Burnout and Advanced Modelers' Syndrome

[hot ford coupe]

I thought I would put this into the General Discussion forum rather than the tutorial section since it doesn’t directly relate specifically to model cars. I hope I don’t come off as a know-it-all for this kind of info, but it definitely helped me out. I just hope it can do the same for someone else who may be experiencing burn out and suffering unnecessarily in silence. It almost destroyed the hobby for me and I’d hate to see it do the same to a fellow modeler. It’ll be a long read but I hope in the long run, it will be worth it to someone.
The subject of burnout or Advanced Modelers’ Syndrome as I like to call it is very near and dear to my heart. Why? It’s because I suffer from said condition and it definitely wasn’t a minor case. I’ll share a few personal facts about myself here. I was fortunate enough to be able to get some therapy and it helped me a great deal. In fact, it helped me enough that I now look forward to going into the workshop and building. At one point, I didn’t set foot into the workshop for a full 6 months. I literally stopped everything including the tutorials. When I did build, I couldn’t work for more than 2 hours at a time. I tried building different types of models, i.e. aircraft, Jeeps, figures, even a submarine. Nothing was helping until I spoke to my therapist about what I was feeling. Here’s what I had to do to be able to beat the dreaded beast of a syndrome.
The first thing I had to do was to figure out why building raised such high anxiety. To make a long story short, I was actually sabotaging myself by constantly raising the bar and never being 100% satisfied with anything I did. That was o.k. for dentistry because the stakes were so dang high. (BTW, it’s burnout that usually leads a large number of dentists to quit, go onto other careers, or retire.) Once I got to a certain level of skill, I felt it was unacceptable to give anything less no matter how much anxiety it raised. I found I wasn’t building for myself but for others constantly looking for their approval and thinking I wasn’t getting it. Even when there were sincere compliments, I just thought folks out there were doing it to be nice and that’s typical of the burnout victim.
The second thing I had to do was to write down a number of rules for myself and highlight the important points that I had to follow to the letter if I were to succeed. Here they are.
When you feel stressed when building remember:
1. Build for yourself and only yourself, not for anyone else no matter who they are. --- The only exceptions to this rule are if you’re making someone a gift or you’re getting a hefty sum of money for your efforts.
2. Build what you and only you want.
3. Put into a model what you and only you want. If it stresses you out, leave it out. --- In other words, don’t add something to a model like removable wheels, removable spark plugs, or interior upholstery. Also, you’re not required to scratchbuild something if you don’t want to.
4. Build when you and only you want. Don’t push. There is never a deadline.
5. There are no set requirements. You and only you set them.
6. Any standards of building are set by you and only you. Never any other builder.
7. When a building session stops being fun, STOP. Always keep it fun.
8. When it comes to any type of contest, it is your and only your decision to enter. Look at it as simply a great place to meet other modelers and learn a few things and not a stress producer.
9. Never, ever allow yourself to be intimidated by what another builder can do. You have to realize that it took them years and a lot of hard work to get to the level they’re at. Some builders pick things up faster than others but if you give a technique the time it needs, you’ll succeed. No one is born with the touch. Trust me, I learned this first hand. No one says you have to duplicate what they do. Don’t forget, the best builders here are extremely generous with their knowledge and have no problem sharing said knowledge. You and only you make the decision to take advantage of that knowledge and add or leave out anything on your models.
10. Just because you can do something doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do it. An example of this is what I did last night. In order to correctly upholster my deuce doors, I had to modify the hinge positions if I wanted to make opening doors. I thought I would make the hinge halves out of brass. One piece took me 3 hours’ worth of work and there are a total of 8 pieces. They’ll be exactly the same size as the plastic ones, open like the plastic ones, be as strong as the plastic ones since I won’t be playing with the doors and they’ll be covered with paint like the plastic ones. That would be 24 hours of work just to say I did it. That didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. I could understand making them if I had scratchbuilt the body and door but it just didn’t seem worth the effort. I gave myself permission not to remake them and it doesn’t bother me at all.
Here at SMC, the emphasis is not just to have experts and “gurus” show off their stuff. It’s for everyone to show and strut their stuff no matter what skill level you are. It’s to see new things, meet interesting people, see some great stuff (like that hundred year old Model T kiddie car,) make friends and possibly learn some new things if you and only you choose to.
Follow these rules and you should be on your way to a more enjoyable hobby. I truly hope this helps someone and keeps them from quitting what we’ve all found to be a great and satisfying hobby. Thanks for listening.

[Keith Hartley]

Jeff,

Thank you for putting this tutorial together! I've printed it, hope you don't mind, and posted it next to my work bench in my hobby room. It will be required reading when I sit down at the bench to play. I think it applies to so much more than model building.

Someone asked me once why I don't work on cars for a living. I answered, "because I want my hobby to be fun, not a chore."

Thanks again! Have A Great Day!

[hot ford coupe]

Thanks Keith. It's no problem to print it and keep it at the bench. Be my guest. That's what I had to do or else I'd go out of my mind as little as is left. I agree why you don't build the cars for a living. I feel exactly the same way. I'm glad to see this is helping you as well.

[Tage]

Well said old friend.

[Ton]

Very true words!

