Totally right or Look right

[Guest]

After reading now for a couple of years on this forum I came to the conclusion that there is a split between those who wish to get all detail & paint colours absolutely correct & do not wish to compromise. On the other side those who will compromise to get what they want in their finished model.

When I started about 30 months ago authenticity was my goal but since then I have "lapsed" into the want it to look right.

Also found that in trying to hard to remedy a fault in the model that it can look worse than just leaving alone & making the best.

Always amaze when I look at finished models on my shelves I have forgotten & do not see all those little faults which annoyed me intensely at the time of construction.

Obviously this does not slice us into two camps as there is a mingle between the two.

Which part of the mingle are you ?

Laurie

[Guest]

Defiantly in the looks right to me camp and sometimes I don't care if it even looks right as long as I enjoyed building it. Will usually get as close as I can with the paints I have to hand and would not dare to cut up a model to correct a kit fault because I don't think I would be good enough to fix the resulting mess, but I have the utmost respect for those that can and do. Not much of a scratch builder myself also hardly ever use aftermarket parts as the kits are expensive enough on their own

[takeslousyphotos]

I'm definately in the "look right" camp. I try to get it as close as possible to how it should look but I also employ a bit of artistic license sometimes. At the moment this Kingfisher OS2 I'm desperately trying to finish (I've really not enjoyed this build) has had a bit of interpretation chucked into the mix. As for the aftermarket stuff, and particularly Photo Etch..... I hate it. I'm ok with the larger bits but those itty bitty bits just hack me off............ I wish I had the skill and the patience in enough measure to deal with them but it's just beyond me............ At the end of the day, I know my stuff isn't "5****" but I get a few pleasing results, and I'm satisfied with that.

Peter

[Guest]

Yes I am in the with you camp about "cutting up". Know your limittions plus the time put in I would rather present to my next model. But that is me. I have great respect & interest in those who cut about & amend models.

Problem for me is if I make a mess of it I would take the hammer to it.

Like that attitude Peter. I quite like to add a bit of wiring etc but now decided if you cannot see it after the model is all completed then on to the next.

Laurie

[Andy2035]

I don't really know what camp I would class my self in, I don't build things to look exact, I had too much of that when I was a kid, if it wasn't exactly like the one on the box it was thrown out by my Dad, so now I just build things for me and have fun doing it...

[Gern]

I'd have to say I'm very much in the 'close enough' camp too. I don't really have the interest to research stuff so 99% of my builds are straight OOB. I trust the manufacturer to get the shape/colours/markings right - even though there's LOADS of examples where they've got something wrong.

I know the world is full of knowledgeable folk who know the precise differences between a Mk VIII and a Mk IX Messerwulf Avengefire and we need them to help force manufacturers to get things right, but they live on a different modelling street to me - as long as I know their address I'm happy to visit, but I wouldn't want to share lodgings with them!

I'm quite happy to try and add simple details as long as I don't have to cut and change the original. And like Peter (takeslousyphotos), I really struggle with PE so I'm struggling to even finish some builds OOB.

But I'm happy enough to plod on and just do the best I can.

Gern

[AlanG]

Mix of both for me. I'll mostly build to look right though. I am not skilled enough to do a model totally right

[Guest]

First thing I believe all models are compromises,it's just not possible to produce an exact replica in the materials available to modellers. Having said that if I built a model that I knew had errors I would find it simply annoying.Therefore I will always try to build a model as accurate as possible if this requires major surgery so be it.This leads onto another point you have to have the knowledge of the prototype to be aware of problems for it to warrant the corrections. In my case having a reasonable knowledge and interest in the Hellcat a minor fault may jump out at me, against this having only a general knowledge of the Bf109 a major issue could very well go over my head. Therefore I guess like most I am somewhere between the two poles my position varying on what I am building.

Malcolm

[Guest]

When I returned to modelling about 4 years ago I would have almost sleepless nights trying to match the exact FS number etc on my model; now I pick a photo off of the web and try to match those colours. Quite often the colours specified in the kit are wrong or don't account for wear and tear/sun fade or even the ambient lighting conditions etc. Having been modelling for a few years, I have built up a stock of half full/empty bottles so I use what I have and mix if necessary. I agree totally that you are often better leaving small errors rather than trying to repair them and making an ever bigger balls up. Derek

[Guest]

Yep I`m in the close enough that will do me camp also .

Richy C

[Ian M]

If it looks fine I'm happy. I do like the colour to be reasonably close though. I'm long past the obsessive however. It's only really going to work on a factory new, never been out the depot kind of build. As soon as the dust and mud and "#%# starts flying it kind of a mute point. In the end colour is a perception. No two people will perceive the same colour as the same until they are placed on top of each other.

A bit of PE here and there, WHEN NEEDED, ditto resin. As and when its called for.

Ian M

[stona]

A bit of both. I'm prepared to hack at a kit to some extent but I won't re-engineer the thing if it is hopelessly wrong. I just won't buy kits like that!

I do try to get authentic markings and schemes. When it comes to painting then definitely what looks right, based on a knowledge of original colours and hopefully a decent reference or two. Painting is as much an artistic as scientific enterprise.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

On top of all the points above, painting a model in the 100% correct colours often looks 100% wrong

[Guest]

If it looks right then thats fine by me. I like to add abit of detail and use a bit of PE or resin here and there but that would normally be if the kits parts are really low on detail. As for colour I will try and get it close but if its not a perfect match then so be it, I model for the pleasure of it, and if the finished models makes me smile then I know I've done what I wanted.

[Guest]

I'm in the if it looks right camp, especially when colour comes into play match as close as you can then when you apply washes and weathering it is usually not too far off the picture.

Scott