Frustration and joy and frustration

The enthusiasm of new modelers is inspiring, and a reminder of how long I've been in the hobby. Even though their models aren't very good, the energy these modelers offer always sends me back to the workbench with a new perspective on what I'm doing.

New modeler "Michael" posted his experience to Hyperscale yesterday. He said it's "a lot of frustration, joy, a lot of learning, feeling of success, again frustration, feeling of being just bad and then all that again -- in no particular order." I replied to tell him that my experience is exactly the same after 30 years.

As this year's contest season kicks off, make an effort to talk to newcomers to the hobby. Or reach out to the new members of your model club. You may find that they can help you more than you can help them!