Are Detail Parts Worth The Bother?

I'll let others chime in before I do, because I have been posting at the beginning of threads quite a bit lately.

But, I wanted to comment on the cleverness of your nickname "Carrier Sailor"

Rex, the Accidental CAG

Well, as the popular sayings go, both God and the Devil is in the details. Personally, I've always detailed something to my own satisfaction and if somebody has an issue with my level of detailing, then they're free to go build their own and include the appropriate number of rivets on the starboard sponson, move the hatch cover three scale inches over to the left, include the complete gas cap that nobody will ever see, or whatever. The level of detail that pleases me is the level of detail that's worth it to me. I'm in the hobby for my own personal enjoyment and relaxation, not to be a slave to somebody else and their ideas of how much detail is the "right" amount. So, in a nutshell, if you want to add more details to a cockpit, go ahead-- if it makes you happy and adds to your enjoyment of the build. If not, then leave it off. Either way, if you're pleased with the end result, then it's worth it. Just my own two cents.

If the detail part is important to you, then it is important!

I have a heap of PE, and resin after market, & have even used some on some builds, but not all of it on anything.

I will correct kit parts, If I think it is wrong for the variant I'm building, If I have the PE, resin, or scratch-built  replacement & IF I have the skill to do so.

EG, I replaced all the hydraulic rams on the RoG Re-pop of the 1/40th scale M48 AVLB with aluminium rod, & made it workable.

I didn't try to Frankenstein the launch gear & bridge with the Tamiya M48, as the scales were too far apart, & the RoG was of the prototype bridge, but it was a fun build, & one day I will scratch a production bridge when I find some decent scale drawings.

I do have a habit of trying something new or different, to stretch my skills, for FUN, currently playing with Sketchup 7 STL files for rapid prototyping...

I remember trying to attach all the photoetch handles and cranks in my 1/48 Eduard I-16.  At the end of the day, after all the frustration and swearing, I couldn't see them.  The seatbelts and side door, however, look superb.  The photoetch on my LAV III looks awesome, but it's all exterior.  I've come to the conclusion that if it's inside, the plastic parts look just as good, and are much more manageable with my skillset.  Needing to use superglue is a huge minus for me, and I have trouble getting paint to stick to the metal like it does plastic.  

I use to be into RC flying scale.  Rules required 3view drawings to accompany the entry.  I also judged the category. It was normal for judges to carry tape measures and measure some of the major dimensions of the entry.

I have also judged plastic scale. I have not seen (though I am sure some do) a judge pull out a tape measure or ruler and measure a wingspan or length.  But I have heard judges murmur favorably about an abundance of fine detail.  It is a lot easier to see lots of detail than to notice an error in proportions (which is the kit mfg's error anyway).  So if you intend to enter contests, then I would recommend going with lots of detail.

For your own enjoyment and satisfaction, this has to be a personal decision, just like whether to paint in the camouflage scheme or the solid color.

It depends on what you want from the "detail part". That term is a wide ranging phrase that encompasses a number of modeling items.

A detail set could be used to convert one version of the subject into another. If you want that subject, then I guess it is worth it.

In armor modeling, very old kits didn't have inside track detail and it was smooth with just a nominal tooth for motorization. If this bothers you, then aftermarket tracks are worth it. Some more modern tank kits are highly detailed. Some modelers feel the need to replace outstanding plastic tracks with metal tracks.

For me ,sometimes.To the degree that my abilities allow.To the degree that my hobby doesn't loose it's fun and become tedious.

I have 2 P-47 Thunderbolt kits by Tamiya (Bubbletop & Razorback) and I didn't like the looks of the machine guns for the wingtips. They didn't look realistic detail-wise. So I ended up buying 2 resin machine gun parts for the both P-47 kits. It all depends on what you want to do but I get them for personal satisfaction not due to accuracy issues.

I agree with Black Sheep.

I have a 1/48 Monogram B-26 that ,on the exterior, is a very nice kit but the interior is stark and almost void of detail.  Since the B-26 has a lot of glass the interior shows quite a bit.  To my mind this situation justifies purchasing an interior detail set if only to satisfy my quest to build a better model.  There's only so much I can do ( with my present skills, or lack thereof ) to scratch build interior parts only to discover that the AM parts look a whole lot better in the end result.  So what I'm trying to say is, if I like it better it is better, after all, it's a personal hobby and I need not to satisfy others as much as myself.

If your modeling in 1/32 scale these parts you are asking about should be doable. In 1/48 however I don't mess with pe switches or separate instrument decals. Not worth the hassle. In 1/32, it might be worth it.

Once I bring my build to the local IPMS meeting for show and tell and I post pics on this forum, the kit goes on the shelf never to be seen in scrutiny again. It's hard for me to justify to myself or the boss, spending the same amount of money on PE and AM that I did on the kit. Now there are some kits I really want to "bling". I just received a Hasegawa MC-202 that I want to get the cockpit and flap detail kit for, and am willing to spend the equivalent of another kit for them, but that would just be for my own pleasure. I will probably never be good enough to win at shows, so I don't even try. I just build for me.

It depends on the individual model. Some IMO need nothing more than a set of Eduard seat belts. Others need TLC to bring them up to speed.

It's up to the modeler how far or how simple to keep the build. Main result is achieving satisfaction with the end result.

