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[roycv]

Hi all, this is a continuation of buying model boats but it seems to have moved on as these threads sometimes do.
I have been in retirement for 15 years (redundancy and now official OAP status for 4 years).  Living standard has remained the same, its surprising how much it costs just to be at work!
One of the first things I did was to build a proper workshop, well I got thrown out of the house actually!
I reviewed several kits for Marine Modelling, I think I felt guilty about not having a proper job!
That which follows has happened since stopping 'full time work'.

I have 4 kits not started yet (Eileen, Bugsier IV, Robbe Wotan, small rowing boat) and 2 kits  I have almost abandoned ( Dumas American Beauty, Deans Melita, due to quality issues).  I have one yacht stripped down and ready for a re build (Graupner Gracia).
I have taken over the building of an 'Inshore Trader'.  I have a schooner that I have been scratch building on and off for 8/9  years.  I have just built a small sailing boat ( 17 inches loa with simple vane steering) for my grand daughter.  I also restored 5 boats over the last 2 years.

I have 2 acquired sailing boats in the garage that need a good looking at (4  foot Thames barge and a Comptesse yacht).  Apart from that I am looking at an electrical fault in my Inga IV. (a wire gets hot after a few minutes).

If I buy / acquire a model boat I want to get on with it now, not store it away for the future.  In, say, 5 years time you may well find that the little treasure you have been waiting to build is not quite up to current standards.  Which could lead to disappointment, may I suggest you 'do it now', perhaps re build / upgrade later.

Your prediction of the future will almost certainly be wrong!  Other pressures will determine your future.  Life is what happens to you while you are making plans!

The above list of boats is really a queue of work and I have been looking at what I will want to work on and finish.   I gave away an Inga IV hull I had bought pre retirement, to a friend and it gave me great pleasure to see him build it and see her sailing in the last month.

I thought that when I retired from work I would build models. Building models was my recreation when at work, now I am retired it is still a major  interest but it almost become my job which is not what I expected or really wanted!   
So I have 3  other Interests / hobbies, ( Club Secretary, Bridge T.D. and ballroom/ latin dancing) and this seems to work.

I do have a sudden interest in a particular model and stop what I am doing and get on with it, well it is my time and  I do not have some one else's deadlines to meet any more.  I am retired but not ceased working, a bit choosy, occasionally cantankerous and regard Victor Meldrew as a role model.

Regards to all Roy

[Tug-Kenny RIP]

 

  Hi Roy

You speak a lot of sense.  I agree with all you say. I to, am learning that  'a hobby turned to'  as a  'day job'  becomes differrent.

I have been retired for just seven months. I have five boats in various states of construction and spend eight or more hours a day in the workshop.  It is a 'full time' job and involves a lot of standing, walking between machines  (sanders, saws, paint shop, measuring and cutting bench, drilling, etc. etc.). 

I find that the construction never goes right and flaws appear, which cannot be brought up to the commercial standard. Dissatisfaction appears and is compounded as the build progresses. At what point do we leave it and move on ?. We hope the next 'job' will be better. It would take another life times work and training to become as proficient as our previous  'Job'.

The evenings are spent here on the Web, learning even more about the hobby. I must say, it's a grand bunch of people on here.  Only too willing to help and advise, and so enthusiastic.

I didn't work this hard , or as long, when I had a full time job, but I had model construction as a hobby and it was a change in my spare time.

At the moment I'm enjoying the challenge. The freedom of it all, wether to work, or walk the dog or just sit and think, is my reward enough for years of toil.

I really must think about spreading my time around a bit better. Can a bloke with a hobby for a job, have a hobby.

( Funny, but my Wife thinks I'm Mildrew as well.)

Thank you for listening.

Cheers...Ken





 

[Telstar]

Hi Roy
HEAR! HEAR!
As a OAP myself (and I hate PC senior citizen)  I have more than one boat "on the boil" but not on Wed. or Sun afternoon, thats sailing day at model boat club, and not Wed or Thurs evening thats ballroom dancing. I don't know how I found time to go to work.

keep up the good workretirement
cheers Tom

[RickF]

Conversation recently at a tourist attraction....

"Are you a concession?"

"No, I'm a pensioner."

"You mean Senior Citizen."

"No, I mean pensioner. My sole income is from pensions. When I am eighty I might just consider myself a Senior Citizen."

"Oh, er....Five pounds fifty then."

