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Modeling in General
General discussions about modeling topics.
Confessions and nostalgia
Jon_Vancil
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Posted: Sunday, November 25, 2007 - 09:33 AM UTC
Ladies and gentlemen I have a confession to make. Please pardon the length of this post but theses are things brewing for some time.
I just came in from my workshop, I was working on a T34. I had to laugh when I typed that. A T34, that was my first armour kit- the old Tamiya T34/76 1943 version. It had the rubber band tracks as they are now called, parts for two different turret roofs, poorly moulded wooden boxex, two different types of external fuel tanks, a log that looked like a green beef jerky stick. and two (or was it three?) crewmen,one firing a flare pistol. It wasnt long before some Tigers, Panthers, Panzers, KVs, and yes even the dreaded Sherman found their way to my shelf. I'd spend a week with a pile of Polly S paints and Testors brushes painting carefully. I had a TV dinner table to work on. My reference materials were the meagre collection of books from the library and a few of my own. I remember seeing the T34s in the books with slogans painted on them, and dutifuly I replicated those same slogans on mine with a 00 round and flat white paint. Ah those were the days! I was happy! In fact those were the best days of modeling for me. The T34 of today would blow the entire modeling budget for a month from the old days. (Granted I make money now but that's aside from the point)

Be it a car, a big rig, or an armour subject I am bombarded with just how good some modelers are. Indeed, the Verlinden of yesteryear has been replaced with people all over the world. The expectations now are so high. Not to be outdone I let my kits lay idle. my excuses are; "I need more references to build that... I dont think my skills with PE parts are up to the task there... Oh that just begs to be superdetailed..... and so they sit. I log on here and look up what I want to build and I just cant see my build turning out as well as what I see here. Seldom am I intimidated and even less often I admit it. So you guys take this a s a compliment- you guys are GREAT modelers.

But while working on that T34 I thought about something. This is a hobby! That might seem an obvious point but for you all but for me the quest for perfection led me to making the hobby a "job". It had become a chore.... and thats no good. So the T34 will be built and airbrushed (hey there's progress), and "done up" as best I can without becoming a bundle of nerves. I'll transport myself back to the days of old and build because I love it. Ladies and gents, meine Damen und Herren; I am back!
keenan
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Posted: Sunday, November 25, 2007 - 09:41 AM UTC
Good for you. I do that all the time. It isn't a sprint, it is a marathon. I enjoy it, the wife and friends don't understand it but the fact that I enjoy it makes it a hobby. Cheaper than most and mostly harmless.
Thanks for the thoughts,
Shaun
Plasticbattle
#003
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Posted: Sunday, November 25, 2007 - 10:15 AM UTC
Quote of the day .... "ignorance is bliss"?
But knowing what can be done, should be seen as inspiration, not an achievment level. Build what you want .. the way you want it, and over time you´ll get where you´re going. Having fun is the key to this hobby. Too many have fallen into the ruts of AM and perfectionism only getting stressed over whimsical details and feeling defeated.
I have gotten caught up too often in trying to get things better ...but for who? I remember building kits at home before I knew other adults could be interested in this hobby. A big part of me trying to find that again.
MSGsummit
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Posted: Sunday, November 25, 2007 - 11:41 AM UTC
I couldn't agree with you more! I couldn't tell you how many times I have struggled worrying about total accuracy, rivet counting and trying to measure up. It has really only been recently that I have shook hands and made friends with my level of modelling skill. Wasted alot of potentially enjoyable modelling time because I had forgotten it was really just a hobby.
barv
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Posted: Sunday, November 25, 2007 - 12:15 PM UTC

Heyup Jon ,
You have seen the light .....it takes a while but it is sweet indeed to know that what you *WANT* to build is for **YOU**

