Is posting a WIP a pain in the keister?

dirkpitt77

 When I pull out a new kit, sometimes I'm tempted to post a WIP. What keeps me from doing so is all the work it would take. First you have to pull out the camera and take a series of pics. Then you have to upload those to your computer. Then, they need to be uploaded from the computer to a photo hosting site. Finally, you have to create  your post and post the image links. For me, a session of this will take me the better part of an hour, assuming I'm not interrupted by wife or kids. And this sequence has to happen several times over the course of  a build as it progresses. So really you're investing several hours at least just in photo documentation, to say nothing of the actual building process.

     So, my question is, for those of you who post WIP's, why do you do it and what makes the effort worthwhile to you? What would you tell me in order to convince me to post one up? I know there are several folks here who enjoy the WIP's over the completed build threads, so I would like to hear some opinions.  What say you, FSM?

  Chris

My modelling has improved from what I learn reading other WIP's.  WIP"s are a way to share they I do things.  If someones gets something out of it... great.  If nobody posts WIP's... we all learn squat.

First let me say that I am no computer guru,and it has never taken me an hour to post some updates,I would be hesitant to do so if that was the case.15-20 minutes the most.I enjoy posting because I like to hear feedback and be part of he community.Perhaps my WIP can help someone.I know that I have benifited from others blogs.I have actually printed out threads and saved them for my use.Wbill76,Wingnut,and Disastermaster have really helped me.Now i'm not as good,but i'm sure someone can benefit from mine also.

WIP photos just seem what group building is generally about, and I like group building, so I post them, at least from time-to-time, when I'm doing a gb build.  (Usually takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish to take/post photos.)  That said, it's intimidating to someone as 'beginner skilled' as I am to put photos of any kind on the forum, and for that reason I'll say that yes, it can be a pain of sorts.  It does keep me from taking it all too seriously, though, posting pictures of my wip, LOL!  On the other hand, I do like to see photos of other modellers work as they go along, especially if I have the particular kit in my stash.

I have no quarrel with WIP's- sometimes I look at them, sometimes not, depending on if the subject interests me, but yes it is time consuming for the poster, and also educational for those of us who read them.

I seldom post any photos at all these days, because of the lengthy rigamarole involved it getting it done, exactly as Chris said.

Posting a WIP isn't too difficult, but maintaining it in a timely fashion can be a challenge when you've got other things to do... like build.

I don't do too many stand alone WIPs but I do like to do them for GBs.  Usually I will do some work, take some pics, do some more work, take some more pics, etc.  Then after I've got several pics I will start to post them.  That way I'm not constantly running back and forth to the computer.

Tojo72

First let me say that I am no computer guru,and it has never taken me an hour to post some updates,I would be hesitant to do so if that was the case.15-20 minutes the most.I enjoy posting because I like to hear feedback and be part of he community.Perhaps my WIP can help someone.I know that I have benifited from others blogs.I have actually printed out threads and saved them for my use.Wbill76,Wingnut,and Disastermaster have really helped me.Now i'm not as good,but i'm sure someone can benefit from mine also.

I have never done a WiP thread, but have taken part in a lot of GB's, so sort of similar. I didn't used to take photo's of my builds before. But now i find it really useful, even if they were just for me. They are really handy to refer back to for a certain technique. And the little time it then takes to add them to PB and then load them on here is well worth it with the feedback you get. Theres been a few times when others have pointed things out that i have missed and i have been able to go back and correct it. And when i messed up a paint scheme, photos really helped to show how i went wrong and meant i got help doing it right.

A picture paints a thousand words as they say. And as soon as i get to a build that isn't in a GB, i will be doing a WiP on it.

Since I have my personal site I'd be taking pictures anyway, why not share them here too?

The main time I even post WIPs is for the GBs.  I don't do anything fancy enough or involving any revolutionary technique that warrants it in most cases.

I don't bother with any kind of dedicated setup.  I just take the pics while changing paint colors or after sanding a sub-assembly, then post them while the paint's drying or at  the end of the session.

