Nah! A new and more futuristic pastime already exists…
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Click bait!
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I used to love doing that.
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I think about 99.99% of people would disagree with you on the basis of the fact that the more aftermarket parts you have, the more work you have to do. Especially in the case of photoetch fenders, you are giving yourself not only the ability to get a more accurate thickness but the option of damaging them to your liking.
I do not see what you mean in saying that scratchbuilding is dead, when the more accurate description would be that scratchbuilding isn’t the same as you remember. You mention someone that took months to rework a kit to his liking. You fail to realize that yes, you should have the option to scratchbuild, but no, scratchbuilding should never be neccecary to have a good looking kit.
Concluding with this is clearly inflammatory, and doesn’t do anything to help your argument. What you may see as special is clearly not the be all and end all, just as my opinion on what is special isn’t absolute either.
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I agree. Todays kits with the available accessories takes a higher level of skill to build into a nice kit than the kits of long ago. So many parts, varied materials and newer complicated techniques. The old kits had 50 parts, used Testors tube glue, Squadron putty, a pocket knife, a paint brush and bottled enamel paint.
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I’m going to be 61 years old next month. I have hundreds of kits to build. I don’t have time to scratchbuild if I ever want to see my wonderful stash built. I’ll spend a few dollars for some photoetch, resin seats and metal gun barrels. I enjoy the hobby but its changed, which is good.
Thanks, these discussions are always interesting as to what others are thinking about our hobby.
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Is the hobby dead or dying. No but…All things need to attract new people over time to perpetuate the activity. If new meaning kids and teens are not being pulled in, then yes over time as the number of builders dwindle, so will the hobby. If you manufacture CD’s Cassette tapes, 8 tracks etc, your production is dwindling as people change how they listen to music. As youth choose newer ways to entertain themselves will manufacturers move to that, I think so. We are OK for now, I alone spend enough to support a cottage firm, but my crystal ball is cloudy for the long term.
Can’t speak about youths getting involved, but I can safely say there is still money in the hobby - it just moved online instead of brick&mortar shops. B&M shops are indeed a vanishing breed, but that’s not the end of the world.
As for scratch skills, I build models - always have. If the parts in the box are good enough, then I use them. But if not, or if I want a different version, then I look for AM parts if available and affordable (to conserve my dwindling hobby time on this planet) and if necessary I break out the Evergreen and make it myself. The goal is the finished model, the method to get there is “whatever it takes”. Been doing it for about five decades now, so no need to change my approach now! My latest build uses a slightly-upgraded Tamiya kit hull at least four decades old, and a completely scratch-built turret because no alternative exists. The previous build (a recent release) was strictly OOB…
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Not really, I fell that you unnecessarily discredited and verbally abuse my position with thinly veiled sarcasm. The sign of a bully and one who is weak.
Not to make you feel like you’re being dogpiled here, but you seem all too willing to dish out the insults, but can’t handle it when someone responds in jest to you.
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I suggest that you take a step back and read your own post again.
I have heard/read similar opinions on various subjects which all boil
down to “it was better many years ago”.
Usually a sweeping opinion without real substance, often giving the
impression that something was better when the author was younger.
I am sick and tired of that kind of opinionated diatribe. Since sarcasm,
veiled or not is a natural part of my personality (I do not suffer fools gladly)
I tend to let my fingers loose on the keyboard. If you were here in Stockholm
I would tell you face to face, I don’t need to hide behind a keyboard.
On the other hand, people are allowed to have their views and express them freely
(maybe not in Russia or North Korea but I trust that you understand what I mean)
provided that the person expressing views is prepared to get views and opinions back.
I hold the view/opinion that the hobby is far from dead, as a matter of fact it has never
been more thriwing than today (OK, Bronco ceased operations, Wingnut Wings is gone
but manufacturers will come and go and new ones will take vacant positions left by others).
Photo-etch is a huge improvement but bending copper wire results in vastly superior handles,
PE-handles are a waste of metal (unless the real handle was indeed flat).
Resin conversion sets make conversion projects available to those who might lack the skills,
or think they lack the skills, to scratch their own conversions.
The new 3D-printing technology is simply another way of shaping resin, either directly as a
sellable product or to make masters for resin casting.
The statement that these technologies in some way undermines the pureness of the hobby
is frankly bs (I presume that you know what the abbreviation bs stands for).
Taking that position to expremes would lead to very strange results.
Where should we draw the limit? Should kits contain a bundle of styrene strips of various cross sections,
some sheet styrene and a book of detail drawings? Similar to the RC airplane kits sold 60 years ago?
The engine cowling and two wheel casings were included as vac-formed pieces, the rest was balsa strips and some thin fabric to cover the wings.
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When change itself stops then I would agree the hobby is dying.
When glue first came in a tube did everyone complain about things getting too easy?
What has changed more than anything is our ability to get on a forum and chat.
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When I realised that there were alternatives to tube glue my building quality improved by 300%.
When I found out that the pure solvent was sold in gallon cans the cost went down, no need to pay for tiny little bottles anymore …
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Well said.
