“5 Easy Hacks That Big Hobby Doesn’t Want You to Know”

Or: The misleading nature of hacks, tips & tricks

How’s that for a clickbait title? It’s not that off-topic either, even if I am kind of lying to you. I won’t be presenting any “hacks,” but I will posit my way of thinking about the hobby. It doesn’t matter if you build Gunpla like me, it’s a pretty wild time to be a hobbyist in general. These days, you can learn almost any skill online. YouTube, blogs, and even TikTok are overflowing with tutorials, from a marketing director explaining how to maximize ROAS to a dodgy vagrant in a dimly lit shed showing you how to perform DIY appendectomies. I jest, but you get the point: the content spectrum is vast.

When I first started “seriously” building Gunpla (as serious as one can be about 1/144 scale plastic mecha), YouTube was in its infancy. The ubiquitous YouTube Tutorial wasn’t cemented in the cultural zeitgeist yet. If you wanted to learn, you went to your local hobby shop. In my case, BC Shaver & Hobbies on Fort Street, long before we became what we are today. You asked questions, got advice, and sometimes learned the hard way.

Fast forward to today: learning a new skill has never been easier. And the internet knows it. Because there’s so much content out there, the eldritch algorithm demands constant competition hence the clickbait titles and buzzwords. Suddenly, everything is a “hack.” Some of them make sense: wiping excess paint off your brush before drybrushing or using a six-sided die as a guide for angles with plaplate. Those are neat little tricks. However, there are others that promise “pro-level results,” and that’s where I find things tend to be misleading.

Here’s the truth: there’s no shortcut to skill. Tools and techniques can help you work smarter, but they don’t replace the need to do the work. You can’t “hack” experience, it’s not a numerical value you can increase arbitrarily. Your body and mind need to learn the process. The process is a practice, and we improve as we learn, so long as we push ourselves to try new things, or the same thing in a new way. I’ve learned the same lessons over and over

What’s more, I don’t believe learning is a straight line. Sometimes, when learning a new skill we get caught in frustrating loops or hit roadblocks. That’s usually when it’s time to step away for a bit, do something else like go for a walk or (like me: have a snack. Your brain needs glucose!*) When I’m frustrated, I’m not open to learning anything. There is a psychologist named Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek who says (and is not alone in saying so) that we learn best through play — something that holds true well into adulthood. It’s certainly true for me. Think about it: how much easier is it to absorb new information when you’re genuinely enjoying yourself versus when it feels like homework?

That’s what too many “life optimization” types get wrong. This obsession with “maximizing productivity” doesn’t belong in the workshop. My hobby isn’t about squeezing every second for value, it’s about being there. Trying things out, exploring, and finding joy in imperfection are parts of the game.

That’s why we call it a creative pursuit. The pursuit is the activity. Skill is just the byproduct.

-Liam

*I’m not a doctor lol

Source: Speaking of Psychology Podcast Episode 266