I’ve read a couple of reviews lately where the builder states that he or she shouldn’t have spent all the time painting the interior of a plane becuase it can’t be seen after the fuselage is closed up.
Similarly, I’ve seen a bunch of armor models in FSM with beautiful interiors that, again, can barely be seen when the model is finished.
Lastly, I’m going to order two PE sets for some WWI planes I’ll be building and, once more, a lot of the detail won’t be visible when the planes are done.
So, how do you folks feel about all that non-visible detail? On the one hand, working on the extra details can help make the model feel much more accurate – like a true miniature replica rather than a model. On the other hand, if nobody (except me) is ever going to see those details, then why increase the building time?
I remember an article a few years back in FSM about a fellow building a ME-163 Komet (can’t remember if he was superdetailing a kit or scrathcbuilding the model).
This guy built a gorgeous engine for the model, then sealed it inside the fuselage so only the tip of the tailpipe could ever be seen. A crying shame really, all that work on the engine and nobody will ever see it except in pictures he took before sealing it in.
The way I see it, detail what can be seen and leave the rest to the observer’s imagination.
A long time ago I was given a very simple bit of modelling advice … if you can’t see it, don’t build it.
The person that shared this with me is a fairly noted modeller who had spent umpteen hours super-detailing the motor of a halftrack only to realize that even with the interior engine doors open, you couldn’t see squat without inserting some sort of mini optical probe.
I know some guys who throw loads of unseen detail into their models, they tell me it’s purely for the knowledge of producing an accurate model. Personally, I only put details if they can be seen-then I can show off a little!
I have to agree with those who think if the only way you can see the detail is to break it open to see then it really no worth the time. I’ve spent hours on a cocpit dash only to find out it cant be seen anyway. PE rudder peddles is a prim example.
I agree if its not going to be seen, there is no reason to build it. Now I have added detail to a compartment, that if you lloked through a drivers hatch, you could see the detail. But only as much as you can see through that drivers hatch. Maybe the seat back, the machine gun breech or main gun breech area. But not the rest of the detail that can’t be seen at any angle. Sort of a hollywood set design trick.
Now in some competitons I’ve seen where the kit was built to be able to take the top of the turret off and see a detailed interior. The kit was built so that if the turret section was put back on, the piece looked like a buttoned up tan and you couldn’t really tell where the “cut away” was. Clever and definately an exhibition trick.
It all depends -
If I’m building purely for myself (not for competition), then I’ll probably throw in some stuff that I know I’ll never be able to see.
If I’m building for a client, then I never put in stuff you can’t see - they wouldn’t know and probably wouldn’t care, anyway.
I’ve got the Airies set (#4097) for the 1/48 Accurate Miniatures B-25B - much of it won’t be seen when the fuselage halves are closed. Will I still put it in? You betcher ****** I will.
I just can’t help myself.
Cheers
LeeTree
I read an article about sailing ship models that were built in the 1600s and 1700s. They put a fiber optic camera in one of the ships and to their’ amazement there was significant detail where no one was ever going to see it. From the time the model builder sealed up the interior until the time the fiber camera caught a glimpse, no one had ever seen the detail that was there. Who knows? If you have a fine model, maybe a few hundred years from now someone will put it under a 3D scanner and all that beautiful detail that no one ever saw will be seen!
For most models I wouldn’t bother with unseen details, but for some models I would because “I” know it’s there.
DJ, there is a whole book about those ship models. Some of them are “shipboard models”. Models built to “sell” ships to the admirality of a country.
There is also a book specificaly on “prison ships”. These were super detailed models built by 18thc. prisoners or war (sailors) on prison ships or in land prisons. They would make them from soup bones and bits of wood they could scrap together or were supplied. They would sell them to pay for amenities or for food during their internment. They would have alot of the same interior detail so that patrons could peer through portals or gun portals into the ship.
Some of the shipboard models had puzzle like sections that could be slid open to reveal those interior details. I read an article once about a guy that was doing a restoration on one of these models and found it by accident. No one knew about it except for the original builder and the admirality board at the time. 200 years later it was stumbled upon. The guy realized you had to slide some parts around and then insert a “key” to push a latch down that would allow part of the hull to be removed.
I really like that idea. I love looking at the insides of things, and models are one really great way to do that. For the same reason, I like the models with clear body panels or fuselages.
Just last week, I saw a 1/72 scale P-51 with a clear fuselage and visible interior details. I think it was made by Hasegawa. It took a lot of discipline to not buy it. [:D]
A kit like that could be painted on one side and clear on the other. I suppose one could vacuum form half a fuselage from a kit with clear styrene and make the details visible that way. There’s a fellow working on a Monogram B-17 who has posted pictures over at the Aircraft Resource Center web site forum. It’s absolutelly beautiful!
. http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=14&t=12286&s=2bd8424f2fb5b3d3fbbb1570d36e9f68
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The guy working on it (Kelly Quirk – I’ve seen other examples of his work – they guy is very skilled) knows that most of the detail won’t be seen, but it’s a labor of love for him. I’d be neat to do something similar, but with half the fuselage clear.