorama. Fit yourself into this second camp and you will be able to create some amazing settings for your models with a box of plaster mix from B&Q the most expensive part of it.

There are loads of examples on here of real modellers building superb dioramas by getting ground effects not by buying anything but, to quote Ron, "sweeping the drive for fine dirt". Without dismissing other fine diorama builders, you could do a lot worse that read all the threads Ron has done on his very natural dioramas just about all made with materials found rather than bought.

[Ian M]

Brushes last a long time! I bet you will have brushes that are older than her oldest shoes! Paint although it can be a big out lay, they to last quite a while. And the stock just gets added to after the need arises. The kits are quite expensive, or rather can be, but there are cheap kits to- they just need a bit more input. Work out how much you use for a kit, and divide by the time you spend on it. The cost per hour is actually not a lot!

If you have DIY projects running, then you have a good source for diorama bases, and materials!

My misses says nowt much as she knows it keeps me busy and is one of the few things I can still do!!!

What price happiness?

If she starts on how many kits you have, just ask her how many pairs of shoes/dresses/pairs of jeans they have, After all you can only wear one pair at a time.....Then RUN

Ian M

[Gern]

Hi there Sgt,

I'm not sure I know what you mean by 'expensive'.

One or two of the guys have already touched on the costs but......

If you shop around carefully (ebay, websites, shows etc) you will find there's LOADS of good quality kits out there which will not cost a fortune. You may not get the latest all-singing, all-dancing kits from the best manufacturers but that still leaves you an amazing choice.

There's equally lots of choice for cheaper materials such as paints, adhesives and tools from similar sources. Even though you will need lots of extra bits, if you buy them as needed in small lots, the total cost can be spread over quite a long time. Once bought, you will be able to spread the cost over the (hopefully) many, many kits you will build using them.

However that's all about reducing the actual financial cost of your modelling. What about the benefits?

Let's say you spend £20 on a kit and another £10 on all the bits of paint, glues etc you need. That gives a total of just £30. Maybe a lot of money to some folks and a minor amount to others. Regardless of the amount, how long are you going to spend on this kit?

Suppose it took you 2 hours to find it and buy it on ebay or wherever you looked. You may spend some time looking at build reviews before you buy and maybe research a particular version. That can take ages or no time at all if you just want a generic version of your kit. Let's say it averages out at about 2 hours.

So far you've occupied yourself for 4 hours and you haven't even got the box yet! Assuming you count all this time as part of your 'modelling' hobby. I do; and I'd guess there's lots of others who look at all the research, buying, learning etc as part of the hobby.

If you're like me, when you finally get the kit, you'll spend at least 1 hour just checking through the instructions sorting out the build/paint sequence and colours/markings. This could be a lot more depending on the kit and what you want from it.

Let's assume you spend 20 hours actually assembling it, 3 hours painting, 1 hour for decals and 1 hour for weathering etc. (Again, some of these will be conservative depending on the kit).

Where have we got to? That's a total of 30 hours at a cost of £30. What a coincidence! (OK. I haven't included the space you need, or the internet cost etc. etc. But you got those anyway. If you don't use them for this hobby, you'll use them for something else). So your missus says: "But you spent £80 on the last Tamigawa!" Spending that much means you'll be spending two or three times longer building it to get it just perfect.

That means your hobby cost just £1.00 per hour! Mine costs me much less than that as I spend more time doing the other stuff than I do actually building. Then you can spend as long as you like showing off your work to anyone you think might be interested. (No idea how long that would take but think of all the admiration you'll get! Worth a fortune that stuff is!). If you're any good, you could sell your finished kit and get some of your money back. If you're REALLY good, you might even get back more than you paid.

What can you do hobby wise that costs less than that? (You could spend much, much more than this if you went for the top kits with all the aftermarket goodies. Or tried R/C stuff like Skyraider! From what he was saying at Telford, that gets really pricy. But I think my figures would be fairly realistic for most modellers). Even a simple visit to the cinema or pub will cost more than a measly £1 per hour!

You might want to mention these figures to SWMBO. It may help. Failing that, you can always say: "I'm thinking of changing hobbies. Can I have £20000 to buy a car and £300 a week expenses to go rallying? And by the way, that will also mean I'll be away from home most weekends. Will that be OK dear?"

Gern

[Guest]

Hi all,

my tip is to buy your model kits off ebay, I have purchased nearly a years worth using my Xmas money.The kits are varied and if you read the descriptions are nearly always in the sealed bags, I have picked up Tamiya 1/35 tanks/ vehicles for as little as £8 inc delivery, there are also a host of early Airfix kits what I remember from the 80s vehicle/ planes and the yellow faded instuction sheets add a sense of bettetr times and history.

Regards

Antony

[Guest]

Sometimes you can be lucky enough to pick up a collection at a good price. Most sellers split up collections but every now and then you may be lucky to see one and get a number of kits for a good price. One of the advantages of this is that you will end up with some kits that you may not have normally bought but they will expand your experience and you will be surprised at how much you enjoy doing them.

[Guest]

One of the advantages of this is that you will end up with some kits that you may not have normally bought but they will expand your experience and you will be surprised at how much you enjoy doing them.

or alternatively, sell the boring ones on to someone who's interested

[colin m]

An expensive hobby ? I'm also a keen gardener and into classic cars. Models are without a doubt the cheaper past time. Will my tree ferns survive this winter ? probably not. One of my old cars is away for a re-spray (££'s) but for just £20.00 I've bought a Eduard 1:48 Camel with resin and PE parts. Now that's a cheap hobby.

Regards

Colin M........

[Guest]

you can not put a price on sitting there relaxing,and in my case drinking beer doing a good model.while the wife of course watchs load of crap on tv.

rob..