Is your hobby expensive?

#scalemodelling #kitreview
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In this video I discuss my thoughts on whether our hobby is expensive and why I think it is the best hobby around.

[@Jackdaw5]

The hobby can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. Nothing has really changed. Except - the proliferation of products and their use on social media has made some people, especially beginners, think they need to buy a lot of extra things to get the result they want. Resin, PE, little bottles of dirty thinners (sorry, enamel washes...), endless lines of paint, weathering powders, pigments, 'splatter effects', 'mud effects', rust effects, a million different 'streaking effects'.... The essential ingredients have been masked somewhat by this glut of materials. And of course, there are far more kits to choose from, but I won't go on. You get my drift. Keep plugging the less is more message! :-)

[@teotselek1536]

It is a fine hobby which gives you inner peace the ability to escape to another world and to feel the satisfaction of creating something - even if it is not perfect you can still enjoy it!! Thank God for modeling!!!

[@stevenholt4130]

I'm not brilliant but I really enjoy modelling. I build tanks, planes and military vehicles. My favourite brand is Tamiya. I've recently bought an air brush so I'm still learning to use that. I love the peace of mind that modelling brings.

[@BarbosaUral]

I started modeling back in the late 60's. 1/32 and 1/35 model kits were $10-$15. Well, I'm retired now in my mid 60's and thought I'd get back into it after 50 year hiatus (you know, military service and then family took me away). Three years ago I bit the bullet and bought a Dragon 1/35 10.5cm canon and an Eduard SdKfz 11 to tow it. Both of these were over $100 total. And to pad out my stash I bought a Moebius 1//4105 Battlestar Galactica ($60). Well, being on a fixed income I decided, no more. To make the decision I also figured out I don't have the patience to put a 300 piece model together and I'm not as steady as I once was. So today I live vicariously through the effort of modelers like you, Champion. Keep up the good work.

[@jamesmcansh3441]

Yes the price has sky rocketed and my hand shakes when painting, i can make wicked lightning strikes lol

[@PirateMTH_ToddH]

Interesting topic. Well said. My Son gave me a model last year for Christmas. It sat in my office for months. I decided to crack open the box and give it a go. Watched a few videos like yours to get up to speed (it's been 35 or so years since my last attempts). Purchased a few basic tools and got after it. I had forgotten how relaxing it is. And as you stated, it's there to be done whenever I want to;at my own pace. I finished a pretty good looking ST Enterprise that's sitting on my work desk. Now I am well into my very first Spitfire and enjoying that. Don't tell my wife but my kit stash is already too big. Lots of years to make up. :)

[@jamesmcansh3441]

I started modeling when I was 8 years old at the time i had at least 30 kits mainly military but some 1:25 scale cars. Fast forward gave it up for various reasons now I'm 57 started back a year ago. There are no hobbie stores left in our city so on line is the only way. If it wasent for channels like yours I'd never know the products you can purchase compared to when I was young boy. It is scary what is available now. Such an amazing hobbie thanks so much .

[@joemoore4027]

I started building 60 years ago and the hobby has become more and more pricey for all of us. But as my Mum said when I was starting the hobby as long it kept you off the streets it was a good thing no matter what the cost.

[@clivejefferys-author9411]

Fabulous pitch for starting / re-starting this hobby!!! I found one of your videos, quite randomly, about 5 months ago and you inspired me to Go Back To The Future! I really couldnt be happier to be back in the game, and i really owe it to you. Probably the best aspect for me is engaging with the hobby armed with adult skills, better tools, kits, and paints. So much has changed for the better over the last 30 years. I followed your step by step Panzer II, and what a great result i got! Fair play to you mate, keep up the good work👍

[@thadrepairsitall1278]

I have enjoyed the hobby off and on for years. The last year has really become technical and detailed for me.

