Your Mindset Is A Tool
When I sit down at the bench, I’m aware of how easily I can ruin days, weeks, even months of work in about two seconds or less by being careless. A moment of inattention and a slip of the tool can ruin your day quickly.

I believe our mindset is a tool that’s as important as any other on the bench. I believe it influences not only how we approach the work, but the results we see. I’m impatient and tend to rush things. One of the first things I do before getting to work is to slow down. I’ll start a CD of favorite music or just sit for a moment to review what I did in the previous session and what I want to do next. It’s only a minute of time spent but this routine helps me settle down and focus on what I want.

Once settled I can dive in and work without interruption. The music acts as white noise that eliminates distractions. When I feel the urge to rush the work, I have to make a deliberate effort to slow down again. Sometimes I just need a break to get up and stretch or maybe grab a snack. The lesson I’ve learned is how to recognize this behavior and its effects on my modeling. By taking simple steps as needed my work and enjoyment of the craft has improved.

What Am I Trying to Do Here?
I want to improve my modeling and take the time to evaluate the work I’m doing. Beyond the obvious of building a model, there are several things I may focus on during a work session such as:

Am I working to the standard I want?
Am I improving my technique or phoning it in just to move a project along?
What can I do better than last time?

We tend to make vague statements to the effect that one day I’ll get better, without actually defining what “better” is. Being specific leads to real improvement as you have an objective roadmap to follow.

Giving Up Without Trying?
Unfortunately, the general hobby doesn’t encourage this approach, which leaves modelers on their own to deal with the questions that need to be answered. We’ve all read or even uttered the comment of “Gee, that’s nice but way too hard for me.” Really? How do you know? Have you tried it? “Uh, well…”

I’m as guilty as the next guy. I’m drawn to the most amazing work but seldom put in the practice time to get to that level. Why? Because I don’t want to admit to myself that I’m not as skilled as I like to think I am. That’s my ego talking and it isn’t helpful. The simple truth is that I have a lot to learn and I’ve started late in the game.

We hear about practicing a technique to get better but few understand that improving any skill is a long term process and people want everything now. We seldom hear about how to learn and get comfortable with failure (a lot of failure) before the quality comes. But, that’s the nature of any type of creative work, including model making.

Everyone Has Their Own Way
A comment I often get is about a faster way to do a task or how I should use this or that tool. I appreciate the insights, as they are useful. I want to add however, that we all have different temperaments and preferred ways of working. While there are many ways to fill and shape the plugs on the model, I like the process of carving and shaping the details by hand as shown in the photos. Others will prefer a different way. We can all agree, there are lots of ways to get the job done.

I’m not offering a prescription or recipe for successful modeling. I’m just sharing things I deal with or consider in my work in the hope that someone else may benefit.

Regards,
Mike