Skill Level

I remember the skill level ratings on the models of old. I always took them as a vague guide to help a prospective purchaser along, as well as a motivational tool to get you to come back and buy that "next level up" kit,

I know what you're talking about. I've seen them at Barnes and Nobles. I've always wanted to do one. When I went to Mystic last summer, there was some PE kits in one of the toy shops at Mystic Village. I regret not picking up a few for they were something like $5 a piece. I had a chance to pick up a bi-plane, Sherman Tank,  car, Eiffel Tower, ship, etc... Ah well, live and learn..

Hi , D.C.

   I don't think you could get a reasonable response to industry wide regulation .Why , Well , take my neighbor's kids , 7 and 8 . They are BOTH into models and LEGOS and they are good at following the instruction .The 7 year old was surprised when he saw snap fit kits in my stash .

   I explained this way .Well , those actually have better bodies than the regular glue models, Sometimes!  Then he asked me something that knocked this old mans socks off .

   He asked me if He could have my 1/200 Arizona if I kicked the Bucket ( his Words ) I said Why?             He stated he was tired of building toys and wanted to build a " Real" Model . Remember He's seven and a little brash .Sometimes to much , and this gets him in trouble with Grandma . He went home and brought back a model for me to look at .

    It was a skill level three RoG tug kit .He built it absolutely correct and didn't slobber glue all over the place . I run into this at the Train Museum here in town that I am Vice -President of Modeling for . Kids want to know how hard it is to build the structures and some even return with something  they've done to show me .

    The skill levels are way off because every kid or pair of kids aren't that graceful with their hands or minds .Some are . No one person can truthfully say 5-10 yrs - skill level two or one . It was done because Parents were to lazy or didn't have time to spend with the kid ,  Or , and yes this is awful, they couldn't read !

Hey BSTOF ! !

   You want to practice with P.E. ? Go to your local bookstore ( maybe ) or upscale toy store . There you will find , again Maybe ,nice little P.E.kits by Fascinations .They are called " Metal Earth " . They are P.E Stainless  .Thin and crammed with parts .Well , at least the ones I've built so far .

   They range from a simple Cessna Sky-Hawk to a Moon Lander and everything else you can think of including buildings , ships and tanks . I still have to build Himeji Castle and the Mars rover . The thing is , I don't think I'll stop there . It keeps these old hands from shaking and hurting .

     They pretty much follow paper model format , in that you have to make round stuff and so on .But they will look great on the curio shelf . It took old modeler of years , Me , two weeks to build the Moon Lander !

     Give them a try . They ARE fun to do ! Tanker - Builder

Most "industry standards" are voluntary. Doesn't make 'em consistent, although that was the original intent.

    Again, I know that it is probably virtually impossible for such an industry standard to be set.  I'm just saying that it would be nice IF there was some consistancy in what a skill level ment.  As an example, using the two kits that I am currently working on.  The AMT 2009 Corvette Coupe and the Revell 1964 Ford Fairlane.  Both are labeled as being "Skill Level 2."  But they are worlds apart.

    The AMT 2009 Corvette Coupe has maybe 50 pieces and the details are molded into the unercarraige and there is no engine.  Whereas with the Revell 1964 Ford Fairlane there are 127 pieces, and it is very detailed.

    And let's take that aforementioned grandmother looking to purchase a kit for her gandchild.  If she picked up both of these kits in the store and looked at them and read the box not knowing what we who have been building in some cases for decades know.  How is she going to pick the "right" model for her grandchild?

    Also, yes, I know (as does anyone on here who has worked in any capacity for the government) that the fastest way to "screw something up," is to put the government in charge of it.

    So that being said, what I was thinking of was some sort of volunteery system.  So that that aformentioned can pick out the right kit for her grandchild.  As depending on the childs age, skill level, etc. if they got a kit that was either too hard or too easy it could discourage them from building again.

Hell, I don't even like video reviews in baseball and football. No! No! No!

Cadet Chuck

Oh, good!  Let's petition congress to study this question,  and write a new regulation bill…...

Now, on the other hand, I'd be happy to write a proposal to the Gov'munt to build every model on the market and rate them. Probably charge $ 100.00/hr., take me at least a year.

It sounds like a good theory, but, I don't see any consistent way to make it actually work.