Yep there are great modellers out there and yes they may cause great aspirations /inspirations...BUT ...never forget its you who decides what to build -paint -toss in the bin .
Nearly 60 years cutting and shutting plastic .. ....and no one can upset or bother me ---so what if I put a hinge on wrong place ---and the handle on the door is up ...when it should be down ----the colour is not 100% or in the right place ...(Camo Regs 1189b para 11 sub sect c)
Give it all you want --when you want and as you want .....I do and will always do as I feel ....hence wierd beasties ...'cause I like them and want to do them and they're not on the shelf ---
Welcome back ..pull up a seat ,relax and grab a scalpel -----
aye
BARV
(GOSMG)
Jon_Vancil
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Posted: Sunday, November 25, 2007 - 12:36 PM UTC
Thanks everyone! I'm glad to know I'm not alone in this. Speaking of nostalgia about 20 years ago I built the old Italeri Panzer Mk IV F and after having seen some infantry hitching a ride decided to put some on mine. Well the old Krupp Protze kit had some Waffen SS Grenadiers so I tossed them on there. The crowning touch was a stretched sprue cigarette in one soldier's mouth. That really made me beam with pride when someone noticed that. Those are the good old days I want to return to.
SAS007
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Posted: Sunday, November 25, 2007 - 03:25 PM UTC
Hi Jon
All I'll say is enjoy what you build and build to enjoy
I build mostly OOB kits as I'm the one who will enjoy it most . These days you can build kits with PE and after market conversion parts but I feel at the end of the day a £10 kit ends up costing £50 - £60.
I build and paint kits the way I want as I'm not too bothered if it's not the right shade of green or brown or whatever , if it's accurate to the nearest mm etc. At the end of the day it's MY model ,done by me , for me
Sure there are people out there who will give comments but it's up to you to listen.

Enjoy it while you can

SAS007
yeahwiggie
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Posted: Sunday, November 25, 2007 - 08:40 PM UTC
Hi Jon.... & all the others...

I couldn't help it.... I had to smile when I read your original post.. Such recognition!!!
I have come a long way too and got really frustrated and freaked out on the levels of skills and the mass of AM-sets these days.... up to the point where I quite the hobby all together...

Untill I too found out that that's not what matters.... it's the fun and the creativity that count!!
Now I build what I like (halftracks) with what I like; mostly a outdated kit, pimped with plastic sheet, wire and all kinds of materials you can find in and around the house..

That's what works for me... No PE, no expensive kits, no AM ( if possible)..
And the best part.... my son is starting to build the exact same kits I once started with.... the ancient Tamiya Panther, SdKfz 251/1 C and the Stug III(with the para's) and Italeri's PzKfw IV...

When he opened those boxes..... the joy on the boy's face.....
And the pride he shows in what he is doing....
Hohenstaufen
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Posted: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 05:28 AM UTC
Jon, the great thing about getting older is that you can do your own thing & no one can tell you one way or the other. You are allowed to become eccentric without being weird. Also, as your eyesight starts to go, your models look better! Now I can afford to buy Dragon kits on a regular basis, I find I am struggling building kits for the first time because I can't see the pieces any more! I, for one, will not be buying any more AM bits to go on my kits, in fact I seldom use the smaller bits of PE Dragon offer with their kits now-a-days, I always go with the styrene tools also, as there's no way I'm messing about with PE clamps & things. I have to wear glasses now for the first time (having cracked 50) just to see what I'm doing when I'm painting or reading.
Fitz
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Posted: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 02:52 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Ladies and gentlemen I have a confession to make. Please pardon the length of this post but theses are things brewing for some time.

But while working on that T34 I thought about something. This is a hobby! That might seem an obvious point but for you all but for me the quest for perfection led me to making the hobby a "job". It had become a chore.... and thats no good. So the T34 will be built and airbrushed (hey there's progress), and "done up" as best I can without becoming a bundle of nerves. I'll transport myself back to the days of old and build because I love it. Ladies and gents, meine Damen und Herren; I am back!



I'm with you brother and by the way, welcome to the club. I just do this for my own amusement adn I am not too proud to admit it. I have no intention or desire to make my little projects perfectlittle replica's of anything. I lack both the time, desire and quite frankly the spare cash to reach the level of a lot of folks here. I'm quite happy to build 30 year-old kits OOB if that is what I feel like doing. I live by the 2-foot rule and do what amuses me. Someday just for the heck of it I'm going to build an ancient Tamiya Panzer IV (or something similar) OOB and and paint it pink with purple pokadots just to drive home the point that I can. Because in the end, its just a bunch of plastic sitting on my shelf. It's not like I'm curing cancer or anything.

That's also why I don't post pictures of my work here or anywhere else, at least not at this time. I'm not out to impress anyone but myself and don't need to hear; Well it looks pretty good but you used the wrong shade of yellow in the camo scheme and the markings are wrong for that month in 1943 and there should be... I'm not in it for that.

I'll tell you what though, and I just posted this in one of the other forums. Yesterday on a whim I bought a 1:144 scale Dragon Morser Karl and put it together today. I had never built anything even remotely like a 1:144 armor kit before. I don't even do 1:72 but I have to say it was a hoot. It's so tiny and cute and it went together so fast and easy. I may be hooked on this microscopic stuff.

