Do You Follow the Instructions?

[SuperStockAndy]

That's a good idea!

[Tony T]

Yes, I do follow the instructions if building a kit completely out of the box. Other than that it is reference for subassemblies and to identify possible final assembly issues and which parts I can assemble before final assembly and still get it all together. Also, paint call outs if they are there as a back up for internet references. So, mostly yes, I do, but not always in order.

[Junkman]

Gentlemen can we return to a more gratifying philosophical discussion of the ethics of wiring our engines with human hair?

Does it say so in the instructions?

[Cornpatch]

When all else fails-------------------read the instructions !!!!!

[Dr. Cranky]

Tony, I used to follow the instructions on the paint, and seriously I do not like instruction sheets that don't have them. I think paint suggestions are always welcomed.

[Darin Bastedo]

Gentlemen can we return to a more gratifying philosophical discussion of the ethics of wiring our engines with human hair?

But I only have enough for a four cylinder!

Edited January 27, 2012 by Darin Bastedo

[Junkman]

But I only have enough for a four cylinder!

Just do one cylinder bank per year. Or use someone else's hair.

BTT, wouldn't following the instructions imply that one can read them?

The only ones I have no trouble with in this respect are the Japanese ones

Edited January 27, 2012 by Junkman

[Bob Turner]

familiarity with a kit or subject may very well make the instruction sheet useless to you but that's i'm sure only in some cases. i've built enough of the Revell '32 Ford kits that i have no need for the instructions on those kits for example.

one of the first things i do though when i get a new kit is to open the box, look over the parts and read the instruction sheet. it get's you familiar with what you are working with and may very well help plan your attack on how you are going to build it.

it's certainly not manly or cool to make building mistakes that you could have avoided had you read the instructions or been following them. how many people here were given that "pop" quiz at school with the instruction at the top to simply fill in your name only to have 3/4 of the class miss that and take the entire test for nothing?

Perhaps, no, strike that, certainly the most intelligent & logical repsonse in this thread. Those of you that can't grasp this need to reread Dave's post & apply it's principles in your model building.

Edited January 27, 2012 by Bob Turner

[Jordan White]

Instructions? Are those the pieces of paper that I use to line the table while I paint?

[Junkman]

Instructions? Are those the pieces of paper that I use to line the table while I paint?

Exactly.

[SuperStockAndy]

Perhaps, no, strike that, certainly the most intelligent & logical repsonse in this thread. Those of you that can't grasp this need to reread Dave's post & apply it's principles in your model building.

So saying "I don't" or just "Yes" doesn't count as a logical answer?

[Scale-Master]

Much as Dave said, comparing the parts against the instructions is a vital step to familiarize myself with the parts and if there are any required order of parts assembly that should not be changed. It also makes it easier to paint parts that are all the same color at one time. Less set-up/clean-up.

As someone who has written instructions for kits, I know the value of them.

I also find it ironic that often those who brag about not using/needing them (not only here, but at shows) often build poorly constructed and or finished models. Just an observation, or a correlation?

[Harry P.]

I think a lot of modelers take some sort of pride in "not needing" the instructions. I have to disagree with that philosophy, though... I've been building models for a lot of years, but I still look over (and more or less follow) the instructions every time. I don't always follow the steps in the order suggested, or follow every single step to the letter, but I always look over the instructions for every kit I buy, even the simplest ones.

Like Dave Z, says, sometimes you're so familiar with a given kit that instructions really aren't needed, but that would be the exception, not the rule.

And I would challenge anyone who has the "no instructions needed" philosophy to build one of my Pocher kits without using the instructions. I guarantee you'll never be able to do it. Not in a million years! Those babies are hard enough to build even with instructions... impossible without them.

[martinfan5]

Harry, I have not built a Pocher kit yet, can you explain a little about needing the instruction sheet to build one?, and since you seem to build a lot of them, take a look at this listing, is that kit worth what the seller is asking ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pocher-1-8-scale-Volvo-F16-Globetrotter-Truck-model-kit-K-87-mint-condition-/220938656709?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3370f85bc5

when I build semi trucks , I will use the instructions more then I would with a non truck kit, but for everything else, I look thru it, then I may go back if need be.

[bbowser]

As other have said, the instructions are another invaluable reference. Are they always correct? Of course not. But in nearly every kit I've built there's at least one part on a tree that I can't identify, either because I've not seen it before or it has only a vague resemblance to what it's supposed to be. And Harry is right, no way you build a Pocher without them!

[Harry P.]

