The Little World

Or modelling until you can’t model any more.

There are two types of long hobby days:

a. The day that you just get to keep doing the thing you love, one bit after another. You finish one stage of the kit and are ready for the next one. Nothing breaks, nothing rolls off the bench, nothing goes missing. Your paint lids screw off easily and your brushes seem to almost clean themselves.

Decals release easily and slip into place with no wrinkles. There are no seam lines. You have all the paints you need and they have not dried up in the jars. The radio plays your favourite songs and the family have gone out for the day.

b. None of the above. Unlike the day that never ends, this one never begins. Nothing goes right and no-one cares a bit. You break tiny drill bits…in the hole you are drilling. You fracture canopies. You finger glue smooth surfaces. Your favourite paint brush head comes off in the jar.

You manage to break the last sharp blade after the hobby shop is closed.

The colour call-out makes no sense, and the hobby shop is out of paint. Your last length of balsa is 40 mm short. One wheel goes missing and the cat is sick on your foot…but the wheel never comes back.

You may be wondering what you can do to ensure that you have the good day and not the bad one. Nothing whatever… the days will come in the order they decide…it is not up to you. You cannot order happiness by Uber.

The wisest thing you can do is recognise the horrid pattern as it develops. When you see it start to happen, close the workshop and go do an entirely different activity. It may go awry as well, but the damage will not be to your workshop or model project.

Cut your losses. That’s what Xacto knives are for…