Drifting away from reality.....

[lesthegringo]

No, not losing my mind, more just happy to not be absolutely constrained by reality when it comes to models.

 

To explain, while I like my models to look nice and try to make them as well as I can, I am finding that sticking faithfully to paint schemes or having certain bits and bobs correctly positioned on the model is not anywhere near the top of my priorities. There, I've said it, confession at last.

 

An example is the forthcoming Buccaneer from Airfix. I want a Desert Storm bird to accompany my desert pink Tornado. Apparently the first Bucc out of the box is not that version.... but I have already decided that I am going to get one and do it as a desert pink bird. It will be wrong. Purists will condemn me to the nether hells for eternity for it (good job I'm atheist) but I want the two to sit together. The funny thing is that I suspect that 99.99% of the people that I would come into contact with that will see the models would not have any idea that there was something amiss; in fact I suspect that over 90% couldn't even name the aircraft. So it doesn't matter about others opinion, I am going to please myself. After all is said and done they are my models.

 

I have found that I am really enjoying some real 'what-if' schemes on things like Mig-21's, and I have on the bench a Bobcat Yak 22 in a wholly ficticious three colour camo (not least because it means I can avoid a bare metal finish) that really looks good on it. Some are the schemes are really complicated just to see what they look like (5 colour splinter camo on a MiG-23 anyone?).

 

Yes I have models that I like to do with real schemes and stick as closely to the real look as I realistically can, like a Wolfpack Tomcat, a Sundowners F-4J, but I tend only to do that if the scheme is interesting in itself. I know that there are some on this site who do want to replicate everything as faithfully as they can and I totally respect that. However I think what finally turned me in the direction I took was that trying to keep the accuracy as high as possible was what started to make me shelve kits, as I sort of ran out of steam trying to make correct details that realistically weren't going to make a noticeable difference to the finished model. The ones I did finish were where the scheme was interesting and there was not a lot of detail available to confirm what it really was, allowing me to use my imagination and artistic license. 

 

The start was things like worrying about whether the interior shade of green was correct, that the undercarriage is light grey rather than RLM60, that the position of and even inclusion of some of the cockpit instumentation is not 100% were stopping me, yet in hindsight most of it was all but invisible on the finished model. I've stopped all that now, if it looks OK that is good enough. Ditto with some of the aftermarket bits, they are all great but some are just hidden away and not worth the extra effort and so I stopped getting them

 

I know I am not alone on this but I really wonder just how many of us there are...

 

Les

[Little Timmy]

I know you think your the only one, but ...

I too build models just for me. Who cares if it's missing 13 rivets  ( who stands there long enough to count them all anyway? )

 

I once rusted out a Corvett,  just to see how many people would notice that Fiberglass doesn't rust ...

 

 

[cngaero]

.Don't beat yourself up about Les.

As a hobby, we're all individuals in the way we approach it and what we want to get out of it.

For me, I do like to scratch build certain things on some kits, such as cockpits and the like, but only of I think the kit calls for it. For example, if the kit comes with a fairly roomy interior and an open canopy, I'll put some detailing into it. If not, it will be built completely out of the box.

On the other hand, if I am building the model or a diorama for someone else I will pull all the stops out.

As I stated earlier, it's a hobby and at the end of the day, we do it because it's supposed to give us pleasure, but we reserve the rite to take from it what we will.

There are a good many modellers who constantly produce museum quality models, many of whom regularly display their beautifully detailed and superbly finished models to the delight of us all here on Britmodeller. 

There is plenty of space for us all within this wonderful hobby. Whether your model is totally scratch built, or a superbly detailed kit, or just simply built totally out of the box, as long as it makes you smile, then it's has done its job.

 

Chris.

 

 

[RobL]

You should try building a Revell 1/48 Huey Hog.  You can't build anything that rivet counters would call accurate out of the box.  Plenty of people must have built them out of the box though, because it's been around since the 60s and Revell still sell it!

Edited April 1, 2022 by RobL

[psdavidson]

5 hours ago, lesthegringo said:

So it doesn't matter about others opinion, I am going to please myself. After all is said and done they are my models.

This is the only thing that matters. Ultimately, you are participating in this hobby for enjoyment and relaxation.

If you experience neither, there is no point.

Build how you llike.

 

/P

[JohnT]

3 minutes ago, psdavidson said:

This is the only thing that matters. Ultimately, you are participating in this hobby for enjoyment and relaxation.

If you experience neither, there is no point.

Build how you llike.