[@Mors_Inimicis]

I agree with the points you made there. My return to modelling 10 years ago stemmed from a lifelong passion for aviation and military aviation history. The only problem, If I can call it that , is an over abundance of inspiration. For example if I am mid project , and I then attend say Duxford I have to be careful I don’t get side tracked by a new flash of inspiration. A new modelling project starts with research into desired markings and then obtaining books if I don’t already have them on the shelf . I spend time online researching the project too and I am always surprised to learn something new about an aircraft I thought I knew well. It’s a great hobby which keeps me sane and adds to my aviation knowledge along the way .

[@pucarasetenta4361]

Hello. Well, I agree with you. Certainly, this is one of the cheapest hobbies, or at least, you jave a wide " band " to position yourself. I enjoy ot a lot. Congrats for the channel. Greetings from Argentina

[@liamgray9805]

Hey Jason - good to see you again. What a great video and i have to said i tend to agree with what you’re saying. I’m back about a year at the hobby - loving it, and to be honest I probably spent too much setting myself up😂 With regards to costs towards kids - spot on, however, there is a lot guys on channels to throw everything think at a kit, so a £25 kit could end up costing north of £60/70, a personal choice in the end. Good luck with /Telford 😂

[@JohnRichards-o9t]

I build models, and take photographs...mainly of birds and landscapes. The cheapest lens on my camera is more expensive than the priciest model in my stash. Both of my Hobbies bring me much joy.

[@michaelgrey7854]

I started building models when I was 9. That was over 30 years ago! My first model was a BF-109E from Matchbox.

[@JROSESN]

As someone just recently getting into this, big fan of your beginner armour modelling series. Watching some of the builds on youtube is honestly a bit offputting with how complicated they are, even if they are mighty impressive. Enjoyed your approach of showing how to develop basic skills and just relaxing to enjoy the process, been a great motivator!

[@robertgraves2321]

I had an interesting experience recently. I've always had reservations about the cost of paints, etc. It mounts up. If you see a nice model kit and you've got the bug the chances are you'll convince yourself to get it, especially if you keep viewing it on Amazon. But of course, a £15-£25 tank will come to a bit more when all necessary materials are added to the shopping list. Last year I bought an Emhar 1/35 WW1 British "Female" tank. To cut a long story short, my initial paint job was awful. Truly bloody awful. I then tried a kind of made up German "Buetepanzer" camouflage pattern which was better but not quite right. What to do? I won't spend much on paints as I'm not in a position to but I am artistic by nature and I like to improvise. So I reached for an old pack of cheap gouache paints. Yes, you're reading this right, gouache. Without even stripping the previous layers of paint off, I decided to revert to the original British colour and mixed up an appropriate greenish brown, resembling khaki, then began weathering with an equally cheap selection of acrylics. These paints are water based and dry to a dull, dead matt. I expected very little from them and was in such a mood that I didn't care. Then I found that they were actually going on rather well and allowed for all kinds of tonal differences indicating areas of wear and fading when used very carefully, sometimes with gouache and acrylic combined. All I need now is a flat matt varnish to protect the vulnerable paint. I might be biased, but I think the outcome is surprisingly good. Of course, with a land combat vehicle of that period the wear and tear allows for all kinds of improvisation and the same approach would not work with other subjects. This was very painstaking indeed but also very enjoyable. Although the kind of paints described above can never replace proper, high quality model paints, I've found them surprisingly useful and will be using them again wherever I can get away with it.

[@kenhanson1819]

I couldn't agree with you more, Jason! It is a relatively inexpensive hobby, compared to others as you have mentioned. I often find great deals at a local model show I attend every October. There are always kits that get overlooked from time to time, due to their age. Airfix, Monogram and Revell come to mind. They may have long been superseded by a newer tooling, but will still build up nicely, and can be had at a far cheaper price. The connection to history is also a driving factor in my enjoyment of the hobby. Some of my most inspirational building sessions have been those where I have an episode of Dogfights playing in the background.

