Over on the Scale Modelers Critique Group (SMCG) on Facebook, one of my favorite spots on the web, a conversation came up about getting older, hands getting shakier, and how demotivating that can be.

As Jeff posted:

Despite being only 51, my hands regularly get the shakes. I’ve been building the Tamiya 1/48 Spitfire, and after shooting a part off into the ether this morning I just want to get a win.

I replied with many words and figured I’d share that ramble as a blog post. Here’s what I told Jeff:

1. Getting older SUCKS. I find myself having to compensate for eyes and hands more than ever before as I rush up on 50 in September.
2. No matter your skills, there are good modeling days and bad. Last night, I sat down at the bench to decompress a tough week and immediately dropped a (large) resin part and broke it, spilled a bin of dremel bits straight into the trash can, tried to use my airbrush and had to spend an hour breaking it down to figure out WTF was going on, and then screwed up several other build things. I stood up, walked away, and came back this morning and rocked a few minutes of work before getting on with the day.
3. There are certain things in modeling that I think we all suffer from... sometimes some of us struggle more than others. I’ve talked to guys who are artful with tweezers. And then there’s me. I’ve been sending parts flying since the 90s.

My biggest message to all of you is that this isn’t just an age thing. This is a modeling thing. Don’t beat yourself up on a personal level. This hobby has some real bitch experiences some days. Earlier this week I had several days in a row where I was CRANKING on two different projects. And then last night made me want to burn it all to the ground. We all feel you pain, no matter the age!!

Here’s my tips:

1. Know when to stand up and walk away. I regularly, often, frequently have to walk away from the bench, sometimes for 5 mins, just to reset my brain. I also know that there are days that are good for painting (steady hands, enthusiasm, clear ideas, and luck) and other days when everything I do with paint blows up in my face. Sometimes literally. hahah Therefore…

2. Consider having a couple of different projects going on. I find that one big project and several smaller projects can be really helpful in being able to say “Not your day for tiny PE, my friend!!” and switch to something bigger/less stress/less invested.

3. One of the reasons I like bigger projects is that they’re several projects in one. If I’m doing a two vehicle dio with a big base, lots of groundwork, lighting, and 3D modeling… well, one area isn’t working that night, I move to another task that is inline with what is working that day. Painting sucks? Cool, go solder some wiring.

4. Modeling isn’t always sitting at the bench with the kit. Sometimes you need a mojo boost because your kit is fighting you (and they DO THAT). Cool, go read a modeling magazine, workout while you listen to a modeling podcast, call your modeling buddies, search for reference pics, or come tell Will Pattison he doesn’t know anything about Mustangs just to get your mind off what’s not working.

5. Put the hammer down. Don’t bash your skills, age, or anything else. This hobby can be REALLY hard sometimes. Enjoy that, but compensate for it and avoid the self-attack. It’s too easy for self-attack to blossom into something ongoing and growing if you’re not careful. Accept that there are shit days, accept that as we get older those issues can grow, but fuck them, you’ll still enjoy the hobby anyway 🙂

6. Find your compensations. Whether you’re 20 or 70, there are times when we need tools and techniques to help us out. Examples:

  • I’ve put tamiya tape sticky side out on my tweezers to help avoid pinging
  • Buy one of those long aprons that velcro or you can clamp to workbench to capture parts
  • Clear off the workbench so there’s less things to ricochet off of or change the bounce angle.
  • Work with small parts on top of foam or rubber or anything that can absorb the ping rather than amplify it. I keep meaning to try those painters sheets that are basically upside down tape sheets that you can put down and avoid tracking stuff into the houses your working on.
  • Practice tweezer technique on disposable parts. There is a fine balance between not enough pressure to actually hold something and so much pressure it’s going to fly
  • Consider other tools like those Stix (?) that have sticky goo on the end of a plastic stick for moving parts around
  • Always work WELL over your workbench (I tend to use my legs or the edge of the bench to steady my arms/hands and that means that pinging parts fly directly into the ether of the floor monster if I ping them.
  • Consider your build flow – often I have a pieces of tamiya tape upside down taped next to work I am working so I can work on top of that with small parts and push them around with the scalpel tip rather than trying to handle them with tweezers
  • Spend the money on really solid tweezers. $70 (or whatever) might seen insane for tweezers, but when you find the RIGHT set of tweezers, holy shit can it really help. Just like with any high quality tool, it can change the build experience.
  • Consider how “jigs” can be setup to get parts from the sprue to the model in one piece. Tape the small part when you’re clipping it so if it does fly you’re looking for a big piece of yellow tape, not a tiny part. Put a piece of blue-tack next to where the part goes so you’re less concerned with using the tweezers to get EXACTLY where you need the part to be (which causes mental stress which can translate into a harder grip on the tweezers and more likelihood of pinging)

Thanks for coming to my very wordy TED Talk.