 

/P

Absolutely!  Right on the money

Arguably no model is ever “perfect” Even if totally duplicated in 1/1 scale it’s still only a replica. So do what you enjoy for you

[IanC]

I think that's why I'm enjoying the Matchbox group build so much. Currently, I'm doing a 1/72 P-47 Thunderbolt. By modern standards it's fairly crude of course, more a toy than a serious replica. But painted up and with some decent decals it certainly looks like a Thunderbolt, and it's been great doing it without all the angst I normally associate with 'serious modelling'!

[jackroadkill]

22 minutes ago, IanC said:

I think that's why I'm enjoying the Matchbox group build so much.

 

Same here - if getting all the details spot-on was the intention, none of us would have built anything in that GB.

 

OP, I'm firmly of the opinion that we all approach our builds slightly differently, and our methods tick slightly different boxes for each individual.  I'm not a hard and fast details man because it's easy to fall into getting upset with things like material thickness etc.  Life's too short to panic too much about plastic models, I reckon.  I just build 'em how I like 'em.

[kiseca]

Full support from me. I don't generally do what-ifs, I nearly always build one of the livery options that came in the box, but if for any particular thing I have a choice between more historically accurate or more interesting to look at, I'll choose aesthetics. I made the pylons aluminium instead of white on my Tigershark, because I thought it would add a bit more variety to the model. When I was building a Sturmovik, the box didn't show the camo pattern well so I just made up the invisible bits. I looked at a few photos but didn't put too much effort into it. Then, there were three different aircraft choices. I liked the decal choices for the second option, they looked nicer, but the second option had a grey / green spinner and the first option had a red spinner. I thought the red looked nicer, so I painted the spinner red, but used the more interesting decal set.

 

I practiced pre-shading on a Marine Rafale to give a weathered look. The end result is nothing like any Rafale I've seen, but it adds some detail or interest to what is otherwise a completely grey colour scheme. So mine has some fading on the wing surfaces, and the control surfaces are a couple of shades lighter than the fixed surfaces. It's not historically correct, but it looks plausible. To me, anyway. 😆

 

So I'm completely with you. I don't build these things to be the most accurate representation of an original aircraft that I can manage, and once I've built them, there's nothing to do with them except look at them, so I build them to be pleasing for me to look at. To show off the shapes, to have details that keep one looking for a while. "Looks good" trumps "Looks accurate" for me any day of the week.

[IanHx]

They're your models, if you want to do a purple-over-orange Spitfire, go for it !

[AdrianMF]

You aren’t alone in that!

 

If you aren’t building your models from scratch out of machined metal, tin foil, wood, linen or carbon fibre composites, they aren’t exact replicas. So it’s always a trade off between how close you want to get to “reality” and how much work you put in. As long as there’s a zone between those two that overlaps, then you’ve got a satisfying hobby that works for you.

 

I have a sliding scale, depending on how close I am to finishing and how much I want to open the next kit.

 

On 02/04/2022 at 11:36, jackroadkill said:

Same here - if getting all the details spot-on was the intention, none of us would have built anything in that GB.

I resent that remark! All my builds in the Matchbox GB look exactly like Matchbox kits…

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

 

[jackroadkill]

1 hour ago, AdrianMF said:

I resent that remark! All my builds in the Matchbox GB look exactly like Matchbox kits…

 

That's just showing off, Adrian - mine looks like a 1950's propaganda comic representation of something that was supposed to look futuristic but, by the time eighteen months had gone past, looked both arcane and shonky in equal measure.  Mind you, I did choose the works Matchbox kit ever.

[galaxyg]

On 4/1/2022 at 4:27 PM, lesthegringo said:

I know I am not alone on this but I really wonder just how many of us there are...

 

Many I would guess.  The way I see it - Anyone who builds models purely as a hobby, is doing it for their own satisfaction.  I build my way and if others like it (usually), great. Some people gain their satisfaction by a strong adherence to the real thing and correcting every detail, others in different areas such as experimentation with camo schemes or just on sheer number of builds or whatever. Whatever floats your boat. Or lifts your plane.

[Alan P]

Mate, it's your life, your hobby, your model, just knock yourself out! There are always a few people who won't be able to resist telling you where you went 'wrong' (it's your work, you get to decide what's wrong or not) but the joy of a forum like this is, you can literally ignore them 😁

 

As for reality, as @kiseca said people regularly post  'unrealistic' aircraft all the time (a what-if sub-genre known as 'weathering' 🤣) so don't feel self-conscious about your work 😊👍

[SAT69]

On 4/1/2022 at 3:52 PM, psdavidson said:

his is the only thing that matters. Ultimately, you are participating in this hobby for enjoyment and relaxation.

If you experience neither, there is no point.

Build how you llike.

AMEN!

[Giorgio N]

Really I can't see how anyone could see anything wrong with this, it's a hobby and anyone is happy to enjoy it as he/she prefers, we are all different and we all may find more pleasure in some aspects than in others and decide to build models one way or the other. As long as this makes the individual modeller happy, to me that's the way to go ! A hobby should provide relax and satisfaction before any other thing.