Harry, I have not built a Pocher kit yet, can you explain a little about needing the instruction sheet to build one?, and since you seem to build a lot of them, take a look at this listing, is that kit worth what the seller is asking ?

http://www.ebay.com/...=item3370f85bc5

when I build semi trucks , I will use the instructions more then I would with a non truck kit, but for everything else, I look thru it, then I may go back if need be.

That particular kit almost never comes up for sale. In fact that's the first time I've ever seen one on ebay... so I really have no way of telling if that "Buy it Now" price is a good deal. I don't have any prior sales of that kit to compare to.

But I can tell you that $1,000 for a Pocher kit is pretty much right in there as far as the range they sell for. If we're talking about unbuilt kits (not necessarily still factory-sealed but complete and unbuilt), they range roughly between $500 on the low end (the 1907 Fiat) up to $2500+ for the high-end ones (some of the Rolls Royces and especially the Bugattis, which are always the priciest of them all).

If that kit is one you really want, and you can handle the price, my advice is go for it. Pocher kits are very expensive, but they're getting rarer all the time (especially the unbuilt ones) and the selling prices will continue to go up. And remember... that kit is 1/8 scale. A 1/8 scale big-rig tractor is going to be huge! But man, what an impressive display that would make on your shelf. If you have a big enough shelf, that is!

To answer your question about whether or not you really need the instructions, here's a typical Pocher instruction book. Take a look and you'll see why instructions are not optional when you're building a Pocher kit.

MB_K74.pdf

[martinfan5]

Thank you Harry, I have no interest in buying that kit, Its been listed a few times, so since you brought up Pocher kits, I thought I would ask.

[Ramfins59]

Like some other people here, sometimes yes, sometimes no. I think the last time i REALLY paid attention to the instructions was when I built the Galaxie 48 Chevy... LOTS of parts in that one that I wasn't really all that familiar with.

[moparmagiclives]

To answer your question about whether or not you really need the instructions, here's a typical Pocher instruction book. Take a look and you'll see why instructions are not optional when you're building a Pocher kit.

Those mechanical drawings are almost worth the money on their own, those are awesome. I've never heard of them until now. I can see why you would need them. Are those kits mostly white metal, or is that the "upgrade" parts that are on ebay?

[martinfan5]

Wow, Harry, what scale is that kit?

[Harry P.]

Those mechanical drawings are almost worth the money on their own, those are awesome. I've never heard of them until now. I can see why you would need them. Are those kits mostly white metal, or is that the "upgrade" parts that are on ebay?

It varies a bit from kit to kit, but mostly the bodies, doors, hoods, most of the engine, interior and small detail pieces are plastic, the chassis rails are stamped metal, some chassis crossmembers are plastic, some metal... suspension components like springs and shocks are metal, and there are tons (hundreds) of metal fasteners (screws, nuts, bolts). The brake system and transmission linkages are stamped sheet metal, wheel rims and spokes are metal, upholstery material is vinyl, convertible top fabric is cloth. Grille shells and headlight housings are metal, windshield frames are metal.

Wow, Harry, what scale is that kit?

Pochers are 1/8 scale.

[2000-cvpi]

I look them over before starting, and mostly follow them throughout the build. The only exceptions are older, simpler kits and ones that I can build just by looking at them.

[Dr. Cranky]

Wow, a thousand dollars for a kit like that. Well, I'm sure that's a great deal, but that's still a heck of a lot of dough.

[martinfan5]

Wow, a thousand dollars for a kit like that. Well, I'm sure that's a great deal, but that's still a heck of a lot of dough.

Better get it now before the seller raise's the price

Harry , I did not know all Pocher kits were all 1/8th scale, I learned something new today

[Bob Turner]

So saying "I don't" or just "Yes" doesn't count as a logical answer?

I thought you had me on ignore child, at least you said you did. Just can't resist seeing what I say & commenting on it can you?

To make it simple enough so that even you can understand it, (oh faint hope therein), the reason I said Dave's post was the most logical is because he said more than "yes" or "no", he explained why reading & following the instructions is important, especially with an unfamiliar kit. There, did you understand that? Even with as much scratch building & modification that I often do with a model, if it's based on a kit, I use the instructions as a guideline at the least. There's nothing worse than doing some extreme modification & discovering that the kit parts that you based it on were installed wrong, simply because you didn't look at the instructions.

Harry mentioned the complexity of Pocher kits, which I have never attempted, but I can say that many Tamiya kits, several Revell of Germany kits, & every Fujimi Enthusiast kit, (among many others), can't be built without following the instructions, at least not to any degree of quality. The Tamiya Ferrai Enzo & Ferrari XXX kits I've built have to be built by the instructions.