Model building is a

hobby A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing ...

and career that involves the creation of

physical model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

s either from kits or from materials and components acquired by the builder. The kits contain several pieces that need to be assembled in order to make a final model. Most model-building categories have a range of common scales that make them manageable for the average person both to complete and display. A model is generally considered physical representations of an object and maintains accurate relationships between all of its aspects. The model building kits can be classified according to skill levels that represent the degree of difficulty for the hobbyist. These include skill level 1 with snap-together pieces that do not require glue or paint; skill level 2, which requires glue and paint; and, skill level 3 kits that include smaller and more detailed parts. Advanced skill levels 4 and 5 kits ship with components that have extra-fine details. Particularly, level 5 requires expert-level skills.

Model building as career

Model building is not exclusively a hobbyist pursuit. The complexity of assembling representations of actual objects has become a career for several people, and is heavily applicable in film making. There are, for instance, those who build models/props to commemorate historic events, employed to construct models using past events as a basis to predict future events of high commercial interest.

The categories of modelling include

Scale model A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object (known as the prototype). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototype ...

building * Live steam models *

Model engineering Model engineering is the pursuit of constructing proportionally-scaled miniature working representations of full-sized machines. It is a branch of metalworking with a strong emphasis on artisanry, as opposed to mass production. While now mainly a ...

Matchstick model Matchstick models are scale models made from matches as a hobby. Regular matches are not used, however, but a special modeling type which do not have the combustible heads, and can be bought from art and craft shops. Though before the serial pro ...

s * Military models *

Model aircraft A model aircraft is a small unmanned aircraft. Many are replicas of real aircraft. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed static, display, or shelf models. Aircraft manufactur ...

* Model cars * Model commercial vehicles *

Model construction vehicle A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object (known as the prototype). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototypes ...

s * Building models * Architectural models * Model figures * Model military vehicles *

Rail transport modelling Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...

Model rocket A model rocket are small rockets designed to reach low altitudes (e.g., for model) and be recovered by a variety of means. According to the United States National Association of Rocketry (NAR) Safety Code, model rockets are constructed of ...

s *

Ship model Ship models or model ships are scale models of ships. They can range in size from 1/6000 scale wargaming miniatures to large vessels capable of holding people. Ship modeling is a craft as old as shipbuilding itself, stretching back to ancient t ...

s * Freelance model *

Cardboard engineering Cardboard modeling or cardboard engineering is a form of modelling with paper, card stock, paperboard, and corrugated fiberboard. The term ''cardboard engineering'' is sometimes used to differentiate from craft of making decorative cards. It i ...

* Firearm models (such as

Airsoft gun Airsoft guns are replica toy guns used in airsoft sports. They are a special type of low-power smoothbore air guns designed to shoot airsoft pellets, non-metallic spherical projectiles (pb) often colloquially (but incorrectly) referred to as "B ...

s) * Gundam models

References

External links

All the models presented at the exhibition “War on the Table” at the Museum of Fine Arts located in Yekaterinburg Russia (Foto)
Scale modeling Hobbies {{Decorative-art-stub