A man has got to know his limitations

[Romell R]

As I look over the pages of this great forum I realize something very quickly.

I will never be able to build models like Rommel, just to name one. I do not have the skills, the time nor the money.

That does not mean I won't build. I just won't build as many and they won't be tricked out with after market parts or scratch built parts.

As I read every comment in this thread the only thing that stood out to me were the words of the very first paragraph. Do you think I was born a good builder? Or that I was always able to buy after market parts? Its true that I like to go overboard if thats what you want to call it. But Ive been building for 38 years and Ive built a ton of gluebombs, I used to make custom parts from cardboard or card stock, and there was a time when I couldnt afford to buy the glue to build my models (ever try building a model with Elmers). But i perserverd now im a lil older , my skills have become a little better and my pocket is a little deeper these days.

So now I build to challange myself every build has to be better than the next and yes sometimes that means spending a few bucks to get my final results. But im a builder just like you, I get an idea and want to bring it to life! Truely I build for me, but I like to share with others. And alot of time i dont even spend money on parts, I have traded with some great guys from this fourm, Ive had guys donate parts to my builds and ultimately like alot of other guys my greatest resource is my parts box.

I say all this because i want you to know YOU are not limited, And YOU like me can build whatever YOU want! I build to hopefully inspire others and I build by the moto "Dont worry about what everyone eles is building.......Just build to the best of your ability and make the crowd say WOW!"

Edited August 28, 2010 by Aftashox

[Nick Notarangelo]

I agree with rommel on this also

I've been building since the age of 5 and Yes I can build like rommel also but I chose not to Its all in your comfert level and im comfy were i am and you know what I have also

[Nick Notarangelo]

I,Like most here, live on a tight budget and can barely afford models. Plus the boss is always tellin me NO! lol

Although im finally getting her into the hobby slowly but surely.

I dont build my models to make anyone else happy, heck the one i was most proud of looked like poo! But i was proud of it, it was the first model i actually kitbashed and started scratchbuilding, i built a crude "frame" for it and started chopping down a 27' ford sd body to get a roadster, sure i couldve bought a resin roadster body, but i already had the body, and it was messed up from my first chop top attempt. Plus i didnt really feel like paying that outrageous amount of $$$ for a resin body that i didnt know anything about.

Heres my current tool list: Sandpaper ranging from 360 to 4,000, an exacto blade set(#11's only! i splurged on this at the lhs) a cheap hobby knife handle, and some super glue. I did splurge on a pack of .020 thickness styrene sheets so i could finish my latest build, if i need thicker styrene i just double it up, if its to thick i sand it down! I also have a tube of cheap body putty that ive had for almost a year!

I like it

heres said roadster build, I want to revisit it one day, eventually.......

Sure, it wasnt anywhere near show quality, but i was proud of it, i tried so many new things with that model, sadly it got crushed when i was moving a while back.

Jeff, happy modeler.

[Jon Cole]

You don't need to strive for a museum quality model. You just need to build for yourself. Still, consider trying just one part better than before. Or just one new technique. Every artist probably started out drawing stick figures.

[Guest Johnny]

Even if you are, in fact, doing it totally wrong, as I pride myself in doing!

Now don't go getting modest on us Chuck! Your wrong ways are some of the best builds we have seen!

I have one old 1/25th model put away that has so many coats of paint on it that it is almost 1/24th scale now! Just can't bring myself to strip it yet! I built it around 1965 and was new to spray enamel and the idea of stripping before repainting another color never crossed my mind, in seven or eight, maybe nine different colors! Of course the bare plastic white stripe looks pretty deep! Literally!!!

[Agent G]

A memory just returned thanks to Rommel.

Rommel I have used Elmers once!

My brother, neighbor and my old dog pooled our money (after I swiped some from big sis)and bought an actual honest to goodness airplane kit. Well gentle reader it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize we didn't have the cash on hand for glue. Elmer's baby!

Oh yeah Rommel, it didn't work so good.

I'll be 55 next month and I've been at this hobby since age 7. I build for myself, for relaxation, because it's my HOBBY!

I am blessed as I have already retired once, and continue to work in my field making a goodly wage. I could spend $$$ on this stuff, and truth be told the current Mrs. Gray wouldn't gripe a bit.

I do however attempt just a little bit more with each new build, be it a car, a tank or one of my 120 mm military figures. That's just me though, and I do not expect anyone else to take the same path as I.

G

[Harry P.]

I have one old 1/25th model put away that has so many coats of paint on it that it is almost 1/24th scale now!

Now that is funny!!!

[DRG]

I want to thank everyone that responded to this posting. In all honesty it was posted out of frustration.

