Can there be too many parts?

[oldcarfan]

I started one a while back. It is currently sitting in its box on the shelf. It will stay there until it has learned its lesson and promises to behave! I've moved on to the Monogram curbside 911s to calm down.

[Xingu]

I started one a while back. It is currently sitting in its box on the shelf. It will stay there until it has learned its lesson and promises to behave! I've moved on to the Monogram curbside 911s to calm down.

My Monogram has a broken windshield, that is why I started this one. Hopefully the hard, long drawn out part is now done.

[Snake45]

I started one a while back. It is currently sitting in its box on the shelf. It will stay there until it has learned its lesson and promises to behave! I've moved on to the Monogram curbside 911s to calm down.

I built the Mono 911 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved everything about it except the too-small rear tires. I guess I should just replace those.

[martinfan5]

Yall's are crazy, first you complain about Japanese kits being curbside, and now complaining about them giving you too many parts for the engine.

[Samuel S]

I am working on a Fujimi/Testors Porsche 911 Turbo. There are 48 pieces to the engine assembly. There is a lot of detail (I am sure it isn't enough for some), but man this is a good amount of work for something that will not be seen that well when the model is complete. A good portion of the engine in the 1:1 reference photos I am using is hidden.

Anyone else build a model and ask yourself why so much detail here and not near enough there?

Ok, rant over.

It really depends on what you are building.  Like tamiya laferrari  I feel like the part number is just about right but there are few companies that just splits unnecessary parts and some companies doesn't split the necessary parts like fujimi 458 i talia molded bottom half of the seat.

[martinfan5]

It really depends on what you are building.  Like tamiya laferrari  I feel like the part number is just about right but there are few companies that just splits unnecessary parts and some companies doesn't split the necessary parts like fujimi 458 i talia molded bottom half of the seat.

A good amount of kits from Fujimi have the bottom part of the seat molded to the interior.

[oldcarfan]

I used to love the really detailed kits, but I've grown to appreciate simple fun builds over the years. I found that it was getting to be too much like work..

[peteski]

I used to love the really detailed kits, but I've grown to appreciate simple fun builds over the years. I found that it was getting to be too much like work..

That was true many years ago, but now thanks to inexpensive digital photography, you can take close-up photos of all the parts of the model which will become hidden and then create an album which you can place next to the model and which will show all those photos of the hidden items. Just like the restorers of 1:1 cars do when they display their cars.

[Darren B]

A favorite (military) parts story:  a few years ago, TAKOM released its fantastic kits of the Mark IV World War I tank.  But the tracks...

According to Terry Ashley at Perth Military Modeling Society: each individual track link was made up of FIVE (5) separate parts. The kit required 92 track links on each side, for a sub-total of 460 parts per side, or 920 (NINE HUNDRED AND TWENTY!!!) parts just for the 2 track runs.

Even TAKOM realized this was insane, and simplified the tracks in later WWI tank kits.  The new tracks were one-piece links that clicked together and looked just as good as the multi-piece tracks. TAKOM also cleverly sold those simplified tracks as aftermarket items.
 

That is insane for the road wheels. 920. I remember when doing a panzer just cleaning up the 16 road wheels seemed tedious, could not imagine working on all of those little wheels on the original issue. Good news they got it right thou and simplified them.....

[Dragline]

I'll weigh in on the Fujimi kits. The engines have optional stands included which lets the builder display the engine outside of the car. Since it is not in the generally cramped [European] engine bay it's out for all to see and needs the detailing. The rest of the kit has all the doodads as seperate pieces and when done look the part superbly. There is no substitute for interior window cranks and underhood assesories to make a finished model look like the actual item. The age thing baffles me too. At 52 I'm craving more detail than ever in my builds. I've built detailed cars before and the desire to make them even better has not waned one bit. I also build Military and know what parts counts can be. So when I open a reissued MPC kit I usually chuckle a bit. After tackling a Dragon M1A1 tank and then going to say the new Yellow Feather kit is actually a break. Even though I know I'll completely plumb the Hemi and add a seatbelt and other goodies it's still a far cry from that tank.

It's a matter or perspective I think.

[Tom Geiger]

Your "Too Much" is another guy's  "Too Little".  It depends on how much detail you are willing to create on your models.

I like full engine detail, including engine bay items.  I like full chassis and interior detail as well.  

Where you get into the too much for me is when things like exterior  trim are separate and chrome plated. Used per the manufacturers instructions  to glue it to the finished body, the trim sticks out and doesn't seat against the body well.  This all winds up stripped, glued onto the bare body, fit in and puttied as needed and later on BMFed the way I would have done if it was molded on anyway!

Some of the Revell of Germany kits and other foreign kits get into that "too much" area.  For instance the ROG Trabant wagon kit has the top of fender chrome (okay mylar) trim pieces separate and the instructions say to paint it silver and add it to your finished body.  No friggin way! I'd like to meet the person who got good results with this.  The pieces are way too small, I had issues gluing it onto the bare body correctly. Yes I will BMF it later.  If the part is smaller than a flea, it's too much detail!

