THE HOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENTS…

If one thing has come out of my round of snooping this morning, it’s the idea that modellers around the world are grateful not just for the presents, but in many cases the tacit understanding that their hobby is important enough to them, to be recognised by their friends and family.

So that’s it: Christmas done and dusted for another year! Well, not really. With it it being Boxing Day, many of us are still relaxing over the holiday period. We’re spending time with friends and family; enjoying down time with some nice food and drink; and for many of us, enjoying the gifts that we have received from those that love us enough to part with hard-earned cash for parcels that will be received with a smile and a grateful heart.

This morning, I’ve spent a few moments checking the Socials to see what friends have been up to and in many cases, what they were gifted on Christmas Day. Obviously, with this being a modelling page, that’s where my thoughts turned, so I was fascinated to see what kits friends had received and how many of those little boxes of joy, will form the basis of enjoyable projects over the months to come.

Christmas is I guess one of the few occasions when family can get involved in our hobby. Model making is by its very nature a solitary and personal pursuit, where time spent on kits that we have chosen is simply part of the game. I’ll wager that in the main most family members will have zero idea what goes on in your work-rooms and frankly, like it that way! They will certainly have no idea what kits you are building unless they take the time to walk in and spend an interested amount of time with you, asking questions, learning about your hobby, being part of your world. So when a family member not only does that, but then translates that knowledge into a kit, or kits, that you will enjoy, that’s a wonderful thing to behold. 

My family very rarely buy me anything to do with model making. My wife has occasionally bought me kits – including some 1/6 Tamiya motorcycles which were very nice! – but mostly, the day job and the sheer volume of such things that I receive through work, means that modelling products of any kind, are not seen as anything special. I’m okay with that, because my hobbies are away from building models and tend to be drum, PlayStation and football shaped, so that’s where ideas tend to come from! What this means, is that I can get vicarious pleasure from seeing what others have received and that’s certainly the case this morning as coffee is drunk and bacon sandwiches prepared.

The thing that strikes me every year is that it doesn’t matter what modellers receive for their hobby, the pleasure is the same, great and small. I’ve seen posts this morning where small Airfix kits have garnered as many thanks as more expensive Tamiya kits; single boxes as much as little collections. The pleasure is the same, the thanks just as heart-felt. And that’s as it should be. We as modellers might have knowledge to fully assess what we want, to make informed choices. It’s easy, right? Pop into your local plastic emporium, scan the shelves and pick a kit that you know will fit the bill. Image doing that when the shop that you have just walked into is filled with items that are utterly alien to you, shelves bulging with fancy goods that you simply don’t recognise and then try and make a decision that you hope will hit perhaps not the bulls-eye, but at least nestle inside the 25! Now that’s pressure!

If one thing has come out of my round of snooping this morning, it’s the idea that modellers around the world are grateful not just for the presents, but in many cases the tacit understanding that their hobby is important enough to them, to be recognised by their friends and family. I think that’s important, too. Many modellers I know are shy about what they do, so to have those closest to them buy into their interests, allows them the time and space to do what they want, especially at this time of year when rest and relaxation is the name of the game.

As the oven timer pings to let me know that my food is ready, I hope that you all have a relaxing few days off and that you can enjoy time with your friends and family. And who knows, if you are reading this having been bought a kit or two, you have the chance to kick back and spend time doing what you enjoy: building kits and painting the results.

See you next time!

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