What is a REAL Master Modeler ?

General Discussion General Modeling Discussion
1

Aha , Got your attention didn’t I ?

Well , I could start by saying , " Someone who builds lotsa models and wins lotsa awards ." NOT necessarily True . Masters are those who have put their life into something they love and then felt able to teach others where to start and how to proceed .

A Master Modeler . ? That’s someone who has chosen one of the hardest proffessions or paying Hobbies in the world . Why did I say Hobby ? Did you know that many folks feel that what we do as adults is play with expensive toys . They don’t see any future there .But they will lay odds on a football game and don’t even play the game . They do , Those hardcases , lose more money in one game than I have made in a year sometimes .

But they profess to really know the game .

I have NEVER professed to really have known modeling . Why ? well there’s aspects of it I have never actually done ! Now , how’s that for a surprise .? Yup , it’s true . I have however worked both in a Movie Studio and in a firm that does proffessional Civic models and Golf Courses Et Al . What did I do in the latter? I did all the work they normally turned away because of no knowledge of the criteria necessary to achieve in a courtroom Model .

What did I do in the Former Studio setting .T.V. Commercial set pieces and For movies as part of a team , with knowledge that just doesn’t walk in any door . That being A Masters Degree in Ship Building with the Emphasis on Design and construction Thereof. Seems I chose to pick a line of study while I was learning it Pretty Much moved away from North America and mainly the States . I would NOT move the family to Italy ,South Korea or Japan to pursue This line of work either . .

So I did other constructive things and also enriched my learning with an associates Degree in the construction of Bridges and Manufacturing Facilities . I think they call it " Civil Engineering with an emphasis on Useful Buildings ."

I actually knew of a civil Engineering company that had No Employees that had ever done a model of anything they’d designed or were responsible for getting built . They only drew what the client wanted . I set up an office in the same building . What kind of office ? Well , A Model Building Studio .

In the first month I had signed contracts with four of the firms in the same building to build their Presentation Miniatures . I would’ve called them models . They said that didn’t sound proffessional to their clients .

I then got som Pro - Bono ( Free ) work from the State .A model of a Arkansas River Riverboat Called the " River of Commerce " For the Legislative Library Museum .

Then The Convention Center ( They hadn’t broken Ground Yet .) In Little Rock , had a Cocktail Lounge called the Edgewater Lounge . It was decorated with many one of a kind SteamBoat Paintings .Rich Woods and Trimming in the SteamBoat style . They Commissioned Me to build a model for them . A Steam Boat ( Stern-Wheel vessel With No hull below the waterline ( That part , they thought would be Museum Boring “)I built the Edgewater princess on a tight timeline .The day the lounge had their Grand Opening she was on display , But forty hours from Finished .I got mobbed trying to remove her for completion . really ! Then She was displayed in a beautifully wrought Case of 1/4” lexan , With breathing holes Drilled thereof and placed on twisted clear lexan Square Rod , . She looked like she was floating in the air . The bottom of the case was a furniture like base of fine woods polished to a fine sheen . She resided there for Eight years . Where she is now I do not know .

Many models and firms later ( Law , Real estate Developers and Commercial Building Contracting Firms ), I went back to my first love ,Ships !

Many for the companies I worked with . The Last for Clean Bay/Clean Seas in the San Francisco area . Plus one for a personal Gift for then Clean Seas CEO and owner .

Am I now a Master ? I don’t know .I build for Museums of many types and private individuals when I want to and I do get work on venerable Steam and Sail ,Model ships to Restore and have done two significant small privately owned models of historic , Sail ,the Schooner ( Topsail )( The Elise ) and the Slave Ship " Amistad " .

I do “H.O.” and " N " scale ships ( Scratch ) for me . I do regular plastic kits 1/400 , 1/350 and 1/32 and 1/72 and any box scale , for me and then the models of buildings for my Museum of which I am a board member as well . Oh , and for two years I led a class of novice modelers at the Martinez , Ca , V.A. facility Occupational Therapy Dept . I graduated 85% of the guys and ladies . From crafting ( Model Building Classes ). Am I a Master ? I dunno , The V.A. national Crafts Contest Granted to me a Gold Medal for a odel Ship , Silver for a Plane then a Bronze for a Car , Am I A Master ? You tell me . My students talked my dept.supervisor to enter them without me knowing Because they wanted me to get some kind of acknowledgment for helping them . Again , Am I a Master ? Who Knows ? Tanker - Builder

2

Hmmm… as of late you’ve been busy posting long topics on various things related to the hobby. Your stash getting thin? Just yanking your chain. LOL!