But I fear there was a misunderstanding, perhpas caused by my choice of words. I believe that skills can be learned as most of you indicated. However I am not so sure that raw talent can be cultivated.

I will continue to build models as I can and perhaps I will improve over time.

Also I was not knocking anyone, other than perhaps myself.

I have all the respect in the world for the talents of alot of the builders on this forum.

[bigmikevee]

Hey Donald,

Understand if your initial comment might not have been phrased as exactly as you liked. Like I said, for me, I want to have fun first, I started building very young, but stopped just when I could have started getting a lot better. Picked it up again recently, and loving it. Bought a few older models to practice on, paint and strip, file, sand, BMF (bare metal foil) and then remove everything and start again, use them over and over and over. But, I'm having fun learning, competing with no one, just having fun. Started airbrushing, and instead of painting and stripping and painting and stripping over and over, got 100 plastic spoons, I airbrush the heck out of them, trying different paints, primers, polishing, techniques, masking, you name it. And, you know what? I'm getting a whole lot better (for me anyway). And...I have fun learning, every time I peel off BMF because I goofed a tiny little spot, I'm having fun and feeling satisfied, because I realize what I did to make it look bad, and I also realized what I need to do to make it look better. And, instead of getting ticked, I'm having fun, sitting down to build is fun, when I ruin something, it is fun, because I learned something that makes me better,when I get something right, it is fun because I mastered a new technique or skill. I think my attitude is pretty good for this hobby, and really good considering my Italian heritage.

So Donald, the reason I tell you about my little dog and pony show is simply to let you know, if you have a good attitude, and you are having fun, you will get better, you just won't be able to help it, you will get better at getting better. The advice from the people you meet on here is priceless, I have made many new online friends, I have learned so much by watching Romell's cars, and countless other modelers and models that I thought were cool. Romell builds the way he can, because that's the way he can build, he shares so well, and if you notice, we all started at the same place, with that very first model.

Donald, speaking for a lot of us, we're glad you are here, this is a great hobby, and the more, the merrier. I am a new guy here, but found it to be a welcoming and informative place. Don't sell yourself short, build for fun, read the tips here (that's where I get the things I practice, and watch the results. I wish you the best and thanks for joining us. Now, be prepared to stare in amazement when I finally post my spoons!!

Mike

Edited August 29, 2010 by bigmikevee

[wferrisok]

After a few months of lurking this topic has drug me kicking and screaming from the shadows. Hello, my name is Will and I am a model car builder. I don't have a lathe or a mill to make scratchbuilt parts. I dont own a model car stash that will soon require its very own zipcode. I am not on a first name basis with the guy at my LHS and I do not receive Christmas cards from aftermarket companies for singlehandedly trying to keep them in business. Is there anything wrong with actually being one of the guys in the above mentioned comments? Nope. If it werent for those guys and their willingness to show us all how they do things it would get really boring, really fast. " Oh look honey, another box stock red 32 Ford". What I am is the best model car builder that I choose to be. I am in fact the best model car builder in my house. My cat has built a pretty sweet 36 Ford but her paint technique is not up to par yet as she always leaves hair stuck to her car. If she ever goes bald I may have to step up my game. The one thing I love about this hobby is the time you can spend in your own little world sanding down some putty that you obviously laid on way to thick or cussing some model company because the body of your slick little hot rod doesnt fit on the chassis the way it should. So with tongue planted firmly in cheek, I will head over to another post for a proper introduction and whoever owns this soapbox, it leans a little bit to the left...you might wanna take a look at it.

Edited August 29, 2010 by wferrisok

[Foxer]

After a few months of lurking this topic has drug me kicking and screaming from the shadows. Hello, my name is Will and I am a model car builder. I don't have a lathe or a mill to make scratchbuilt parts. I dont own a model car stash that will soon require its very own zipcode. I am not on a first name basis with the guy at my LHS and I do not receive Christmas cards from aftermarket companies for singlehandedly trying to keep them in business. Is there anything wrong with actually being one of the guys in the above mentioned comments? Nope. If it werent for those guys and their willingness to show us all how they do things it would get really boring, really fast. " Oh look honey, another box stock red 32 Ford". What I am is the best model car builder that I choose to be. I am in fact the best model car builder in my house. My cat has built a pretty sweet 36 Ford but her paint technique is not up to par yet as she always leaves hair stuck to her car. If she ever goes bald I may have to step up my game. The one thing I love about this hobby is the time you can spend in your own little world sanding down some putty that you obviously laid on way to thick or cussing some model company because the body of your slick little hot rod doesnt fit on the chassis the way it should. As far as skill, thats just a matter of want to. If you arent happy with your limitations, self imposed or imposed by life then do something about it or make peace with it. So with tongue planted firmly in cheek, I will head over to another post for a proper introduction and whoever owns this soapbox, it leans a little bit to the left...you might wanna take a look at it.

