What do model builders overlook that could improve their models?

[Guest]

Antennas. If your model has a radio in the dash, it should have an antenna too.

To play devil's advocate, some cars do have the antenna wires in the windshield. Research is the key here.

[Longbox55]

Wheels should usually be in the CENTER of the wheel openings, even on most altered-wheelbase drag cars..

Or in some cases, the wheel is centered on the model, when on the 1:1, it is not centered. Rear wheels on many older light trucks ('47-'54 Chevrolet for example), the rear wheels actually sit about 1 1/2" to 2' forward of the fender opening centerline.

1) Wheels: Valve stems AND valve caps, along with wheel weights (you know, those lead weights for balancing wheels!)

A little o/t, but the shift on modern wheel balancing is to steel weights instead of lead. The steel weights are coated, and are more of a metallic silver than the darker grayish silver of lead.

[sjordan2]

Okay, Harry, I give up. Who's your new avatar?

[jbwelda]

I know harry is infinitely interesting but try to stay on topic.

do those dual (!) parachutes open by remote control or what?

that's a mighty deep hole you have just dug and are now threatening to topple into.

build how you want and let the jealous whine.

jb

[Dale W. Verts]

Hmmm. Something either changed, or I need to start drinkin'.

Dale

[Tom Geiger]

[4] wildly mismatched panels, doors, hoods {see Tom's '57 Ford in the post above - sorry, Tom}

Ha! Throw me under the paddy wagon, why doncha! That '57 Ford was an early build of mine and I trusted the AMT plastic hinges. That one broke off, and the door is just jammed in the opening. Early lesson learned!

Antennas. If your model has a radio in the dash, it should have an antenna too.

An antenna! Made from a short bit of wire along with a Grantline scale bolt as the base. I believe someone on this board recommended do this. I hesitated posting this picture since I forgot to scribe the upper fender / cowl line! I only noticed it after I painted the body.

[Longbox55]

Chrome windshield wipers/arms. Wipers/ arms are not chrome. The only time I ever saw chrome wiper arms was back in the '90s. They usually had double blades too. Also, all wiper blades are black. It only takes a minute to paint the edge of a wiper blade flat black.

Antennas. If your model has a radio in the dash, it should have an antenna too.

On older cars and trucks (early '80s and older) it is not unusual to find them with chrome or even polished stainless wiper arms and blade holders, especially on '40s and '50s vehicles. On modern vehicles, the wiper bades themselves are not necessarily black, either. The newer silicon blades are commonly found in a medium gray color.

Not all vehicles with a radio have an external or visible antenna. As mentioned, some have them as part of the windshield glass ('73-'87 GM trucks for example), and I have seen a few from the '30s that had the antenna built in under the headliner.

Edited July 27, 2014 by Longbox55

[Ramfins59]

I'm one of those people who likes to add a bunch of little extra details to my models. To me it makes them look a lot better and more realistic. To me once you've done it on a couple of models it gets easier to do although it does add to the amount of time it takes to finish the model. It just depends on "how crazy you want to get" with adding details, and your individual skill and patience level. For instance, building a model without engine wiring and other detailing makes the engine compartment look so bare and empty. I find it fun to add the details but I also try to do it accurately and realistically by using googled reference pictures to go by.

[J Morrison]

Talk about a can of worms here!

Missed details (and I confess to them, OK?)

1) Wheels: Valve stems AND valve caps, along with wheel weights (you know, those lead weights for balancing wheels!)

2) Exhaust hangers--those extensions which keep exhaust pipes and mufflers from simply rattling loose and dragging on the pavement!

3) The wires hooking up headlights and turn signals

4) Gearshift linkages

5) headlight and other underhood wiring harnesses

6) Speedometer cables

7) Tail light wiring

8) brake lines, including the flexible hoses from frame or body to backing plates

9) emergency/parking brake handles at the dashboard

10) gearshift linkage

11) Clutch and brake pedal linkage

12) Fuel lines from tank to fuel pump, fuel pump to carburetor

13) Power steering lines

14) Brake lines (even ,master cylinders and the lines from that!) to wheel cylinders

15) PCV lines

16) Underhood wiring harnesses in general

17) On opening doors, the rather thin (no more than 3/8 inch edges of the door skin rolled and crimped.