[@pauka13]

One of the best free time activities in my opinion. I started in the early 90's (took a looong break though), now grew into the golden age of model building.. Never really thought that this hobby can go this far as it is these days.

[@AdamMann3D]

Very good points. As it is a way to expand on my interest in WW2 history it's more an extension of my main interest than a separate hobby. I am also a militaria (tank parts mostly) collector. And that my friend is a very expensive hobby indeed. But it's very rewarding. Having track links from early Panzer III/IVs for instance in my office is nuts. There is something in here that likely saw the fall of france and Barbarossa and possibly the invasion of Poland, sitting 5 feet from me in my stupid room in WIsconsin. But you can pour all that interest and intensity in to a model as well. If you build something you know is correct you're paying homage to the men that saw that event. It's like for me at least, each piece is a monument. As for cost. I agree. I blew hundreds on a stash before my boys were born. And I'm no closer to getting through it now than I was 5 years ago. And if I didn't have a stash, I could buy whatever I wanted to build. I only buy Tamiya paint when I need it. it's the time that's hard for me to spend now. But it's a lovely hobby, that keeps people out of trouble.

[@johnroskie1340]

Thank you for all your lessons and sharing your techniques. I did build models as a teen mostly WW2 German armor but really started with movie monsters Frankenstein, Wolfman etc. I stopped for work reasons and life and have finally got an airbrush so now that I have time I’m excited to begin again. I bought a bunch of armor vehicles but my skills were not that great. Surprisingly the first one I have begun with is the panzer II with five figures as you suggested in a channel episode. I love the way you show all and the results of your work. I do watch Nightshift/ Martin for dioramas he is very good with that aspect. Hopefully in the future I’ll also be making videos of makings and sharing with others on KZbin. Sincerely, John

[@stephenlovelock5563]

Hi mate watched your video and wow what a lot of sense you have spoken if anyone who was thinking about doing this hobby saw this they would be inspired to start building a kit off some kind almost immediately,great stuff, well done mate.

[@paulallibone4177]

Hi I started building as a kid then got into girls and beer 😅 then got into wargamming as I got older so painting figures etc which has led me back into building about 4 years ago .Now I have the money to build the nice kits I wanted when I was young 😀

[@Svemirsky]

I'd say girls, then beer, then wargamming, then modelling - that is the ranking as far as how expensive each of those hobbies go 😄

[@NickNZ]

I am looking at getting back into the hobby, having stopped around 1980. I subscribed to this channel to catch up on the hobby. The ‘set up’ costs are relatively expensive, but once you have got the basics, it is a reasonably priced hobby compared to most others. I am going to have scratch the itch, and have a preferred era WW2, and ‘modern’ jets, possibly warships. But your comments have provided a good insight to anyone starting up. BZ

[@vortexmodeling]

Please do start once possible, you won't regret it. Hobby had changed and advanced a lot and you can find strking kits in term of fit and engineering, also painting methods became mainstream.

[@mp-modelplastic]

Great video , thank you for sharing your opinion, i think the same thing. It´s a funtastic hobby and i love the search of the History of the models, it´s almost the same for me like building and painting the kit. Greettings from Portugal, all the best and keep the good work in the chanel. 😉👍

[@matthall143]

Hi Jason....Is it expensive? Well, I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't gamble and I don't have any vices apart from my hobby. Having said that, I'm probably like many in this hobby, having far more kits than I'll probably ever be able to build. My 'problem' comes down to the fact I'm a completer - I don't just want to build a spitfire.....I want to build every version of the Spitfire.....I don't want a Stug....I want every version of the Stug.....and there lies the problem. If I could start again, I'd probably have far fewer kits, focussing on what is feasible to build and hitting them with as much after-market as I can get my hands on. And if i'm honest with myself, I've probably got most enjoyment from the things that I've scratch-built.....how do you explain that? Right, off to the shop!!