I think WIP photos are fine, as long as they are within reason.  One problem is that the FSM forum servers do not seem to be the fastest around. If you include 15 or 20 photos in a post, it takes forever for them to load, and I sometimes just get tired of waiting.

So I think six or seven shots per post are a reasonable amount but some posts are just way too many photos.

Don Stauffer

I think WIP photos are fine, as long as they are within reason.  One problem is that the FSM forum servers do not seem to be the fastest around. If you include 15 or 20 photos in a post, it takes forever for them to load, and I sometimes just get tired of waiting.

So I think six or seven shots per post are a reasonable amount but some posts are just way too many photos.

This also helps when people quote your post.  I find it annoying when someone makes a reply that has 15 pics in it and then someone else quotes it...showing the same 15 pics all over again.

That's a good plan, but you know you can selectively delete any or all of the pics from a quote, right?   That clears up some of the "clutter". 

Gary

I have no grudge against the WIP itself. Just the labor involved in posting one.

  I wonder if my conflict isn't the fact that I will usually have spaces of weeks or months between good build sessions, so by the time I get to the next step, I've nearly forgotten what I did last and I have to go back and look again. Part of the cost of being a full time stay-at-home dad, I guess. I'd hate to be the guy only updating his WIP every month or two.  LOL

Texgunner

That's a good plan, but you know you can selectively delete any or all of the pics from a quote, right?   That clears up some of the "clutter". 

Gary

I wasn't commenting because I don't do it.  I was commenting because others don't do it.  Besides, my way eliminates the need to go through the quote and erase a bunch of stuff.

I would say it,s a pain.I have tried ,on my own to do it with no luck.I lost my pics on photobucket soooo.Besides,as I have said before,I need someone to sit down at my computer and take me through the steps or have me do it while they watch .

I don,t always use my landlady,s unit ,like I am now,but I am still photo stupid.There are times though that I wish posting WIP photos was as easy as drinking a cup of coffee,but,it isn,t ,to me.

I like WIP photo posts though and think they add something to the thread or post.I though am willing to take a modeler at his word if I know he,s legit.

Now,if I found he posted ,but,NEVER built a model,that,s wrong.I understand why folks want pics. Can,t say I blame them I guess.All in all I imagine it,s like every other choice or skill.Either you have it and use it or you don,t.        TANKER-builder

I've done it before a few times (ones that spring to mind are my SBD-3, Tamiya Early Sherman and I think maybe my AFV Club Achilles. A few thoughts:

1 - Yes, taking photos can be a pain, but it's not that bad, especially once you make a habit of it. Get a Photobucket upload plugin for your image editor (I edit in Aperture, which lacks one, but dump to iPhoto to upload...quick and painless)

2 - Doing a WIP can get a great way to focus your attention on a build and maybe make you take more time and be more patient than you would be otherwise.

3 - It's a great vehicle for feedback and for help on muck-ups. 

4 - I wouldn't let the whole "beginner" or "my builds aren't good enough" scare you. The Dauntless was my second build back to the hobby, and I was in heavy experimentation mode, but it was still a blast.

5 - The biggest reason I'm in favor of WIP threads - my leaving the hobby took place right around the time the internet became slightly useful. So when I came back, I was gobsmacked by all that was out there. To me, WIPs - just like my blog and all the build posts - are a way of paying all that awesomeness forward to some small degree.

Fly-n-hi

  I was commenting because others don't do it.  

Gotcha.

My point and shoot camera is always out on the workbench. I have it set to where once I import the pictures into Aperture, it automatically uploads them to Flicr, after I make minor adjustments.  It's part of my workflow, when I am building my projects. I appreciate that folks post their WIP, as it helps others that are or will be building the same kit.  I agree, it does take some time to do so, however, I use the time when parts are drying or when glue is setting up.  I take a lot of pictures and write a lot of documentation, as I know it will help me with future projects.

-Steven