Wednesday, 2 October 2013

Sprue Cutters Union #11: Your Hang Outs

Obviously, all Union members have blogs to talk about their hobby and show off what they do. There's a few comments now and then, and through our posts we get to know a little about eachother, how we work and the occasional glimpse into our private lives.

This week, the Union wants to know if and where we actually meet other modellers. Do we "hang out", do we make an effort to get out of the house?

- Where do you gather? -

In my teen years, I was a lone modeller. I would just build and paint as a passtime, showing finished models to my parents and brother (when interested). I did not research techniques or try to do more than just painting. Models were all over my room, I was proud of them, but no more than 5 people probably ever saw them.

When I started university, I found some kindred spirits to share my interest (feel free to call it a passion) in Star Trek (and sci-fi in general). I joined a local chapter of Starfleet International and we had monthly meetings, where we would watch video's, play games and just "hang out".
Of course, several members were also modelling enthousiasts, with several Enterprises and other models to show. We were all beginners, and I only recall ONE person ever mentioning smearing his entire Enterprise with black oil paint and wiping it off again. I shuddered at the thought. This was close to the time I stopped modelling altogether, so I never got around to asking how it went or try it myself.

After a 10-year break, I started building again, but I went looking around if I could find a club of some kind. The shop owner at the LHS pointed me in the direction of IPMS and I quickly found a local chapter in Ghent. I contacted them and found out their meeting room was at a mere 7 kilometers from my home, where they met once a month. I was invited to come and have a look and soon after I signed up as the newest member. Few of the members are younger than me. Actually, few are younger than my father, but the experience and knowledge gathered at the tables is impressive.

Modelling is a solitary passtime, but I can highly recommend doing a little effort to meet other modellers. It's fun to show what you've built, even if it's still a work-in-progress. It's fun to see what others are doing and what they might be doing different or more efficient. They criticize my models, but in a constructive way. Their models inspire me (just like reading other blogs does) and they motivate me to do other, newer things.

Check out what the other Spruecutters had to say :

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