Rob Wood wrote:
In my humble opinion, unless you're obsessed with accuracy (or you're building on commission for a museum or collector), the important thing is to enjoy building the kit. That's the reason 99.9% of us get into this pastime in the first place.
I speak from experience when I say that there is no actual end to scale accuracy. It is literally impossible to build a 100% scale model of a particular ship (or anything else, for that matter, but especially something as complex as a warship). You could spend a lifetime on a single model, and on your deathbed, still be wondering if you got the exact number of portholes where they are supposed to be, and while you're at it, what about the hinges on the portholes?
If you want to simply enjoy building a model of a warship from a kit, then just build it out of the box. Finish the thing, and proudly display it. Would a naval historian be impressed with its accuracy? Probably not, but how many of those do you have hanging around your house?
If, after you finish it, you feel like taking your model building to the next level, then do your research, consider buying aftermarket parts and photo etched details.
My 2 cents, for what they're worth.
Rob
Ron, I totally agree with your statements on this point. 100% accuracy is simply unattainable in any kit unless you have fantastic scratch building skills and are willing to put a tremendous amount of time into research and into building your kit. Like you, I'm content to get a reasonable representation of the subject that I'm modeling.
Like you, I do this for fun and relaxation and I find that stressing over every little detail simply sucks the fun and enjoyment out of building for me. As to PE and other after market, I usually get a basic PE set for each kit I'm building and use, of course, the railings, ladders and any other items that my skill level allows me to work with successfully. I long ago came to the realization that my builds are never going to rise to the level of many of the masterpieces we see in the gallery - and that is just fine for me. I do the best job I can with the skills and talent I have and if I feel that I've done my best within my limitations, I'm happy with what I do. As an example, I'm currently working on Italeri's P.T. 593. In a lapse of sanity I bought the LionRoar upgrade set and I've discovered that much of the PE included in it is either well beyond my skill level, or requires more excruciating detail work than I am prepared to put into a kit that builds up very nicely out of the box. So, I use the parts from the upgrade set that I feel I can successfully manipulate and which actually add something to an already nicely detailed kit.
For those that want to produce a result that is as accurate as possible and has all of the after market bells and whistles, I say "go for it, good for you!", but that approach simply isn't for me. I do try to push myself just a bit with each kit to try to improve my skills, but not to the extent of sucking the fun out of what I'm doing. For what it is worth, I display some of my better builds in my office and a lot of my clients do comment on them. For all of that, I've yet to have somebody point out an error in a model for what it is supposed to represent.
I think you are spot on that most of us build for fun and relaxation. Surely our hobby is a big enough tent to allow the "fun and relaxation" builders to have a seat at the table along with the rivet counters.
IMHO,
Bob