I'll give you a Welcome to the forum here, Will .. and please keep that soapbox with you!

[Modelmartin]

A man has got to stretch beyond his limitations.

[Darin Bastedo]

I have to say here that there are no limitations to what you can do, provided to have the will and and the skill and are willing to go out on a limb and try something different. Over the years I've built a bunch of models but the one that most people remember is this one...

What a lot of people don't know is that it was built out of junk. just a bunch of parts I had leftover from other projects. here are some pictures of the in progress shots to illustrate my point.

the only aftermarket parts are the wheels, and some photoetch left over from another project. The wheels and the paint cost more than the rest of the model. I simply cut glued and sanded until it looked the way I wanted. I have maybe $25 dollars in the project.

[Robert81]

I feel what the original Poster is saying, and I hear what others are saying that it's not a good thing to think that way,

But

It's a good Philosophy, but no body practice what they preach. You go take a look on the build part of the forum, the "greats" here with the super detailed build get pages and pages of replies. Those that just use what they get in kits and around the house, may get a page.

[Harry P.]

That's because the super-detailed models have a lot more to comment on. There's more to them, so naturally they'll tend to get more comments than a simple box-stock model. You can't compare the two, they're apples and oranges.

[Robert81]

That's because the super-detailed models have a lot more to comment on. There's more to them, so naturally they'll tend to get more comments than a simple box-stock model. You can't compare the two, they're apples and oranges.

So Naturally no body cares about those that can't build superdetailed?

[Robert81]

I find this all very Hypocritical. You say it doesn't matter the Skill or the talent of the builder, but very few care to comment on a lesser detailed build.

[crazyjim]

I'm happier than a pig in stuff if even one person makes a positive comment on one of my builds. Two or more positive comments and I'm in heaven.

[DRG]

I really wish I had never said anything at all.

It will never happen again.

[Brett Barrow]

I find this all very Hypocritical. You say it doesn't matter the Skill or the talent of the builder, but very few care to comment on a lesser detailed build.

Bob Downie (zoomzoom) posts OOB stuff and gets lots of comments. Marcos Cruz' stuff gets lots of comments. Bill Coulter and Len Carsner's Revell OOB Review builds always get lots of comments. Tom Miller (blue moose)'s stuff gets lots of comments.

A lot of the super-detail builds get so many replies because the TS adds a lot of posts as they update the thread.

A lot of folks are afraid to make critical comments of lesser-skilled modelers - I'll give you an example why- this is #6 for most replies in under glass section http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=30976&st=0 (sorry for digging up a locked topic)

[Harry P.]

I find this all very Hypocritical. You say it doesn't matter the Skill or the talent of the builder, but very few care to comment on a lesser detailed build.

Like I said, it's not that people don't care about lesser detailed models... it's just that there's literally much less to comment on!

A fully detailed model, with tons of underhood detail, PE, superdetailed chassis, etc. simply has more going on than a simple OOB buildup, and therefore there's a lot more to comment on.

Again, you can't compare the two, they're really two very different styles of building. Both are equally legitimate.

[Harry P.]

I really wish I had never said anything at all.

It will never happen again.

Why would you say that? Sharing our opinions is exactly what this place is all about! Don't ever feel like you shouldn't express your opinions.

[DRG]

I did NOT start this in order to get an arguement started as to who gets the most views.

I personally don't care whether there are one or 100 views of anything I post.

I was STRICTLY trying to point out that not everyone builds to the same level.

My opinion is this is caused by raw talent and a certain degree of not having the basic building skills.

[Harry P.]

I was STRICTLY trying to point out that not everyone builds to the same level.

My opinion is this is caused by raw talent and a certain degree of not having the basic building skills.

You're right on the money there. Some people just don't have the raw talent that others do, and you can't learn talent.

It's like playing an instrument. Almost anyone can learn how to strum a guitar, but there are only a few Jimmy Pages and Jimi Hendrixes out there. Innate talent is something you either have or you don't.

Like they say in baseball... you can't teach speed.

[Jon Cole]

I really wish I had never said anything at all.

It will never happen again.

This frustrates me. Really does. What on earth are we supposed to do? Really? Put out a 'bucket-o-praise'? Perhaps some symbol could be used? As example, a 'star'. Post the 'star' to let everyone know they wish to recieve lots of positive comments. Oh jeez. Sad.