This is a joke, right?

[Greg Myers]

Well, if the types of comments I'm reading here are the kind of "encouragement" they're getting , can't say that I really blame them.

"That's bad." "That's sloppy." "I could build better than that back when I was still a fetus." Yes, all of that may be true, but let's not give them any advice or anything... let's just go all Simon Cowell from the warm glow of our computer screens and bask in our own magnificence!  

Yes, constructive criticism really is a fantastic thing, and is usually appreciated by the recipient. Maybe not at the time it is administered, but later on when the builder tries to improve based on input from others. But the old frat-boy hazing technique BS that many modelers seem to default to when seeing a less-than-presentable model by a novice is just that... BS. 

I agree, I'm surprised. 

[Daddyfink]

Wow, bashing on a kid, way to go grown up model builders! Bet if he was a member of this fine board he would have been kudo'd to death! 

 

[om617]

Maby this kid parents said he did an great job,the type who have zero insight into model building or care about cars at all.

Same goes for those kids who attempt American Idol,and there sometimes need to be a Simon Cowell lol. But yes i agree,

constructive crticism is a more civilized approach.  

[unclescott58]

It doesn't matter if it is a kid or an adult that made it. He is obviously proud of what he built and was nice enough to share it with the world. The world of course passed judgement, as they are known to do. There are people with varying abilities that post on this forum and I don't see the level of negativity directed at them as was directed at the anonymous person in this video. 

At least he finished the model, as a kid I abandoned many models when I made a mistake or didn't like how it looked.

Thank you. Your view on this issue is right on Michael. My earlier post on this subject is totally wrong. And I'm a bit ashamed of it.

 

[peteski]

Wow, this post to me seems to show a typical mob-mentality (so prevalent in USA, especially since the Internet made it very easy to communicate one's opinions to thousands or millions of other like-minded people).  I did not watch the video at all (with all these comments I didn't find a need to do it).   There are all sort of really weird videos on the Internet - you can pretty much find anything.  Why don't we comment on all of those? It seems that the MCM mob picked their victim: some unsuspecting person or a modeler who 4 years ago made a video of doing a poor job assembling and painting a plastic model kit.  Really?!

Maybe we should be chewing-out people who post videos of smashing all sorts of devices, frying them in microwaves, or putting them in a blender?  A plastic model in a blender?  How's that for a video?

[Ace-Garageguy]

Interesting (though unintended) experiment in sociology / psychology.

The question was "This is a joke, right?" because I honestly couldn't believe somebody...anybody...would post it as a serious " build process! " video (the POSTER'S exclamation point, not mine).

I still can't. There are all kinds of tells that make me think it's supposed to be funny...kinda like the one where a modeler ends up with cuts from the modeling tools, bandages and blood all over everything. Anybody see that one? This one seems, to me, to be in the same vein (pun intended) but much more subtle.

Like I mentioned above, the big  !  in the title is one hint. Then the modeling area starts off clean and gradually gets paint and glue and fingerprints everywhere, including all over the builder's hands. The awfulness of the work is exaggerated to the point it becomes a parody of "glue bomb", emphasizing photos of pristine, clean parts and moments later, the same parts presented as wobbly brush-painted glue-slathered 'finished' bits. There are several shots of loose X-acto blades and then one shot towards the end showing a bandaged finger, many shots intentionally taken from angles where the lighting was used to highlight the extremely poor-quality of the workmanship. Etc.

For all the above reasons, and more, I STILL think it's a joke.

But interestingly, almost no one commented on whether it's a joke or not.

The initial comments (several quite neutral) weren't particularly negative, cruel or critical of the model-maker, and most were humorous...not harshly critical at all...but some took them to be mean-spirited old men bashing a skill-free kid and got up on their righteous indignation. Some interpreted the video to be the work of someone young and having "fun" and therefor protected from any sort of objective recognition of reality, and piled on that side too. One changed his initial response to go along with the more PC opinion, and there were comments made without even seeing the video first.

There are fascinating insights into human nature here. I'll leave them up to you all to decipher.  

PS. I STILL think it's supposed to be a joke.  

 

Edited October 30, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Nova-ss]

Well that's two and a half minutes of my life I'll never get back ......

Lol....that what I thought..humans.......Chris 

[av405]

 

PS. I STILL think it's supposed to be a joke.  

 

You keep saying that but what if you're wrong? What if it isn't a joke? In which case this perception applies:

but some took them to be mean-spirited old men bashing a skill-free kid and got up on their righteous indignation. 

 

I think I'm just reading much less into the video than you are. But if I'm wrong and this was indeed a joke build posted by an adult () then I'll eat my tie...

