SPRUE CUTTERS UNION: How Do I Stay in the Hobby When I'm Away from the Bench?

As an adult (according to my license anyways) I definitely spend too much time involved in this fine hobby of ours. I’m not one for golf or couch surfing, but rather prefer building things. It doesn’t matter if it's mechanical or something out of wood, as long as I'm using my hands. That being said, this hobby provides what I need in a very convenient & manageable way. 

Sure, the perfect workbench is constantly streaming through my mind and for the last 18 months I have been patiently waiting to get full access to a shared studio space where I can simply go to unwind and build. On the other hand, the beautiful thing about this hobby is if one is armed with a few tools such as a set of sprue cutters (even a good nail clipper will do the job), a sanding file, hobby knife and some plastic cement, you can get a lot done. And it all packs very easily in the kit box. I’ve even played around with the idea of making a portable work kit housed in a leather role…. like an old tool roll. Maybe I’ll add it to my summer project list. So, if I can’t be at the bench, I take the bench with me. 

And if that isn’t an option, another way I stay in the hobby is thanks to a little bit of technology called the iPad. Living in the city, space is a constant problem. Even shelf space reserved for books needs to be severely curated. As such, I have a few hobby related subscriptions on my iPad. This includes the full suite of Tamiya model magazines, their How To Build series and AK Interactive's Weathering series. It’s easy enough to carry around with me wherever I go, be it to the park or on the commute to work. 

I also have a dedicated Moleskin that I write in too. This includes writing content for theScaleWorkshop website, procedures and processes to be referred to later on as I am always jumping between genres as well as what I would like to accomplish on a certain build. Sometimes I sketch out possible dioramas or custom stands to display my models on. 

And who can forget about the web. If I have access to a computer, good chance my browser will have the HyperScale site by Brett Green up or more dangerously, I’ll be salivating over the vast content of HLJ.com. 

Lastly, and something I am happy to be getting back into, is writing about the hobby and sharing the joys as well as the challenges that come with it to fellow enthusiasts, as we’re doing right now.  

_pL

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Read what some other modelers have to say about this topic!
The Combat Workshop 
Miniature & Model Painting
Greg's Models
Yet Another Plastic Modeller
Eternal War Gamer
Build.
Scale Model Soup
Motorsport Modeller

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