I took early retirement eighteen months ago, as the excitement of an hours drive each way to work finally waned, the RAF and private pension schemes we had set up years ago kicked in and the mother-in-law popped off and left us a tidy sum. So far everything is going to plan, the money rolls in regularly and we don't seem to be short of anything.

I decided that my existing hobby (old cars) would not be enough to keep me out from under the feet of the DSM, so with her agreement I took over the loft (which had been our office when we worked from home) and rekindled my love affair with the Victorian RN where I had left off 30-40 years ago.

So now my time is divided equally(ish) between two Austin Sevens and several partly-completed scratch-built model warships. The DSM keeps asking when we are going sailing. I think she misses the point. It's not the result, but the getting there. If I never finish a model I will have had the enjoyment of planning building and problem solving.

Lets hope it will continue.

Rick

[cbr900]

Well I retired 8 years ago and found that after the first two years, doing all the jobs the missus had lined up as well as trying to do what I wanted to do, I was working a lot harder then I ever did at work, so I said to my wife I think I will go back to full time work, astounded she asked why, and I explained that I needed a holiday!  Well from that point we sold up and moved to Tasmania and all I have done since the move is make and sail my models whenever I felt like it, I also build and repair computers, and of course there is the Motorcycles, of which we have four..

I have at this time five models I am building and several In line to be built, but now I get up in the morning and decide what I will do that day, having the other hobbies as well means you have a bigger range of enjoyment to partake in,  so since being down under down under ( Tasmania) I have never enjoyed life more, I am fortunate though in our weather over here is a bit warmer than jolly old England's, and I built an appropriate sized shed to accommodate all my activities  16 metres X 8 Metres, so enjoy and do what you like not what you have to......... ::)




Roy

[Bryan Young]

I do not want to open old wounds, but I wonder if the reason you have so many unfinished boats is because you have basically lost interest in them? Have you ever seriously sat down and found a vessel that really takes your interest? A vessel for which no kit exists. Then why not consider scratch building. All the research, working out how to solve problems and the ultimate satisfaction of knowing that it is yours...and no-one else has one the same. It is'nt all that difficult, but a bit nerve wracking at first....but that is half of the fun!

[Colin Bishop]

I think Bryan has a point there. It can be difficult to sustain interest when things aren't the way you want them because of the actions of the previous owner or the fact that the kit parts don't fit the way they should do.

Scratch building is a really satisfying experience, you develop skills you never thought you could and as Bryan says, there is nothing to beat the feeling that your model is unique. Yes, you do need dedication and you must consider your subject very carefully so that you are really committed to it. But you don't have to start off with the Queen Mary! If you haven't scratch built before then perhaps the best way to dip your toe in the water is to choose a modelmaker's plan of something not too complicated as a first project. Once you get into the swing of things you can progress at your own pace to more complex work using the original drawings or working up your own from published information. It's the same old story - the more you put in, the more you get out.

And if along the way you want a bit of light relief then by all means build a kit or renovate a purchased model. At the moment I am builing a Deans Medea steam yacht as a "quickie" as it rather appealed to me but I must confess to finding that I am impelled to make improvements and substitutions as I go along because I know it could be better. And when (if) I finish it, i will know that it's not as good a result as I would have got had I built the thing from scratch. On the other hand I should be able to run it next year and not the year after!

[Bluebird v2]

Retirement and modelling; in the beginning I have always used modelling as a form of enjoyment and a hobby when I was younger (teens and soforth) and also, during working life - I used modelling as a form of stress-relief, during long periods of night-shift, back-shifts etc.  I used to look forward to what we used to call in my family 'the Lepor time' - after the nightshift finished on Saturday morning - I used to get out of bed about 10.30 - 11.00 in the morning go into my hobby room and used to literally 'unwind' nobody used to bother me when I was 'unwinding' and its amazing what you could sort out in your mind when hobbying!  A couple of hours in the 'leprosy room' as it was known with maybe a couple of cuppas and sarnies passed to me with an occasional grunt of 'thank you' from me - I used to come out of there feeling quite 'fresh'  :) and ready to take on new problems.

When I was at work, I always looked forward too, dreamed and planned for endless days of real boat building, modelling and the life of 'Riley' as they say.   Unfortunately, him upstairs had other plans and my working life was cut rather short - and my modelling days were nearer than I thought  :).   You know, it still acts as a good therapy, somewhere to loose all problems and be faced with new ones from the modelling side, which is a lot more enjoyable in life.

