One of my earliest memories is staying up late with my mom in our dining room building a model of the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701-A, in case you’re wondering). Well, to be precise, I was watching and she was building at my behest. Although I eventually grew out of building starships in favor of more social activities, about six years ago I found my way back into the hobbyist world. Now I do some things half-assed, but when it comes to making models, I’m serious business.
I’ve decided to share my knowledge, gained through grime, sweat, tears, and blood, in the hopes of inspiring others to take up this most noble of pursuits. This will be a multi-part series, covering tools, materials, techniques, and whatever else seems interesting.
Welcome to my world. I am… THE HOBBYIST.
The topic of my first article is the most important: SAFETY.
Please note the name of the band that sings the Safety Dance is Men Without Hats, which is NOT SAFE. Don’t be Men Without Hats. BE SAFE.
Over the last six years I’ve been burned, cut, and poisoned, all without leaving the confines of my workbench. If you don’t respect the tools and materials you’re working with, the tools and materials won’t respect you. When your tools and materials don’t respect you, they will hurt you, mentally, emotionally, and occasionally physically. You don’t want any of those things. So, respect the fact that you’ll be working with toxic materials and dangerous tools, and consider what precautions you might need to take before you start.
As with most fun activities, protection is always a good thing to have. For me, the two most common protections I wear are a pair of protective eyewear and, if I’m working with anything vaporous or particulate, a surgeons mask. They will keep you sighted and breathing easy, which is what you want. Also, neither is terrifically expensive; the glasses are like $5 at your nearest hardware store, and a nurse friend can probably pilfer a few masks for you if you ask them nicely.
Whenever I get really focused on something, I tend to block out the outside world and don’t realize how much time has passed until something breaks my concentration. Do yourself a favor and make it a point to get up and move around at least once an hour. It keeps you loose and relaxed, which is what you want. As a safety feature, this also prevents you from becoming too tired to work, which is a particular issue of mine. Set a timer on your phone if you have to.
It’s also a good idea to monitor the environment you’ll be working in. If you have small children or pets, it’s a good idea to have some way to secure the area to keep them from getting into something they shouldn’t. In a more literal sense, you’ll want your working environment to be somewhere in the 70s, temperature wise, with low humidity. This is important if you’re painting, as this will help the paint dry and cure quickly and keep it from becoming sticky.
To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, here’s a picture from underneath my workbench.
That is from when I stuck a fresh Xacto knife blade through the fleshy part of my thumb. Honestly, it barely registered until I realized that wait, that wasn’t red paint, that was blood on my paintbrush. So, while hobbying can be fun, it’s a lot more fun when you’re not bleeding everywhere.
Coming next time: the workspace.
