So, I have a question for all my fellow tread heads out there. As a youngster trying my hand at kits, I tried dabbling with most of the other options available to me.
Aircraft, ships, cars… I tried them all, but the power of the dark side corrupted every attempt to create, for example, a 1/24th Ford Mustang.
Am I the only one that only has joy with Armour? To the exclusion of almost everything else? [|)]
Many moons ago, at the apex of my modelling abilities (though they are returning, like riding a bike really!) I attempted a Basic patrol boat kit… I think it was a Monogram, and thats basic! What a disaster!! It looked like it had been moulded out of clay and painted with a pump bottle! I tried a Locomotive kit that was another lesson in patience… I keep trying to get off the Armour, but I keep being compelled back…
I just wondered if others had the same issues? Are we cursed or Blessed?
Modelling different subjects calls for different techniques. I have built cars and trucks for my brother, motorbikes for the other brother, aircraft, ships and even sci-fi.
Building techniques are basically the same, whatever the genre; It is the way that you approach the painting makes all the difference. You don’t weather your Sherman the same way you would a Shelby GT (or drive it the same!) Even the truckie’s dusty old Freight Hauler is washed regularly whereas your average WW2 vehicle only got washed when it rained. The effect required should reflects this, but how you go about it is completely different. Check out some of the reviews and tips from other areas on this site and you will see what I mean.
You get better with experience, just don’t expect miracles straight away - even the best aircraft modeller would have difficulty in doing his/her firsty armour kit to the standard they would want. At least you’re already there with the important genre -armour (still use the English spelling of armour over here).
I too have done my share of other kits: warships, NASCAR models but, I am always drawn to armor. I still like doing the occasional warbird, just to keep me honest. It’s the allure of getting the kit finished, all nice, neat and perfect, then laying down the weathering, mud and dirt. It takes guts to throw some dust and dirt, on a project you just poured you heart into!
Like it says in my signature…Pick your poison [}:)]
I ran the full gamot of modelling through the years. A few cars, lots of ships, mass tonage of aircraft but then it happened. A relative bought me my first 1/35 armour kit. I don’t build armour in that scale I protested. Too bad they said. the bill has been tossed and you are stuck with it. It was Tamiya’s SdKfz 232 Armoured Car. I finally opened it one day, the detail was so crisp, so clean. It had lots and lots of parts that actually fit together !!!
I was hooked. Gone are the cars … gone are the ships … gone are the aircraft.
I’m mainly a modern armor/WW2 US armor builder. I do like to build sci-fi kits, helicopters and the occasional car. I build basically anything I feel like at the moment including various aircraft and ships.
When I first started building tanks, I was drawn to them because of the mistakes that the kits allow for. Slipped with the exacto knife?? Battle Damage!!! Mess up with the airbrush?? Perhaps the crew was hung over that day!! Lost a part of the kit?? It must have fallen off when going through that building!! And if there is something that is just so horrible that it cant be explained away, perhaps its time for a tarp!!! LOL[:D]
I hope I have gotten a little better since then, but for some reason the love for armor kits remained.
I will however make time for the occasional Corsair, F-86 Saber, or how about an F-8 Crusader? Ok, ok, so far I have only found time for a couple of Corsairs.
Don’t go to the darkside my young lad…modelling jeff Gordon’s NASCAR
over and over will only lead to adult problems…need I go further.
Embrace armor. Eat, sleep, smell, live armor.
When you stick your hand into a pile of goo that was your buddy…
thank God you have a 120mm Rhinemetal cannon to vent.
I model just about anything that piques my curiosity. “Hey, that new Sherman looks pretty cool.” “1/8 scale B-52! Would look great as a lawn ornament!” “Wow, that popsicle stand diorama would look nice getting stepped on by my Veritech!” You get the idea.
As was stated earlier by Peter, the basic techniques for each type of kit stay the same, it’s just the way that you apply them. Practice and patience, grasshopper.
I started building 1/700 ships, then Monogram airplanes and finally armor. The last 25 years has been strictly armor, with two terrible planes thrown in. I keep wanting to try other projects, but I can’t seem to stay focused on them or even start my kits. Armor is like a comfort level. [:D] I do badly want to build some airplanes, I have a Frank fighter plane waiting patiently for me. Maybe I’m hesitant to try something outside the norm. I’ve never airbrushed one yet. But armor is my first choice and I may never run out of projects.
"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it.-R.E.Lee
I do mostly armor, but I really enjoy doing a ship. I have done 1 aa target airplane and I was flat out terrible on it. (give me vinyl tracks over landing gear any day!)
i think i’m going with add-on armor, maybe some sandbags and a spare road wheel, but i’ve put in a requistion for that tarp… let’s spare no expense for our boys at the front ! [:D]
frosty[:)]
Well… nice to know my addiction is a shared blessing/curse.
The saddest thing is the unmade kits(43) are almost all aircraft! Relatives are great for handing unexpected challenges… Ian likes to do models… lets get him a triceratops for his birthday LOL… I like the thought of biulding other kits, but I like leaving them in the box more…LOL
Ian
Actually. I enjoy building all kinds of kits. I usually go back to armor because my small scale stuff goes together so quickly. That’s also why I have over 378 1/72 scale Armor kits built, as opposed to my 240 Aircraft, 288 ships, 3 buildings and 7 cars.
You mean there is something other than armor to build? LOL… I have built just about everything during my life. I started building models in the 1950’s and wennnt the whole route. But Armor is my passion. And in armor I like the sodt skins the best.
