discussion How long do you take?

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

Simply, how long do you take to build a model, I see reviews that state 40 hrs, 50 hrs etc. I know it will depend on the depth you wish to go to and the size of the kit I guess, just curious.

On average it takes me around a month to do a 1:48th, sadly I dont sit here with a stop watch so I cant say how many hours total, but considering on avg I work 39hrs a week sleep 8 hours a day I dont think its too bad. Course my models are no way near as good as most of you here so I guess my times will get longer the better I get

Adrian

 

[Guest]

Ade, i'm about the same as you mate, about a month, but it does vary on how i'm getting on with it.

If i'm struggling with one i'll often run scared and avoid it for ages. If I'm enjoying it then I'm in the garage every minute I can and the wife has to drag me back in. (she always knows how it's going - I either bark at her or grin as I come back in)

 

[stona]

I reckon that 30-40 hours is not far off the mark. If I'm at home or working locally I can get a model built in a couple of weeks. If I'm working away it can be months!

Things slow down to me when Iget to painting and finishing as I use enamel paints and always leave 12hours between coats and sometimes more before masking etc.

There's no rush. Lack of patience is the model makers worst enemy

Steve

 

[Guest]

I have an hour or so in the afternoon and an hour in the evening on the modeling.

Took me 7 days to do the 6x6 truck for the mash dio, so thats 14 (ish) hours.

Just built two jeeps in 6 days, thats 12 (ish) hours

Most tanks take me between 1 and 2 weeks, so 15 to 30 hours depending on the amount of detailing involved and what base i sit them on (plain or scenic dio)

the big dioramas i do take literally months, although i knocked the blackhawk down jobbie up in a week in the spare time between waiting for trucks and jeeps to dry etc.

Planes, i struggle with, and tend to take far too long to get them to look right ...which they never do in my opinion ..so only have a bash at them rarely.

All work i do is hand painted with the hairy stick in acrylics and drying time is shortened somewhat to those who use enamels through airbrushing.

 

[Guest]

On average its a month to 6 weeks per model, but depends on the subject and the amoun tof insanity I'm prepared to subject myself to. For example the Aliens Dropship took 2 months to complete, but Stoingray only took two weeks. The bar armoured scimitar on the other hand took just over 2 months but then there was a huge amount of research involved beforehand which could extend that to almost 3 months. How many hours these equate to is anyone's guess!

 

[BarryW]

I generally average between 1 and 2 hours a day, most days, usually at night before bed. I have not worked out how many hours go into an average model but it takes me anywhere between 5 and 9 weeks to do a 32 scale aircraft depending on a range of factors.

Since the start of December 2011, I have completed 7 of the 32 scale aircraft and just made a start on the next one which I expect to finish by beginning of December - so 8 in a year.

 

[mossiepilot]

Goodness knows, my model building is a very stop-start affair, and depends a lot on how tired I am when I get in from work and how many days I've worked that week. I work 12 hour days, 4 or 5 days a week. So sometimes it'll seem to take forever.

But I do model building for fun and relaxation, so I don't care how long I take.

Tony.

 

[yak face]

Mine is like tonys (above), a very stop start job, i may only get in the shed once a fortnight or maybe i might go in 3 days on the trot , some builds obviously take a lot longer than others due to how detailed /complicated they are, the airfix boomerang for example took nearly 6 months!! I keep telling myself i'll do a quick, simple build but what starts out as such usually ends up far from it. Im in the middle of a quick build airfix fiat G50 but so far its taken about 6 weeks!! tony

 

[MORIARTY1177]

If I'm lucky I get an hour a day which is broken up into my two 15min and one 30min break at work. Unfortunately I just don't have the space to do my building at home. Also I'm not always in the workshop at work so when I'm out and about fitting signs and graphics my builds grind to a halt. BOO HOO poor me!! LOL!

The current build was started mid August and have been on a weeks holiday + have been fixing alot so it's taken some time....almost finished though.

Oh for a man cave/big shed/workshop at home.

Regards

Chris

 

[Guest]

I'm actually sad enough to have started a spreadsheet on my models which included build time. I was building a 72nd scale Spitfire and it took about 25 hours. Other similar aircraft were about the same. I packed the spreadsheet in when I realised how much time I was spending on the hobby. Not to mention the money!

Keith

 

[Guest]

I generally average between 1 and 2 hours a day, most days, usually at night before bed. I have not worked out how many hours go into an average model but it takes me anywhere between 5 and 9 weeks to do a 32 scale aircraft depending on a range of factors.Since the start of December 2011, I have completed 7 of the 32 scale aircraft and just made a start on the next one which I expect to finish by beginning of December - so 8 in a year.