I find sometimes too much of the one modelling therapy can be 'overbearing' at times.  Sadly, I am unable to do my other love of life, which was building lifesize boats.. so, my other modelling hobby, model railways, comes into play, along with Electronics.

Im lucky my better half is very understanding - one day, I will have to keep my promise and somehow begin to refit the kitchen oh dear, what a daunting thought 

As far as having more than one model on the go at one time, Ive always tried in the past and still do, try and complete one model at a time.  I make one exception the P15 build.  Its the first true kit that Ihave ever started and nearly finished.  No doubt, maybe in the near future, I will be sitting looking at it, and get the inspiration to finish it.   So, at the moment, model is sitting in the loft, just needing a couple of bits finishing off and she will be ready to sail  ::)

aye
John e
Bluebird

[roycv]

Hi to all.  Colin, we met briefly at the Ascot Model engineering exhibition a few weeks ago when you were marking my sailing yacht for photographing after the award of a bronze medal.

I have 8 models available at any time to go to the lake after a quick charge of the batteries

So no, to some of the above replies, I have not lost interest.

I think that B.Y. has one route for all to follow, life just is not like that. I really do not want to be the one subject bore that is occasionally met.

I have researched and drawn plans and built from scratch a particular sailing boat that took my fancy and had a bronze medal for that boat as well. (Unique Bryan, never seen another model like it!!!).  Bronze is about my limit and I happily accept that.  I admire the silver and gold medal winning models but I would feel very nervous sailing a model near them.

I find that as soon as a model is a few yards away most of the detail  disappears, or maybe it is my 'failing' eyesight!  On the bank I am a menace for knocking against small detail, mine, not others. Yes, I do have glasses Bryan!

I stand by my original thoughts in this thread which was to point out that what may seem to be the idyllic solution to aim for in retirement, can pall after constant exposure, and reality sets in.
.
Most of us have many facets to our lives and these will all need satisfying.  After the first few months of my retirement I felt dissatisfied and it took a while to work out why.  Eventually I realised that I was missing the pressure of solving problems and wrapping up the solutions and implementing them. ( I was a Project and problem manager in I.T.) At the time my blood pressure was 135 / 75 and my pulse rate 50.  So not a medically stressful situation for myself. (I took a walk each  lunchtime for 30 years.  Only a recently discovered idea!)

I had to find an easy solution to this and I tried Duplicate Bridge and it worked a treat.  It is competitive, with time constaints and you need to think quickly.  I trained up as a Tournament Director so that I could give something back to the game.  A T.D. is the referee, the object is to sort out a card playing problem at a table and leave them happy afterwards.  (This might not suit some!).

This and other activities brings the model boat hobby back to the status of how you enjoyed it before, something to think about in a spare moment rather than looking at a problem on the building board, and walking out.

Time is in your control to allocate as the need arises.  I spent almost the whole of June 2006 working on one boat, but I had a rest from it afterwards!

So keep active and you will have more time to make more models.

Regards to all
Roy

[Colin Bishop]

Good for you Roy. I was supporting Bryan's point in that scratchbuilding can be very satisfying - if time consuming. This doesn't imply that other approaches to modelling are to be criticised. Everyone is different and in the end it's literally whatever floats your boat!

At last week's MPBA Scale Finals at Wicksteed I was struck by the much lower support for the scratch built classes  than used to be the case a decade or so ago. I do think that that is a matter of some regret as scratch building has always been regarded as the pinnacle of the hobby and does suggest that overall standards have slipped over the years. But that's just my opinion.

[cbr900]

I fail to see why some people seem to knock model boat kits, one reason is that no two people ever build a kit the same so they are to a degree scratch and kit built at the same time, I build both and have at this time three scratch builds on the go, when I have a problem with one I leave it and work on something else while thinking about the other problem and usually work it out,

I have also done repairs for other people, as well as reconstructing older models, all this can only be regarded as scratch building, and I have nothing against building straight kits, so Bryan Y think about how boring it would be if everyone just built scratch type models, as there would be only a tenth of the modellers around and probable even less models......... ??? ???