 

[Dann Tier]

Your "Too Much" is another guy's  "Too Little".  It depends on how much detail you are willing to create on your models.

I like full engine detail, including engine bay items.  I like full chassis and interior detail as well.  

Where you get into the too much for me is when things like exterior  trim are separate and chrome plated. Used per the manufacturers instructions  to glue it to the finished body, the trim sticks out and doesn't seat against the body well.  This all winds up stripped, glued onto the bare body, fit in and puttied as needed and later on BMFed the way I would have done if it was molded on anyway!

Some of the Revell of Germany kits and other foreign kits get into that "too much" area.  For instance the ROG Trabant wagon kit has the top of fender chrome (okay mylar) trim pieces separate and the instructions say to paint it silver and add it to your finished body.  No friggin way! I'd like to meet the person who got good results with this.  The pieces are way too small, I had issues gluing it onto the bare body correctly. Yes I will BMF it later.  If the part is smaller than a flea, it's too much detail!

 

You should check out GeeBee's Trabant, he had excellent results with the very part you're talking about, AND he managed to still paint the rubber trim on top of it!!!!

[Dann Tier]

My building has changed over the last four years or so. I use to detail the heck out of every single one of my builds, but now I only do it to certain ones. For instance: I have a Revell 70 Hemi Cuda, and a Revell 67 GTX, both have Hemi's, but only one of them will get the full-blown detailing, the other will get the hood glued down. I guess what i'm after these days is having ONE detailed-out example of a certain motor. I think I partially do it this way, because 1) I have a ton of MUST build before I die, and 2) It saves a ton on detail parts. Plus, as much as I love modeling, I find myself needing to do less detailed builds for a break. I think I have found a nice balance in my modeling. The only things that I will NEVER lack detail in are the interiors, and body works. Lets face it, they get built and set on a shelf to admire, then we move on to the next one. As long as it looks real sitting there, that's all I care about for the most part. Guess I got a little side-tracked.....When it comes to parts in a kit, "Its better to have more and not need, than to need and not have"  -modified quote.

[Tom Geiger]

For instance: I have a Revell 70 Hemi Cuda, and a Revell 67 GTX, both have Hemi's, but only one of them will get the full-blown detailing, the other will get the hood glued down. 

Dan, why not build both motors at the same time?  It's less work and you can get the good results on both of them.

I find myself getting more and more into the engine bay as of late. It's more like "can I really do this?" and it's exciting when it comes out well.

[Luc Janssens]

My motto is form follows function, which means if a extra part adds value to the model, be it in better detail, ease of assembly for instance for painting, then I'm all for it.

But parts just to show off what a manufacturer is capable of, no thanks, cuz then we end up with almost unbuildable kits like the Mirror Models Diamond-T wrecker kit....

[Xingu]

In the case of the Porsche engine, I can see why about 90% of the parts were needed. They definitely are needed to aid installation. The other 10% could have been molded onto other parts. So in this case, Porsche is to blame for most of it. Hard to get the engine and drivetrain into that tiny space otherwise.

[Dann Tier]

Dan, why not build both motors at the same time?  It's less work and you can get the good results on both of them.

I find myself getting more and more into the engine bay as of late. It's more like "can I really do this?" and it's exciting when it comes out well.

Tom,those look pretty sweet!!  -nice work. I don't know why I don't want to do super-detail all the time anymore. It actually bothers me a lot that I don't feel the same anymore. I'm actually having a really hard time just getting the motivation to work on a build, especially after 16 months, and two kits of working hard on a super detailed Tamiya Ferrari F 40. The first kit got some thinner splattered on the finished body, so I crumpled it up and threw it away. I refuse to strip anything, so I pulled out my 2nd kit and got started. This build went fine til the body had to go on. Regardless of my numerous attempts to seat the body, it didn't want to go down all the way, and when the glue started to set, I couldn't pull it appart, so I carefully tried to pry it appart, and chipped a HUGE chunk of paint off the body. I threw it at the wall, and it shattered into a million pieces. I've NEVER had this kind of trouble building before. Anyway, it was at that point I said "no more Tamiya F 40's, I'm gonna try the Fujimi F 40 that nobody builds." At that point, I didn't care about a fully detailed engine in this car, I just wanted an F 40 on my shelf. Long story short, I,ve got all but the body done on the Fujimi F 40 , but cant bring myself to finish it. it sucks.

[martinfan5]

I used to love the really detailed kits, but I've grown to appreciate simple fun builds over the years. I found that it was getting to be too much like work..

I agree,  it can be very enjoyable to build a more simplified kit , more so after building a more detail intense kit.

[Dann Tier]

I agree,  it can be very enjoyable to build a more simplified kit , more so after building a more detail intense kit.

I agree too.