|I think a few newer model companies also have another good idea- Eduards Weekend Edition kits, 21st Century Toys line of 32nd scale aircraft kits, and the new Pegasus Hobbies line of well detailed "snap tites’. All are good affordable detailed kits combining affordability with starting to moderate level of buiding skills. A great way to get new blood into the hobby. They can be built up well OOB or be used as great starting points for AMS by modelers, basic or advanced.
i would like to thank all who so far have posted on this subject
no cut and dry wrong or right opinions, just well thought statements on a modeling question
that is more on the intelectual end of the hobby , as oposed to the practical ( aka the how to side) [#toast]
btw gerald on the practical side of things how did you make that soapbox again?[;)]
Hans, you’ve said quite a bit here that makes a lot of sense to me. I’m not an old phart, I just turned 24 in August. I picked up modeling again ASAP after graduating college. I think the biggest problem with what you’ve said, is that so many master builders and ‘auld pharts’ ([;)] I love it, it’s brilliant) take these things for granted. I’d love to be able to do a lot more with what I’ve got than go out and buy AM all the time. Like you, I see the guts of the real things that I model on a daily basis…and have to wash them off when I come home from work oftentimes. I want my builds to be accurate, and I’d love for them to be all my own work. I’ve got a huge, very slow, project going that falls squarely in that category. So far, I only plan on using a Falcon vacuform set for it, and that’s because the canopy is plain bizarre. More on that in a different thread.
Sure, there are plenty of how-tos and such in magazines and on the internet, but its the little things that the more experienced take for granted and don’t ever explain. I’ve got a collection of FSMs that go back to the first issue. I read the old ones all the time, while my new ones I leaf through once or twice. There are loads of pretty pictures, but very little actual how-tos. For example, I’ve been trying to figure out how to open cowling flaps on a 4-engined bird. Lots of articles, threads, and sites mention this, but rarely does anyone come out and say, ‘This is how you do this,’ in enough detail to duplicate. Another example is wiring engines. Its simple once you learn it, but how do you do it? How do you know where, even roughly, they should go. I resorted to digging out my old textbook on radial engine performance, just to figure out that one.
My point is, after all my rambling, that AM is good as a stepping stone. I bought a resin engine for a build a while ago, used it, and now I know how to detail them as well as what pieces to make to create my own, beacuse the instructions that came with it explained it. I bought a resin wheel set so that I would know what the ‘correct’ treads should be on a P-38 tire. Now I can sand the kit ones smooth, and carve the right tread in.
All in all, its the scratchbuilding techniques that need to be passed down, not basic kit construction techniques. I know how to build a kit. I’m very handy with my hands, and can build most anything I’ve ever needed, but I can’t figure out how to replicate the details I see at work. I guess what it comes down to is that I don’t know how to do the advanced basics. I even joined a forum that a fellow member, Solid, created that is all about scratchbuilding and vacuforming. Thing is, I still can’t get these basic things answered even there. That lack of intermediate technique knowledge is what is frustrating about modeling, and what you have to provide if you want to pull modelers away from using solely AM.
I’ve read all the books on scratchbuilding, and detailing, and all the other topics that are suggested. But, none of these books explains how. They say, ‘Do this, to detail an engine…’ not, ‘To detail an engine, follow these basic steps…’
Just my [2c]
Cheers,
Alex
As with anything you have to start somewhere to learn the process. Us ‘auld pharts’ who know how to improvise all graduated McGyver University with a degree in Improvisation with a minor in Adapt and Overcome. I’ve gone on to get my Piled Higher and Deeper.
Over the years I’ve met modelers who either don’t have the correct side of their brain engaged that allows them the necessary creativity or are willing to risk a kit to do something outside of their abilities or comfort zone. They’d never ever build a what if regardless if it was just changing markings…they just won’t.
Some of us ‘auld pharts’ are more creative than others…I like the challenge of looking at a pile of parts and raw materials to make something from them. Writing too is also a great parallel to creative model building. Like my story about a what if I built using an existing kit and modifing it.
When I build such projects I like to try different techniques or ones that I haven’t used in a long while to keep my proficiency up. Like on this one I made the control surfaces functional. Which was easy, but did present its own new challenges as well. Regardless it was FUN and helped me develop my skill sets further.
I enjoy nothing more than sharing my hobby with others, just as those did to help me learn and develop my skills to make the hobby more enjoyable.