Roy

[MikeK]

Scratch built v kit build..............this is starting to sound vaguely familiar. Hope we are not heading for another explosion so soon ::) ::)
MikeK

[Youngat65]

I think the thread topic is or was Retirement and model boats when does it matter what you build or how many you have on the go so long as you are enjoying what you are doing lets face it when you are retired you have reached the stage in life where you please yourself what you do and when you do it ..............................Yes dear just coming I will finish the decorating first
                           Cheers
                               BobB ( some might say Gandalf )

[Colin Bishop]

If you re read Bryan's post he was not specifically knocking kits, just extolling the joys of scratchbuilding which I would certainly endorse. Granted he may have expressed certain views in the past but he was careful not to do so here so let's not look for offence unnecessarily. Remember, it takes two sides to cause an "explosion". Scratchbuilders are an endangered species these days, anything that encourages this type of modelling is to be welcomed in my view.

[MikeK]

I agree with your point, Colin, Bryan wasn't knocking kits. It was reading the following posts that seem to me to be taking umbrage about the two forms of modelling that sounded familiar. Maybe it's just me being nervous 
As for retirement and models, as many have said, how did I find time to fit work in as well ? the challenge nowadays is how to slide quietly away to the shed without incurring the wrath of SWMBO 
MikeK

[DickyD]

Going to have to be careful here to avoid the blue ink from Colin.
First I will admit to admiring the skill of the scratchbuilders and have done a little of it in the past. However I now do kits as I do not have the space to scratch build and with my illness I might not have the time.
I know some of you think I tend to turn these out pretty rapidly, but I had to retire about 10 years before I was due to and apart from theTV and computer the boat building is all I have to keep me occupied.
If I am having a bad day with my illness I might not go near the shed, but if I am OK I get in there with the radio and heater and get really engrossed in what I am doing
and SWIMBO has to drag me out in the evening when she gets home from work. Mind you I have to be careful with the paint and glue fumes.
I guess I'm lucky in that I still find this hobby fascinating and it still seems like a hobby to me and not a job.
My one problem is that I am still not old enough for a pension so I have to rely on the better half to supply the money for my hobby. That grates a bit.
Anyway back to the shed, tidying up to do. :-\

[roycv]

Hi all, Tug Kenny puts my point very simply and concisely, 'the hobby turning into the day job'.

I think what triggered me off was the innocent remark made about buying a kit to construct some years later.  The biggest problems associated with retirement are health and income.

My experience is, if you are going to do it, do it now!  Should you lose some of your skill at model building for whatever reason you can still 'play' with the ones you have already built.

I think this forum plays quite a big role in the model boating hobby, at least for those that have found out about it, as can be testified by the growing number of members and I do thank the organisers and moderators for their time.
I turn on every day and check what is being said and occasionally join in, I think we have all  become an extended family.
So include me out of the kit v. scratch built bit!!!
As CBR says if you are rebuilding a boat, having done some scratch building is a definite asset.  Any changes made to an already existing model have to be planned and become a mini scratch build anyway.
The award I received  was for a kit model that had to be extensively altered (static to working).  Planning that took around 6 weeks and then there were the problems that reveal themselves as you go along!

But its all part of the hobby, if it was easy, I would not bother.

regards to all
Roy

[Martin (Admin)]

So do you sractch or kit build? -> Mayhem servey Here!

[roycv]

Hi all, before this one dies I would just like to make the point that this subject was generated to throw some light on  the expectations in retirement of perhaps a few, of the 'Hobby' being an idyllic existence of endless model boat construction.

Maybe for some it happens but after retirement we need to rebalanced our lives so that the hobby does not lose its appeal.
Most of us had the hobby as a relaxation and possibly an escape from the occupation that paid the bills. I feel very sorry for those colleagues I remember from work who had no other interests but work.  Although my first model boat, (scratch build) was made at school when I was 10.  Not quite a failure but I persisted, and now 59 years later I am finally getting to grips with it all.

The seemingly eternal kits v scratch building thing was never a problem in my mind at least.  Its the boat on the water that counts.  Perhaps 'Quality' v 'Quantity' might be an issue!

Having had 15 years of choosing what I want to do, I pass on my experience to take or ignore as you wish.

Regards to all Roy

[Bryan Young]

I am at a bit of a loss trying to understand the difference between "the boat on the water" or/and visual appeal when "out of the water". Surely building a boat/ship should be able to stand scrutiny both afloat and on its stand....therefore I query the "quality versus quantity" statement. Please explain.
As to pre-empting a closure of the "kit" versus "scratch", this is an argument that will never go away. It is fundamental within the hobby. Do your own thing by all means, but please do not ever say that one is "better" than the other. I (personally) do not like kits as they are "somebody elses" models, but that is purely my opinion and you are free to agree or disagree.
When building a kit do you build the model to emulate the prototype or "freelance"it? I have seen many "Imara" kits that all seem to have the same name, but belong to different shipowners. Which one is true? Or does a kit builder not really care as long as it works and is "different" to the other kits out of the same box. Seems a bit sad that the only way individuality can be expressed is by changing the funnel colours to make a model different from the others. Build a model...yes. Copy someone elses...no.

