Know very little about computer design. Graphics.

I should think that computers would take the guess work out of kit manufacture  and kits would be accurate.

Back in 2001, I became the commandant of an Army maintenance school training mainly tank mechanics, truck mechanics and recovery operations. I had a motor pool full of various types of wheeled and track vehicles. Being a modern armor modeler, it was a paradise; I had more interaction with a wider variety of military vehicles than I did in previous armor assignments or training assignments.

If it wasn't for computers and the internet, I would not have been able to take and share as many photos as I would have with just my 35mm. I would have been limited to rolls of film, time spent developing the film, examining and retaking shots I needed if they weren't in focus, etc. I also would not have bothered to share the shots with other modelers unless someone asked and then sent some money to have duplicates made.

With a digital camera, I was able to take more photos, instantly see if I needed to retake a shot, upload them to my motor pool album, post a link with an anouncement of the latest subjects and share them with the modeling community. All made possible because of computers.

Without computers, none of us would be having this discussion...

If a computer is frustrating to use, blame the software designers who created the GUI interface we all use.

No matter how wide the computer hardware bus, how many "zillions" of instructions a CPU can process, doesn't even matter if the computer is an Apple,  the old saying from punch card days still applies:

"Garbage in, Garbage out".

Computer aided design will only create an accurate or better kit if the input information is correct.

However, when modern technology is properly used in the creation of a kit, far better quality kits and accessories can be made now than ever before..

As I became an adult before the first "personal computer" appeared in the 1970s, I have experienced the hobby with and without computers.

I much prefer today's computer aided hobby.

Though I do not yet use CAD to create kit parts, I do use computers to access and store model related photos and data.

Graphics software, blank decal sheets, scanners and personal printers have made custom decals possible.

Someday I hope to use CAD /CAM and a 3D Printer for making detail parts.

I have been able to obtain information on the internet about aircraft details that I never could have obtained prior to the advent of the personal computer.

Al things considered, I would say computers have definitely improved the hobby.

Dre

Without computers, none of us would be having this discussion...

Very true.

My main (almost only) use for the PC is getting refs for a project and jawjackin here on the forums.

I have always had some sort of database for my models and references.

When the PC was finally mass marketed, I moved all of my index card databases onto the PC. I had the database bug so bad that I was actually going to purchase a Heathkit at one point to migrate my data.

I am very glad I waited that few short years.

I don't search much on the internet for pictures or data,,,,I have what I need in the books I have collected over the decades,,,,,from Pink edition Profiles up to the latest book I got just after Christmas,,,,,,all of them are Db'd in

I can find any photo, kit, decal, instruction sheet, aftermarket goodie, etc,,,,,,just by going to the main table

someday, more info will be online, but, until then,,,,,,it is a lot like using the PC and the net as a "coffee table book",,,,,,you get some pretty shots,,,,,but, not everything is in those books,,,,,,,you still need other books to drill down into the deeper parts

it has become the "norm" to say "if it is not on the internet, you don't need it",,,,,,,,but, that is only true in a general sense,and the the net is perfect for that,,,,,,,the net doesn't do so well at the specifics,,,,,,but, it might someday

mike_espo

...I should think that computers would take the guess work out of kit manufacture  and kits would be accurate.

If only this were true!

But sadly, that would be like thinking using a hammer and a saw would take the guesswork out of building a table. As others have pointed out, a computer largely just does what the operator tells it to do. So if the operator is entering incorrect wing dimensions, for example, the computer will give him exactly what the operator wants. Certainly not the fault of the poor computer!

I use computers for graphic design, drawing/printing decals, CAD design of my aftermarket kits, aircraft/military research, and for the all-important catching up on what those Kardashian girls are up to.

Thanks to computers, we can teach each other new tips etc besides doing all the research and sharing what we all learn about our subjects, and put into making our models as accurate as possible.

I also have 650 books in my basement 'office' to look through for references mostly of WW II. I have read all but a little over 100 of them.   My lap top stays in my upstairs model/hobby room so I can have any info on screen as I work on the models.  The home PC is in the office also.

Mike

I also have three walls of shelves filled with reference books collected over the last three decades..

Though I prefer hard copies, sometimes finding a book with a photo I need is sometimes impossible and the world wide web has been invaluable for filling in information gaps.

In addition, I am able to view completed models such as here:

http://www.rlm.at/cont/gal993_e.htm

that would be impossible unless I spent my weekends on aircraft traveling to model contests.

Just spent 2 hrs and $99 online with a Microsoft tech to fix a windows problem.  Next computer will be a Mac, I think!

Cadet Chuck

Just spent 2 hrs and $99 online with a Microsoft tech to fix a windows problem.  Next computer will be a Mac, I think!

Just a warning : MACs break, too.

I've seen too many Mac hardware failures considering the designer price charged.

And Mac specific viruses do exist.

Depending upon what kind of Windows problems you may have had, please be aware that owning a Mac may simply mean exchanging a very expensive phone call to Microsoft for a visit to a Genius Bar at the local  Apple store.

No matter what operating system you use, always back up your data on a regular basis !