Just MHO valued at precisely $0.02
Jon_Vancil
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Posted: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 04:07 PM UTC
In the spirit of this thread I have two projects on the bench, one is the mega T34 by Dragon. The good thing about the kit is that you can use the PE pars OR the p;astic. I'll try my hand at the PE but if that fails I wont despair, I'll use the styrene. Other than the indy track links this should be an old school build.

The second kit is the old Tamiya Pak40. OOB on that one. I've got some suitable German fellows to throw in in addition to the kit supplied crew. i'll build a small dio for it.... and have FUN!

Yeahwiggie, I agree halftracks are the neatest thing on the planet, and once these two are done my ancient Tamiya Sdkfz 251/1 will become a 251/8. Yippeeee! I now have MY project for the "MEDIC!" campaign.

BTW does anyone remeber buying the old Tamiya Flak36 88mm and being awestruck? I remember that as if it were yesterday...
captfue
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Posted: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 04:41 PM UTC
Jon: I'm with you 100%. How much fun is it to spent $35.00 for a kit then spend $250.00 in after-market kits?
Grumpyoldman
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KITMAKER NETWORK
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Posted: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 07:48 PM UTC
I personally feel that each modeler should seek the fullest enjoyment of this hobby, by deciding on what and how he decides to build his model. As long as he is willing to learn new techniques and improve his efforts with each model along the path of life. One man's cup of tea is another's poison. I still believe the one who enjoys a simple out of the box build, and the one who enjoys doing a kit to the nines are the same thing, as long as both are enjoying their hobby, and are willing to share their works with others. Especially here at the Kitmaker Network.

DT61
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Posted: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 02:28 AM UTC
Boy do I hear you!! I too have found myself caught up in the after market, pe, resin add on, make it perfect game all to the determent of why I build in the first place => for fun!!! yes I want to build a nice model, yes I want to do my best to make sure it historically accurate, but it still must be fun ) I love the dragon "smart kits" as they often give you the option of pe or plastic, makes it easier Now I will admit that I like the pe screens for engine vents, and some other areas.

Darryl
Fitz
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Posted: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 02:36 AM UTC

Quoted Text



BTW does anyone remeber buying the old Tamiya Flak36 88mm and being awestruck? I remember that as if it were yesterday...



Don't get me started on the Tamiya 88mm FLAK....

OK, too late.

That is the kit that got me hooked on this whole thing in the first place, back when I was probably about 12-13. I'd built a few kits before like the obligatory Revell 1/426 USS Arizona and a few others that I think you just got issued as a beginning modeller in the early 1980's. But when I saw that Tamiya FLAK gun sitting on the LHS shelf I was hooked. Instant diorama in one box. A concept I have been fond of ever since and one that Tamiya happily seems to be getting back into recently. But I digress...

That Tamiya FLAK kit was the first armor kit I ever built and it went into the first diorama I have ever made. It made me a diorama builder. I have built several more since and currently have one in progress and another on the shelf (sitting atop the AFV and both Dragon equivilants). Just such a fun, good looking, relatively quick build. Even though technically superior alternative examples of this subject exist today I will keep building that Tamiya kit. I don't have the DAK version yet after all. A technological wonder in 1972, I know a lot of people trash on this kit now, but I don't care. I enjoy building the Tam and it always ends up looking like an 88mm FLAK when I'm done, which is good enough for my needs. Yes the Dragon and AFV kits are clearly superior in detail but I'd still highly recommend the Tamiya for a kid looking to build his first armor kit, or first diorama or anyone really looking for a fun, quick, cool looking low-stress build. For the people who care about every last detail the Tam may not be the kit for them, and that's fine and good. There are other options out there for those folks with different requirements. Ain't choice and variety grand? Everyone gets what they want or need.
Red4
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Posted: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 03:38 AM UTC
I love this thread for the memories that it has brought back. I can recall the very first model kit my parents bought me. It was a Hogans Heros jeep. It came with extra parts to make a couple of different variants. I couldn't read at 5, so the instructions weren't really used. I can recall adding every single piece to the kit. It had dual everything; tires, steering wheel, seats etc.etc.etc. Nowadays, I have some friends who don't seem to get much built for one reason or another. Mostly due to the fact that they have their noses in whatever related reference material they have on that particular subject researching all the data possible to make sure its correct. Well, guess what? In the mean time, I've knocked out several builds that I'm happy with and have started something else. I catch some flak from these guys on occassion, by my tried and true response of "Well, the one I drove/flew/operated had that" has never let me down. I built one of the first models I can recall building as a kid some 35 years after being a kid, and had a ball doing it. Monograms re-released M-8 Greyhound. Completely OOB, and I even painted the figures. I had as much fun building it now as I did those 35 years ago. I also find myself buying old kits that I remember buidling as a kid, just for nostalgic purposes. I only have a few, but they bring back some great memories of days gone by. Thanks for starting this thread. Keep it going folks! "Q"
Jon_Vancil
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Posted: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 05:35 AM UTC
While we are remembering...