 

There is however one thing that always puzzles me in these discussions... speaking in general, so hope that the OP does not take offense as it is not a comment meant to be personal.

 

Why is it that every time people says that they're doing something in certain way they have to add something like "I build for myself so who cares if... " ?????

Comment generally applied to situations where the if is followed by ".. the kit is not accurate", "the colours are wrong" and so on.

Really, whom do you think the others build for ? Do you folk realize that, with a few exceptions (commission builds, professional modelers for tv/cinema/museums, architectural models and similar stuff) all modellers just build for themselves ????

Personally I'm the kind of modeller who likes to get colours and details right and goes through books and websites (and of course this forum) to get the information I need. I'm the kind of modellers who gets annoyed if company xyz issues a Spitfire that 3 mm shorter.. do you think I do it to show something ? Do you think I care if someone notices or not a certain detail in my model ? The important thing is that I notice it ! I don't go searching for the right colour because I'm interested in someone else telling me "oh, that's the right colour", I want the right colour because I want to see the right colour on my model. It's my model, I build it for myself so it has to satisfy my personal criteria (and of course like every modeller sometime I do it right and sometime I don't).

Same if I use a certain technique, do you think I do it to make other modellers happy or to say "hei look, I also do preshading..." ? I couldn't care less, I do it because I want to improve as a modeller, because for me improving is something I want to do.

And same story with kits, if I want certain things in a kit it's because the kit has to meet my standard for me to open the wallet, not someone else's

 

And just like me, the same applies to all other modellers here, regardless of what their interest may be, regardless if they are obsessed with every minute detail or if they want to build models of subjects that never existed. Almost of of us just build for themselves in almost all situations, why do someone think that building for oneself is such a unique thing ? Sometime it feels like some use this tag to apply a sort of moral value to this, as in justifying what they do, when in reality it's simply a basic aspect of a hobby that is mostly solitary in nature.  Really, we are all building things our own way becayse we build for ourselves. If someone reading realizes that he's not building for himself but rather to satisfy someone else's desires, then I suggest looking into himself and try understanding if everything's all right...

 

Ok, rant over ! Apologies for the tone, sometime I can sound a bit harsh....

[ckw]

52 minutes ago, Giorgio N said:

Really, whom do you think the others build for ? Do you folk realize that, with a few exceptions (commission builds, professional modelers for tv/cinema/museums, architectural models and similar stuff) all modellers just build for themselves ????

Well there is one other important group you've left out here - those who build for competitions - and there are quite a few - in which case you are building to standards set by someone else. I think some find it difficult to pursue any activity in a vacuum - they need an externally set challenge to provide the motivation to continue. I've found that myself with some activities, though not modelling.

 

I'm generally an OOB modeller, though that said, my personal quirk is that I always have to do something outside the instructions. Perhaps opening up a canopy or cutting and repositioning  control surfaces - usually nothing major, just something to put my stamp on the completed product.

 

As to colours - well for me the collection as a whole is the important thing, not one individual kit. So I strive for accuracy in colour so that there is consistency across the collection. Weathering - not for me. The process simply doesn't interest me, though I am in awe of the results some people produce! 

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[Bertie McBoatface]

On 4/1/2022 at 4:27 PM, lesthegringo said:

I know I am not alone on this but I really wonder just how many of us there are...

 

One more over here Les.

 

I enjoy the hobby a lot more since I stopped attempting the impossible (the reproduction of reality in scale) and just relaxed and made things that please me. Funnily enough, other people seem to like them more too, possibly because I actually finish them!

[Bertie McBoatface]

On 4/22/2022 at 12:03 PM, ckw said:

'm generally an OOB modeller, though that said, my personal quirk is that I always have to do something outside the instructions. Perhaps opening up a canopy or cutting and repositioning  control surfaces - usually nothing major, just something to put my stamp on the completed product.

 

I like to do that too, it makes the model feel more 'mine'.

 

I never forget that the majority of the work of modelmaking has already happened at an industrial facility in a land far away, and that my contribution is final assembly and painting. With that in mind, making just a little change in my part of the making seems like a big increase in my ownership of the final result.

[lesthegringo]

On 4/22/2022 at 12:53 PM, Giorgio N said:

Really I can't see how anyone could see anything wrong with this, it's a hobby and anyone is happy to enjoy it as he/she prefers, we are all different and we all may find more pleasure in some aspects than in others and decide to build models one way or the other. As long as this makes the individual modeller happy, to me that's the way to go ! A hobby should provide relax and satisfaction before any other thing.

