So I have been mulling this around for a bit, and by no means meant to insult anybody who chooses to accurately portray objects in miniature.
The question was posed by another member…" Why …so…seroius?" Good question. We ALL strive for that “perfect” model, all seams filled, perfect canopies, all road wheels or wheels in general on the ground. Yea we all do it.
Think back to when we were kids…that tube of orange Testors, a couple bottles of Testors enamel, the synthetic brush from your water color set ya got last Christmas, and of course " THE KIT"…OH that beautiful boxart showing an exciting scene and our imagination running wild with the " masterpiece" we were about to create.
Now we have grown and returned to the hobby, the “GOLDEN AGE” so to speak. Most of us chase PE, aftermarket upgrades, and rare grainy black and white photos of a one off mod to build our " KIT". What hapoened? Those of us who still have some hair pull out from the roots when we smudge the paint, forget a seam, god forbid a fingerprint on the glass. Hobby still fun? Heck yea but " WHY SO SERIOUS?"
My idea is to challenge my fellow modelers to one day just slap a model together, be damned seams, fit, and alignment…let the 10yr old part rule. Not all builds, not the 200.00 Trumpeter kit, or that rare find from your past…unless ya want to… just remember the hour or so of FUN we had.
So to end this long winded post if nothing else just give it a thought. I’d bet it takes as much skill now to produce a glue bomb now as it did to strive for that " perfect" build did then.
Although I do worry about alignment and don’t want a glue bomb the vast majority of what I build is out of the box and slapped together as per instructions. I may do two or three of these as stress relievers between or even during the big projects so I have far more of them than show pieces. The funny part is that they sometimes turn out really really well!
For me it’s not fun to struggle with a kit.I will fill seams and adjust fit,but don’t want to fight a kit,ill pay more money for a quality kit,When its not fun then is not a hobby,so why am I doing it.
Ha ha ha, life imitates art! Please see Tony Greenland’s “Armor Modeling Masterclass”, where you can marvel at Tamiya’s 1/35 Sturmtiger figure. He has teeth and fingernail cuticle painted on. [:|]
A friend who mostly works in 1/72 usually paints moustaches and makes sunglasses for his pilots. [proplr]
I really need to dial it back. If I built a model from my cherished childhood, say Monogram’s SBD Dauntless, I’d have to at least fill all the seams and drill out the dive brakes. I would leave the operating features intact though. Dive bombing the living room was just too much fun. [:P]
But the SBD was no turd back in its day; it was the cat’s meow to a 5th grade kid. So was Monogram’s Hellcat, another marvel with moving parts that worked well and provided hours of enjoyment after the build.
I got carried away with AMS and contest building years ago. I took about a 4 year break - not a conscious decision just turned out that way. When I started building again it was really fun because I had that “slap it together” attitude. I don’t compete anymore and don’t get too upset when I inevitably fudge something up. I’ve been away from my bench for 8 months due to moving but I’m almost ready to get back at it. So looking forward to it – open the turd factory!
I have tried so many times to say “Its just a model, just build this one and not worry so much about how it looks”, but I just haven’t been able to do it.
There in lies the " challenge " Eagle, not judging or saying what ya do is wrong. Keavdog I don’t compete either, however I do want to put stuff on the table. Win Whoray, Lose Oh well it’s a hobby.
I get so tied up on what other people say I should do that my bench languishes in dust. If I could just " slap something together" life would be more fun.
As stated I do enjoy the skills I have developed, researching a subject, hiding my signature fingerprint in a less conspicious place…oh the stink of old Testors plastic cement.
Well, You got my attention! If you want to go there, Atlantis has just the thing, A New old release.The 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham first released by Revell back in the day. It’s marginally better, a different color, But it is still 1958 Revell in all it’s glorious ill fitting parts. Better than it used to be. But still full of what stymied us then.
Within the past decade, I’ve gone back to this method of building. While I don’t select a “turd”, I have gone back to simpler kits without all the bells and whistles with minimal painting and detailing.
It used to be necessary to get maybe not the “best” kit, but to build a very high quality kit, especially for a subject I cared about. But if it was a subject I was mildly interested in, say a WW2 German armor kit, I was okay with just picking a decent kit or one I had in my stash for ages.
Now, this is often my primary method of building a kit.
Once upon a time, before even thinking about buiding the kit I would obtain the photoetch set, aluminum barrel and read reviews of the kit. Today, I crack it open, prep the parts and start gluing.
Wish I could help Tcoat however I’m still working interweb bugs to pist pix.
I guess a little more clarification of my meaning of " turd" is in order. In my mind I was comparing my builds today to the builds I have done as a young modeler, kit quality or manufacturer really isn’t important, or I didn’t consider it. My bad.
So since pictures are worth 1000 words PLEASE look at Tcoats new thread of a 3.7 Flak and truck from Tamiya…that was the idea I was trying to convey.
Does this change anybodys opinion?? BTW to those who have replied thanks, it helps me know that what and how I do it is ok.
