Not just Airfix, early Fujimi and Revell kits had those in 1/72 scale also.
the Matchbox trencher only hit about 1/2 of their kits, almost as many had very fine raised panel lines as had the trenches, and a few had NO panel lines, just control surface outlines.
As for the rivets,Hasegawa had the same plague of them on their earliest Phantom tooling.
I took a photo of a “weathered and getting more weather every day” F-4C Phantom that is here locally,and even when you get close enough to that plane that it is bigger than a 1/48 model looks at 2 feet,you can’t see the panel lines. Since I model in 1/72, I would prefer that they be the size of a hair or PE razor saw blade,or not there at all. If you can’t see them in 1/1 scale at 72 feet, they shouldn’t be seen at 1/72 scale at 1 foot.
But, my vote doesn’t count, lol. I also see a lot of footprints/boot smudges far out on model A-4 wings that were in the “don’t you darrrrreeee walk out there” area of the wings. (I guess you’d have to know how A-4 wings were built to understand that one)
This is just my opinion soo… I can agree with the need for panel lines and rivets on larger scale models. But on tiny ones, they can get too busy. My “problem” is that I’ve spent a long time around aircraft. Pops was career Air Force growing up and I spent almost 25 years building them. I can see the “visual interest” point of view, but also the nice and smooth one. We had to use the “ten foot” rule on Boeing parts back then also. Two cents guys… Bob
Interesting opinions, fairly across the board with all bases covered. My preference to remove most panel lines and all rivets on the smaller scales, is due to the difficulty of actually replicating anything that would be true to scale and seem realistic. Somehow, to me rivet heads that look like golf balls sawed in half and glued on the real airplane actually detract from a models appearance, and panel lines that are about like concrete divisions in a driveway really take away from the craftsmanship construction appearance, of just about any airplane produced. Strictly MY feelings, everyone should build for their own satisfaction, nothing at all wrong with whatever another prefers.
1:48th and larger the surface details become an important and integral part of the model, but the supersonic performance of the modern jet fighters absolutely requires a smooth surface for aerodynamic efficiency. Disruptions of the skin of a fighter carry a major penalty for aerodynamic performance, and slow it down appreciably. With that in mind, I do minimize the surface details even on the larger scales.
One exception, I saw a masterpiece 1:72 ME-262 at an IPMS event in London, the builder had removed all surface details, then re-scribed to what seemed scale appearance. Stunning and brilliant workmanship, absolutely awesome. But you had to be VERY close, with perfect lighting to even see those details. From one or two feet away, it all just seemed to disappear into the flawless camo paint.
Phil, one of my models from the very end of that era, and near the beginning of my own airbrushing era almost didn’t survive. I had removed all the “markings” from whoever had the 1/72 A-26,and I had sanded smaller and smaller in grit until I was sure those lines were gone. Then I sprayed a very fine coat of paint on the model.
The markings showed back up as “ghosts” in the paint. I wound up painting a fairly heavy primer coat on and sanding it smooth, and then another coat. Then the “markings” stopped showing up, so I went ahead and painted and finished that model.
But, when they showed through after both the coat of paint and that first coat of primer,I almost had a USAF Kamikaze with terminal orders for the nearest wall.
Fun times, lol. I have been tempted to slice the rivets off instead of sanding, on one of the Antique Fujimi Crusaders I have, just to see how full they make a Testors paint jar.
It is funny, though,I have a Frog B-17E to build for Anne (her Dad’s plane in WW II) and even though it is far older than the Fujimi F-8, it has very petite raised panel lines on it, just enough to catch a very subtle wash if I choose that route. So, the rivet and lines and the age of the kit don’t always track in a straight line.
I find panel lines most visible on real planes on bare metal aircraft. Paint does tend to fill in the seams. Of course, there are two types of panel lines- panels that are riveted to the panel where the seams are only there because those were the size of sheets of metal they wanted/needed to use, and removable panels, removable for access. The later are far more visible on full-scale aircraft, even on painted ones.
Many years ago I started scribing directly into the paint because I felt (and still do) engraved panel lines are way out of scale. Here are a couple of examples…
I personally dig the recessed lines and rivets at the moment if only to help in where to pre-shade. That may change as/if my skills improve.
Maybe the manufacturers anticipate that most modelers will primer, paint & clear a model before applying a panel wash. That seems to be the norm these days. Adding all that paint can fill a gap almost level depending on the paint type and application. My guess is that they overdo it a bit to let us build it the way we want. Much easier to spray on a few coats of filler/primer to eliminate some panel lines than to re-scribe an entire aircraft.
Even if the details were wrong, most anything can be repaired/simulated with a creative paint job. That, for me, is where a model can really shine.
“In painting, you have unlimited power. You have the ability to move mountains. You can bend rivers. But when I get home, the only thing I have power over, is the garbage.” -Bob Ross
Interesting discussion. I recently got the Hasegawa 1/32 F-86 Sabre kit. It’s got all the mid 70’s modeling technology you could want! Raised panel lines. I’ve been thinking about how to approach this. It will be NMF, so I’m thinking I’ll just post shade along the panel lines with some flory and/or a coat of Tamiya smoke.
Being around airliners all the time at work, I’ve been paying closer attention to the panel lines since I started modeling again. I’ve noticed the real deal is entirely random. Some panel lines look like they’re pretty worn, while 20 feet back along the fuselage, for instance, there is no “contrast” between the panels. It’s almost always a subtle sooty black look too. Rarely any browns, unless that’s near the engine nacelle or wheel wells. Of course, we’re not taking off out of improved fields on the Eastern Front either, but you get the picture!