 

There is however one thing that always puzzles me in these discussions... speaking in general, so hope that the OP does not take offense as it is not a comment meant to be personal.

 

Why is it that every time people says that they're doing something in certain way they have to add something like "I build for myself so who cares if... " ?????

Comment generally applied to situations where the if is followed by ".. the kit is not accurate", "the colours are wrong" and so on.

Really, whom do you think the others build for ? Do you folk realize that, with a few exceptions (commission builds, professional modelers for tv/cinema/museums, architectural models and similar stuff) all modellers just build for themselves ????

Personally I'm the kind of modeller who likes to get colours and details right and goes through books and websites (and of course this forum) to get the information I need. I'm the kind of modellers who gets annoyed if company xyz issues a Spitfire that 3 mm shorter.. do you think I do it to show something ? Do you think I care if someone notices or not a certain detail in my model ? The important thing is that I notice it ! I don't go searching for the right colour because I'm interested in someone else telling me "oh, that's the right colour", I want the right colour because I want to see the right colour on my model. It's my model, I build it for myself so it has to satisfy my personal criteria (and of course like every modeller sometime I do it right and sometime I don't).

Same if I use a certain technique, do you think I do it to make other modellers happy or to say "hei look, I also do preshading..." ? I couldn't care less, I do it because I want to improve as a modeller, because for me improving is something I want to do.

And same story with kits, if I want certain things in a kit it's because the kit has to meet my standard for me to open the wallet, not someone else's

 

And just like me, the same applies to all other modellers here, regardless of what their interest may be, regardless if they are obsessed with every minute detail or if they want to build models of subjects that never existed. Almost of of us just build for themselves in almost all situations, why do someone think that building for oneself is such a unique thing ? Sometime it feels like some use this tag to apply a sort of moral value to this, as in justifying what they do, when in reality it's simply a basic aspect of a hobby that is mostly solitary in nature.  Really, we are all building things our own way becayse we build for ourselves. If someone reading realizes that he's not building for himself but rather to satisfy someone else's desires, then I suggest looking into himself and try understanding if everything's all right...

 

Ok, rant over ! Apologies for the tone, sometime I can sound a bit harsh....

Certainy no offence taken, as I stated I respect anyone who wishes to get as much accuracy as possible. Ultimately it comes down to why we do any hobby, you do it for self gratification, or maybe as something to take your mind off something else, or as a challenge to yourself...... the list of reasons are endless. That doesn't mean they are wrong, just that they are different reasons. I realised that explaining why you like something is pointless, if you like it you like it.

 

One comment that did stick out from another post was that as in my case, relaxing means you are less likely to shelve a kit. My change in approach means that I actually finish models.

 

Cheers

 

Les

[kiseca]

I can see both sides to that. We're all forming a community here around a shared interest. The models on display on Britmodeller show the standards achievable. Not everyone is to that top standard, but it sets a bar. When I'm admiring someone else's model I'm comparing their skills to my own without making a conscious decision to. I'll see something they've done and think I can't do that but I'd like to try it, or I don't know if I'll ever get to the standard of finish that this person gets around their cockpit frames. Or this weathering looks fantastic, that looks overdone for my tastes, or that model actually would look really good with a bit more weathing or patina here and there. I think I could replicate this, I don't think I could replicate that, I don't want to replicate the other. It's all part of the learning process. Discovering things that are possible and then deciding whether to try add that skill or method to your own experience or not.

 

And then I post my own models on here. I wouldn't do that if I didn't care what anyone thought. I also wouldn't do it if I felt I was miles below the level of what absolutely everyone else is posting. I'd feel out of place. But I post them. Not because I neccessarily want to be critiqued to death, but I want others to see them and it's nice to get outside feedback. It's nice that they're not just hidden away on a shelf where only I, and a family that isn't into modelling, ever see them. It's art, and I've always felt an artist, regardless of skill, isn't an artist without an audience. Art for me is the sharing of ideas, impressions and emotions so that others can appreciate it, whether it inspires them to try new things, encourages them to say yes I can do as well as or better than that so I'm now confident to share my own work, or just gives them pleasure to see how a particular model turned out, or information about the challenges the kit threw at the builder.

 

So yeah, I don't particularly care if someone doesn't like the general lack of weathering my models have (I suck at weathering) or the quality of my joint filling if it's good enough for me, but I do care that people can appreciate bits that they like, or give advice when I say I struggled with this part or that part, because the culture on this site is always encouraging, always positive, and always inclusive. So it works. That makes it an unthreatening place to get feedback It's encouraging, not judgemental, and I like that. I care about the feedback, so I share my models.

 

Yes I have my own standards, but sharing my models and methods on here, and looking at other people's builds, has changed those standards. And that is good.