What is Pro Built to you? Someone whom has a few kits under the belt? Someone whom can weather? A Shep Paine or Tony Greenland? Obviously yes to the latter, but why? This is in conjunction with my other post on the Ebay member whom posted a fairly plain build, yet called it “Pro”. Let’s stir the pot even more.
My definition is pretty simple…
First, they are recognized by their peers (all or nearly all), as someone who has “mastered” all aspects of modeling in the genre for which they are identified as being a “professional”. Second, the individual themselves CANNOT bestow the moniker “professional” on themselves…their peers must do it.
I agree on this one
something MUCH better than what I do.
if it makes me wonder “how did they do that” or “I wish I could build like that” I view it as “professional work.”
someone who gets paid to build simple as that
it dont mean they are good they just get paid
Someone who is Pro Built would have client satisfaction, budget, and the deadline for the project on their mind while standing in line at the grocery store. Similar to a Fine Artist. and just for comparison, a Hobbiest would be far more concerned with the accuracy of scale, length, and contour of the ‘weld bead’ that would be fabricated out of putty along the seam of two panels, or the gauge of brake lines and the position behind the wheels where they wouldn’t be seen anyway, because their buddies and other hobbiests would notice and be thinking about important things like that, while standing in line at the grocery store.
I have to respectfully disagree with this standard. Simply getting paid to do a job does not indicate professionalism or make someone a professional. If it did, I could claim to be a professional:
Lawnmower, babysitter, snow removal specialist, landscaper, auto mechanic, gardener, greenskeeper, clothing salesman, video salesman, car washer, home cleaner, exterior painter, interior painter, carpenter, home construction assistant, art framer, and on, and on, and on…
I earned money doing each of these jobs at some point during my life. However, I was never a “professional” doing any of them.
From: http://dictionary.reference.com
Note #11
professional -adjective
| 1. | following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain: a professional builder. |
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| 2. | of, pertaining to, or connected with a profession: professional studies. |
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| 3. | appropriate to a profession: professional objectivity. |
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| 4. | engaged in one of the learned professions: A lawyer is a professional person. |
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| 5. | following as a business an occupation ordinarily engaged in as a pastime: a professional golfer. |
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| 6. | making a business or constant practice of something not properly to be regarded as a business: “A salesman,” he said, “is a professional optimist.” |
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| 7. | undertaken or engaged in as a means of livelihood or for gain: professional baseball. |
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| 8. | of or for a professional person or his or her place of business or work: a professional apartment; professional equipment. |
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| 9. | done by a professional; expert: professional car repairs. |
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-noun
| 10. | a person who belongs to one of the professions, esp. one of the learned professions. |
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| 11. | a person who earns a living in a sport or other occupation frequently engaged in by amateurs: a golf professional. |
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| 12. | an expert player, as of golf or tennis, serving as a teacher, consultant, performer, or contestant; pro. |
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| 13. | a person who is expert at his or her work: You can tell by her comments that this editor is a real professional |
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Back in the day, you were. Until the 1980’s amateur sports including the Olympics, disallowed anyone who had taken money in any way for participation in the sport, whether prize money of formal sponsorship.
As to quality of the work, well, haven’t we all met the “Porfessional” who didn’t know dung from Shinola, whose work we had to have redone by someone better? Yet, they still get to call themselves “Professional.”
…Until the 1980’s amateur sports including the Olympics, disallowed anyone who had taken money in any way for participation in the sport, whether prize money of formal sponsorship…
Off topic rant: This is the reason the Olympics have gone downhill. If I want to watch professionals compete, I’ll watch the NFL. The moment the US allowed pros into the Olympic games, is the day the spirit of the Olympics were lost.
Define Pro-Built you say…well, that means it was “built by a professional”. [:D]
Of course, the definition of a “professional” as it relates to our hobby is a tricky one…the dictionary definition is a good starting point (thanks to AJ!) but that just means that anyone can be a “professional” just may not be a particularly good one. Think of all the “pro” athletes out there whose names you’ve never, and likely never will, hear of…they are stilll “professionals” because they are engaging in a profession as a way of earning their salary for what they do.
Being a professional modeller would be a very demanding job I’d think if someone did it full time as a sole source of income…I mean consider if you will how many models would have to be built and sold to a customer, museum, etc. for you to earn the median US income of around $40k annual and be a true “full-time” professional in this arena.
