Howdy, all!
I’m going to discuss something I have noticed more and more over the past few years. My discussion (as usual) will pertain to the hobby of scale modeling, but I see it elsewhere, too.
It usually begins like this—someone displays their model at a club meeting, online, or at a show. As people file by and look at the work, I hear the comments: “I could never do that.”
Why is that? What is preventing anyone from doing similar work?
For the tl;dr crowd, my reaction towards this attitude can be summed up thusly: When you say “I can’t”, it usually translates to “I won’t”.
Let’s get back to the discussion. In many cases, the answer comes down to curiosity, time, budget, and the desire to do what it takes.
Lets look at several categories:
“I do not have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do that.” There’s no crime in this. Take the time you need to learn the techniques and skills to “do that”, whatever “that” is. Learn basic scratchbuilding. Take time to perfect your assembly skills. Practice using the airbrush wherever you can. Be curious. Be willing to try new stuff.
“I don’t want to spend the time it takes to do that.” Fair enough. I know a good many modelers who simply do not want to fool around with advanced techniques, and most of them are happy to knock kits together in a few nights, apply basic paint jobs, and use the kit decals. That’s fine. The issue I have comes when someone verbalizes their desire to make their models better but refuses to acknowledge that it does take additional time, both practicing the technique and applying it to the model.
“I don’t want to spend the money to do that.” Again, this is a fair comment. Some modelers lack the financial wherewithal to go and buy ready-made detail sets. However, there’s always a way. When I started adding details to my models, the materials came from stuff lying around the house. My mother’s sewing box provided thread and other “soft” materials. Dad’s workbench provided scraps of wood and metal. Packaging provided thin plastic sheet. When the Bell South guys did work on the lines, we could usually talk them out of scrap wire. Add to these paper clips, staples, foil pie pans, and other stuff that was usually thrown away, and you have a trove of stuff to make details from. The garden provided dirt and gravel for groundwork (for as often as I did groundwork—which was almost never). So, you don’t have to dump a ton of dough on special stuff—look around.
When it comes to assembly materials, instead of buying dedicated “hobby” putty, there are alternatives. I learned early that I could use Hot Stuff (our standby CA back in the day) and baking soda as filler. In fact, I still use CA—but not the baking soda. Instead of forking over a few bucks for a 2 oz tube of Squadron Green Putty, for a few dollars more I could buy a tube of automotive scratch filler that was twice the size for a buck more. I could buy those little tubes of Krazy Glue for a buck, and it worked the same as Hot Stuff.
The two areas I didn’t skimp on were paint and cement. I would be wise in what I bought--$2 for a 2oz bottle of Plastic Weld vs. $1.98 for 1oz of Micro Weld—and I would do my best to make sure it didn’t get wasted.
Oh yeah—if I wanted something, I’d save my money. I knew that there was no such thing as instant gratification. My parents would chip in from time to time, but only to an extent. So, yeah, I learned to plan and budget.
“I don’t want to be criticized/shown up/embarrassed.” Aha! Now we’re getting closer to the truth.
I have only once in 45 years witnessed someone belittling someone else’s work. Modelers are generally helpful people. Ask a dozen modelers a question; you are likely to receive a dozen equally valid answers to that question. We all want to be told we’ve done a good job. We all want acceptance. But with that territory comes being counseled. Most modelers I know want to help you, and my best advice is to listen. If you ask a question, listen, then take the advice to heart and try the techniques you’ve been taught. That’s how we learn. Making mistakes is part and parcel of everything we do…how we deal with those mistakes is what can encourage or discourage.
“I don’t want to.” The truth for a lot of this is that some folks simply do not want to vary their routine or get out of their personal rut. They love looking at the results of these techniques on other people's models, but they don’t want to make the investment in time, practice, and learning to apply it to theirs. Which is fine—again, there are as many ways to enjoy the hobby as there are people enjoying it.
Notice I said “investment”—that’s what one needs to make in any endeavor. Decide what it is you want to do, take some time to learn and practice until you get where you want to be. As you achieve each goal, find new goals. They need not be huge goals—in fact, small steps are more desirable than major goals. Write them down. And know this—some of these goals will take some time to achieve and may stretch over several projects.
Perhaps the one goal I cannot stress enough—Finish the model you are working on. Don’t worry that there are issues with it. Why? Finishing a project is a goal in and of itself. And honestly, many of the issues you know exists on the model will probably not be seen by most other modelers. I’ve seen several instances of someone going back and forth on one model for years, reworking minor issues so many times that they become large issues. Do your best, and move on. Do better on the next project.
By all means, if (more like “when”—I make mistakes on my models all the time) you make a mistake, take some time to analyze what went wrong, what you need to do to fix it, and make an attempt at rectifying the problem. Tossing a model into the wastebasket teaches you nothing. Yes, there are times when the solution to the problem is to bin the model and start fresh. But don’t automatically think that is the solution. Set the model aside. Let it sit for a week. Then take a look at the model. You might be surprised at how easy the fix is.
As I tell folks in Model Building 101, there isn’t a whole lot you can mess up that cannot be fixed. You simply need to be willing to be patient and spend the time it takes to do the job. There are no secrets—most techniques you will learn are out there in the world, in magazines, books, online articles, YouTube videos, at the local hobby shop (if you are fortunate enough to have a good one), and at club meetings.
Most of what we do—in any endeavor—is fairly simple. It just takes a little curiosity, small investments in time and money, and the desire to make it happen.
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Work continues on the F-16’s. I’ve spent the last few weeks working on the 1/32nd Hasegawa kit. It has some issues—most of them stem from the fact that the basic molds date back to 1978. The cockpit tub is probably the worst example of the kit’s problems—the consoles are way too short, and short of replacing the cockpit, you have to deal with what you get. Going back to what I said earlier, I used scrap plastic to fix things to the best of my availability without having to resort to a complete re-build.
I also cut out the trailing edge flaps so they can be shown in the lowered position, and cut the leading edge flaps to show them in the +2° position as shown in F-16’s on the ground.
Some of the small bits were missing, and some weren’t provided. I scratchbuilt the beer can antennas on the leading edge of the wing and the two antenna fairings on the nose from scraps of Evergreen styrene. I also reconfigured the gun covers to better match photos. I also had to revise the way the gun barrels got installed—revising the covers required the rework. I think I got everything looking good…
The kit canopy was missing the aft fixed portion, and someone had thrown in a spare Tamiya canopy (at least I think it is Tamiya). I did a little work to revise the hinge area and fit the Tamiya parts to the Hasegawa kit. The result will be a lot better than the original kit canopy. It is another one of those areas Hasegawa didn’t quite get right back in the late 1970’s.
Next up will be revising the bomb’s fuses. The kit parts look like they have the transport suspension plugs installed. I think some Evergreen rod and sheet will fill that bill. Photos are out there, and I think I can do a creditable job.
The two 1/48th scale F-16’s are ready for paint, and the 1/32nd scale kit will be to that point soon.
I’m still trying to figure out if the decals I have for the 1/32nd scale kit will be viable, or if I should finally pull the trigger on a plotter/cutter and design paint masks.
Stay tuned.
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The shadows and the sun’s angle in the sky are changing. The temperatures are starting to moderate. I believe autumn has arrived. I’ve always loved this time of year. I can’t explain why—maybe the change of temperature, I dunno. But I’m enjoying it.
That’s all I have this time. Thanks for reading. Be good to one another, and, as always, I bid you Peace.
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