Don’t kid yourself J, I am a sci-fi guy too. We are around chicks, and oogle them, but rarely get them!
[proplr]
Chris
Im sorry but…
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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Really, armor the black sheep?
Why dont one of us scifi guys bring up something like Gundam in a conversation about models with armor and AC people… and see the reaction we get.
LOL! Hey! Speak for yourself!
Okay, maybe not ALL the sci-fi guys are total chick magnets, I gotta grant you that. [:D]
On a serious note though, Sci-fi/Fantasy shows do attract a lot of women. At Wonderfest each year, a lot of guys have their wives or girlfriends on their arm through the whole show, and a lot of the dealers are women too. Women make up a percentage of the modelers as well - I’d guess about one in eight or ten, conservatively. There’s something about Sci-fi and Fantasy modeling that women are cool with… maybe it’s all the vampire stuff. Military and Car models, not so much.
My wife goes with me to the 'Fest every year. Loves it. However, when the IPMS show rolls around… then I’m stag. It’s a total sausage fest in there.
There’s truth in that too. Unless the models are really, really good, Gundam guys don’t even get respect in the Sci-Fi forums… [:|]
Yea, its bad. Thats why I am always encouraging gundam people to use armor methods. Always linking armor people gundam techniques for doing pannel lines and such. You know, mixing it.
Scifi does attract the chicks though, seriously. Dragoncon this year, I almost flipped when I saw my friend’s cosplay, im so jealous of her girlfriend. She dressed like Jack from Mass effect 2… right down to the tattoos and she has the build and look to pull it off.
Hey chaps,
When I pop up town every month to the only place in Rugby where I live that sells FSM (A big magazine store called W H Smith that sells pretty much every publication known to man) I am AMAZED at the amount of Armour publications on the shelves. They have AFV modeller, Military Modeller International, Model Miltary, FSM and a couple more of which I can’t remember the names.
They do stock a dedicated aircraft modelling magazine but no Sci-Fi magazines. There are a couple of railway modeller magazines but that’s it.
It does seem that on the magazine front the armour modeller is very well looked after! Apart from AFV modeller which is obviously all armour most of the other publications are about 75% armour and 25% figures, ships and things with wings. Most of the advert pages are for armour too.
Even the Tamiya Magazine is mostly armour-always at least 50%.
It seems that armour modelling is definately the ‘in thing’ at present!
If I recall the last FSM had ONE picture which was sent in by a reader of a cartoon/sci-fi character - Wolverine or something like that, I can’t remember. That was it!
It seems that armour sells!
ATVB
Ben [:D]
OK…now that I have your attention…I would agree with Bill. I would add that modeling to some extent, grew out of the space race. In the 60s things that flew, especially spacecraft were popular. The airplane was popular also because of its ease of construction. Next was the era of muscle cars and their models.
The draw back on armor was complication, lots of assemble (lets not talk ships) and those rubber bands for tracks. Most armor was popular with the backyard explosives crowd. Before computer war games there was an M80 in a tanks model [:O]
Lastly…we should be humble. Today, our group here on this forum and in armor is like the Jedi of modeling. We are all VERY good…VERY devoted but VERY small group. I would say that, IMO, most modelers are “casual” modelers. Thus, we need to always be careful of our opinions as the come from a devotion and may be skewed.
Rounds Complete!!
I don’t know… IMHO, ‘wingy-thingies’ either actual or in scale are more ‘glamourous’ where as mud-in-your-pants ground equipment (either actual or in scale) is most likely… not. That is to me anyway, the reason that aircraft modeling is on the high end of the scale modeling spectrum.
I enjoy looking at a nice AC model as well as a nice AFV model. I can ID most (if not all) aircraft makes and models, both military and civilian, foreigh or domestic. I love to fly (fixed wing or rotors) and I used to jump out too. I will admit that I am a frequent visitor to the aircraft section of FSM but more so, over on Hyperscale. It is just that I don’t have the talents for aircraft modeling. (Struggling with any modeling right now).
I certainly do prefer ground equipment as it is ‘in my blood’ and has been al of my life.
Sci-Fi on the other end is… well… to me anyway, just plain fun. Wrong or right… I don’t really care.
!(http://www.mortarsinminiature.com/images/Other Models/MarsLinerCompA.jpg)
!(http://www.mortarsinminiature.com/images/Other Models/3-stageRocket.jpg)
I don’t know anything about the scale auto world other than the fact that I could never get that perfect candy-apple red gloss finish… or any perfect finish for that matter. I really can’t even remember the last time I tried to.
Annoyingly one of the best sites for seeing other people’s Gundam kits doesnt allow linking of pictures because it has them as… I dunno, but some format that doesnt allow copying but allows a magnifier on the picture.
But this is the kind of thing I mean. Some of the better gundam builders can do some really amazing things that other genres use and could learn from. These are just isolated examples and yea im stacking the deck a bit, so shoot me.