Hope your computer problems get better soon.

Sprue-ce Goose

I also have three walls of shelves filled with reference books collected over the last three decades..

Though I prefer hard copies, sometimes finding a book with a photo I need is sometimes impossible and the world wide web has been invaluable for filling in information gaps.

Ditto on the hard-copy references... I've collected dozens of books for the hobby, as well as for other aspects of it that bled over into my other hobbies of WW2 re-enacting and collecting WW2 Wehrmacht badges, medals, uniforms, and equipment, (AKA-  Battle-rattle, the gear every soldier has to hump along with him.)... 

That said, I haven't cracked a book open at the bench for some time, it's just so much easier to look up a photo on the 'net.. In the last ten years or so, I've managed to collect thousands of photo that would have taken year 30 years and a few thousand bucks to aquire via the "book-store"...

Lots of modelers ask questions about various things here, and I use the computer to either verify an answer or to answer and post a photo or two to help the poster...  Reseaching the hobby for others has added a LOT to my "base" of information... Plus, I like to do it, since many times it's a question that I'd like to know the answer to as well, lol...

Another thing, during my "Deployment-induced" hiatus from kit building, I was able to continue modeling on the computer, making many of my own "skins" for Combat Flight Simulator II aircraft, weathering them, addding personal markings and nose-art, etc... It was basically still painting model aircraft, it was just that I used a computer program instead of a brush, paints, and pastels...

Plus, I got to "fly" my models too, lol.. Honestly, how many of you have wished that you "shrink" down to 1/.48 or 1.32 scale and check out your latest Warbird from tail to prop-hub? I always dd, lol..  An added bonus was that I could build missions from WW2 and re-create the actual dogfights, such as "Swede" Vejtasa's fight in an SBD against five Zekes...

I could aslo buzz the the flight-deck too:

I did some WW1 birds too..

Here's my personal Fokker D VII from CFS 2:

I've got the Revell 1/28 D VII lined up for that paint-scheme..

My personal favorite was doing anti-ship missions and wrecking airfields in a PBJ-1J though.. (That Mitchell-pilot sure looks familiar):

But the best part is being able to paint a computer-model before I put brush to styrene, so I'll know exactly what what the finished model will look like, if I feel the need... Like the AMT 1/48 A-20 Havoc..

So all-in-all, I like the computer for what I use it for... It's a helluva tool.. But, when all is said and done,  it's just another  tool, regardless...  

Using it for painting sim-aircraft went a LONG way in me keeping my sanity, and de-compressing after a bad day in the Sandbox, lol...   But I'd never want to have a computer "build" a kt for me, and even though it's not quite the same, the end result is something I enjoy, and is still related to scale modeling..

Very nice aircraft pix, Hans !

BTW, are you doing a Top Gun "Maverick" style fly by in a Grumman?

Good point about decorating aircraft with your own schemes.

Can be useful trying out something on computer prio to making a "hard copy" - just as in re-decorating the kitchen.

And I, too, have a lot of reference books from my re-enactment days but also admit to thinning out my old Star Trek materials.

Need room because of Tribbles.

Sprue-ce Goose

Very nice aircraft pix, Hans !

BTW, are you doing a Top Gun "Maverick" style fly by in a Grumman?

Heh, thanks.. Yeah, that's one of my "Maverick Moments", lol..  Done it in the Hellcat and Corsair too, although I propped m'self in the F6F once.. Skipper had me keel-hauled, which is SERIOUS on an aircraft carrier...

(1,000 Hammer-bucks to the first person to name the movie I just referred to, and who said it.)

Made a dead-stick landing here...  Can't post a better shot of the nose-art though..  Let's just say that that the girl is VERY "detailed", close-up.. You can see the morning dew, lol...

 I always like to tuck in with the bombers, but this one was tough to get through..... The TBDs we were escorting lost us and were wiped out on this mission.. 4 Jun 42 was the date....

I didn't always return from a mission unscathed though..  Rugged little fighter though, ain't it?

Couldn't resist tucking up into the bomber formation here.. My second ex-wife's parents were named George and Betty..

 One last one.. This isn't something you see every day...

I'm surprised no one yet has noted that when I started modeling I bought whatever the hobby shop had or sent an printed off order form and check to Squadron or whoever and waited three weeks for my order to get to me. Now days I fill out an on-line order form, give 'em a credit card number or PayPal account and have my order in three days....

ModelNerd

 

But sadly, that would be like thinking using a hammer and a saw would take the guesswork out of building a table. As others have pointed out, a computer largely just does what the operator tells it to do. So if the operator is entering incorrect wing dimensions, for example, the computer will give him exactly what the operator wants. Certainly not the fault of the poor computer!

I always liked what my CAD instructor said about this years ago...

"Computers are the perfect idiots.  They never do what you want them to.  They only do exactly what you tell them to."

Gamera

I'm surprised no one yet has noted that when I started modeling I bought whatever the hobby shop had or sent an printed off order form and check to Squadron or whoever and waited three weeks for my order to get to me. Now days I fill out an on-line order form, give 'em a credit card number or PayPal account and have my order in three days....

