Modelling Pet Peeves

And then there's the kits with the "WAG" (wild-assed guess) markings, because I don't have enough evidence to be sure of all the details. I lucked out with the Sikorsky (are we allowed to say that now?) S-43 that I did in Pan Am markings--I used the Airfix Boeing 314 decals which were almost prefectly scaled, but I jiggered the NC serial to match a conjectural unit of the batch Pan Am got. Sure enough, I found a photo right after I finished of that exact aircraft. Other times, I haven't done quite as well.

Mark Schynert

Model car engines with wiring and hoses that defy gravity and seem to float or have no natural lay to them!

Car finishes with orange peel that you can discern from the other side of the table.

Canopy frames that are semi-transparent

Models with 2 years worth of dust on them.

Floating tracks!

One thong IPMS does not like is dirty tanks, they live in dirt, they get very dirty, simple fact. Now portraying said dirt *can* be problematic but IPMS judges tend to have the idea that dirt/mud is there to hide a defect, AMPS judges can generally see the construction underlying the dirt/mud or at least have enough experience to tell if it's there to hide a defect.

I'd also strongly suggest doing some primary source research before saying you can't see: panels, chipped paint, rivets, rust, dust, dirt, etc......quite amazing what pops out in photos that would be 1/72 scale if 3D, even more amazing what level of detail pops out in in ships' photos that would be around 1/350 if 3D (can you say, "Those had to be some big honking screws, did they use orangutans to hold the screwdriver?", specifically referring to screws visible on BB turrets in photos).

You mean it *wasn't* Eva's battery powered boyfriend? I'm shocked!!!!!

Uh-oh. I used to do that sort of thing but quit about 20 years ago. There are still models in the collection that feature spurious 'detail' markings, however.

Bill Banaszak, MFE

My Triebflügel has hakenkreuze on its tail and Balkankreuze on the fuselage but it's supposed to look like a '46 stealth fighter so they're outlines. I think that's the only paper airplane in the collection. I sent the Ta 183 off to 'e' and the rest are real even if prototypes.

Bill Banaszak, MFE

Thanks for that. Sometimes I feel that coming through here. To me it takes a lot of the fun out of building which is the reason I started doing this so long ago.

Bill Banaszak, MFE

Exactly as I was thinking after the IPMS Region II show. At the normal scales and viewing distances, a lot of things done in modeling make no sense if the model is trying to appear as realistic as possible. Panels, rivets, eyes, tire treads, chipped paint, rust, dust, dirt... I saw examples of wretched excess in all these and more. One of the reasons I hung around the judges was to try and pick up their attitudes about weathering and paint. One of them looked at a tank and commented, "1:1 dirt doesn't really work in modeling," or words to that effect. The tendency to overdo it is one reason I'll start out with no, or very little, weathering at first.

This can go the other way as well - I was admiring one very nice Japanese aircraft and noticed the builder had neglected to darken the cowl machine gun ejection ports. There's a fine balance among the right details, the wrong details, and too many details. And I think I'm going to make a vacuum-form machine - boy, I wish I'd kept the Mattel one I had as a kid.

You should come to our show. We don't let those guys in. And any that do sneak in we shoot. Or we did, until Lil Johnny took away our guns. Now we just give them dirty looks. But they're *real mean* dirty looks. :-)

RobG

Yeah, but did *you* know everything at 20? Betcha did! :-)

RobG

"Don McIntyre wrote

(snip)

WW1 aircraft with a nice coat of matt varnish that takes the sheen entirely off. They were almost all high gloss, so even in small scale should be satin.

Shane

"jerry 47" wrote

Most of the better quality etched brass railings are 5 thou - times 700 gives railings that are 3.5 INCHES in diameter.

Now I know that's too much even for solid bar railings, but it's no worse than Tamiya panel lines of their 1/48 aircraft

Shane

Unfortunately, at 20 I had achieved only 90% of my current Omniscient State.

It was only after viewing Caddy Shack and receiving the Revelation from Bill Murray ("Gungada, Gungada") that I attained the elevation I now enjoy. :-)

"Blessed are they who go around in circles, for they shall be known as Wheels."

Art

I have to admit, most better in satin sheen.

Actually it's the Indian rope trick. Where they climb up the rope and dissapear. Been puzzling magicians for ages.

You might be thinking of the Oriental basket trick...like to try one sometime. hth

The Keeper (of too much crap!)

I gotta try that! Cheers,

The Keeper (of too much crap!)

They may be 5 thou thick, but how wide are they? You have to add up all the four dimensions of the photo etch. So, they're 5 thou x 20 thou x 5 thou by

20 thou. That makes 50 thou for the diameter, which makes them huge! Jerry 47 Jerry 47

The working tool clamps in 1/35? You're nuts!

The newer WEM and GMM PE rails are much thinner than what you're quoting, pretty consistent 0.005" all around these days.