Received this in my mail from a very good friend -----he thought that it was very valid ---(contoversial )--as I had a case recently of my -scratchbuilt S A Comet ARV --being classed (in competition)as a "WHAT-IF" by a so called "model -maker"
------------------- NOT MY WORDS-------------


Strong sentiments!!

How many "scratchies "have been in this situation ---shunned by the :-) .."glue in box and shake " modeler :-) ...because they dont' appreciate model making :-) :-)
This is not a cheap shot at anyone ----so dont start getting all hot under the collar -----but here's a spot to air your views and any "funny" stories
aye
BARV
(GOSMG)

Sorry its so small ---must be braile scale :-) :-) :-)

How fortunate for him.



See my other posts.

Sounds like the highly talented but social-skills lacking Dave Merriman from the old rec.models.scale USENET newgroup.

Go here: http://groups.google.com/group/rec.models.scale?lnk=lr and type in merriman and you will see all sorts of rants by him regarding model builders vs. kit assemblers.

I could think long and hard about the contents of this article, and spend some time thinking of an erudite answer to start a considered dialoge. On the other hand, I could read the rash, emotionaly charged rant of somebody who has just lost a competition to an 'inferior' shake and bake model, and feel personaly accused of being a 'bunky'...

The high and mighty tone does nothing to bridge the gap the writer seems to imagine. I for one admire the skills of scratch-builders immensly, having the occasional stab at scratching bits and pieces for my 'painted hunks of styrene' I only realise too well how difficult it must be to build a whole model from scratch.
And we 'bunkies' are just as bad when it comes to aquiering references, just ask my wife... :-)


Definition of model : A representation of an object.
Definition of Builder: Someone who constructs an object.

I feel the writer confuser building with sculpting.

To cut bits of plastic and glue them together is easy. To take a lump of clay or putty and sculpt it into something 'alive' is the real skill.


No cheap shot at anybody either, but another take on the discussion.

Cheers
Henk