The only things I know were better in the hobby ~30 to 40 + years ago:
-
Floquil was still in business producing RailRoad, Military & Poly S paints
-
Original formula Micro-Weld was available
-
More local brick & mortar stores had model kits
Its a very short list!
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"The times are a changin’ " There is nothing more constant than change.
To assume a market will never change is sheer ludicracy. Kodak died because of a belief that 35mm film would always be the be all and end all of photography.
There are new technologies out there being adapted to many different uses, and the advantages cannot be hidden, or ignored. The world is evolving and so is our hobby.
Mesh screens for engine decks - the old nylon mesh that looked crap and acted poorly was once the only option. Then brass mesh came about and we could make better ones - the kits never included them. Then actual purpose built screens were offered. Is it bad to use them and not scratchbuild? Not at all.
I have to agree that much of the etch offered by companies is over the top (Aber I am looking at your brass rivets and bolt heads that have to be glued to fenders) and flat components are a waste of energy, but a lot really does enhance the end model from the OOB experience.
Yes, etch is flat, and that is why resin casting and 3D printing has emerged. Are they too ‘over the top detail’? - not in my opinion. I welcome the opportunity to acquire detail without having to scratch build it. Would I have acquired such to fix the horrendous Hobby Boss ‘Dana’? You bet I would. The hours I spent on that kit was only partially offset by my happiness in the detail…
This kit could have been built OOB, and it would look and smell like a duck, only the taste in the mouth after would not be pleasant…
Everyone has their personal tastes. I do not disparage anyone from building out of the box. Kudos to you for enjoying the hobby and sticking to your guns. Many of my builds are OOB. But on the other side, I don’t disparage someone who wants to add detail whether scratch built or otherwise either. Kudos to them for enjoying their builds too.
I enjoy seeing other people’s builds, OOB or enhanced, from new starters to experienced modellers. Seeing others enjoy my hobby as much as I do is what floats my boat.
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I THINK, could be wrong, has happened before, that
ethyl acetate is just as good for styrene. Ethyl acetate will sneak in under almost all paints (it can be used as solvent for cellulose paints so it is rather potent)
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Last year I introduced a 13 year cousin of mine to the hobby. I suggested he keep it simple: buy a Tamiya kit, build it, paint it. I gave him the basics of how to’s, but also let him know that he can take the hobby in a number of directions, or just keep building OOB. The lad may not yet be completely hooked but he is continuing to build. He even got a friend of his interested.
For myself, I usually keep my builds OOB, more or less, but dioramas are all from scratch. It’s a matter of balance for me: the kit is only a part of a bigger picture.
As a teenager (back in the 70’s) I had no idea what an air brush was. But my local hobby store sold Poly S paints. You could hand brush those on anything, they dried dead flat, and were just all around amazing. That said, today, I wouldn’t trade my air brush / tamiya paints for anything. Times change, mostly for the better.
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Perhaps, 70 years ago, many modelers felt that the introduction of injection-molded plastic kits was the death of the hobby, too.
Whitney, while I sympathize with your arguments and agree that scratch-building is certainly a skill-set to be greatly admired, it does not define “the hobby”. It is only an optional component of it.
I disagree with some of your comments and condemnations, including:
- “I fell that you unnecessarily discredited and verbally abuse my position with thinly veiled sarcasm. The sign of a bully and one who is weak.”
- “Expensive “this and that’s” a pretty paint job and a custom bought base doesn’t make it special. SORRY”
- “What truly confounds me is this need for photo-etched, all of the this and that is sickening.”
- “It’s a shame, a low-down dirty shame.”
To paraphrase your sentiments, as a 3D-printing vendor, I feel that you unnecessarily discredit and abuse my contribution to the hobby with thinly veiled sarcasm. The sign of a bully and one who is weak. What I produce, like that made by many other vendors, requires hundreds of hours of research and design work per project. It is not a trivial effort to produce a sellable 3D printed product. That effort, which is real work, is not “shameful”, “dirty” or “low-down”.
I assert that the contribution of aftermarket photo-etch, cast resin, decal sets, 3D-printed products, etc., is helpful and expands the hobby. These things provide those who desire them the possibility of a richer and more joyful and satisfying experience. And they are entirely optional. If the modeler gets his or her satisfaction solely from scratch-building the entire model, that’s just fine and highly admirable, too.
IMHO, what makes the hobby “special” is what the modeler gets out of it, not the materials he or she puts into it, or how much the project costs. The “special” comes from the joy and satisfaction the experience provides.
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I was talking to one of my much older (I’m 73) modeling friends with plenty of top awards on his wall and also an outstanding scratch builder. I was surprised when he made the comment that he thought 3D printed parts were “cheating”.
I challenged him on that and ask “well if the guy designs the part on his computer and then prints it, is it still cheating?”
To that he said “No”.
So I pushed it a bit further and asked; “if I turn an ornate scale model lamp pole on my lathe is that cheating too?”
To that he said “No”.
So then I asked; “how is it any different if someone patterns a custom part, then either casts it in resin or prints it on a 3D printer and sells it to others?”
With that we changed the subject . . . . . (But I doubt I changed his mind!)
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