Being “professional grade” is a dubious thing too, so trying to say that something is a “pro-built” model is just a gimmick IMHO for the unwary. There are many professions with members that are highly paid but with low or average skills…yet they are still considered professionals. In our hobby it’s more a matter of skill and technique as demonstrated in the final product that sets someone or a particular build apart from the crowd, not an artificial label of “master” or “professional” IMHO. Of course, this is true only if you can recognize the skill and techniques applied, if an outsider or uninformed then these types of labels are the easy way out to make such distinctions…so they are used and not always in an accurate or ethical manner. [;)].
Haven’t met a Pro Modeler to be honest. How one could make a decent living building models is beyond me,WAYYYY too labor intensive.
I would prefer the term EXPERT built to be used, which would eliminate 99% of the so called pros out there right now. There are a few what I would consider experts on this board right now, Gino Q would be one of them as he has either served on or around many of these modern machines as well as being a pretty darn skilled modeler to boot.
There are some expert aircraft guys on the boards as well. Their work is always just a notch or 2 above what I can accomplish… perhaps one of these days.
While I understand why some would choose this definition (#11) for a “Pro-Built” modeler, I personally prefer the last definition from your post as my personal standard.
| 13. | a person who is expert at his or her work: You can tell by her comments that this editor is a real professional |
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Regards,
Well, there are people who are professional model makers, ones who make their living building models. I know this because I used to be one. This is not someone who slaps a kit together, throws some paint on it and peddles it on E-bay, but one who works for a company that builds scratch-built models from blueprints of whatever it is their client wants, for display in museums, business offices, public display, product prototyping and testing. People who do this sort of work are part draftsmen, part machinist and part artist, these are not skills that most hobbyists have mastered. These are usually extremely expensive models, costing tens of thousands of dollars to well over a hundred thousand dollars a piece. Not too many people do this sort of thing anymore, as CAD and rapid prototyping machines have taken over much of this type of work. I have worked for two different companies doing this sort of work, plus free-lance on the side.
Hollywood model makers are another example, though their products generally are not made to the exacting specifications that say a wind-tunnel test model aircraft would be. Still, they are professionals and make their living by making models.
This is what I consider to be a professional model maker, not some self-professed “Expert” on E-bay.
Ditto to above. Couldn’t agree more. A self-professed Ebay expert does not make one a professional anything. Based on most of the models I have seen there, they are definitely not “Pro-Built”.
what the heck, here’s my 2 cents.
I belive there there are several levels of skill, pro not being the top, and you don’t need to sell your work or be judged by others to have this level, however the work in question would have to be up to certen standards (which can vary a lot).
-n00b (aka newbie): Just begining, not very much still required or asked for. Like with every other skill, you have to start from the bottom and work your way up.
-beginner: They have a good idea of everything involved and just need pratice.
-intermediate: Has a grasp of the more advanced aspects of model building and is giving it a try
-good: they have the understanding to do all related model building techniques and produce consistently good work.
- Skilled: very good at what they do, impressive models
-Pro: outstanding work with amazing detail, few if any falts can be noticed.
-Master: basicly they can take their model and with the right light stick it into a photo and ask if it’s real or not, and have most people say it’s real. Ture attention to detail that can leave you stairing at the model for hours and still finding new things. Has to be consistently done, not the odd model.
For those who build models to be sold to clients the time factor comes into play. I would however consider it secondary unless i wanted it in like say a month, i wouldn’t expect a masterpiece. A ture master level model i’m thinking something like a year, more for complex models such as ships. Basicly if you put a time limit on the model you want built then your reducing quality and increasing cost, a master level model just costs a LOT and you can throw your deadline out the window because the builder will.
^ I’m a n00b…
Ron
OT, true, but let’s not forget that most countries amateurs are really professionally trained athletes usually supported by the State. In that case our “Pros” would be a wash with their “amateurs”. Think old Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and China to name a few.
Anyone that gets paid to do the work.
Sadly, the only distinction between a good professional and a bad one is how long he remains a professional. Its up to the consumer to quit looking at the “deal” he’s getting and scrutinze what he is spending his hard earned cash for. Maybe if more folks did that, the amatuer professionals would work harder and there’d be less kitche.