A note on scratchbuilding and converting in general

Can't seem to focus on my real work today, so time for another blog post. I've been in this hobby for quite a cuople of years now and if there's one thing I've learned it is to near throw something away. This is especially handy if you end up trying to scratchbuild stuff. Now I'm not saying you have to fill your house with clutter, but keeping your hobby in mind when cleaning or throwing away everyday objects can really make a huge difference. So here are some suggestions and ideas:

1. Sprues - always trim all the leftover bits from your sprues. Though this may seem very straight forward I have made the mistake of throwing away several useful bits accidently in the past. The sprue itself may be of interest to you as well, so cut off some of the larger pieces for later use. It is ideal to use as a starting point for sculpting a complete figure, the chassis of a scratchbuild vehicle and other uses like making scifi crystals.

2. Packaging materials - we all get it and we all have a hate/love relationship with it. Yes, it keep your new TV in one piece, but your stuck with all the garbage afterward. But stuff like foam packaging is ideal for scenery building, cardboard boxes make for a great temporary undercoating surface, see through plastic can be used for make window or even helmet visors.

3. Tech and utility stuff - when stuff breaks and you're ready to toss it away hang on for a second. Nearly everything from an old gaming controller, glue rollers, broken calculator, tubed packaging and numerous other objects can be taken apart simply and safely. Many of them will yield you with interesting bits and bobs and even if they did not they disassembled bits usually take up less space in the garbage.

In the end it all comes down to how far you want to go in the hobby as well as your imagination. So how limited or huge your ambitions may be, there's nothing stopping your from looking around in the world around you to find some interesting stuff to harvest!