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What types of things cause skill level to go from a 2 to a 3 or 4?

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  • Member since
    November 2013
What types of things cause skill level to go from a 2 to a 3 or 4?
Posted by Spitfire on Tuesday, May 6, 2014 1:11 PM

Was recently in hobby shop and noticed that most of them appear to be skill level 2, but there were a few that were a 3 and even a 4.  So was just curious as to the types of things you would have to do in a 3 or 4 that you don't in a 2.

  • Member since
    May 2013
Posted by flyboyB4 on Tuesday, May 6, 2014 1:28 PM

Great question- we novice's really want to know.  Not even sure what skill level 2 encompasses.

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Green Bay, WI USA
Posted by echolmberg on Tuesday, May 6, 2014 1:51 PM

It's a good question.  I was always under the impression that a Skill Level 1 kit meant no glue was required.  Beyond that, a kit's skill level (2, 3, etc) was basically a reflection of its parts count.  The higher the count, the higher the skill level needed to work on it without encountering a great deal of frustration.  A higher parts count indicated that more experience, skill and finesse would be beneficial in the construction of the kit.

A kit with a lower number may have 75 parts while a kit with a higher number may have over 400 parts.

Eric

  • Member since
    January 2012
  • From: Barrie, Ontario
Posted by Cdn Colin on Tuesday, May 6, 2014 1:57 PM

I find that higher skill levels have smaller parts and more finicky fit.

I build 1/48 scale WW2 fighters.

Have fun.

  • Member since
    May 2013
Posted by Bubbajoe on Tuesday, May 6, 2014 2:30 PM

eye sight and arthritis....the skill level goes up and the old eyes and hands fail  

  • Member since
    June 2009
Posted by Falcon10275 on Tuesday, May 6, 2014 3:57 PM

I think Decals will shoot up the skill level.   Back when Revell made NASCAR kits, they were always the highest level.  Prob for good reason.

  • Member since
    January 2013
Posted by BlackSheepTwoOneFour on Tuesday, May 6, 2014 5:02 PM

A level of a kit is irrelevant to me. It means nothing to me really. Just jump in and build it.

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: Twin Cities of Minnesota
Posted by Don Stauffer on Wednesday, May 7, 2014 8:49 AM

I think a good example is the new Revell PT-17 Stearman.  It is a skill level 3, in spite of its low price.  There are a lot of parts, and some of them are quite dainty.  The fuselage framework is four pieces, representing steel tubing framework.  The tubes (actually rods ) are about scale diameter, which means the frame is quite fragile until it is mounted in the fuselage shell- not for the ham-handed.  While the fit is generally very good, you are pressing some pretty fragile parts together for a very close fit.  I would agree very much with Revell's marking (SL 3) for this kit.  Not for the beginner.

Don Stauffer in Minnesota

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: Greenville, NC
Posted by jtilley on Wednesday, May 7, 2014 9:40 AM

I'm pretty sure the skill levels are picked by the individual manufacturers.  There's no industry-wide organization with the capacity or authority to do it.

I've been in the game long enough that the levels don't matter much to me.  But I do think they're useful - especially for adults who are picking models for kids.  Also, I used to work in a hobby shop, and I wish I had a dollar for every adult who picked the Revell 1/96 Constitution as his or her very first model.  We invariably never saw such people again.  If they'd just paid attention to the skill level....

Youth, talent, hard work, and enthusiasm are no match for old age and treachery.

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Wednesday, May 7, 2014 9:46 AM

Revell's website tells their explanation of skill levels. www2.revell.com/.../wrvgs100p.pgm

  • Member since
    November 2013
Posted by Spitfire on Thursday, May 8, 2014 11:06 AM

Did you post any pictures of that Stearman?  It would be very interesting to see how that turned out.

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: Twin Cities of Minnesota
Posted by Don Stauffer on Friday, May 9, 2014 9:07 AM

Spitfire

Did you post any pictures of that Stearman?  It would be very interesting to see how that turned out.

Yes, in the Aircraft forum.  Still WIP pictures, it is not finished yet.

Don Stauffer in Minnesota

  • Member since
    August 2008
Posted by tankerbuilder on Friday, May 9, 2014 9:34 AM

Hi ;

  I like a few others don't put much credence in the skill level format . Why ? Well , let me illuminate with this little story . There was a man that came into Wal - Mart when I worked there years ago  . He looked at car and ship kits for a while . Then he made his selections and left with the kits . Fast forward a week . He asked me to display his thirteen year old son's ship . I was astounded . It was nothing short of gorgeous ! Then he opened up his car model box to show me the worst glue bomb I ever saw ! He had it about halfway assembled . Then he asked me a question I never expected  . He wanted to know how to read the drawings in the instructions ! This , from a man that admitted he was a builder of houses !

  So you see , skill level , even if they had it back then , wouldn't have helped . He didn't have the skill to read and understand isometric and line drawings in the style as done . I have run across this many , many times .They just didn't teach the same things in school twenty or so years after I left  . If it wasn't taught in shop class it was taught in art class . I have had folks look at me funny when I talk about shop class .They will ask such things as " They taught you to read blueprints , Why ? " " They actually let you use machines that could hurt you ? " Remember , I am now two days short of 71 and they taught you skills you could use to get and hold a job back when I was in school . Art class was the icing on the cake for those of us slavering for knowledge .

    Just think , we were taught why things looked a certain way because of angle and shading  .Simple things yes  .But an open door to a greater understanding of something as simple as a Sauder Furniture ,  do it yourself shelf unit , instruction sheet ! So going back to skill level on packages , Bah - Humbug !

  • Member since
    January 2013
Posted by BlackSheepTwoOneFour on Friday, May 9, 2014 9:53 AM

I had a collegue tell me a tid bit of a college professor once asked her class if any of them ever built a model kit. They all looked at her like she's gone off her rocker.

Another story was a father asked his son if he wanted to play a little basketball. The son says yes. Father goes outside. He's waiting for his sone to come out but doesn't. He goes back inside and wondered why he wasn't outside yet. The son says... get this... I thought you meant on the X Box.

Sad, I know...

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