I’ve enjoyed re-engaging with scale modeling, a hobby I had through middle school and at least one year of high school. My inaugural build was a 2016 Chevy Camaro SS 1:25 scale by AMT, which let me experiment with new tools and techniques…
Some advantages I have compared to my younger self:
- Improved quality and availability of scale modeling tools
- Ability to afford those tools
- YouTube videos where professional scale modelers build a kit from start to finish
- Amazon Prime
Blog series
With one build under my belt, I made a list of things I’d like to do for my second one. One of those was to take better notes, as I found that every step of the Camaro build taught me something (“Someone will never see that part, so don’t bother painting it”), or revealed a gap in my knowledge (“Do I really need five coats of paint to make the color look nice?”).
Most of my searching for scale modeling online pointed me to YouTube channels, typically run by folks with many years of experience, or by people who build models professionally. The majority of the blogs just showed finished kits with a few pictures and links of where to buy the model, paints, etc.
I want to do something different: My intent is to make a series of short posts as I build out my next kit. The goal is to share my progress, so that…
- Others can learn from what I’m doing
- I can get feedback about how I can improve
- My friends can keep up with my progress
I’m excited in that this series will offer up something new (i.e., more personal) on my blog, which at the moment has mostly career/professional posts.
Expectations
The first few posts will be picture-oriented until I figure out the new video equipment and software I’ll be working with. (Yes, I’ll be blogging about learning that stuff as well.) I’d like to get to the point where the posts are “more action and less talk”, where the focus is what’s happening in the video, and the text is more supplementary.
I realize documentation is something I’m fairly skilled at; however, I’m trying to not let that get in the way of my hobby. It will likely take me some time to figure out the right balance, as I don’t want the process to become a chore.
What’s next
My second kit is sure to be a challenge: the F-4G Phantom II “Wild Weasel” by Revell.
I have tons of things to try out and learn… weathering, hand painting, top coats with lots of decals, metallic paints for airbrushing, panel line accents, options for configuration (weapon load out, decal choice), etc.
The next post will be about getting my work space set up to tackle this big project.