I was thinking about the two today. A very good friend of mine is an excellent modeler and is primarily an AFV guy. He’s done some wonderful a/c and I’d like to see him do more but he won’t mess with them. I’ve tried some AFV pieces in the past and blew through them. Granted, an AFV Pak43 (or whatever) took me a while to build, seemed to be thousands of pieces.
But even my friend says that over half of the build is paint and weather. I agree.
I was wondering, is one harder than the other? And does that difference determine what some people build?
I think a/c are much more difficult, as far as the build goes. Got seams to fill and sand all around the thing, clear parts to NOT screw up. For finishing, you can’t just throw some mud on it to hide flaws. There is something to be said for a well done tank though. I know I couldn’t do anywhere near as good a job on them as I have seen here!
My opinion of hardest to easiest: (just generaly speaking)
Scratchbuilt
Ships (well, some ships anyway)
Aircraft
Armor
Sci-Fi (kinda ties in with a/c and armor, depending on subject)
Fermis, I agree with ya for the most part but I’d have to have cars closer to the top. Those glossy, lint free, absolutely perfect finishes are way beyond accepted stess level.
I had an AMT Viper SRT, and for the life of me couldnt figure out the parts under the hood to put it together properly. It did have alot of flash which didnt help but I am not a car person.
As for the question at hand, between armor and aircraft. IMO I think Armor is easier than Aircraft.
Aircraft same to have more more inner stuff to delay the build (cockpits,engines,etc.) that need painting before main assembly), while armor tanks to hit the snags during the suspension build, especially indy track links. Each has equally difficult but different aspects of weathering and finishing if that is the preferred finish.
I guess it all depends on the person…depends on one’s skills, subject matter, and degrees of detail. As I mentioned in a previous thread, I did armor for years and switched to aircraft. Each have their own challenges.
Let me only comment on armor versus aircraft. As a relativer newcomer to “serious” building, I find that the challenge in building armor is dealing with the small PE parts like the tool clasps (if one chooses to use them) and the myriad of methods that one can use to realistically paint the different camo schemes and weather the model.
For me, aircraft are more difficult because of the seams and curved surfaces that must be dealt with; and having to replace detail that is lost to smooth seams can be difficult. For example, re-scribing panel lines is still black magic to me. While small PE parts can still present a challenge, they tend to be in areas that aren’t immediately visible, like cockpit details. They’re easier to hide than in armor models.
I have limited experience with ships and cars, although the Revell 1/144 Fletcher class destroyer may be next in line.
Armor is the easier of the two. A paint smudge is a horror show on aircraft, (especially the clear parts) while that same smudge can be covered with mud on a tank.
Gotta agree. Mostly into armor because it is so forgiving. Make a mistake and weathering will cover up most of it. A/c might not have the parts count but seems way more dependent on a flawless paint job and attention to seams. Unless I mistook you Manny and you were just commenting on what you were wearing?..
Seriously I would have to say that although I build and buy mostly A/C I find them a little more difficult than armor. Like everyone has alluded to building A/C you have to be a little more careful with all the fiddly bits. i.e canopy, gear, various antennas. Armor for me has very tedious things like painting all the wheels and doing the tracks, but they tend to be much more forgiving to a little ham fisting.
I do think that getting the weathering right is a little tricky with armor as you walk a fine line between just right and ridiculous, and most armor project just don’t look right without any wreathing whereas you can get a way with an A/C with a factory finish.
Just my rambling thought on a question with no clear answer like the chicken and an egg dilemma.
Single-wing aircraft are a walk in the park compared to armor. Add a second wing and a ton of rigging and it’s a whole new ballgame though - puts 'em up there closer to sailing ships, which IMO are the toughest subjects to master.
Did the old Constitution model back in '70s. About a month to put the model together and another 6 months to do the rigging with the help of my dad. Nothing harder than sailing ships IMHO.
I had a hunch armor would be called the easier of the two but I too am biased because I build aircraft. I marvel at some of the finishes I see on armor sometimes and I think the weather is the hardest part of armor, much more so than the build. A/C, like mentioned, can be a pain to build as well as paint. Toss in weather, if you are into that, and it adds another layer to difficulty.
They each have their unique levels of difficulty.
In my opinion AFV’s are easier despite the higher parts count. I have built both AFVs and aircraft, and the AFV’s have always turned out better. But they are both fairly easy. depends on what you like.