You must have heard the saying 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.' It also makes him a bored and irritated boy. All of us need a hobby to take our mind off the mundane and stressful work schedules and to re-energize our mind and body. Model making is a wonderful way of spending time alone or even with your family and getting your creative side a chance to take center stage for a while.



The first thing to do is to identify the item, which interests you the most. It could be cars, or ships or planes or any other thing, which can be made. It should be practical and should also fall in your budget. For example, once you have decided that you would like to make a model plane, you could go to a hobby store in your neighborhood and check out the various model planes available. Those planes will be in kit form and you will have the joy of assembling the full model plane. There are different degrees of difficulty in assembling model plane kits, which are available in the market. You will also have different modes of propulsion, namely battery powered or gasoline-powered motors for your model plane. If you are new to this hobby, then you can choose a battery powered, not very expensive model as your first flight of fancy. It is like buying a cheap inexpensive car if you are planning to learn driving. Your model plane kit can then be taken home and assembled or even glued together in your spare time.

Once the assembly is complete, you can test your model plane in your backyard garden or any other empty lot near your home. You should get the feel of controlling your model plane in different climatic conditions before you take it on the beach or mountain cliff for an actual long flight. It is during this flight up on the mountain or on a beach that your childhood wishes can surface and linger on, while you are enjoying yourself, most probably with your loved ones. At this moment you are no longer 'Jack' the dull or bored or stressed out boy but 'Flight Lieutenant Jack' or 'Wing Commander Jack' flying his mean machine deep into enemy territory and destroying the enemy's base and trucks. In future, you can also join a model-flying club where you can meet people with a similar love for flying. You can exchange ideas, swap model planes and generally have a good time. Model making is not a temporary hobby, but can last you a lifetime. Your children or grandchildren can view your model planes as antiques and you would have wonderful stories to tell around each plane.

So, go ahead, think of your own interests in life and get the model, which you want to make. It does not matter if it is a plane or a ship or a car or even toys. It is the time spent on making, testing, using and then discussing that hobby which makes everything joyful and worthwhile. So do not be just 'Jack'. Be 'Admiral Jack' or 'Commander Jack.'