[Ace-Garageguy]

 What if it isn't a joke? 

If it isn't a joke, the very first thing the poster needs to be gently made aware of (well before his modeling skills are addressed) is how to LOOK OBJECTIVELY at the world and by extension at his own work and compare it to the work of people he finds he'd like to emulate.

He needs to learn to be realistic in his evaluation of his performance, in modeling as well as in other facets of life.

Accurate perception of reality, critical thinking, and an understanding and acceptance of one's own strengths and weaknesses are necessary FIRST SKILLS in ANY endeavor...whether it is model-car building or brain surgery.

Carping on a plate and calling it art doesn't make it art...though there's a substantial percentage of the arts community who would disagree today.  

[iamsuperdan]

This thread is a disappointment. 

If people are so quick to judge and criticize the kid in the video and his skills, please go into the under glass sections here and make those same comments about some of the builds of members of this community. 

There are some finished products around here that are on par with what's in the video. Yet those posts are free of the comments seen here. I shall expect to see many of you posting more in under glass and telling people their finished kits are a joke.

[Eshaver]

I agree, I'm surprised. 

Greg , sadly for the longest time , I have seen this "Bravery " , not just here , but especially on Faceless book . I have no idea how a keyboard can extract such bravado , but it does . I'm on several forums plus Facebook. I look for the GOOD stuff to comment on instead of playing "Armchair critic " if anyone wants a lesson on how to ruin a hobby , well , go back to page 1 .....

[Quick GMC]

Bottom line, you posted a video from a kid's youtube page to make fun of him. Instead of acknowledging that, you're just doubling down. It's pretty pathetic. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Bottom line, you posted a video from a kid's youtube page to make fun of him. Instead of acknowledging that, you're just doubling down. It's pretty pathetic. 

"Doubling down?" I had to look it up. No, I'm NOT "doubling down" on anything. What I AM doing is refusing to be browbeaten into admitting to a nasty motive that I never had, but that several people have decided to believe.

I asked a question: IS THIS A JOKE?

I STILL CAN'T SEE HOW ANYBODY WHO'S CONSCIOUS WOULD THINK THAT "BUILD PROCESS" IS WORTH POSTING A VIDEO OF...unless it's a joke.

I guess slipshod mediocrity has become the new excellence, worthy of overflowing praise.

Sure seems like it everywhere I look.

I'm NOT, and NEVER WAS making fun of the kid's (or adult's or Martian's or whatever he is) skill level.

If I HAD wanted to get some pathetic little jollies "picking on a kid" I would have logged on to youtube and ripped him a new one...ANONYMOUSLY.

What I AM doing is questioning the rationality and seriousness of putting something that awful up for everyone in the world to see, and expecting anything positive. But apparently, that's a concept that's just too hard for some to grasp, so they'd rather attack what they WANT my motive to be, rather than what it IS. 

Read the first of the thread. I did NOT attack the poster's skill-set. I asked "is this a joke?"

All y'all who want to make out I'm attacking a kid's skill level, feel free to savor any hateful opinions you may have. I can't control what other people think, and I really don't care if some try to make me out as an armchair bully. It must be a lot easier to pile on and borrow THAT position than it is to THINK and have an original point of view. Internet "bravery" indeed.

The bottom line is that apparently some people need help in deciphering the difference between carp and quality.

I say again: "Accurate perception of reality, critical thinking, and an understanding and acceptance of one's own strengths and weaknesses are necessary FIRST SKILLS in ANY endeavor...whether it is model-car building or brain surgery."

My own history on this board shows that I'm one of the FIRST to give praise where it's due, and not to only the best builders, and never just mindless "attaboys". I encourage people who I see putting effort into honing their skills, or who do perhaps only one thing well on an otherwise not-very-good model. Newcomers, old-timers, everybody who manages to do something that strikes me as in TRUTH well-done. And I often go out of my way to try to find something worth making a positive comment about on a model that is being largely ignored by the bleating herd.

But praise for the sake of "feeling good about yourself' does nobody any good...other than a fleeting warm-fuzziness the one who offers empty praise apparently gets out of it.

Empty praise and acceptance of poor-quality certainly doesn't help a young person to see the world as it really is, and to strive to do GOOD work in his chosen field...whether it is academic, sports OR hobby-related.

 

Edited November 1, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Quick GMC]

You're being a jerk, which is the nicest way I can put it on here. You aren't special when it comes down to it. You're a knowledgeable person and have helped a lot of people on here, myself included and I have always appreciated it. The difference is we are here, we decided to come here, expecting some level of criticism and comments when we post our work on a model car forum. You keep going back to your old argument, which isn't going anywhere, because the CHILD that you are making fun of is not here to benefit from your constructive criticism, if you can manage to call it that. 