Any mention of it in rec.scale.models would cancel said special so we used a line from one of those long distance commercials, wehadababyitsaboy to spread the news.

Gamera

I'm surprised no one yet has noted that when I started modeling I bought whatever the hobby shop had or sent an printed off order form and check to Squadron or whoever and waited three weeks for my order to get to me. Now days I fill out an on-line order form, give 'em a credit card number or PayPal account and have my order in three days....

Dunno how anyone would have noticed that..  Nobody knew ya when you started modeling..

I still stick with what I find on the hobby shop shelves, except for Ebay, since that's where I go for the OOP kits.. For kits that are new, but haven't hit the LHS shelf, I just have my guy there order me one.. Saves on the shipping charges..

I've bought a few from on-line shops, but generally avoid it..

Hans von Hammer

Gamera:

I'm surprised no one yet has noted that when I started modeling I bought whatever the hobby shop had or sent an printed off order form and check to Squadron or whoever and waited three weeks for my order to get to me. Now days I fill out an on-line order form, give 'em a credit card number or PayPal account and have my order in three days....

 

Dunno how anyone would have noticed that..  Nobody knew ya when you started modeling..

I still stick with what I find on the hobby shop shelves, except for Ebay, since that's where I go for the OOP kits.. For kits that are new, but haven't hit the LHS shelf, I just have my guy there order me one.. Saves on the shipping charges..

I've bought a few from on-line shops, but generally avoid it..

 

 

Yeah, Hans I'm not an English major I should have said 'I'm surprised no one has noted that when I started modeling thirty years ago...

I did have a computer back then too- my beloved Commodore 64, the flight sims didn't looks quite as well detailed as Hans' though.

So the little green dot is supposed to be a Junkers 88???

Oh, and I still think it's amazing that I'm on here almost every day talking to people I consider friends on the US west coast, Italy, the UK, New Zealand, Australia, etc, etc, etc...

spend some time at the apple store genius bar before you think Mac's don't have issues. All computers have issues.

I wouldnt be in this hobby as much as i am now if it wasnt for the internet , and therefore computors . 

Think about trying to describe your model to a fellow modeler over the telephone ...............or you could take a picture and mail it via USPS ...........maybe three days later it'd get there .

Now with computers the entire world is available to share or hobby with ............instantly .

I use the computer to find references I don't have in my books. And to go onto this forum...

Finding kits that aren't in the hobby shop I look for online... or search for reviews via Cybermodeler. I also use microsoft paint (yes, you heard me right! ) to make technical drawings of my own aircraft, ships, rifles and tanks. It's one of my other hobbies. 

waikong: Hey, my computer is eight years old and performs fine! 

Without a computer and internet access, I would have never known the 1/25th scale armor kits had been re-released.

I certainly would not know when new kits are produced.

My local hobby shops do order small quantities of kits when newly released onto the market.

If I don't visit during that narrow time frame when the new kits are in stock, I will never see them.

The hobby shops don't  restock or re-order the kits again unless a customer specifically orders a kit.

waikong: Hey, my computer is eight years old and performs fine! 

Mine's about 12 years old, still uses Windows 98 OS...  It's so old that in the wintertime I use Storm Windows..

Works fine for me! Plus, I don't think anyone makes viruses for it anymore either, lol..

I also use microsoft paint (yes, you heard me right! ) to make technical drawings of my own aircraft, ships, rifles and tanks. It's one of my other hobbies. 

You damn skippy...  I use the heck outta MS Paint.. Did all those aircraft paint jobs for CFS 2 with it (with the exception of the girls. Used Picture It! Express for that and some texts)

Gamera

Oh, and I still think it's amazing that I'm on here almost every day talking to people I consider friends on the US west coast, Italy, the UK, New Zealand, Australia, etc, etc, etc...

Yeah!  I forgot to mention in my original post the help I get from discussion groups, from people all over the world.  I have been building the Encore USS Olympia, and help I got from the FSM ships forum and a couple of other model ship discussion groups has certainly been a big help since the instructions on that kit leave a little to be desired.

Hey, not trying to make fun of Macs or old computers. Just saying all computer have issues now and then. I have my stash of computers too - a laptop with Windows ME, 1 with XP,  3 with Windows 7 and 2 Android Tablets.

Commodore 64! Yes, I had one and spent way too many hours playing F15E Strike Eagle on it. I stil have my, maybe I need to drag it out and try to boot up the game.

Hans von Hammer

 

 

waikong: Hey, my computer is eight years old and performs fine! 

 

Mine's about 12 years old, still uses Windows 98 OS...  It's so old that in the wintertime I use Storm Windows..

Works fine for me! Plus, I don't think anyone makes viruses for it anymore either, lol..

 

I also use microsoft paint (yes, you heard me right! ) to make technical drawings of my own aircraft, ships, rifles and tanks. It's one of my other hobbies. 

 

You damn skippy...  I use the heck outta MS Paint.. Did all those aircraft paint jobs for CFS 2 with it (with the exception of the girls. Used Picture It! Express for that and some texts)