[bigfella]

Hi All

A few yeas ago I was forced to leave the work force because of a medical condition that left me in and out of a wheelchair. That was very hard for me considering that I am only 45 years old and thought that the most productive working years were ahead of me. Since then I have been so busy doing nothing, it seems that I can't fit even the smallest thing in my schedule because I am so busy, but for the life of me I don't do anything. I started model boats to replace my true love of playing the guitar (which the result of my condition is no longer possible) As Richard said I too rely on TV and this site for external input. I have three boats, none of which are ready for the water yet, so I need to get some motivation and finish these projects.

In regards to BY comments about kits being the same whoever makes them, isn't that the point of a scale model to be an exact replica of the original and the closer the better. I cant see the difference of Scratch building an exact copy of "XYZ" or buying a kit and building an exact copy of "XYZ" only difference is the cost in both time and money. To use BY's argument is that even if you scratch build, its sad that you have lost individuality because you have had to copy the original full scale ship. It does not matter which road you go down it is the end result that matters, that feeling of accomplishment.

I hope this post is taken as meant and not a dig at anyone.

Regards David

[Bryan Young]

Hi All

A few yeas ago I was forced to leave the work force because of a medical condition that left me in and out of a wheelchair. That was very hard for me considering that I am only 45 years old and thought that the most productive working years were ahead of me. Since then I have been so busy doing nothing, it seems that I can't fit even the smallest thing in my schedule because I am so busy, but for the life of me I don't do anything. I started model boats to replace my true love of playing the guitar (which the result of my condition is no longer possible) As Richard said I too rely on TV and this site for external input. I have three boats, none of which are ready for the water yet, so I need to get some motivation and finish these projects.

In regards to BY comments about kits being the same whoever makes them, isn't that the point of a scale model to be an exact replica of the original and the closer the better. I cant see the difference of Scratch building an exact copy of "XYZ" or buying a kit and building an exact copy of "XYZ" only difference is the cost in both time and money. To use BY's argument is that even if you scratch build, its sad that you have lost individuality because you have had to copy the original full scale ship. It does not matter which road you go down it is the end result that matters, that feeling of accomplishment.

I hope this post is taken as meant and not a dig at anyone.

Regards David

No offense taken. But what is "sad" about any form of building? It really is a matter of personal preference. As far as cost goes; it probably costs more in the long run to build from scratch. I have said it before and will keep on saying it...build from a kit if you wish, but there are so many other ships/boats out there that it would be impossible for a manufacturer to do them all. A lot of "boats" (Fishing, Lifeboats, Tugs etc) can be fairly easily modified to become an individual vessel. Great. "Ships" are different. I am not referring to "warships" here, Merchant ships come in many guises, and are/were frequently "one-offs". It is this type of ship that intrigues me, but to build one means I have to do it from scratch. Perhaps it is my love of ships as an entity rather than a desire to "get it on to the water" that sort of pushes me away from "clones". Each to his/her needs!

[Colin Bishop]

Drifting off topic on this thread folks - there is another thread which caters for scratchbuilding or not. Thanks, Colin

[Bee]

Do you know that saying "If you want something done ask a busy person"
Does the opposite apply. ie a retired person who shouldn't therefore be busy never has time to do anything.

Well if you are retired you should have lost the time constraints of doing X this weekend because you have to be back at work on Monday. So if your local club is having an exhibition this weekend don't let anything stop you going, just set back every other aspect of you life, partner's DIY demands etc, until Monday, after all it can't really matter becasue all your tiime is now your own.
Also if it is your club that is putting on the exhibition there is nothing to stop you going along to help out both days.

[roycv]

Hi Bryan, 'the boat on the water' was an unconscious remark merely indicating that my preference is for working boats rather than static, (now there's a thought).
There is no 'better', I suppose unless a modeller puts his / her model up for others to judge it is up to the modeller what he builds and how it is fitted out. 

I think the modelling, the technical problems involved and in the main the good company I have enjoyed and currently still enjoy are the real hobby and no doubt these translate across to other interests.
regards Roy