J Morrison

From the side it looks to me like it could be the evolution of the Mitsubishi Eclipse.

The wire is too thick a gauge. Also the back one should be straight not on an angle like it is now. You're very close. Use a smaller gauge wire and keep it wound tight and you should be golden.

Looks very nice and quite a clean build. A small suggestion for your next project if you'll indulge me. Your return springs are a bit on the large side. Keeping everything in scale against each other will go a long way towards giving you a more realistic look.

That really wouldn't work if you're going for realism. When teams aren't advertising for their sponsors on the track, they're advertising for them on the streets(see below). A couple decals in the corner aren't gonna cut it. I would suggest getting some pics of the trailers you want to replicate and see if someone could make them for you.

Hearing some more of the back story does seem to eliminate the "home cooking" issue so that is a plus. I definitely see why you entered some kits especially in classes with no entries. From what you describe the issue is sore losers who don't have the ability to match yours. Nothing wrong with you being a good modeler. The problem is how they are reacting to losing to a better model. Very poor behavior on their part.

Just curious, is the show judged by the club or popular vote? Playing Devil's Advocate here, but possibly the reason the number of entries was down is due to club members entering, and winning, their own contest? I'm not saying that your models weren't deserving of winning, just that club members winning in their own contests will send conspiracy theorists in to a tizzy no matter how good the winning models are.

I think you missed the train then, you're posting on page 10 & the thread is now on page 11. Just sayin.

A lot of people are commenting here that they build for themselves. They aren't gonna change to please me. Misunderstanding what I'm saying and trying to apply it to the entire hobby. Well I'm sorry but I'm not talking about 99% of you. Unless your name is nationally known, Unless your builds are consistently featured in magazines every other issue, I'm NOT directing my question towards your builds. It's directed at a very select few who are in the upper echelon of the hobby.

Dear Lord does no one know how to comprehend what they read anymore?! I NEVER said people had to build to a standard above themselves. I'm saying their build (singular) should have the same level of quality, their level of quality, through the whole build not just 90% of it

That just validates the topic even more. On its face it may not have interested you much but as it developed you felt compelled to share your opinion on the subject and replies. Not too bad if I do say so myself.

That is a very large part of my point Tom. Now imagine every model he did got national acclaim & was set as a measuring stick of the hobby as a goal to strive for. Would it not be upsetting that what could have been a wonderful model isn't, and worse yet gets the spotlight on it continuously. As to the last sentence, I'm sorry for your loss. In the grand scheme of things your right it doesn't matter much, but in the grand scheme of things not much hobby related, any hobby, doesn't matter much.

Yes, some good points Tom but the highlighted portion misses my question. I'm only talking about building ONE project at a time and building THAT model to the same level of detail throughout the ENTIRE build, not stopping short with the detail just before the finish of the project. Looking at Gregg Nichol's Backdraft you can see what I mean about a model being cohesive in the detail throughout. Let's say in place of the dropped front axle he used a steel axle from an old AMT kit instead. Surely you would question that and wonder why he didn't make a front axle to match the rest of the model's detail. Does this example help get my point across (God I hope so) any better?

I never said that. What I'm saying is the level of detail should be consistent through out the entire model. I hope this clarifies things a bit. If a builders goes 100% on a model why got thru all that work only to stop 50 feet short of the finish line & drop the level of quality. I wasn't going to cite a specific example but since it has been brought up by several others in this thread I will. Read carefully what I write please & thank you. First off, can John Teresi build better than I? Right now, most definitely. Will I ever get to his level? No idea, but that does NOT discount me from being able to have an opinion on his builds. His trike is built very well overall. It's obvious he put a lot of effort into the build and it should be acknowledged and I do. Much better than I could do tackling the same subject. That said the belt/pulley mismatch baffles me. Why put all that effort into that build only to have that aspect look like he handed it off to another builder or just blindly grabbed a belt from the shelf and threw it on there to get the project done? Before anyone says why don't you ask the builders, I did ask John and got no response. This will be my only planned citing of a specific build or builder. Please do not turn this into a personal attack against myself or John. Thank you.

I have been here for a bit and have see the ripping of new ones. I have also seen a very vocal majority beat people down for saying the manufacturers should provide more accurate products. That is the mediocrity I was referencing.

I'm sorry I wasnt completely clear. I'm not saying the buolders are lazy or unprofessional but taking the shortcuts they do can appear that way especially to people outside the hobby who will ask why xxxx couldn't have been done when the rest of the model is finished so well. The mediocrity comment was based more on the comments that give model companies a free pass on any errors they make.

I have said REPEATEDLY this thread is NOT about my build quality or most other people on the board! It's about well established builders who have proven they can do better but fall short in the final execution of the build. In my discussion with Casey about this post he suggested I NOT include names. I agreed that was the way to go. It avoids personal attacks and gives the question more validity on it's own. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out some of the people this topic could apply to.

Well put Casey, thank you. As another poster said, Asking why serious, thought provoking questions can never be asked without such resistance could be a topic unto itself.

Apparently from the same place you "gotten" the right to question my right. They were having a sale.

Again what I have replied previously in this thread has been overlooked/ignored. I'm NOT after glory or fame myself. I'm talking about builders whose skill level is very high and already have national exposure. When 90% or more of their build is great that 10% that isn't stands out even more and looks lazy or unprofessional. When a builder shows they can do much better but shortcuts an aspect of their build it's a let down. I was bringing this topic up to see if their were other like minded people in the hobby. Unfortunately it looks like most are more than willing to accept and defend mediocrity in the face of quality. Sadly this is not just prevalent in the hobby but a lot of aspects of society but that is a topic for a different place.

Again the point was missed and an invalid response was made. I NEVER said I expect anyone to build a perfect model. It's not possible. However if you are going to add detail make sure the detail is correctly don, not just detail for the sake of detail.

I'm just wanting to see what others think about the subject. I'm not saying a builder HAS to do anything. Would I like to see the hobby better represented at the highest, most recognized levels? Of course. Do I expect anything to change? Not realistically. If there was a larger concensus if hobbyists who felt the same way, then change might occur but it looks like sadly that us not the case.

Again I NEVER said to FORCE anyone to build to a certain level. Please go back and read all my posts and work on your reading comprehension skills before replying again. Yes I realize that was passive aggressive but it's getting tiresome having to say the same thing over and over and over.

First, this is not nor was it intended to be a flame topic. It devolved into that because of some immature answers and an unwillingness or fear of having an adult conversation about an admittedly charged topic. Second, I'm not talking about helping a new or average builder. I'm talking about nationally recognized builders who have the ability to build to a very high standard but for some reason say either "I build for myself" or "I don't know about xxxx" to excuse away a portion of the build that isn't up to the standard of the rest of the build.

If that is what you thought my question was then you didn't understand it as much as you thought you did. I'm not saying they have to super detail every build. I'm saying if they are going to add detail at least take the time to make sure it is correct and well done. If they are going to open a panel make sure it fits right, opens & closes correctly etc. If they add parts make sure they are in scale and installed correctly. An example NOT on a top builders model but helps illustrateumy point. I've seen a model with a throttle return spring that was very oversized and mounted vertically instead of horizontally. Things like that are what I'm commenting about.