> So when will companies such as Tamiya, Accurate, Hasegawa,
> etc come out with really nice WWI stuff? It sure seems like
> this field is always doing field dressings over kit
> shortcomings.
>and Matt answered (in part)
>Wow. You just summed up the whole problem with the WW1 modeling
>field. Think about it. Are there any kits you know of that can -
>honestly - be built out of the box? With no additions, no
>corrections, no outline correcting, nothing you need to add to the
>cockpit. Even the DML kits fall short. And if you're thinking about
>saying one of the Eduard kits, think again. That flat brass is going
>to need some type of help - be it replacement or "paint build up".
>Also look at Eduard's engines. HA! Even though they're supplying
>"white metal", they're so drab - and who know just how accurate -
>that replacement is almost a necessity.
I KNOW I'm going top get fried for having an elitist attitude for this
but...
I'd probably give up building WW1 aircraft if they HAD to be of a
standard better than the Tamiya Wildcat just to be considered shit. At
one time (in my childhood) I bought and built models by volume, caring
not one whit about the accuracy, and I really enjoyed myself. Then came
the pursuit of the demon perfection, and the fun evaporated in an
instant. What is worse I found out something I should have known all
along.
If you buy the "best" kit, and build it to your "best" standard, then put
it in a contest, the judges will say "nice, but then, it should be, given
that Tamiya/Hasegawa/etc. did most of it" and deep inside I feel the
same.
If I buy a cruddy old SMER, chuck away everything except the name of the
subject, and build it myself to contest standards the judges *might* (we
live in hope) say "nice, and a tribute to his skills". Then, deep inside
I feel like maybe I'm a modeller.
And I get the same feelings whether I enter a contest, or just put it on
the shelf.
This is NOT a plea to everyone to scratchbuild, or anything more than do
whatever turns you on, but hey, the KIT is just material, like the glue.
There will NEVER be a kit from any maker which will be universally
acclaimed as perfect, because there will always be a modeller who
wants"just one more" detail added by the manufacturer. So maybe we should
look at the current plentiful material and enjoy it. The DML kits are
wonderfull, not much over 10 years ago they'd have been impossible.
"Necessary" (says who?) corrections are trivial. The Eduard kits are
extraordinary - giving a jump off point a million miles nearer perfection
than a flat sheet of plastic card. Even those maligned and ancient Airfix
and Revell standbys are better than half the kits on the market. Let's
get realistic, and in the absence of perfection, I for one will settle
for plain old terrific.
Shane