18) Door lock buttons

19) Headlight wiring inside front fenders

20) Hood latches and hinges

21) Front seat adjustment levers when opening the doors]]

22) B- and C-pillar shapes when opening doors

23) headliner shapes

]

24) Internal windshield/back glass/door and quarter window reveals

25) Dome lights when the kit does not include them

26) Vacuum lines for cars having vacuum-operated windshield wipers

27) Windshield wiper motors on the likes of Model A's through 1936 Fords

28) Mechanical brake pull rods and cross-shafts of stock Model T's and Model A's

29) Speedometer cable

30) Rotary door lock details

31) Black rubber windshield wiper elements

32) Choke cables

33) Heater control cables

34) Air conditioner lines

35) Power steering hydraulic lines

36) Heater lines

37) Temperature instrument line

38) Oil pressure line

39) Ammeter wire

40) Automatic transmission dipstick

41) Engine oil dipstick

42) Heater hoses

43) Exhaust pipe/muffler clamps

44) Exposed headlight and taillight wiring on pre-1935 cars

45 Horns on cars which model kits omit them (and the wiring)

46) Bijur chassis oiling systems on Classic luxury cars that had them

47) Leather or metal "wraps" on leaf springs for luxury cars from the 20's and 30's

48) Underhood wiring harnesses in general

49) Ignition wires to ingition coils

50) Wires to generator or alternator

I've probably missed a bunch, so feel free to add to the list!

Art

Surely you can't be serious with this list...can you? A lot of the items would be very difficult to do in scale & if not done in scale would look wrong & add too much clutter.

Things I could add to the list....

Improperly researched or added details for the sake of detailing...ie Improperly routed hoses/wiring(and no I'm not talking about improper firing order), manual shift linkage added to automatic transmissions, not taking the time to properly fit opening doors, trunks, glove boxes, etc.

Overlooking the basics of clean model building before jumping in and adding aftermarket details. Basically running before you walk.

Not the fault of the model builder but a problem facing modelers is not getting items they paid for or traded for. While it certainly isn't a new problem it seems to be a more widespread problem these days. Look at Facebook and see how many pages & posts are dedicated to bad modelers ripping off other modelers by taking there money of kits in trade.

Edited July 28, 2014 by J Morrison

[Pete J.]

On older cars and trucks (early '80s and older) it is not unusual to find them with chrome or even polished stainless wiper arms and blade holders, especially on '40s and '50s vehicles. On modern vehicles, the wiper bades themselves are not necessarily black, either. The newer silicon blades are commonly found in a medium gray color.

Not all vehicles with a radio have an external or visible antenna. As mentioned, some have them as part of the windshield glass ('73-'87 GM trucks for example), and I have seen a few from the '30s that had the antenna built in under the headliner.

I am old enough to remember polished wiper arms. I also remember using some electrical tape to stop the blinding glare from them.

Another area to nitpick for those who would like to do that is the radio antenna. Electric antennas have been around for at least 40 years. If the ignition is off, they are retracted. It seems to me that some time in the late 60's manufactures started to put single wire antennas on cars. Before that they were manually telescoping antennas. A telescoping antenna is not that hard to do. Stainless hypodermic tubing is readily available and can be had in very small sizes. As I recall, most of the antennas had 3 section. Not real hard to replicate.

[Pete J.]

MIRRORS!

How many times have I seen a model of a late-model car posted here with no mirrors, either inside or out? Constantly. Nothing screams "model" more than a model that is obviously missing all the mirrors.

Another pet peeve: 90% or more of people who build a Willys leave that raised molded-in edge on the clear windshield clear. That raised lip reperesents a rubber gasket and should be painted flat black. No 1:1 Willys windshield ever had a raised, clear lip molded into the windshield glass!

And do I even have to mention the "magic floating alternator?"

Harry, do you know when it became a federal requirement to have outside mirrors? It seems to me it was in the mid 60's. About the same time that seatbelts became mandatory.

[Longbox55]

It might have been earlier than that, mid '50's perhaps. But even then only the Drivers side mirror was mandatory, the Passenger side was an option.

[Narampa]

There are some really great realistic looking Dioramas and putting human figures spoils the whole effect. figures are very hard to make look realistic.

Myself personally like the (after every body went home look) But that is just me!

[slusher]

Pet peeve.... People who say/comment : Great job! Nice work! Fantastic! Superb! Awesome! - when in reality the model they're commenting on is rubbish, poorly put together & you could pick it apart all day because of all it's flaws. They should do what I do... Don't say anything.

Pet peeve 2 : builders/modellers who can't or don't appreciate constructive criticism, especially when it's clear they're amateurs or beginners.

Pet Peeve 3: other modellers/builders who criticise you for constructive criticism.

We should encourage builders. if we don't there will be no one posting.

A lot of territory has been covered in this thread and all the observations are on-target (except those rationalizations for not detailing ~ that was not the topic. No one has suggested anyone MUST detail a model.)

