Hi all,
A while between drinks here, I must apologise! I originally intended to get one of these out a month, but, well, recently life has just been getting in the way.
Speaking of life getting in the way - things have been pretty exhausting lately. Work is extremely busy, we've always got lots to do around the new property, there's lots going on in the Cancian household.. and it's been going on for many months straight now.
After one particularly hectic day of "life stuff" earlier in the week, I decided to jump into the 'man cave' to quickly grab a tool for a particular job around the house that still needed doing. Glancing over the shelves of kits, books, built models, and other things that I had spent years collecting and cultivating, I suddenly felt the weight of tiredness lift, and felt a warm and happy feeling. It was unexpected, and it took me by surprise.
It got me thinking; what is it that is so special about this space that could do that, that could suddenly make me feel like a weight had been lifted?
I remember the early spaces I had as a kid to build my models. Originally my dad would unfold his yellow vinyl-covered fold out table and sit that in the living room to show me how to build kits. Once I started building my own, the kitchen table sufficed, and eventually a small desk in a spare room. That ended when I accidentally spilled Humbrol black enamel on Mum?s lace curtains and the beige carpet, and tried to rub it off with turpentine (unsuccessfully, if anyone is surprised?!). After that, I was banished to the back shed outside to build my models. Here's my 'bench' that I had as a teenager, somewhere around 1998. As you can see, I never have been a neat or well organised builder!
Stash storage and display of the built kits was also quite a simple affair back in the school days - it all pretty much fit into a corner of my bedroom (though there was a few creative 'cullings' of the built models at various points, though that is another story...)
And then, off to fulfill a dream of military aviation, at the ripe old age of 17, I joined the Royal Australian Air Force (and I am still proudly serving 26 years later). The modelling tools were quietly packed away for the next 4 years of university, then the following years were also filled with all of the other distractions that the world can offer a young and impressionable chap. This also included several interstate moves that come with service life.
I never really lost the interest in modelling, and returned back to modelling in my late '20s. The 'bench' over the next few years remained a simple desk in a spare room, with a bookshelf for my reference books and to hold my then small stash. Then a couple of years later came the first little display cabinet, gleefully filled with my built models. In the mid 2010s, disposable income started to become available and the stash, reference books and built models got larger. My other collecting interests also started to expand? so, time for more storage, and more display space; I also started collecting items and kits of nostalgic value to me which also demanded more and more space (there's another thread on the forum on that, so I won't delve here).
I was, however, always constrained by a relatively small room given the fact that I was moving house generally once every 2-3 years. As of around 2020, the space (or 'nerd cave' as my wife dubbed it) was getting pretty tight -
Come late 2024 (and four house moves later; yep, four moves in as many years), my wife and I had built our new home with a bigger dedicated space for the nerd cave. "This time, I'll do it properly", I said, and quickly fitted it out with some proper display cabinetry and shelving. Here's how the nerd cave looked at the end of 2024 prior to filling:
And through early 2025, I've now populated it. Here's how the space looks now:
All in one space I have my reference books, my stash (both my build stash and my 'nostalgia' stash), my display cabinets, my small photo booth, and so on. I also have the other things that I enjoy; my old lego collection from my childhood proudly on display, some of the militaria I have collected over the years, my childhood 386 computer from 1993 (still in running condition), some of my old computer games, my small war movie collection of DVDs, my small collection of old Commando comic books, my tools tucked away neatly in the cupboard, and so on. And all viewable from the relaxed comfort of my desk chair.
Now it's still not the hugest space in the world, but it's just right for me.
So if you've held on for this long, firstly, well done for sticking with me... and secondly, why I have I woven this tale?
As I was sitting in said desk chair, exhausted after a day of 'life stuff', I cast my eyes over some of the actual stuff that I've carried with me for years, or in some cases, decades. For example, if you look closely at my room back in 1998, and my 'nerd cave' now, the keen-eyed will spot one or two things that were there in both places, 27 years apart. Whilst to many people this is just 'stuff', for me, sitting in the nerd cave at that time, simply made me feel good. That feeling of happiness just washed over me; I was no longer tired, but contented. The things that I have collected and cultivated brought back memories of happy and simpler times. In having some of those things with me today, in the one place, the room brings me joy. The space I have created is a sanctuary; it's my space. I have it organised exactly as I want it to be organised. It's a space I simply like to be in, and it makes me feel good to be there.
I think many of us like to create spaces, no matter how big or small, that help us to feel happy. These spaces take us away from the daily grind and the other pressures and stresses in life, to a place of contentment.
These places can be neat and extremely well organised, or they can be an absolute mess and the epitome of chaos. Whichever may be the case, these spaces we cultivate can make us feel more centred, and more balanced. The spaces alone can be enough to set the right conditions or environment to engage positively in our hobbies, and as a result, foster better mental health.
So, for me, my space is a sanctuary, a space to surround myself with the things that help me feel good, and motivate me to engage in my hobbies. My wife may think I am a bit bonkers, but at least I am not building on the kitchen table or getting enamel paint on the curtains!
Do you have a similar space that makes you feel good? What have your 'nerd caves' looked like over the years? What kind of spaces have you cultivated? Are you content with your modelling spaces, or are they a work in progress? Why do those spaces make you feel good or make it easier for you to engage with our hobby? What is your perfect modelling space, the space that you dream of?
Let us all know!
Cheers as always,
BC