You assume he put it on there expecting praise. I am not sure how you came to that conclusion when you couldn't even manage 2 clicks with the mouse to find out where the video came from. Not everyone wants your opinion crammed down their throat. The great thing about this country is you can give it to them anyway, whether they want it or not. He's not asking for anything in the description of his video. 

You can defend yourself and pretend to be offering something all you want, but when it comes down to it, you just posted a video of a kid building a model to make fun of him. All you old timers always talk about how bad young people are these days and how we're all doomed because we're dumb. What ever happened to just admitting when you mess up and stick your foot in your mouth? By a lot of people's standards here, it's not a good build, but instead of just acknowledging that it's a kid, and it may in fact be his first model, you just keep going, and going, and going. You just have to make it known that you know what's best for everyone. 

If I am this stubborn and ornery when I get hold, I hope my wife just kills me in my sleep

[Ace-Garageguy]

 

If I am this stubborn and ornery when I get hold, I hope my wife just kills me in my sleep

You're already there.

You claim you KNOW what's in MY mind, and I AM here to defend myself.

My point, since it seems just TOO hard to understand, is that people need to be self-critical, and if they post something that's ridiculous (as many have found my position here as well) they need to be prepared to be ridiculed.

Edited November 1, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[aurfalien]

I think it's pretty good actually.

And that's before I found it was a child.

Edited November 1, 2016 by aurfalien

[Ace-Garageguy]

I think it's pretty good actually.

This is a joke, right?   

[av405]

You're already there.

You claim you KNOW what's in MY mind, and I AM here to defend myself.

My point, since it seems just TOO hard to understand, is that people need to be self-critical, and if they post something that's ridiculous (as many have found my position here as well) they need to be prepared to be ridiculed.

Yet you also claim to know what is in this kid's mind. 

This kid should be having fun, first and foremost. Maybe this build was fun for him, maybe uploading the video was fun for him. He didn't submit it to a contest or for praise (I see no evidence of him asking for it). If he has the maturity to be self-critical then good for him. But if he's having fun then he's already doing much better than a bunch of grown men arguing about his work on a forum. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Yet you also claim to know what is in this kid's mind.  People post things to the internet expecting a response. I seriously doubt most people post desiring negative responses. See below. It's pretty easy to infer from that that our video-maker was thinking "people will respond to this". It doesn't take a mind-reader to make that inference.

This kid should be having fun, first and foremost. Maybe this build was fun for him, maybe uploading the video was fun for him. He didn't submit it to a contest or for praise (I see no evidence of him asking for it). Nobody posts anything to the internet in a void, expecting no response. Not you, not me, not the kid (?) not anyone. If he has the maturity to be self-critical then good for him. But if he's having fun then he's already doing much better than a bunch of grown men arguing about his work on a forum. The argument is NOT over his work. It's about a concept you obviously can't grasp either.

And hey...I'm having great fun trying to make a point of logic in an intellectual void.  

But choo know what? For the sake of ending this why don't we all just pretend that I'm a bad bad small little tiny man, and that I'm so pathetically insecure I have to pick on an anonymous kid who posted something on the web 4 years ago?

Everybody feel better now, OK?

Edited November 2, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[martinfan5]

Wow, bashing on a kid, way to go grown up model builders! Bet if he was a member of this fine board he would have been kudo'd to death! 

 

Nail, was hit square on the head.

[av405]

And hey...I'm having great fun trying to make a point of logic in an intellectual void.  

Ah yes, my mistake. You're intellectually superior, we're not capable of grasping it.

Whatever man. I have respect for your work and the model-related advice you've given on this forum but this is one thing I won't go along with. 

Have a good day (no sarcasm here).

Edited November 2, 2016 by av405

[Ace-Garageguy]

... this is one thing I won't go along with. 

ummm...which thing?   

I'm not certain as to exactly what specific "thing".

I'm not really very smart and I can't grasp the meaning of "thing" without more context. There are several "things" mentioned to this point, and I'd just like to be sure I'm thinking of the same "thing" you're thinking of when you say "thing".   

PS. This whole freakin' thread is getting to be a joke.

I'm done. Anybody feel free to have the last word. Please. 

 

Edited November 2, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Allen Wrench]

It's obviously the work of a child ... the model and the video. And it was posted here for adults to ridicule.

Wow. I thought I was a tool.

[martinfan5]

It's obviously the work of a child ... the model and the video. And it was posted here for adults to ridicule.

Wow. I thought I was a tool.

You are such a tool

[peteski]

I smell it!