Hi, It seems that when just about every new kit hits the shelves now-a-days, it quickly has to run the gauntlet of 'nit-pickers' who come out in force telling us what a God-awful kit this latest release is, and to ask the proverbial questions of why didn't the manufactuer do this here, and why didn't they do that there, etc., etc., etc., to make the kit "better" and "more accurate" to the real vehicle it is suppose to be representing. In short they are telling us it's a piece of junk and shouldn't be bought by any builder who knows their stuff about said vehicle.

Well today was a day when I just had to have a model "fix"--for lack or a better word here--and went back over to Hobby Lobby bound and determined to buy something in the plastic line come h--- or high water. After all, 50% off is still 50% off. So my eye finally settle on a 1/16 scale AA Toip Fuel Dragster by the Revell company. (I was getting desperate, but for less than $15.....)

Now I knew going in it was a '70-ish style of model with the quality of parts more or less reflecting this era of kit making, and wasn't expecting a whole lot more. But I thought it would be a real nice challenge just to see if the modeling skills I have picked up over the last few years since getting back into the hobby would help me basically get it together. Wasn't looking for any fanstastic build here mind you, just getting it together, eventally.

And in all seriousness I must say that this kit will present all the challenges that I was hoping it would, right from the get-go. All the parts packed into two bags; nice thick connecting points on the pieces where they connect to the spures; lots of flash here and there to contend with; thick chromed areas; minor line-up problems pretty much all over, etc. I even think I smelled a hint of "oldness" on opening the box, Ha, ha! This thing has been in somebody's warehouse for quite some time I'm thinking Anyway, you get the general picture.

Now having Dragon's new Pz.IV partly done as well and Trumpter's SAM-6 kit, in my mind I couldn't help comparing the advances that the kit makers have made since this car model was released. And it's like comparing day and night.

Now when I go back to the other two kits--just as soon as Mother Nature drys some primer--I will go in with sort of "new eyes," and have a whole new appreciation of the latest in model-making techniques now offered to we consumers and will not be so quick to judge a part if I don't happen to think it's "quite right" somehow.

A real eye-opener. I highly recommend it as a quick refresher course for anyone to see how things once were in this hobby, say 30 or 40 years ago.

Thanks and take care, Sgirty

Larry you are so right ,....We've never had it so good ...Kinda puts things in a new light when you open up some of the old boxes we all have on our shelves. It's amazing to see how far we've come...Thanks for the memories.

Rick

I build plenty of old kits. Most of them built straight OOB with just basic modeling skills. I thoroughly enjoy building older kits that many would snub.

Larry, many moons ago (it seems!) I started a forum "Are we being spoilt nowadays", or somesuch, so your post struck a chord with me! I've even gone & bought some old '70s Tamiya kits recently that I didn't do when they came out, & boy are they different! They don't even just fall together like the latest ones do, but when they were new they were vastly superior to anything else on the market. By the same token, we didn't seem to get rules & micrometers out in those days to check how true the dimensions were! We were just happy to get a particular vehicle in our chosen scale!
Nowadays there is a LOT more info easily available, either in published form or on the net, so I guess we are all more discriminating, so kitmakers can't get away with large errors. But I think some people get carried away, & forget about moulding limitations. It's still very difficult to mould very thin components, so it's understood that in a commercial climate some parts may be overscale. Me, I just grin & bear it. So long as it looks right that's good enough for me. For those who are more discriminating, there is the vast AM pool, which basically just wasn't there 30 years ago.
Old copies of eg Military Modelling were always bulked out by people scratch building the most unlikely vehicles. Those people presumably now run the AM & resin firms.
A work colleague (who didn't model) once asked, surely it's more fun to take an old kit & make something good out of it, it's more of a challenge. I said no, it doesn't work like that, a better kit inspires you to do more with it than just a competent build. Well guys what do think?

Hi, Yes Steve, I think you are right. The newer, and better molded models now-a-days DO inspire us to build them better, or at least in my case, try not to make as many mistakes on the current one as I did on others in the past. (A never-ending endeavor for me.) Through their continuing improvements the manufacturers keep inspiring us to do each one better than the last, as there's more and more of those neat little details to show off on them all of the time.

Military Modeling magazine. Yes, this stirs some memories. That was a time when just about eveything that was added to a kit, or a diorama, had to be made by the builder, and usually out of things that were at hand to them around the house or whatever they could find here and there. Great information in those old magazines. Too bad they aren't around any more.

But all this isn't to say that the older kits aren't a viable subject all in their own too, as they do provide a basis to use new or improved skills that each and every modeler builds on down through time to try to bring them up to the standards of today's builds.

Actually the key is not so much in the kit itself and it's "age," but in the one who builds it. The newer ones simply make the whole hobby so much neater.

Take care, Sgirty

I agree totally Robin.

I just finished the old Tamiya Sdkfz 232 and I had a blast building it. Last spring I did the old Walker Bulldog and again really enjoyed just building it OOB.

However as someone who has just gotten back into the hobby in the last 2 years its a great time to be a modeler!

having only been in the hobby almost 1 year all the "old" kits are new to me and i look forward to building them all regardless of what as been said of them, i was so happy when dragons 88 came because i could finally pick up one of tamiyas on ebay for next to nothing as people couldnt get rid of them fast enough, i see the prices on these new kits at $40+ and one day i'll be paying that myself happilly but for now theres plenty of ebay $5 dollar kits to build and learn with, that being said i do have a number of the new dragon kits in the stash from hobby lobbies half off sales patiently awaiting the day,

ron g.

I would be the first to admit that i am a spoilt brat when it comes to building models. Seeing as i mainly stuck to the later models by Tamiya, most parts fit with perfection and very little work needed to be done on them. I recently ventured into the Academy range due to cost and can definitely see how advanced Tamiya has become when moulding their parts.

Im a firm believer that you pay for what you get so if you go cheap with your kits, you get less that will fit. As many of you have already pointed out, it certainly does test / improve your modelling skills.

I went from building DML to working on an Italeri sherman, and it's the most fun I've ever had with plastic model kits (legally anyway ).

I think the problem lies with the fact that so many bolt counters and nit pickers make amazing models...their opinion really hits home and though, for the most part, they are right about what they're saying...but it's not really meant to be taken to heart by people who aren't out to build something that a 1:35 scale human couldn't pass off as being the real deal.

I think that the answer lies in everyone's personal preferences not what the boards are saying. Buy kits you like and build models you love.

Interesting post , I started building in the dark ages (lol) I can remember when and Aroura kit or a Monogram kit wold set you back 89cents! We had a plethora of kits to choose from in the "good" ole days. I remember the hobby shops with floor to ceiling shelves full of kits , however dioramas were scarce and modelling skills were no where near what I see today. Remember the Monogram Shepard Paine era? We were all amazed at his dioramas (and they were good) but today they seem a little less wonderful -raised panel lines oversized detail /missing details, inaccurate markings. We have (thanx to the Japanese) a much higher quality of product just so few released. Does any body remember the old catalogs that came out every year? they were huge -hundreds of models from people like Revell, Monogram ,Aroura, Frog, Academy,Heller, Tamiya,Lindberg, Hawk,Testors,AMT, ERTL,Airfix,Atlas,DML,Heller,Hobbycraft,Life-like, Italieri,Minicraft.

Yes, the quality of newer kits has gone through the roof. Many kits that are a dream to build and cost as little as the old junky kits.



John, as far as the old Shep Paine diorama inserts, check out this site to see them: http://www.itzproductions.com/

Great link -brings back memories!