[WWI] "Scale Effect"

[Tom Mason]

Andy,

To me your preaching to the choir!!!
As for preshading and overdone panel lines you don't have to say a word and 
I agree with you!!

T.O.M.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andy Bannister" <a.bann at ntlworld.com>
To: "World War I Modeling Mailing List" <wwi at wwi-models.org>
Cc: "Bryon Robertson" <robertsonrealty at mountaincable.net>
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 3:30 AM
Subject: Re: [WWI] "Scale Effect"


For what it's worth, this is why I think "scale effect" is complete and 
utter nonsense. I'm sure many on here will be sick of reading my thoughts on 
it, but it is a particular pet peeve of mine, especially when decal 
manufacturers adopt it as a gimmick to sell their product which means I then 
have to "correct" the decals to make them usable...!

I've heard the argument about comparing paint chips to the real thing up 
close and far away many times. This, to me, is a very different thing to the 
world of scale modelling. I'm not debating that perceived colour changes the 
further you get away from an object, that's a reality. What I am saying is 
that trying to replicate this on a model is folly. Perhaps I lack 
imagination, but when I make a model I have no intention of trying to make 
it look like the real thing parked x number of feet away. It is a miniature 
representation of the real thing that will sit on a shelf with all the other 
miniature representations. I can't fool my brain into thinking it's the real 
thing parked on the other side of the hardstand, nor do I particularly want 
to. Therefore, when I look at a scale model I want it to replicate the 
colours it's *supposed* to be as closely as I can; ie, if it's supposed to 
be black it should look black, not dark grey. My current project is Jacobs' 
Dr.I and it would just look wrong to me in dark grey with off-white crosses. 
Models I've seen painted with scale effect just don't look like the real 
thing parked 72 feet away, they look like faded & weathered models. Not 
necessarily a bad thing, just not what the modeller was intending. If 
someone has to actually tell me it's scale effect and not weathering then 
what's the bloody point?!

Artists use the scale effect as one of several methods to create the 
illusion of 3 dimensions in a 2 dimesional medium. However, I believe it is 
inappropriate & unnecessary to use this same method on a 3 dimensional 
model. Perhaps on a large scale airfield diorama where the viewing angle is 
strictly controlled then, yes, it would look effective to have the aircraft 
parked further away painted in lighter shades than the aircraft up close. 
But that same diorama viewed from the other end would look like a bunch of 
well used aircraft parked up close and some new ones parked further away; an 
inappropriate "reverse scale effect" if you will.

Now to get back to the original question, to actually draw up a chart as Ian 
Huntley did telling us the *correct* amounts of white to add to model paint 
is ludicrous. It would be like handing Pablo Picasso a scientific formula 
that he must adhere to in order to replicate his own painting style! And why 
add white paint to everything willy nilly when there's no guarantee the 
paint is anywhere near correct to begin with? As many have said, paint it so 
it looks right to you, not how some chart tells you how it should look. If 
you want to incorporate some kind of scale effect and you're happy with how 
it looks then go for it. Personally, I like the way my models look even 
though they're obviously far too dark to be sitting 72 feet away! ;-)

As for AG decals being printed in scale colours - how would anyone know? 
What benchmark could you compare them to to say with any certainty? You 
would need a pristine original piece of fabric and then look at it from x 
number of feet away in various lighting & weather conditions, then compare 
it to your decals to decide if any scale effect was used. Chances of those 
conditions being met are slim to none, so why bother?

All of the above is of course my own opinion and what makes me happy with my 
models. And that, above all else, is really the whole point of modelling to 
me. Paint them the way you like, not how Mr. Huntley likes them.

Now don't even get me started on pre-shading and overdone panel lines...! 
;-)

Andy
Flying off in a pink Fokker Dr.I...


--
Andy

Choreographer, writer, producer, teaboy
www.warpedplastic.co.uk