A year on

[Guest]

Just as a matter of interest, well, it may not be to anyone really, but I thought I would post this. As you can see from my details, I joined this forum in December 2009 and this was about the first completed model I posted on here or anywhere else.

It is a 1:72 Airfix Sea Harrier from the Falklands set and it was a very nice kit. I managed to build it reasonably well and sprayed it with rattle can primer, I had no air brush then. I was reasonably happy with the surface detail and the finish of the primer and then I painted it with the little pots of paint that came with the kit.

It turned out terrible as you can see from the picture below, it really is cringe making to see it again. However, I pulled myself up and posted it as a disaster to await the sniggers from the forum.

All I got was honest, yes it is rubbish paintwork, comments and encouragement not to get downhearted and to keep going.

I took this advice and a year later, they are just as bad :laughing:

Nooo, I have come on a bit since this was posted nearly a year ago and that is down to the honesty of this forum, its support and advice and the amazing generosity of the way that members freely share their techniques and skills.

So, anyone reading this who is wondering if, as a beginer, should the join this forum, I can only say YES What I have learned from this forum in the last year is priceless. Had it not been for this forum, I would have given up modelling by the end of December 2009.

If you have just started or returned to the hobby and are producing models even worse than the monstrosity pictured below then this is the place to be. Trust me, you will improve with the help of this forum. If I can, anyone can.

By the way, it no longer exists, one of the dogs chewed it up for which I gave the dog a treat.........

[Guest]

Fenlander, I totally agree with your comments.

As you may remember I spoke to you a while back about doing online builds. I told you I was a bit worried as I felt my skill level was far below that of the other forum users. Your response was that I should go ahead and do an online build as the comments I would receive would be encouraging.

So far you have been 100% spot on. I know my work is very poor by comparison, but thanks to the forum users I have picked up some useful skills.

Now, Im not going to say that this Sea Harrier is poorly made. Not only does it go against the flow of the forum users, but only you know what is good and what is bad, by your own standards. Ive not finished a kit since I was a kid, so I dont even know if I can produce something better.

However, I think we know each other well enough for me to get away with saying that I think you can do better.

Thank you so much for this post, I personally appreciate it. Ive seen a few awesome builds in the last couple of weeks but this post shows, not just me, but noobs that with a little help great improvements can be made.

[stona]

It wasn't that bad Graham!

You are quite right,we all improve by seeing what other people do and noone should worry about posting a picture on this forum.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

It wasn't that bad Graham!

Steve, the paint was so rough that the local 4x4 Drivers Club asked if I could replicate it at full size for the to use as an off road testing ground lol.

Cheers Penny, I do believe I can do better now but I certainly couldn't then

[Guest]

I agree Graham, this is the place to be, im glad you posted up your first efforts, i have yet to start on my Tiger 1. The difference is that i have been on here quite some time too but have yet to start a project. Lets wait and see what i come up with before you say that your first post was a monster lol.

Andy

[Guest]

I know what you mean mate and agree 100% , I think we`ve all come on leaps and bounds , I would like to get rid of my pictures in my gallery that are all from when I 1st started as they make me cringe now , if it was not for this forum and the guys and girls on it I doubt I would have improved that much tbh like yourself , what I love about this forum is no matter what level anyone is at whether a novice or a master we all treat everyone same and with respect and long may it continue

on a personal note I would like apologise for not being on here as much as I would like but I am in the middle of moving , not done any modelling for about 2 months and I`m now biting at the bit to get back this hobby is like a drug , Penny your one of us now mate so stop putting yourself down , from what I`ve seen your work is good

Richy

(I will be back)

[Guest]

The way I see it there is no such thing as a good or a bad model, they are all the best we can do at the time. We all go on to learn from our experience and hopefully get better as we go along. I'm sure some of my early ones would look pretty grim nowadays but they were the best I could do at the time and every Saturday evening another model would join the shelf in my bedroom and I would enjoy looking at it. The really good ones got hung from the ceiling and would get a torch flashed at them in the dark to simulate flak. I know there is no-one sniggering because we've all done it!

