Quality of Kits vs. Modeling Skills, Patience, etc.

I guess it all depends on the modeler.  Some are very good at taking a basic form and transferring it to something magnificent with scratchbuilding.  Not me.  I don't waste my time with poor quality kits anymore.  I don't mind the occasional correction or filling in a gaps here and there, but in my wise old age I want quality for my money...that's just me.  I have had poor experiences with Testor's kits as well as Historic Plastic Models (HPM), so I don't even look their way anymore.

Again, it all comes down to the individual.

For me it depends more on the subject matter than the kit quality.

If the subject is one I really like than I will put effort into a lemon of a kit.

Said that if I a choice is available and the price-difference is reasonable of course I will go with the better kit.

I like both types, but I find it very rewarding to take a low quality kit and scratch build the heck out of it. it's extremely rewarding, and if done right, usually does better at a contest. but high-end kits are a nice thing to have for a break. Basically, I build what I fell like, and more importantly, what I can afford. I have a crap budget, so older kits are more in my range. Thus, scratch building is important.

Filling and sanding is - to me at least - the drudgery of modeling. If buying the "good" kit means the difference between just sanding a seam and doing the fill/sand/fill/sand cha-cha, by all means.

As for detailing, yeah, I'm tempted to go more all out with a detailed "good" kit, since I don't have the skills or patience to do the scratchwork necessary to elevate one of those kits that only hints at a cockpit or engine. Two of the three kits I'm planning to go all out on detailing-wise are regarded as the best or close to it kit of their subject in the scale: Hasegawa's 1/32 Jug and Zvezda's 1/48 109F-2. The third is a nostalgia build...Monogram's out of production Kingfisher with a boatload of resin...but I guess it's still the best kit of the subject, since it's the ONLY kit of the subject...

*** McC2

Here's a question for y'all.... Is  the quality of the kit you are building inversely proportional to the time, patience, modeling skills you put in to it? In other words, do you tend to spend more effort in building up a quality kit rather than one that leaves a lot to be desired.

Actually I'm the opposite. If a kit happens to be a good quality one (ex: Dragon, Cyber-Hobby) I tend to put less effort into the kit with regards to scratching parts and adding more detail because those kits are already pretty damn well-detailed.

I will however super-detail an older, 'pain' of a kit. Case in point the Zvezda M-3 scout car I built a while back. It needed alot of work to shine, and so I scratched parts, kit-bashed parts, replaced certain things with AM parts, and took the time to add the tiniest of details wherever possible. Why did I go the whole nine yards?....the kit needed that elbow grease to look up to par with the high standard of kits today.

mg.mikael

 

*** McC2:

Here's a question for y'all.... Is  the quality of the kit you are building inversely proportional to the time, patience, modeling skills you put in to it? In other words, do you tend to spend more effort in building up a quality kit rather than one that leaves a lot to be desired.

 

 

 

Actually I'm the opposite. If a kit happens to be a good quality one (ex: Dragon, Cyber-Hobby) I tend to put less effort into the kit with regards to scratching parts and adding more detail because those kits are already pretty damn well-detailed.

If the parts are there, yeah it makes sense that there'd be less effort scratching or adding detail. The way I see it, though, there's still the effort of finishing that detail through painting, weathering, etc. And some of these modern, ultra-high quality kits make me feel, I don't know, like I need to do them justice. 

I will not waste time even buying a poor quality kit,some enjoy the challenge and do great with a bad fitting kit.Not me,give me shake + bake

mg.mikael

 

Actually I'm the opposite. If a kit happens to be a good quality one (ex: Dragon, Cyber-Hobby) I tend to put less effort into the kit with regards to scratching parts and adding more detail because those kits are already pretty damn well-detailed.

I really dig some of the older Revellogram kits for detailing/scratching on. Don't get me wrong, I dig a "shake-n-bake, now and then, but I really enjoy the mental game of adding stuff, how to go about adding these items and figuring out how I can make said item and what to use for them. I recently got my first, 1st place award in "single engine prop" catagory, with Revells old TBD. That was probably the most fun build I've ever done, tons of crap to add!!!!

For me the higher quality and detail the kit has the greater the skills and patience needed to do it justice. 

In your case, if I may, the problem seems to be you went from a manufacturer whose models are uniformly magnificent to one who makes great paints and terrible models.

I'll take an "old" kit any day over a shake & bake... Scratchbuilding all the missing details of a "good" kit is what modeling is all about for me...  Gimme a Lindberg P-6E, HAWK F8F, or a Monogram TBF-1 over anything "new" out there ... 

The only kit I'll never try to tackle again is a 1/48th Aurora P-61... That kit needed just WAY too much work to be feasible...  It was wrong-shaped or inacurate in just about every area, poor quality, and out of scale...  Even after 43 years of modeling, I don't have the parts box to fix THAT sumb*tch... 

Sometimes those old bare bones basic kits are the ONLY kits of a subject in a given scale... the previously mentioned Kingfisher, Testors rebox of Hawk's Banshee or Okha, etc.... But other times, yes it is fun to take a basic kit that is also available as a new tool kit, add some accessories in resin and PE, sheet plastic, copper wire, and parts salvaged from old kits and take up the challenge of dressing up an old kit. and turning it in to a real star. Because after a while, you will want to challenge your self and see what you can do beyond what comes in the box and pre made accessories. And take those old kits in to model club meetings, someone there may have some suggestions and ideas that you have not thought of to enhance that kit. That Testors F-104 is a perfect case in point- you can try all sorts of stuff on a kit that did not cost much and in the end have a subject that will be unique.

I think I spend more time and skills on a low quality kit, trying to get the detail level up. If I build a Tamiya überkit, it has all the detail I want, so I will not be adding much.

Ditto... That's what makes the old kits so attractive to me (aside from the prices)... All the extra stuff I get to put into it makes it "Mine" and unique... 

for me.. it can go both ways... I recently took the old Italeri Ausf H tank, added some PE, resin details,and indy link tracks,( fisrt time with indys) and really extended out my weathering skills and did what I thought was a pretty good job.. it ended up with a 1st in the 1/35 armor catorgory , I didn;t think it was as good as the others in the group.. but I guess the judges thought differantly..

I like to add details,, wether they be bought or scratched..

I have the Aurora P-61 Hans mentioned.. ewww.. I was disapointed when I opened the box,, I also just got a Nachismo P-38... ewwww... another sumB(*@h... and I love P-38's.. but this is a junk yard dog.. I may just build them both OOB,, no extras.. other than fixing the seams.. just to do them..

I have good luck with HAWK kits to.. they lack interior detail, but have very nice looking exteriors..I'm building a 1962 HAWK P-51D... just for fun,, I did scratch some ribs in the wheel wellls,, and take some left over PE to add to the cockpit, scracthed some sidewall detail from plastic stock and spares box treasures.. its not a show stopper.. but it will look pretty good when done..

I like taking a "good deal" and working it.. the big $$ kits are nice, but sometimes I feel I get lost in the parts count...I've built everything from $.99 ebay finds to $125.00 all resin Mad Max Black Interceptor cars.. its all in the subject to me.. and the current mood..

I think I rambled...

oh.. something shiny.. ---------------------------> #

Zuiho