A couple of the most frequent but most glaring flaws have already been mentioned ~ [1] visible injector pin marks (especially on interior floors and chassis), [2] decals spanning door and panel breaks, [3] visible mold parting lines on oil pans, transmissions, radiators, small parts, [4] wildly mismatched panels, doors, hoods {see Tom's '57 Ford in the post above - sorry, Tom}, [5] grotesquely oversized spark plug wiring {especially when it looks like garden hose connecting distributors to spark plugs}, [6] absence of chrome on wipers, door handles, lock cylinders, emblems, and window trim, and [7] absence of blackwash on grilles and cowl vents, etc.

Add: [8] visible, unpainted areas (such as undersides of hoods or interior buckets that show in transmission tunnels, [9] unfilled or untreated gaps in seats, and [10] sloppy gluing, smudging, fingerprinting.

From my experience, those are probably the Top Ten factors (along with careful preparation, clean building, nice paint, and pre-build research) that make and demonstrate the difference between mediocre builds and good, very good, and great builds.

Model building should be fun. Everyone does not enjoy detail or removing mold lines from every part. Sometimes the hardest critics build the least...

[o-man]

Okay, Harry, I give up. Who's your new avatar?

It is one of the neighbors from The Jefferson's tv show.

[southpier]

Bentley?

[Mr Dedo]

Unfilled depressions on the sides of the frame adjacent to motor mounts.

Chunk of tire missing from the tread edge where it was connected to tire "tree".

Cure the putty.

[unclescott58]

Harry, do you know when it became a federal requirement to have outside mirrors? It seems to me it was in the mid 60's. About the same time that seatbelts became mandatory.

1967. Left outside mirror. Dual master brake cylinder. Collapsable steering column. Seat belts front and rear for outside passengers. And backup lights. Before '67 some cars had some of these features as standard equipment. Others had some of them as options. But, they were required on all cars starting with 1967 model year.

Scott

[Danno]

Model building should be fun. Everyone does not enjoy detail or removing mold lines from every part. Sometimes the hardest critics build the least...

The question in this thread was not 'What does everyone enjoy?'

As to your non sequitur, what's your point?

[Pete J.]

1967. Left outside mirror. Dual master brake cylinder. Collapsable steering column. Seat belts front and rear for outside passengers. And backup lights. Before '67 some cars had some of these features as standard equipment. Others had some of them as options. But, they were required on all cars starting with 1967 model year.

Scott

Thanks Scott. I knew it was mid 60's sometime. I just couldn't remember the one on my 69 Mustang but I thought it may have had it. I do know that in 69 the shoulder belt became mandatory but it detached and had a clip on the roof to hold it. It also was anchored on the roof panel.

[slusher]

non sequitur

That was an episode of Star Treck..

[Danno]

That was an episode of Star Treck..

What's 'Star Treck?'

[southpier]

a stereotypical lifestyle enjoyed by developmentally challenged middle aged .... oh, wait. that's the other thread.

never mind.....

[alan barton]

OK, I'll play. I've been a hot rodder since I was 12 and my pet hate is as common as dirt and yet so easily fixed - I don't understand why so many hot rod model builders get it so wrong.

So here goes. Look at any real Model A, 32, 33, 34, 35 or 36 Ford roadster, phaeton or roadster pickup. The windshield lays back at varying angles - basically the later the year, the more it lays back. Never mind hot rods, stone cold motherless stock ones have the windshield laid back too! I just can't understand why, with millions of photos in magazines and websites, that so many guys continue to glue the windshield on VERTICAL!!!!!!!

There is NOTHING that makes a model hot rod look more toylike than a vertical windshield, a farm gate if you like, stuck to the top of the cowl!

This doesn't take time, money or skill to get right. Just look at a photo of a roadster and glue the windshield at a slight angle towards the rear of the car. Pleeeeeeeaaaase!

The biggest victim of this travesty is the AMT 29 Model A roadster - I own a real one so I have reliable references! AMT made the windshield as part of the trim that sits on top of the cowl - if you glue it in correctly the windshield sits at the right angle. Most builders who get this wrong manage to tilt the whole assembly forward to (ugh!) straighten up the windshield, leaving unsightly gaps that should have been a clue!

Even 26 and 27 Model T windshields lay back at just a teensy angle, and 23 T buckets can look very cool with an abbreviated laid back windshield.

OK, I have been keeping this bottled up for many years now - I feel better - thanks for letting me vent!

Cheers

Alan

[disabled modeler]

We should encourage builders. if we don't there will be no one posting.

Model building should be fun. Everyone does not enjoy detail or removing mold lines from every part. Sometimes the hardest critics build the least...

Agreed Carl....not everyone has the time or resources or skills yet to do many things they would to improve their work building. Another issue is some are disabled or have physical issues that can keep them from doing many of these ideas to improve their work even though they would if they could. My suggestion to improving ones work and builds is its not a race take your time...the build only has to make the builder happy in essence. Me I strive to build better as I can...best advise I ever got is to treat every part as if it were a model itself.