Anyway no matter what the standard of the model it needs constructive critisism for the parts that can be improved and praise for the parts that came out well. For instance with Grahams Harrier we can say what a superb shade or red and blue the roundels are and then advise him that if he used a slightly larger pallete knife to apply the paint he might get a smoother finish. (Sorry Graham!) We are all on the same learning curve but at different positions on it and we all have the ability to move further along it.

The great thing is also that we can look back down the curve and learn something from the newer modellers with fresh ideas. Fantastic isn't it?

The proof of the pudding is look a what Graham is producing now compared to a year ago. I've been doing this for fourty years and I can still make a really good mess when I try hard enough!!

[Ian M]

Graham I agree whole heatedly. This forum is the place to be. Before I built models just for the hell of it. Some thing to kill time if you like. Since I joined the forum, I felt I should 'get my act together' and try that little bit harder. I am well aware that nothing we do here is a contest but deep down inside I think we are all competition people and the netural urge to try and do things better next time is hard to fight off.

The tips and tricks I have picked up here have gone a long way in helping me along the way.

I thank you all for your input both the good and not so good.

A great example. Right now I await the paint to dry so I can finnish the next step in painting the markings on a spitfire. Some thing I would never considered doing before I came on here.

We have a 'panel of experts' that we can all plunder, regardless of the subject.

OK there are some of o members that are way ahead of the game and we can only watch in amazement as they turn out yet another master piece.

Now Im off to find my first posted model and see how things have gone......

Thanks for a great Forum John!

[AlanG]

As from next thursday i've been on the forum for 2 years. In that time (mostly this year though) i have made some great friends on here and expanded my knowledge about this wonderful hobby albiet mostly within this last year. I have learned about acrylic paints and the use of klear, how to and how not to use blue-tac (GB Stuka G-2), tried using wire for detailing but mostly learned to enjoy my hobby with like-minded people from all over the world in an environment that is welcoming and friendly.

On the subject of forum users. I put a thanks out to you all for making it sucha wonderful experience. Some of you may know me from other forums which i go on from time to time but this one is by far the best and friendliest

[Guest]

Graham, you should take heart from the fact that having seen your Harrier I now realise I wouldn't be embarrassed to show my return to modelling brush painted 48th Airfix Hurricane, your post has done wonders for my confidence :laughing:

[yak face]

Good to see the sea harrier again graham, ok its not perfect but then whose model ever is? the important thing is that at the time you were happy with it and deservedly so. We might all be better or worse than the next man but the great leveller on this forum is that we all enjoy what weve done and respect everyone elses efforts , with constructive criticism and encouragement offered. Ive just bumped the old thread so you can relive your first 'show', cheers tony

[Guest]

Penny your one of us now mate so stop putting yourself down , from what I`ve seen your work is good Richy

(I will be back)

You have only seen my brushwork inside the aircraft and you are yet to see my airbrush work. There are many badly painted coke bottles around my home

I am joking when I put myself down, I know Im not totally useless (Without sounding over cocky). I know people here are encouraging but they aren't liars

I could have not posted it but in time to come when I hope to be be productively contributing to this forum, people will see where I have come from. One of the things I hate about some forums is the way that only totally perfect models are posted. Makes you wonder if they ever do make mistakes or get it wrong. I am sure they do but are not honest enough to share their mistakes.

Ive copied this from the original post as I feel its more relevant here.

Thank you for this. This one paragraph has just given me a lot of inspiration.

I read all the posts in this forum, even the posts concerning subject matters that do not interest me as much. One of the things I do notice is people saying "This went wrong so I did blah blah blah". Now, I dont know if you know how it is important to say things like this but it shows those of us who are not award winning modellers that a) mistakes can happen to anyone and b) it gives us solutions to problems that we may encounter in the future.

Ill hold my hand up and say Ive joined other forums, not because Im looking for a better forum, but because Im looking for as wide a knowledge base as possible, and this is, in my honest opinion, the only forum where all people, from the humble beginner to the very best all play on the same level playing field.

Thank you