I find your observations interesting though.

3

TB–you have all these projects and no pictures? Or links to the museum that shows them? Let’s see your work man. It sounds like cool stuff. [Y]

4

I can give you an honest answer, Tanker - I AIN’T a master builder!! [t$t] [proplr]

5

Just some opinions, but here they are. While there may be masters who never compete, I am not sure how one identifies them. However, if they do compete, the masters are the ones that bring home lots of awards from competitions. To me, one is not a master if one does not ever build a model from scratch, or a major conversion or modification using raw materials rather than aftermarket parts. Another mark of a master is one who passes on his techniques to newer modelers rather than holding them as secrets. One might study the history of the old apprentice/journyman/master method of learning a craft or profession in the days before trade schools and engineering schools.

While not a requirement for a master, I notice a charactoristic of those I think of as master modelers join model clubs and associations, and volunteer to help run these groups.

6

Hi Bakster :

To give you a definitive answer .No , I know pictures would go a long way to help .Until about six years ago I did NOT have a digital camera .With some help I got from another modeler here I learned how to post photos ! ( Thank You , Marcus McBean ! ) But my first camera now rests in a landfill and the second I haven’t used yet . All the pictures I have are hard copy only . Some quite old so I don’t take them out much .The Scrap Book is incomplete ( I won’t go into the reason for that .)When I get the hang of the new equipment I will Post again .I kind of like doing that ! T.B. Some of the photos were rescued after a natural Disaster !

7

Don;

I can’t travel much so I share skills with those in the Museum and visitors who visit . Everything I do for Real Modeling is scratch .It’s the only thing I know .I do Box models for a pleasant break from doing all the work meself ! T.B.

8

Dear Mr.Dawg !

What’s new in your corner of the world ? You know , with all I have done and enjoyed I Never considered Myself a Master . That’s why I figured to let other modelers decide for me . Who knows one day I may be . T.B.

9

Hi Again .

If you go to NBRRM .com , on line You’ll get the museum page . That stands for the New Braunfels Railroad Museum . Therein you’ll see some of my work such as San Antonio Street in Downtown N.B. This is my most current stuff . T.B. P.S. I don’t know how to set up a link either ! Sorry !

10

Hi , Black Sheep 214 !

Listen , all I can do now on some days is write .Can’t see well on those days .Sooo , I share . My face right now , is three to four inches from the keyboard . When I can model then, , you don’t hear from me . T.B. .

11

Wow! No one has ever called me “Mr.” here before…I feel special! [proplr]

Nothing new over here, other than I have a job that keeps me on the road way more than I should let it (which ain’t really new, I guess). But, I have decided this new year to get some modeling done, so I have completed one (Hasegawa’s 1/72nd SR-71A), and am starting another one (Tamiya’s 1/32nd A6M5 Zeke) for a Japanese Group Build here on FineScale.

How’s about yew?

Gary Mason

12

Ah,Mr.Mason ;

It’s okay if I call you that , right ? Naw , phooey .Gary ;

I managed to pull out the old " Shell Welder " and it looks like it’s her year .Cleaned her up and now it’s detail time .(the stuff done , Before Priming ). T.B.

13

Back in 2003-2004 while browsing my LHS. A gentleman brought in a fully scratch build 1/16 M1A1 Abrams. That’s someone that I would consider a master modeler. I can’t imagine how much work and time had to go into it.

14

No such thing as a master modeler.If so.; anyone who builds a Lindberg model and enters and wins the nationals .Then that person should be crowned a master.

15

You Know:

I think I would consider that person a " Master Kit Modeler " . A " master " I believe can work in any medium . Now Lindbergs kits ain’t easy . That’s for sure .I always use them for say, Hulls for instance .The rest goes in th parts box .

Very accurate ship models made of bone and ivory came out of prisons in the old days .They , in some instances were considered Masters !

16

This thread interested me because of the term “Master”. My father inlaw was considered a master custom car builder, or at least that title was given to him by his peers. I must admit the work he did rivaled anything I had ever seen or seen since.

I once asked him about him being refered to as a master technician, builder. His opinion it was just a title, he said what made him any different than others was that he was a perfectionist and his work had to be perfect in his eyes. He said if someone can produce something better than anyone else I suppose that would make him a master, he didn’t feel he deserved that title, I however do.

As for me, I haven’t mastered anything.