[@davethepikernorth8398]

Totally agree about the historical motivation. I too will read or see something that inspires me to build a kit. At the moment I'm in a bit of FAA Pacific Fleet mood having read a book about Royal Navy Corsair pilots. I do find if I don't have that connection to a subject it won't get finished. Love the fishing too 👍

[@vortexmodeling]

Great discussion, it can be cheapish if you live in a community in which the hobby is active as you can get second hand kits from local ads, swap meetings, or during hobby shops discounts .. but it can be truly challenging to secure kits and tools otherwise. I loved the point of 'value after finish', I really enjoy looking at my finished models and kits in progress, even unbuilt kits are fun to look at. It's important not obsess over projects and undermine your morale and also pocket lol

[@treyzmodels422]

Great video Jason. Almost any Hobby has a level of cost depending on how far you want to take it. Been modelling all my life but branched off into other hobbies over the years but always come back to the plastic bashing. Cheers Trey

[@plasticposse768]

Nice video, Jason! Well done.

[@peregrintokes2919]

I came back to modelling after s 40 year break about 6 months ago with an airfix spitfire starter set ...found small parts quite fiddly so bought revell 1/48 spitfire , along with a small tool set ( £12) , tamiya quick dry cement and a humbrol allied aircraft paint set ( £18) ....and I'm away! Now building hobbyboss 1/48 p51 and I'm ordering the tamiya 1/48 spitfire tonight ...I'm on a tight budget, so anything over £20 is beyond me at the moment , but I'm having fun and hoping to improve my skills with each build , not got airbrush yet , and so far decals are my demons lol

[@psychodermix]

Great topic. I've just got back into modelling after decades and sometimes I get bogged down due to what I see on youtube because there's so many good modellers with so much equipment. The other hobby that I am totally into for years now is Golf. And to be honest, I do see parallels. Golf can be as expensive as you want it too. But we're not all going to be Toger Woods, just like all of us are not going to be PLASMO. It's funny you bought up golf and fishing

[@asdf9890]

I just got back into it after over 30 years. For me, the tools is where I have to watch my wallet. While the majority of it is fairly inexpensive on a single item basis, it can be as expensive as you want because of the massive quantity of tools and paints. On the other hand, many tools can be crafted/improvised for free. Kits can be dirt cheap, often just have to spend more time on them, which teaches skills in itself.

[@baymodels]

Excellent video Jason. I have had many hobbies over the years and this is not expensive in comparison. One interesting point you didn't raise was the perceived expense for kits. One of my other hobbies is amateur radio. I can remember buying a radio for the car in the 90's that cost me £700. You can get a much better radio for less than half that price now. If prices were comparable, then today, the original radio would be well over £1000. The vast majority of kits are well priced IMO, although certain manufacturers are getting a bit silly. Still, in a direct price comparison of a kit from the 70's with now, especially considering the improvement in plastic, fit and detail etc, it would be interesting to see how much a kit from the 70's would be if bought today.

[@timgermain881]

This hobby allows me to build things that I may never see or have the money to own. I can have representations of WW2 airplanes that I read about. I can have my own collection of cars. I'm enjoying getting back into the hobby.

[@kenjohnston8173]

Restarted this wonderful hobby a year ago, alot of ups and downs, not knowing what i was doing, following lots of utubes, still love it, hard as hell w the oe parts, but cant beat it

[@stuartsteel1]

A £30 kit can give you 30 hours of entertainment. Where else will you get that?

[@NereoSal]

Couldn't agree more, when I got back into scale modeling I bought all kinds of colors, especially greens. Now I use 3, maybe 4. Same thing with washes, filters, panel liners etc. I should have started with oils and then proceeded to buy a specific enamel wash or whatever I knew I needed to use more frequently and I needed to work quickly. Glues are a different animal, depending on the type of plastic I learned that it's better to have different types of glues since some can be very aggressive. Pigments, glues and books are definitely products worth buying, but who am I to say no to the irresistible beauty of the Tamiya logo!