Super Gloss Finished (see autos)
http://www.bakuc.com/modeler/bad_andy/335
http://www.bakuc.com/modeler/chriswoo/5844
Extreme use of decals as well as the creation of custom decals (For autos and Aircraft and such)
http://www.bakuc.com/modeler/funaka/2746
http://www.bakuc.com/modeler/fichtenfoo/55
Base Construction/Diorama Consctution (See all)
http://www.bakuc.com/modeler/redcomet/1647
http://www.bakuc.com/modeler/u_recca/288
http://www.bakuc.com/modeler/shining_scorpion/1002
http://www.bakuc.com/modeler/fichtenfoo/99
Subtle Weathering
http://www.bakuc.com/modeler/gresco/832
Use of Aftermarket Metal Parts
http://www.bakuc.com/modeler/fichtenfoo/27
Modifications and scratching
http://www.bakuc.com/modeler/donc0023/5059
Complete rebuiling/sculpting/scratching
http://www.bakuc.com/modeler/raichu08/418
What most people see from Gundam builders when they dont go out of their way, is the basic level stuff, snap together, rattle can painted, etc etc. Not the real top quality Award winning pieces.
Well, think about it. They are designed for easy assembly, little to no paint, really, the only work is removing the parts and snapping them togeter. I snapped a mastergrade kit together in 1 evening, wasn’t hard. (I was looking for a diversion, and it was used without arms so I got it for $5) heck, I’m happy with it, but it would never go to a table. They’re designed with the mentality of eliminating 90% of the work. Most people will be happy there and stop. Why go crazy when it looks good already? almost all weathering is with those “pen” things that shade recesses. That’s it. Also, I’d say a solid majority of builders are kids, or at least 20 and under. Most kids don’t have the patience to go and superdetail one of those things.
Yea? So are revell’s snap tight starwars and car kits. But you can do so much more with them. Just because a kit is easy to assemble does not mean its simple. Any gundam kit master grade or above is going to have exponentially more parts then most armor kits in my experiance. Perfect grade have two GIANT boxes full of parts.
Wow…this is a really interesting thread going on here!
Personally, as someone who’s only recently jumped back into things after a good many years away, the explosion in the variety of armor and aftermarket accessories to support said armor is simply staggering. A lot has changed in aircraft over the past 10-15 years, but it’s peanuts next to what’s happened to armor.
I think an apt analogy might be found in the world of car enthusiasts. Aircraft are the Porsches, Astons, Ferraris and what-have-you. They’re the cover divas that everyone recognizes.
Armor is more like the offroad scene that I ran in for several years. Still car enthusiasts, but of a completely different mold. Any offroader worth their salt can immediately differentiate between a Land Rover Defender, Mercedes G-wagen, Toyota FJ40, early Bronco, and so on. But to the rest of the world, they’re dirty, unglamorous things that, at best, are often rewarded with a thumbs up and some dunderhead saying “Nice Jeep!”.
As a corollary, your average layperson might be able to pick a P-51 or F-15 out of a crowd, sort of like identifying the Corvette and the Porsche, and maybe a Sherman I guess (the Jeep of armor), but identifying a Panzer IV vs. a III or a Panther, much less various other tanks and tank destroyers and self-propelled artillery? Good luck with that.
agreed, smeagol. 100% actually, they are insanely detailed. The simplicity of construction and the amount of detail included does not provoke the model-builder into further super-detailing and weathering. Superdetailing might do it for you, (and I would too if I could get my hands on a set of cheat MG Sazabi arms) but for the average gundam builder, no. In fact, I’d guess 75% or more of gundam builders build only gundam, not tanks aircraft or whatnot. They’re designed for detailed design, but with minumum effort from the builder. It doesn’t promote the concept of scratchbuilding. just my 2 cents.
Oh, I agree with you there.
That is why Im always trying to go the other way, show armor air car, etc guys what you can do with a gundam kit, there there not toys, etc. see if I can convert that way.
Im honestly tempted to get a few of the really cheap kits, like the 08th team GMs, or something like that and send them as gifts to the big armor/ac people on the forums, like karl and chuckw. See what they can do withem.
Thing that bugs me is when people do try gundam from other stuff they dont build them for what they are. They go 'oh im gona use it in 1/35th scale as this, or im going to use it as that. They just dont want to do Gundam for Gundam for some reason
Sign up for a secret santa GB then [6] They’re around every single december… should be coming up in a month or so! Ohhhh… I wonder what Karl would do with one of them… Be prepared for the kits to be painted in OD green or german 3-color camo with zimm though.
I experimented, putting Zim on a Dom kit, and I did paint a GM in a 3 tone sniper camo before.
Id like to see a ‘general secret santa’ group build for a mix of all kinds instead of just armor, or airplanes.
if you want it… THEN DO IT! simple as that.
I did, there is a thread for it in 'General Discussion" you should sign up
“the BLACK sheep” … is this politically correct???
If the WHITE house is politically correct, then so is this phrase.
But how about the song, “RED River Valley?” Ohhh… methinks Matt will be around soon locking this one up tight.