First of all, yeah, the nickname comes from 6 aircraft carriers in a 20 year active duty Navy career. I'm building the models for myself, kind of like therapy but really just to spend time doing something I enjoy but I want to get better at it and I figure that detailing cockpits, adding weathering, wear and tear, etc.not only gives me a more satisfying result but it adds to my skill set. I doubt that I wil ever enter a contest but I want a personally satisfying result. So when I start building that Slow But Deadly Devastator I'll have to see the kind of detail that's been put into it and go from there.

Dave

OOPS! it's a Dauntless. But devastating in attack.

Dave

Dauntless, Devastator, shrug, it's all Douglas in the end, ha. I am intrigued by Mr Sheep's Thunderbolts with machine guns on the wingtips, though. (he knows I am kidding)

As for resin cockpits, I started to go down that path. Then after just a few, I stopped myself. I got the cockpits mixed up once between a carefully corrected F-4B and an equally painstaking F-4C when I was glueng them in place. If you squint down into the 1/72 hole and reallllly focus, you can see that they are different,,,,,,,but, not even my Uncle and my brother can tell if I have the Navy cockpit in the Air Force plane or not,,,,,,and they worked on the F-4B and F-4C each at one time. I can tell only because I know what I did to the AF pit that I didn't on the USN,,,,,,,,I just didn't see it until I had the fuselages closed up and the models painted.

I have some biplane resin cockpit upgrade sets,,,,,,,,for aircraft with a 3/8" hole for the pilot to sit down in!!!

So, after looking down in "large" two seaters and smaller single seaters,,,,I am afraid that all my future builds are just going to get some resin ejector seats in a stock plastic cockpit, with or without the decals I made for some of the aircraft and ran off copies in clear plastic sheets.

I am mostly about the process of getting each nose shape right, and seeing that the wheels and engines are correct for each different version. I can live with my 1" pilot having to look for the drop tank jettison switch for a while longer.

But, I have nothing against the tiny unseen parts,,,,,some of the older kits back in the day had whole assemblies that went inside and then were never seen,,,,,,those nose radars that then go inside the radome come to mind,,,,or the crew tunnel inside the Airfix B-29,,,those were still fun to build, it just all depends on which part is fun for you.

rex

Jay Jay

I agree with Black Sheep.

I have a 1/48 Monogram B-26 that ,on the exterior, is a very nice kit but the interior is stark and almost void of detail.  Since the B-26 has a lot of glass the interior shows quite a bit.  To my mind this situation justifies purchasing an interior detail set if only to satisfy my quest to build a better model.  There's only so much I can do ( with my present skills, or lack thereof ) to scratch build interior parts only to discover that the AM parts look a whole lot better in the end result.  So what I'm trying to say is, if I like it better it is better, after all, it's a personal hobby and I need not to satisfy others as much as myself.

I just built one of those kits this summer.  I got a wild idea to scratch all that missing detail, and lets just say that effort probably tripled the duration of the project. The Eduard set did not include all that I had in mind to do (radio/navigator compartment, tail gunners compartment, etc.), plus I wanted to do it myself and minimize any AM usage with this kit. Lets just say that this project snowballed from one addition to another and another and another... 

When all was said and done and this build was sealed up, easily 2/3rds was pretty much not visible except thru the most scrutinizing attempts to look for the added work...

While the effort did pay off at IPMS and I am most satisfied knowing that I can do such work, most folks who see this build have no clue as to what was done inside. Nor will they likely ever know.

I think for the most part I am quite content to added a resin seat with belts or use the kit seat with PE belts added and call it a day with that. Yes they are times when kit parts are quite substandard and best replaced, but that is usually with older kits. Aside from seats, harnesses, and the machine guns, barrels and ammo belts/chutes, most kits I build are good enough for me OOB. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?

Nice looking work Stik. There is a guy with a good looking B-17 in another thread, because he changed the injected plastic clear parts out with very thin Vacs, you can see right up into the nose of his model.

That does sort of say that if all of your work can be seen it can add a lot to the final product,,,,,,,,sort of like seeing down into a PBY's waist gunner positions.

Thanks Rex. Yeah, I went to town on the presumption that when the old guys at IPMS will be looking with their penlights and little mirrors and such, there was gonna be something there for them to see from any angle. Boy did that snowball.

stik - that Marauder you did is one I absolutely love seeing. The detail and work you've done to it is simply amazing. I really enjoyed following that build in the Longest Day GB.

Thank you Black Sheep. While there is no doubt that AM or scratch built details will enhance any kit, I guess my point is you gotta ask yourself how much will be visible when the build is finished.

One thing no one has mentioned since everyone is thinking aircraft, is the detail parts that are used for smaller scales.

I like to do I/700th scale aircraft carriers and in my view the photo etched detail parts are what make a small scale model.   The smaller detail parts really draw the viewers eye into the model and give an ironic delicacy to a warship model.

It takes practice, but the railings, antenna, etc., are certainly in view on a ship and make the effort worth it.

I agree that it is in the eye of the builder how much, or how little to detail.  I like to put my models into cases.  That keeps the dust off, but certainly makes it hard to see any cockpit detail on an aircraft.  So I think twice about doing stuff that just won't be seen.

I like to go with photos.  If the detail can be seen in a photo off the entire prototype, the detail should be there.  Otherwise, just have fun.