[@izaniks]

I find scale building relaxing . It’s nice to see the finish model when it’s completed. At some point I’d like to buy 2 of the same model and paint them own would be done by airbrush and the other would be done by paint brush

[@jamescharlton924]

Few thoughts: You are not playing golf so you are not getting wet on a day when its raining and you do not need to wear silly trousers! Or pay over 2k a year for a membership. You are supporting local suppliers if you buy from smaller model stores and avoid evil bay or amazon. Many of the smaller shops out there are brilliant and run by 1 or 2 people who might then have staff. I am challenged Mentally with different learning challenges: Dyslexia etc. Alongside mental health this is a real helper! You dont need to buy really expensive stuff but there are some crackers out there and you can get some great models out of the process. Few negatives: Facebook I found can be bitchy and also it can mean you develop imposter syndrome Rivet counters are everywhere - Learn to live with them and ignore them. You can spend more than you want to you have to be disciplined. Mojo can disappear at times work with this it is normal You will have kits that you hate and detest you will have the same with airbrush and paint its normal it happens!

[@billy4072]

Well put over .

[@jasoncombs3232]

I've Invested over $40k into my Gundam hangar diorama Anaheim Electronics over the course of 2 years and it's still growing.

[@randkorp2003]

I live in Japan which has many shops that sell second-hand kits, or used bagged kits really cheap. i can buy Tamiya or Dragon kits at less that 50% retail. Paints are cheap as well. I think the hobby is cheaper now for me personally that it has ever been. Recently, I have been building old Airfix kits, which I can get for a few US dollars, to see how much I can improve them, very satisfying and cheap. If I get bored of the builds, I photograph them and just throw them out and build new ones.

[@johntreloar8203]

Don't know if I told you, I have a kit in my stash, worth $1000-00 AUD, 1/35 scale DORA railway cannon, so yes it can be expensive... most of the kit prices in Australia are inflated...

[@claytonmcclain182]

Loved the hobby since I was a child. Well I'm still a child and I love the hobby. Although girls the military and work tried very hard to kill it. 😁 Anyway carry on. Enjoy your content very much.👍

[@MrBMBuilder]

You had me at Australian :)

[@glencwilson]

If you add up all the paints, tools, etc. and the stash then yes it eventually does add up to quite a lot. However, you can get an Airfix kit from Aldi for £5, watch a few videos on YT, use the paints, brush and glue in it and get a reasonable model at the end. For me, it really helped in lockdown and it still helps to get a few hours where you can shut everything out. The biggest downside is finding THAT bit that pings and you spend 10 minutes trying to find!!

[@HeyitsWaltair]

I build gundam model kits, but someday I hope to work on ww2 tank and plane model kits. Thank you for this video.

[@ronandanne1]

If you find the hobby creative, engaging, and relaxing, you can keep the cost very low and still get wonderful results.

[@raveninblack2505]

Im one of these who land on something, a kit or type of vehicle, and have to buy as many as possible. Which then gets expensive. Then realise that im never gonna build them all and end up selling them. So if youre in the market for 1/35 modern British armour give me a shout 😂 As for paints, ive loads of Valejo colours, most of which ive never used but will come in usefull one day🤔 but recently ive been using just 3 or 4 Tamiya colours and mixing various shades from those. Got an expensiveish Iwata airbrush that keeps clogging and a 30 quid amazon special that does exactly the same job but doesn't clog. So it can be as cheap or expensive as you want. Just need to start something again.

[@huwtindall7096]

Scale Modelling as a hobby "scales" really well. Such an accessible hobby for all budgets and then the sky is the limit. Not as immediately collegiate as playing sports say but plenty of clubs and a great online community for scale modelling. Nothing to say you can't play T20 cricket after work on a Wednesday and then knock out some Airfix on a Sunday either!

[@BarkingSpyda]

... you had me at, RAAF 😄👍

[@Runway_Models1987]

It's gotten expensive for me I'm about $10,000 In now, I have credit card debt so I will probably have to sell. Kits airbrushes, compressor paints thinners it all adds up quick. I created a scalemates wishlist to help me remember the ones I want so I don't buy anymore for awhile.

