Functional or Fun

[arick]

For several years, Don and I have chatted about how we build our models.

Don puts a lot of thought into his builds. He builds as if it were to be "functional" as would be a 1:1 car in real life. I, on the other hand, tend to build for fun. I want my model to look real, but it may not "work" in real life. My attitude is that "its just a model". This is not an argument over either style, its just the way Don and I build.

We're not talking high end kits (like Pocher) that are designed to be built as would be the 1:1 car. The subjects here are typical kit builds, scratch built models and the aftermarket.

I'm curious, do you guys prefer to build for function or fun?

By the way, it really dosen't matter............

Edited July 10, 2010 by arick

[LDO]

Functional. No Machineguns poking out of the hood of my Aston Martin, thank you.

A) No room for them

B ) Darn sure no room for a retract mechanism

C) No room for ammo feed chutes, especially if they both feed from the same side

D) There is no LMG or GPMG that could poke through the hood vents on the DBS. It's just silly.

To be fair, I do nitpick a bit

For $165,000 I'd want simulated machineguns that don't FEED THROUGH THE EJECTION PORT. /nitpick over

Edited July 10, 2010 by LDO

[bill w]

I enjoy building. But no matter what I build I have too try and make it functional.

It's cool if it works!

Bill

[old-hermit]

Functional up to the point where it becomes tedious.

Fun, always.

[sjordan2]

Functional or out there, if it isn't fun, why do it?

[David G.]

I strive for accuracy, but I've built both ways depending on the end I want to achieve.

For example, the nuclear powered car that I've been working on for a while now; I have very little knowledge of how a small nuclear power plant could be made to power an automobile, but I've seen enough science fiction movies to be able to fake it. At the same time, if I decide to wire an engine, I'll verify the firing order and take the time to do it right.

Even the builders who strive for as much mechanical accuracy as possible are doing it for fun. So I guess we all build for the fun of it no matter which path we take.

[Harry P.]

I try to make my models look as if they could work in real life. My pet peeve is super giant clown car wheels that A: would have no room for suspension travel, and B: would not allow for steering. To me, a model with outlandishly huge wheels just looks like a toy, not a scale model of a real (or possible) full-scale car.

[comp1839]

i'm always trying to build my models as if they were miniature copies of the real thing. not necessarily an existing car but, all the parts and pieces must be as close as i can get them to the "real deal".

[Danno]

Rather than 'functional' I use the term 'realistic' to describe what I strive for. I want a model to look as much like a realistic miniature vehicle as possible. I do not want it to look like a toy or a small cartoon. To me, a model is successful when it looks like a tiny 1:1; the more it does, the better.

I get a kick out of seeing peoples' reactions to killer builds, whether mine or those of others. It's great to see someone blown away by the accuracy of a hand-crafted miniature. The ultimate compliment is to have a model described as looking just like the real thing.

[Jim Gibbons]

If it ain't fun, it's not a hobby, it's an obsession. I enjoy researching a particular car to make sure I get the details as right as possible. There are times when I want to add the extras to make it look like it could be functional, and others where I'll just build it "out of the box" and just make it look good. I've built Pocher kits in the past, sewn upholstery pleats, etc., but I find myself building a little bit "less" and enjoying it more these days. I so admire the awesome builds I see here, and find them inspiring, but my disability budget limits getting aftermarket (with the rare addition of photoetched parts) so I just go with the kit flow. More often than not, I give my builds away, and the satisfaction of seeing someone else enjoy the fruits of my labor makes it all worthwhile.

[arick]

I think Jims comment "if it ain't fun, its not a hobby" nails it.

[The Creative Explorer]

Fun, but it needs to lean towards realistic and believable as well.

[Dragline]

I build for realism most of the time. Functional? I build 1/25 so not really.

comp1839, I can smell the Nitro through my monitor on your stuff dude.

Bob