I can pop a 1/72 scale jet aircraft together, with all the parts count you can ask for,,,and get it to the paint stage in a week or two. I can also feel pretty comfortable in my ability to "get it together right". That would make me a "4" in the 1 to 4 range of assembling kits.

But, cut the parts count in half, and make that a model of a 1/35 Joseph Stalin tank,,,,,and I would take far longer and be less secure in my finished result, that would make me something like a "2 as a tank builder, building a level 3 kit"

I don't see any way to be able to equate a level 2 across the board for tanks, planes, cars and ships,,,,,,,and that is what you would need in order for Grandma to ask Little Johnny what skill level he is when she goes to buy him a birthday present. Because, let's be honest,,,,,,we all ignore those boxes on the sides of the model when we buy for ourselves, if we want a new tool Tiger Moth, and the box has one inside it,,,,,,we will buy it,,,because, deep down, we all "know" that we are better than those numbers at saying how well we build.

I had the same trouble with the old kit boxes that say "age for 8 years" or "age for 14 years" on them,,,,some of them I have only had for 6 or 7 years, which means they aren't aged enough just yet.

Rex

Oh, good!  Let's petition congress to study this question,  and write a new regulation bill…...

In the electronics industry, we have many standards, one of which is the IEEE standard. Even though all of the electronics manufacturers (well, almost all of them) try to meet that standard, some have their own version or idea of what that standard is. Mind you, this is an "Industry Standard", not a government-imposed standard, so there isn't much in the way of oversight on it. Same goes for DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) standards in the medical arena (I deal with that, too): each medial device manufacturer has it's own idea about how to meet that standard, so sometimes, each device that uses DICOM might be a little different from another that uses it, even though a DICOM Conformance Statement is required for each device that uses DICOM. These standards, in theory, are great, but in practice, do nothing more than cause the price of the device to increase dramatically (these are all my opinions, of course, based on 20+ years of experience). So, to attempt to impose a standard for modelling skill levels is a good idea, but in practice it would probably cause headaches and the price of each kit to go up.

MJames70 - You are absolutely right. PE is a new challenge for me and to be honest, I am a teeny bit intimidated by them. I am willing to tackle the challenge the best I can and learn from it. At the moment, I do have a couple kits with PE included - especially one in a 1/72 scale kit (not looking forward to that one LOL!)

Again. it's all about the challenge. Maybe not everyone sees my point of view but it's worth it.

Marketing fluff for the most part.

To be accurate, they would have to take into account each builder's opinion of what a "good" finished model looked like.  They would also have to hold themselves accountable for the the quality of their kit.  

For example, I have a simple old Airfix kit in the stash with about 20 pieces to it that would take me a year to carve & hammer into a nice finished model by my current standards but as a kid I would have stuck it together in an hour, poured Krylon over it and been happy.

It's a nice, but impractical idea. Parts count alone, or the need for glue and paint, is not an indication of complexity. A kit can have 1000+ parts that are large and go together easily. Or 70 tiny bits that are a total b@#$% to put together. There's no way a simple system can account for things like that.

Something else to consider is if painting the model, the complexity of the scheme is also a factor. A kit may be very simple, but if it has a multi color scheme on a tiny model and 300 decals, it is a lot harder modeling project than a large 1000 part tank you just paint green.

So to sum up, it would be very difficult to come up with any rating system that considers these factors, that wouldn't be highly subjective itself. Let alone 'universal' for all companies. If this is an issue for you, the best way is to take any manufacturer provided skill advice as a broad suggestion, to be built upon by your own experiences. And, of course, check and ask for opinions on the internet before buying, too.

An industry standard for skill levels? Give me a break.  I look at it as a challenge to tackle the project at hand. Believe me, I've bought plenty of kits above my skill level when I was young but it never bothered me with the number of parts involved nor the complexity of the build. I love the challenge of the build regardless the skill level.

    Yes, it would be hence my asking.  As for the "oversight" I would think that "the industry" would want to do everything that it reasonably could to ensure the enjoyment of their customers.

    As for the penalties for a violation, that I honestly do not know.  I just know that it would be nice if there was some sort of standard.

That would be nice,but that would require regulations and over sight,who would enforce the standards if a manufacturer violated the "industy standard skill level" ? And what would be the penalties for a violation ?