A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: STUDIO REBUILDS AND WHY I CANNOT WORK IN A MESS…

More than that though, I can’t focus if all I see is clutter. I need to be able to only concentrate on one model at a time, any more than that and my enthusiasm drops along with my standards.

2nd January 2026

After several years of wanting to get into the world of 3D printing, I now, thanks to my wonderful wife, have a new printer and wash station that will allow me to create my own parts and print off those designed by others. That though, meant I had to reconfigure my studio to allow these two machines to fit, there being nowhere to plant them with the room in its original state. 

Time for a rethink.

I’m rather hamstrung when it comes to where I can locate everything within my studio. The room is not large and thanks to the location of the door, window and a large vertical radiator, wall space is limited. Along with that I have become so used to the layout of my desk and accompanying cupboards and shelves I really didn’t want to make wholesale changes, even though I knew I would have to move my main desk to relocate a cupboard from below the window, to the adjacent wall. I can pretty much locate anything in my studio in the dark: I rather wanted to keep it that way.

As it turned out, the change in position of my desk was easier than I thought. Placing it under the window rather than at 90˚ to it, proved straightforward even if it meant taking everything out of the room and placing it inside our very nicely decorated snug! Once moved, I could then relocate the low shelving unit to where the desk was and rebuild everything to be as close to the way it was as possible. Simple in practice, longwinded in reality.

Moving the desk did cause a few issues. Most notable of these was the lack of anywhere to place the shelf, rail and magnetic strip that had been such a feature of my now familiar workbench. This issue was caused by the low window sill, so I had to move what had been in front of me to the side wall of the tall cupboard to my right, a small pegboard, buckets and shelves (all bought from IKEA) replacing the now redundant parts. The magnetic strip, a feature of every workbench I’ve used for the last 45 years, could be attached to the sill with still enough space below it to locate the tools as before.

With the room disassembled, I took the chance to redecorate two of the walls (matching the previous colour using Valspar’s scanning software to create the colour I needed) and then sort out what I needed to keep and what could be thrown out, odd tools, paints, materials and other clutter that was there for no other reason than I couldn’t be bothered to deal with it!

Here’s the thing: I hate working in a mess. 

Over the years I seem to have gained something of a reputation for being overly tidy in my workshop. Though that accusation has some merit at times, I do make a mess, but try and clean it up at the end of the day so that I start afresh in the morning. I find clutter to be distracting. I find the idea of my large(ish) workbenches becoming smaller throughout a project as each fills up with crap, anathema. They are the way they are for a reason: to give me as much space as I need to complete a project without the risk of damage, losing parts, or contamination of finishes because there is dust everywhere. Making them smaller simply because I cannot be bothered to put everything away after each session, flies in the face of that initial planning and design.

More than that though, I can’t focus if all I see is clutter. I need to be able to only concentrate on one model at a time, any more than that and my enthusiasm drops along with my standards. Keeping my eye on only one ball at a time keeps my head in the game and alleviates – at least in part – the possibility that I will focus on one task at the expense of another. That means that there is only one model under construction on my desk at any one time unless absolutely necessary. Occasionally I will find myself building more than one model, but that only really happens if personal commissions coincide with work commitments.

Of course there is another reason for the cleanliness. When the rest of our house is clean and tidy and everything has its place, why on earth would I have one room that looks like a bomb site? When I’ve cooked a meal in the kitchen I don’t leave everything on the work surfaces (despite what my wife would say, who regularly accuses me of being the messiest cook she’s ever seen!). Once done, I tidy and clean up ready for the next meal! Same with everywhere else. I love the house to be tidy, so it would be a little odd to have the room that I spend most of my time in being the complete opposite, don’t you think?

And finally…

I really don’t understand the idea that a messy, cluttered workbench helps with creativity. I find the opposite to be true and though I assure you that this is a personal opinion (all modellers are very different in this regard) the lack of focus I alluded to earlier, stifles my creativity to a point where I would rather do nothing than have to work with a place that is not organised, clean and tidy. It’s just the way my mind works. I have enough clutter in my head, I don’t need it in my studio as well!

Of course all of this is horses for courses. Every modeller is different and we all have individual approaches. This is what works for me. I know some incredibly talented modellers who create blistering works of art whilst thriving on the chaos of their workbenches and studios. Good for them! If that’s what works for each one, I would hate to suggest they change their approach! Modelling is as individual as the modellers who partake and long may that continue.

So my studio is now back together and I’m ready to start work on Monday for another year. Who knows what 2026 will bring, but I’m certain of one thing: I’m now as prepared as will need to be thanks to the three days I spent this week rejigging, sorting and cleaning. Now, what’s first on the bench? Ah yes, Tamiya’s 1/72 F-14D…

See you tomorrow.