[@orbitalair2103]

I've spent about $400USD this year. The stash is NOT getting smaller. And its like $100 in paint because all my paints are from the 80s ....some are ok, others not so good. I want to rebuilt my childhood WW2 aircraft collection but in 1/72 scale instead of 1/48 plus fill in some gaps.

[@albertlecuyer6761]

Hobbies. Fishing- leave the fish alone, they are not bothering any body. Golf- a long walk ruined. Stamp and coin collecting- ho hum. Scale modeling it is then. Talley Ho.

[@nikolaosstavrou5327]

It can be expensive if you let it be . restraint is paramount,my closet full of kits its a testimony to that.Stop been a collector and start been a modeller, that's apply to us all!!.,Remember its a hobby its supposed to be fun!!!!!

[@beskimo2]

Hello new subscriber to the channel. I was wondering what audiobooks you mentioned in the video. I’d like to check them out. Thank you!

[@alastairmcmurray4873]

Well said. I started building airfix 1/72 at school in about 1990 then moved away from aircraft to ww2 Tamiya 1/35 Tanks, that got me collecting British webbing from a local surplus shop, which got me into research / collecting reference books and interviewing a number of chaps who were in the Home Guard and helping the local town museum put on a ww2 display. Then I decided that instead of building models I should restore the real thing which lead me to the Loyd Carrier that I am just about finished rebuilding from a wreck! So yes, models are a great hobby and you never know what it will lead to. I put some videos on KZbin but I’m not sure how I link to my channel.

[@tonybaran4810]

Yes but its an investment. All hobbies are expensive and i consider modeling relatively cheap. There's something to be said about quality tools as well.

[@richardcowling7381]

You can still find cheap kits, and you can still get cheap tools that do the job as well as the more expensive ones, but the expensive part of the hobby is the cost of the paints, especially if starting out.

[@ekspatriat]

Not mentioned and a subject that goes back hundreds of years are ships and boats. That really does not 'start' at 1914.

[@xxthecapitalistxx]

It's expensive, but worth it

[@paulhargreaves1497]

Compared to railway modelling...........it's incredibly cheap!

[@simonworrall7950]

For me it’s as expensive as I want to make it. Anyway life is expensive these days. Also I couldn’t fit all my tanks in the garden if they were real.

[@russelltaylor535]

Plenty of ships to model Pre-WWI

[@TigerTankSprues]

I’m 25 and I love being able to bring history to life. I wish to bring this hobby to more younger people. Haven’t really met anyone my age this does this hobby sadly.

[@Szopen715]

Well I'm 29 and modelling, but I agree it's not a popular hobby among youngsters. Perhaps due to a steep learning curve and lack of immediate results - good models come with practice and patience, and I'm afraid young people lack patience these days

[@therebeginner]

I'm over 50 and a beginner (edit: mostly interested in WWI and II, and scifi). I've seen more younger people interested in doing SciFi/Fantasy/Robots than armor or planes. Maybe one could see their interest for these subjects as a way to bring history to life too, but an history that is yet to be written ;)

[@HotelPapa100]

Building models is not expensive. Hoarding a stash cen be. As for the advantage of having to show something for your work: What is a bonus at the outset can become a bane if you do this for longer.

[@riskysway2542]

Expensive

[@walidkhier]

What a meaningless question? Any hobby can be expensive. It is up to each individual's practice.

[@griffn14]

Bad thing about this hobby: It's a girl repellent. Good: Glue smells really nice.

[@harrylime8077]

My hobby is getting to work and back. To do that I need to fill my gas tank and that's very expensive in this woke world.

[@KH-wy7le]

People complain about the cost of scale modeling but in comparison to a day out at the footy for example, it's peanuts. Especially for an anti-social miserable tw*t like me!