Thing that has interested me Barry about your reply. Not produced a 1/32. Produced 1/72 very quick in comparison to 1/48 which I seem stuck on at the moment.

Have you also built 1/48 & is there any difference in time spent in general. Bigger pieces on the 1/32 but probably more detail. A little bit more difficult on the 1/48 as you are dealing with much smaller pieces but then probably much less in detail.

Have a Lysander so I think I will build that next as it is a 1/32 to find out. Also been saving it until I have more experience.

Laurie

 

[Ian M]

It all depends on so many things. How simple it is, how many parts there are that need cleaning up, How well it goes together and how much you are enjoying it...

The Sea Vixen which I am building at the moment is driving me nuts and it getting to the point of being to long in the tooth.

I can more often or not throw a Tamiya 1/48 scale spitfire together in a couple of days. A day painting, building and painting the office, a day building the rest. Then a couple of days in painting again.

The shortest time ever was a weekend for a Vc in dessert camo. That was a Tamiya. An ICM of the same scale took two weeks!

I have a ship thats been on the bench for almost three years so its not all speed building. lol.

As for actual build time, I grab an hour here and there. The weekends I often can get a whole day.

If there is Resin and or PE in the process then the build time is considerably longer.

Ian M

 

[Guest]

I usually take about 19 months.

Andy

 

[mossiepilot]

Yours is a big 'un though:grinball2:.

Tony.

 

[Guest]

I have quite a few builds on the go at anyone time , so far its about 10 so could never put any time to each model , all models are at different stages which works for me , keeps the old mojo going , I tend to mainly build at the weekends , during the week I`m to knackered for any modelling because of work , also having 2 young boys limits modelling time , if I`m lucky I get about 10 hours a week , would like more time but hay ho thats life .

Also agree 100% with Tony its about relaxing and enjoying the hobby and it takes as long as it takes .

Richy

 

[Guest]

Well....I'm a really slower modeller!! I' m like Andy (Sky Rider), I'm not talking about hours....must be months!!

I arrived here July of 2011 and only have finished 2 models.... Jeep SAS 1/6 and winter patrol....

Not!!!sorry!!! And one GB (sniper)!!!

I allways think I have to do more fast, but for the moment....

 

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

I never meant to infer it was a production line, it was just a thought that6 occured after reading an article and it stating X amount of time to build, like all you I build to have fun and relax.

My Mustang car took me 2 1/2 years as I lost heart with it twice, the P-40 I just did took 2 weeks cos I loved it, so I see all your points

Adrian

 

[BarryW]

Thing that has interested me Barry about your reply. Not produced a 1/32. Produced 1/72 very quick in comparison to 1/48 which I seem stuck on at the moment.Have you also built 1/48 & is there any difference in time spent in general. Bigger pieces on the 1/32 but probably more detail. A little bit more difficult on the 1/48 as you are dealing with much smaller pieces but then probably much less in detail.

Have a Lysander so I think I will build that next as it is a 1/32 to find out. Also been saving it until I have more experience.

Laurie

Hi Laurie

I did do a few 48 scale aircraft as 'practise runs' before starting on 32 scale and found that I spent typically about 4 weeks on them

If you think about it, for instance, a primer coat on a 48 scale kit does not take much more time to apply than a 32 scale kit and the curing time is exactly the same.... Every time you need to mask up, you still have the same waiting time for a coat of paint to cure. Me, I leave the best part of 24 hours between coats of paint. As a result the painting and finishing time is about the same regardless of scale.

There is more build time with the extra internal detail of course and it depends on whether you are using aftermarket to add extra detail and there is a lot more of that you can do in 32 scale if you want to. There are also differences between kit makers if you are building out of the box, a new Tammy superkit or a Trumpy takes a lot more time for the internal work than a Hassy kit.

Not an easy one to answer that Laurie....

 

[BarryW]

A quick follow up to the above.

If anyone is thinking of moving up-scale to 32 from 48 or 72 then a Hasegawa kit makes a good starting point before getting a 'superkit'. It is a bit more straightforward than a Tammy, Trumpy or ZM, offers satisfying detail and accuracy and decent fit.

 

[flyjoe180]

For me it's much like many of you, a few hours here and there. The nature of my job involves shift work so I grab modelling time when i can. A simple 72 kit can take me a fortnight (or longer) working an hour or two a day/night. The 25 hours quoted by Keith above is probably close to the mark in man hours. Sometimes I will sit down, look at it and then procrastinate for so long that the time comes to go to work or bed and I have achieved nothing new of note. Real life and family stuff always comes first.