Remember the old Monogram kits that came ith the flyer inside showing Shep Paine's work? I just wonder how many diorama builders that created.

Remember the painting on the front of Tamiya's KV II kit (with the Russian tanker with the balled fist...) he seemed to be saying "Of all the things they could put me in- this thing is &$%@# loud!"

Monogram 1/48 WWII fighters in the white boxes... and they only cost $1.50 or so. The big one to get was the P61 Black Widow... got that one as a kid as a birthday gift and will never forget finding the little bottle of Testors Zinc Chromate to paint the innards of it!

And last but not least... the Tamiya kits that had the mini catalouges in them. What FUN! You could look and see all the kits you could ever want (liitle did we know).

DT61
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Posted: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 08:03 AM UTC
Or just the simple joy of finally getting that one or maybe two new kits a year. Actually getting them home, removing the plastic wrapping, reading every bit of writing on the box, opening it up, checking each sprue, dreaming of your next new wonderful replica? I still love to just sit with my stash and go through the boxes of unbuilt kits dreaming what paint scheme I will paint, the markings, the battles they fought in and the men who crewed them.

Darryl
exer
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Posted: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 09:44 AM UTC

Quoted Text

While we are remembering...

Remember the old Monogram kits that came ith the flyer inside showing Shep Paine's work? I just wonder how many diorama builders that created.





This site has all the Shep Paimne dio sheets- enjoy
http://www.itzproductions.com/
Fitz
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Posted: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 03:47 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Monogram 1/48 WWII fighters in the white boxes... and they only cost $1.50 or so. The big one to get was the P61 Black Widow... got that one as a kid as a birthday gift and will never forget finding the little bottle of Testors Zinc Chromate to paint the innards of it!




Love that kit. Cool subject. On my shortlist to get another one. Built my last in my early teens and it has not survived.
Removed by original poster on 11/29/07 - 10:48:17 (GMT).
REMEARMR
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Posted: Thursday, November 29, 2007 - 03:55 AM UTC
One of my favorite older kits is Tamiya's Panzergrenadiers. Bang those on top of any tank and it looks the business
tatbaqui
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ARMORAMA
#040
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Posted: Friday, November 30, 2007 - 11:52 AM UTC
In my younger days I had to settle with what my lunch money can buy, complement it with a bit of more of what I can smooch from my folks. A paint bottle here and there, watching out for a sale and even haggle with the LHS owner to give me a student discount. There are and will be better modellers -- I do respect their skills, but I always keep in mind that I build stuff for my own learning, enjoyment, and the ultimate feeling of accomplishment. Yes you get frustrated why you can't build better, but it should be a challenge to keep working and improving on. Always have been into WWII Axis stuff, am now into armor -- I do recall my first kit was a Matchbox 1/72 Ju87 Stuka Tank Buster. Made a lot of mistakes like using super glue, botched-up canopy, tried different paint schemes which never existed -- but it was a platform for me to learn along the way. Its still with me, zebra stripes and all, and am proud of it being my first build.
Jon_Vancil
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Posted: Sunday, December 09, 2007 - 06:39 AM UTC
Ok so much for PE parts at the moment... I'm very frustrated and building a styrene only model.
Bodeen
#026
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Posted: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - 02:13 AM UTC
I really loved those old Monogram kits! I had every one of them at one time or another.
I still have a several of the "Diorama Tip" sheets ( M3 Lee, Sd.Kfz. 232 and Panzerjaeger IV).
THOSE kits are worth some cash now also..if they're in mint condition. Those really were some of the best modelling days of my life.

I do use photo-etch occasionally; especially with old kits like the Italeri Hetzer, but I mostly build out of the box. I just don't have the time to perfect my skills. If I get 2 hours per week to build..it's a lot.

I have an airbrush and I try to paint my finished models as accurately as possible. The wonderful thing about German camoflauge is that it was, when field applied, as unique as the crew that manned the vehicle and painted it.

This is a neat thread and it did bring back memories of my youth...I even dug out the old Shep Paine Monogram Diorama sheets and looked them over again.
Ahhhhhh the carefree days of youth!
 _GOTOTOP