I just finished my first kit since I had my stoke, yikes...
Boy! I've had trepanations about this, but after a long period of indecision I decided I might as well see what I could do. Better to know that not to I guess.
A Shaky [Re-]Start...
But, before I start my usual ramblings I'd like to take a moment to thank the NHS and in particular Scarborough's Community Stroke Team for all their work and help over the past six months, providing me with intensive rehabilitation and physiotherapy. Without them I wouldn't have gotten as far as even attempting even the simple test model making that I've been gingerly tinkering with. Thank you NHS!
So, where to begin? Well, I had already been playing with a few larger scale 3D models so I had already dipped my toe in the water - so to speak - and these chunkier pieces of work gave my an easy peek at what I might expect coordination wise. They were big canvasses to paint onto, getting progressively smaller until I got to my 3D Printer Captain Pickard, which gave me the guts to try out something smaller and more detailed.
 |
| Above: A medium sized figure bust, not too difficult or detailed for me to manage, even with my intermittent shakiness. |
What my first scale model project would be alluded me for a while, then I had a bit of a false start with a overly ambitious impulse buy - a Tamiya 1/1700 HMS Nelson. Now, while I *really* wanted to have a go at this as I've always wanted to try doing a warship model I had to admit to myself that this would not be a good place for me to start, I worried that if I made a mistake with this I'd ruin a lovely kit.
However, as it happened, I was cleaning out my junk-yard of an attic and uncovered some old kits that I'd forgotten I had. The first was a lovely 1/72 Airfix Cromwell tank (one of my favourites) and the other was a tiny 1/144 Revell Focke-Wulf Fw190 - the infamous 'Butcher Bird'...
Starting Small - A Good or Bad Idea?
I plumped to start out making the little German fighter essentially because it was the kit I was least precious about! Basically I sorta knew that there was a good chance that I'd probably make a few mistakes or have some 'accidents' during the build, so as with the HMS Nelson model I didn't want to start anything that I had any great interest in. This was just going to be a test build.
That said, starting so small - and 1/144 is small 😄- could be seen as a bit of a gamble and actually might be somewhat counterproductive as it's making a hard job all that harder. But, I have to start somewhere and it's a kit I have no use for anyway so I won't worry too much about the inevitable goofs and fumbles... So, let's go!
So...How Was It For You?
Well, I'll let you into a secret... My video made my progress look a lot easier than it actually was. The trick was that I simply shot re-take after re-take until I got the shot where I wasn't fumbling around or shaking too badly. And when I did make a goof (which I did repeatedly) I simply repainted over it, again and again, until it looked acceptable. 😏
In the end I was actually quite pleased with the result because it means that I can - once again - make models! Yay! That said, I have to make a sober assessment about where I'm at - which was part of the reason I'm doing this - and I'd say that compared to where I was before the stoke I have about 50% of my coordination and ability to manipulate small objects.
The amount of dropping of components and swearing that went on was innumerable, that said, with patience I can build a model and that's a lot to me.
What next? The Airfix 1/72 Cromwell tank.
Post a Comment