Episode 57: Why do we abandon some projects? And: Considering the effects of tariffs on the hobby
/In this episode, your hosts mull over why some modelers (like Jim) rarely abandon a project, seeing even the dogs through to completion, while others (like Barry) regularly start one and then set it aside. This is a topic they’ve been kicking back and forth since the infamous (to them, at least) Universal Carrier buddy build chronicled in Episode 54.
And, at the risk of abandoning the policy above, which is generally a very good one these days, the boys felt compelled to consider how the current moment is impacting the hobby. Our retailer sources say tariffs are already having a serious negative impact on their businesses. For other reasons, fewer Canadian and European modelers are planning to come to the upcoming U.S. modeling shows (including MFCA, May 9-10; Rocky Mountain Hobby Expo, June 20-21, and MMSI, Oct. 17-18). And job uncertainties and the state of the things in general have prompted your hosts to cancel the trip they’d been planning to World Expo in Versailles (July 4 to 6). For context:
The New York Times weighs in (gift link), April 26, 2025.
Decrease in foreign travel to the U.S. (via Newsweek, March 28, 2025).
Ugh. Good thing we have the hobby to distract or console us—even if we don’t always finish whatever is on our workbenches.