While I used to be an OOB builder once upon a time, as my modeling went on, this was back when you were limited to what choices there were on the dime store and hobby shop shelves, I found it necessary to start kit bashing things to get a little variation. I have built Tamiyas' venerable M3 Stuart kit into just about every variation of the series from M1 Combat Car up, but these were with styrene strip and shapes to make the changes. As time went on and I branched out into modeling ships, there were just too many things missing like rails, towers and correctly thin parts for the scale (1/700) that made PE a necessity to turn out something resembling the real deal. I have no issues with building OOB if that is what one wants to do, but I like to take it up a notch or two. Each to his own and what ever floats your boat as it were.

No matter what you like to do in the hobby, whether it is OOB or detailed to the nth degree with all the resin and brass you can toss in, it is just a hobby. So have fun and relax in your chosen venue.

I used to build all my models OOB but in the last couple of years have
started making more and more modifications. Now I rarely build OOB.

I have used a couple of aftermarket PE kits and enjoy bending and soldering
brass. I've heard some say they hate dealing with the small parts as being to
fiddly but I actually like it.
I don't go hog wild with the commercial PE because it's expensive and I'm not
willing to spend tons of money on PE (or kits for that matter). I prefer to buy fewer kits
and spend money on tools.

Scratch building various parts is by far my favorite thing to do. I think
there are several things about it that are fun for me.
The first part is the research and discovering that some odd lump of
plastic is actually a . I find things on the real article that don't
even exist in the kits too. These little discoveries are fun.
Another thing is the thought process of figuring out how to take plastic
rods, plastic sheet, brass, putty, wire, or whatever and make something in
scale that fits with the model. The problem solving is challenging and is
rewarding once its solved. This part is addictive. In case you're wondering,
yes, some things end up in the trash. If it takes more than one trial to get
something right, that's okay
The final thing about scratch building is it makes the carpet monster much
less scary. If I lose a part I'm making, it's annoying but far less so than
losing something that creates some glaring deficiency in my model.

Lately I find myself scribing and grinding various parts. One example is
scribing the tread on tires. The kit tires represent the tread grooves by
stepping because of the molding process. It's okay but an actual groove looks
much better in my opinion. I'm not willing to spend money on resin tires.
Scribing a tire takes about 45 minutes but seems worth it to me. It's relaxing
in a quiet, mind numbing sort of way . It's free . I don't really know if
the tire is still considered OOB at that point or not.

For those who like to build straight OOB, please keep doing what you
enjoy . For nearly all of us, this is a hobby and spending the time doing
what we enjoy is what's important. Besides, it would be really boring if we all
did the same thing.

David

Like everybody else this is a hobby you get out of it what you put in, I built OOB for many years before turning towards the "Extras" and i think my modelling output then was a lot higher, in fact i know it was.

A lot of the difference for me is the hobby has changed, it is much more now, I am a little more known as a modeller and more people recognise my work when they see it either here or at shows.

So I feel the expectation for my work is a lot higher than it used to be, I also tend now to build more complicated models that require a lot more effort on my part, add into the mix the need to produce features etc. it is a lot more time consuming than it used to be.

So having to split my time between the family, my hobby and the gym as well as try to make a living, i feel some days I need more time.

In the end you build what you are most comfortable with, what gives you the most enjoyment and finally with what you want to get out of the hobby.

cheers

Keith Forsyth

I'm a mostly OOB modeller. When I can, and am able, and the materials are at hand, I do a bit of extra-detailing or corrections.

I don't like to spend hours and hours, and hours on a kit, I like to keep it progressing, so that is what determines how much I do. I can't scratch-build anything major if my life depended on it.

If I want to do a a model of, say, a Curtiss JN-4 Canuck - I would, buy the 1/48 Lindberg version, of the American JN-4, and do the small but necessary changes to the tail and the addition of lower wing ailerons. ( I do intend to do this - I want to replicate , more or less, Wop May's post WW1 Jenny which had "Edmonton" written on the fuselage - Wilfred 'Wop' May was quite a guy - not many had the Red Baron on his tail and lived to tell about it, but that was just the beginning of his adventures)

I try to have fun, keep it as a hobby, a past-time, and I don't critically compare my efforts to what I see on the internet. (well, at least not most of the time.)

I always build straight out of the box, 'unless' I get a deal on a package or it's a certain area I want changed. Also, if the kit is very old and is needing serious updating, other than that, todays kit are expensive enough and most have the 'extra goodies' in the box already.

I'm not too much of a rivet counter on 1/35th kits, but in my 1/16th builds where the detail is of great importance, aftermarket parts really make an impact there. And the cost!!