To count or not to count, this mainly depends on what your goals are in modelling, some people are very happy to count rivets for a fully accurate model, other are happy with a model that looks like the subject they are modelling.
The main thing to bear in mind in this area that you should enjoy your modelling regardless of rivets. I have seen many modellers loose their enjoyment of the hobby because they could not get those [censored] rivets right.
Count me a rivet counter. I count them on the real thing when I take notes. I’m also known as Psycho in my social group… but I digress (what is gress anyway…). As long as it makes me happy I’ll do it so I build to the point any further detailing would make me unhappy.
Hmmm…to be honest, if there’re only like five or six rivets, I’ll go ahead and count 'em.
More than twenty or so, forget it.
I guess that’s my general guideline for counting rivets!
It’s hard to be a rivet counter when I build 17th to 19th century ships. Thats why I like them so much. It gives me a chance to express the artist in me. Unless someone pays me to make an authenic Cutty Sark. I will paint mine saphire blue and teal green. Then again, I sell a lot more purple, red, and green Cutty Sarks than I do black. I learned that when I started to build for commission, that the general public doesn’t care about authenticity, but what is pleasing to their eye.
However, I also love to get into a scale project and do the research, then see how close to authenic I can get, then again, I burned out doing that once, so I try not to get to picky about details.
Scott
Would you not be a treenail counter ???[:)]
Yeah, if I have to take my shoes off to get past ten …[;)]
I only build OOB, and don’t really concern myeslf with accuracy issues. Yes, I’ll try to make sure that the kit I’m building was used by a particular country’s military, or was used in a particular Theater of War. I won’t for instance make an Israeli M-1 Abrams or a German F-15 Eagle or something like that. I want to be sure that something was made/used by the country in question first. Also, when it comes to type, I want to be sure it was around and/or used in the time frame I want to model it. That’s about the extent of my accuracy concerns.
The only time I research something is when I want to get an idea how to paint it or what kind of decals I would need. What pattern was used, what markings did it have on it, etc. Otherwise, I don’t quibble over whether the ‘dust cover of the second exhaust grille was mounted outside or inside the hull’ or anything like that.
OOOHHH![:D] Good one. I guess we would have to be, since all our aftermarket stuff comes in pairs or small groups, we have to know how many nails, pikes, blocks, and sheaths we need to order. Don’t even mention if we want to build scale cannons, since the wheels, barrels, pins, and carriages are sometimes sold separate as well. Did I forget to mention door hinges? Say 101(x2) plus for the HMS Victory? How about scale door knobs? Sand buckets, and cannon balls all to scale?
I’m getting dizzy just thinking about it.
Scott
I try to build as accurate as I can, with the references I have on hand. Sometime I go beyond the norm and build what I want to. I have two F-8E’s, one Monogram and one Hasagawa as well as one Hasagawa F-8J. I am going to finish them as VF-111 “Sundowners”, even though I can’t find any reference pictures if them flying the “E” and “J” models, only “D” and “H” models. I know they flew them, so they may not be 100% accurate, but I don’t care. At times you have to build what you like and don’t worry about how others may react or think.
Most of my Kits tend to be OOB, but at times I do splash out on AM kits and parts.
If I modify a Kit I often do it without AM parts by chopping/sanding existing parts or adding bits from the spares box.
Some of the most common mods are:
Replacing hand rails with ones made from wire
Adding new wires and hydraulic tubes, etc.
IMHO - the most important thing is what kind of modeling is making you happy ? If you like exact and historicaly accurate models, than you have to be rivet-counter (though I think, you will never be 100% exact in making models of the real thing). I like to be close to reality, but don’t care so much about details - doesn’t matter to me how many milimeters the model is shorter or longer, when the general look is OK. Aleksander
Here Here Aleksander. well said. When is a hobby not a hobby? When it no longer makes you happy.