[grumpygrady]

i would like to post this in the rctruckandconstruction forum , i would put it here
RC Truck and Construction - Powered by vBulletin

it is what a bunch of builders are going through and it is what has been bothering me for
a while
grumpygrady

[Auréance]

7. When a building session stops being fun, STOP. Always keep it fun.

I try to practise this same law in my trade, then reason of more to apply it than for the leisures!

[kmeaders@q.com]

Thanks for posting this Jeff, I've certainly experienced the funk. I'm more enthusiastic than ever now, but it took awhile.

[hot ford coupe]

Thanks all for the kind words. This problem is a lot more common than a lot of folks make out. Most of the time, it's a modeler building for the wrong reasons. Over at Large Scale Planes, I've seen this topple some of the world's finest builders and make them quit altogether. Every so often, I see someone selling basically everything they own related to models including a ton of expensive equipment. What a waste. I just hope we can look out for each other to make sure we all stay healthy both physically and mentally.

Grady, go ahead and post the thread over at your R/C forum. The only thing is to give me and SMC the credit. I really hope it helps the guys over there that need the help.

[grumpygrady]

Thanks all for the kind words. This problem is a lot more common than a lot of folks make out. Most of the time, it's a modeler building for the wrong reasons. Over at Large Scale Planes, I've seen this topple some of the world's finest builders and make them quit altogether. Every so often, I see someone selling basically everything they own related to models including a ton of expensive equipment. What a waste. I just hope we can look out for each other to make sure we all stay healthy both physically and mentally.

Grady, go ahead and post the thread over at your R/C forum. The only thing is to give me and SMC the credit. I really hope it helps the guys over there that need the help.

will do and thank you

[Don Garrett]

Way to go Jeff, you and I go all the way back to day one with SMC and we're both a little shop worn around the edges.

More than once we've seen folks take what was an enjoyable rewarding hobby only to crash & burn because too much emphasis was put on trying to please self proclaimed arm chair experts or what some thoughtless individual said about a build.
Actually....it's those guys that have the problem.

I remember a few guys guys that dropped out because they didn't feel they got the kudos they deserved for their efforts when in fact it was simply the subject matter at that particular time wasn't what the viewers (many just tire kickers passing through) were interested in.

Well my friend you hit the nail on the head this time.......if what you build suits you (at your own chosen speed) then it's as good as anything else out there.

Sure, SMC has many modelers that can detail the crap out of the hair on a gnats butt but those guys have paid their dues and then some.
Nobody is born being able to produce models like Dave, Ken and so on.......but those guys are more than willing to share the knowledge that they've spent many years acquiring and I'm certain that they are not expecting anyone to try to compete with them.

So what if something you build looks a bit funky according to some.....if it looks good to you, mission accomplished and job well done!

[Bob Cline]

Jeff,
You put into words exactly how I feel. Today I looked around and I had seven (7) 1/24[SUP]th[/SUP] projects in various states of completion, each being more complicated than the previous (I don’t build anything “out-of-the-box”).
I am, today, putting them away temporarily and will return to my 1/350 Missouri build where assembly is the only concern.
In the past 6-7 years I have in my mind, at least, progressed well enough to where I felt that I had to outdo my previous build, (I’ll show ‘em!) putting unbelievable pressure on myself. To complicate matters further, I have not done any real large scale stuff, even though I have started 4-5. I belong to a club composed of some of the best 1/24[SUP]th[/SUP] bulders in the country. No one there does large scale on a regular basis. So there’s that pressure to conform , also.
As soon as I get my head back on straight, I’m going to resume the 1/8 stuff that I’ve started. I’ve gotten over the fact that my work will never be the equal of most of the folks on this site as well as that of some of the 1/24 builders that I admire.
Sorry if this is all a bore, but I feel better knowing that someone, and I suspect others as well, feels the same way.

[hot ford coupe]

Bob, looks like you've had pretty much the same experience I've had. The good thing is your work does not have to equal or exceed the work of any other modeler on any modeling site or club in existence. All you need to do is enjoy what you're doing, enjoy sharing knowledge and enjoy joining in a bit of comradery. Those are really the only requirements I can see. Like Don said, if you're happy with what you build, then nothing else matters. If you feel you want to take a step or two further, there are loads of really good tutorials available to draw from. If not, that's o.k. too. It's all what you make of it that matters.

[Don Garrett]

Honestly Bob, we're glad to have you back and feeling comfortable enough with your friends at SMC to express your personal feelings.
I'm sure sooner or later everyone that has more than a passing interest in models has suffered (or is still suffering) from some sort of styrene addiction / burn out.
That in it's self isn't so bad....but the side effects can be a real bummer.
I'm certainly in no position to offer anyone advice other than to tell what works for me.
Trust me...there is no cure for the addiction part and if you just toss your hands up in the air swearing to quit, withdrawal from the plastic syndrome will nag you silly.

So how do I get my "fix"?

SIMPLE: I'll build something to amuse myself applying liberal amounts of K.I.S.S.
I had no intention of showing or posting this here but here's an example of what I mean....

I'm not personally all that fond of rat cars or bikes but I decided I'd build a "RAT BIKE" in 1/8th scale anyway.
As you said Bob "I'll show 'em".

Obviously, I didn't conform to the politically correct description of a rat bike..... but I had a ball building it, and really don't give a diddly what others think of it.

[grumpygrady]

i know you don't care but i like your rat bike lol