When is enough a enough?

Every hobby is just as expensive as you make it. And IMO, lots of it is marketing as in "you NEED this or that aftermarket part if you want your model to look like a pro, if you care it to be museum quality, and you do care right...blah blah blah". I have never bought AM parts and don't intend to, yet some of my models were good enough to appear in the redaers gallery. I build for myself, sometimes I share the photos of them here to get some feedback, new ideas etc and frankly, if somebody looks down on them for lack of AM part they can go and jump in the lake. As far as clubs and shows, well, there are people evrywhere to whom only the most expensive counts, how much money you put into this or that even if they can't see the difference.

Cheers and enjoy the building

Aftermarket parts are optional parts, period. I don't use many, to be honest, and am a firm believer that upping your finishing skills more than makes up for any perceived lack of "extra" parts. Honestly, today's models are SO detailed, SO good, that aftermarket items are very often just "vanity purchases" which convince the buyer that their model will be somehow just alittle different than the rest of the same builds out there. I do that too.

But seriously, learning how to finish a model with more realism can acheive wonders for the "curb appeal".

Back in the day...when 1/48th scale dominated my bench, I rarely bought a/m anything...unless I got it on the cheap. If I wanted more detail, I'd scratch build it. Then I discovered "color zoom", and started buying that...for 5-6 bucks, ya can't beat it!

Having switched to having 1/72nd dominating the bench....most kit parts are very basic and/or clunky...especially cockpits and seats. Having more money these days, along with being a little lazier and having a bit less bench time, I have been buying a lot more a/m details. PE and a resin ejection seat work wonders!

I still whip out some modeling kung-fu from time to time to do some scratch work.

i generally don't buy aftermarket PE for armor but i will use the PE in the kit. an exception would be doing a complete interior with lots of open hatches. i sometimes get metal barrels but usually after i have decided my seam work on the plastic one is unacceptable, which is rare.

it is doubtul anyone could really tell the difference between a PZ-IV kit fender and a  thinner PE fender after painting and weathering. OTOH if you are doing a specifc photograph with crumbled fenders and serious battle damage, it might be an option. 

Figures are another matter and that will depend on the final presentation.is going to be a vehicle, vingnette or diorama? also AM personal gear to hang on the sides and in the turret bussle.

for ships PE AM railings add quite a lot as do radars,gun barrels and wood decks. again that becomes an expense vs amount of time vs final presentation. 

it may also depend on whether you fall into the accurate vs somewhat artistic schools of modeling. i appreciaye both but am in the artistic "creative an atmosphere" vs 100% accurate.

IF, OTOH, you are talking about weathering, i think the rule of thumb is

IF YOU THINK IT'S ENOUGH YOU PROBABLY HAVE GONE TOO FAR!

the doog

Aftermarket parts are optional parts, period. I don't use many, to be honest, and am a firm believer that upping your finishing skills more than makes up for any perceived lack of "extra" parts. Honestly, today's models are SO detailed, SO good, that aftermarket items are very often just "vanity purchases" which convince the buyer that their model will be somehow just alittle different than the rest of the same builds out there. I do that too.

But seriously, learning how to finish a model with more realism can acheive wonders for the "curb appeal".

 

I am very much in league with Karl on this. Although much of my stash is older kits, so a few AM items are in order in my primary build areas of 1/48 aircraft and 1/35 armor. On armor it comes in two areas, tracks and stowage. In aircraft it comes in one area, seats. beyond that, if I want to upgrade a kit, it is amazing what you can do with sheet, rod and tube styrene, wire, and other odds and ends using your own creativity.

I am with most everyone here.  Aftermarket stuff is optional.  Can it enhance a model, sure.  Is it required to win awards, no.  The model building skill is based on taking what you get in a box and assembling it so that is replicates the original, or makes you happy, or both.  On one of the kits I'm (very slowly) working on now, I am scratch building an armor plate to go behind the pilot's seat.  I'm cutting up some thin clear plastic from a food container.  The bottom line is do the kits in the manner that brings you peace and joy and strive to make your next kit better than your last.  If you can win awards, great, but they are not required.  Try something new, learn something, have fun.  SPend the kids inheritance if so desired.  Cheers

John

Hello!

Billmc - no disrespect, but questions like that make me wonder a bit... Modelling is optional - nobody says anybody has to do it. Buying kits is optional - you can build models out of raw materials, people have been doing that for centuries. Then came the kits - initially looked down upon by "real" modellers, who started from scratch. And then came the aftermarket stuff - looked down upon by people who used to improve kits by themselves. In the end it's your time and your money - nobody should tell you how to spend it.

But we also have something like "state of art" in modelling - like 50 years ago I reckon you could build a 1:72 aircraft without a cockpit or shading and win an award with it. The technology improved now and people expect a little more from their models - but of course it's not mandatory. And then the AM comes in - you get that nice bang seat and it's ready to paint. You pay a few bucks, but if you had to scratchbuild it, you would have to invest a few hours extra - that's worth something, too! If you value your time, maybe it's worth to pay? I do that sometimes.

Of course sometimes the AM kits can be crappy or useless, too. It's good to keep that in mind.

Thanks for reading and good luck with your modelling projects. I'm gonna go to my desk and fill and sand those 3D-printed 1:35 165mm shells now :-) Have a nice day

Paweł

I think "enough" is when you decide: "Yeah, I'm not spending that much for this."

This is a very interesting topic and one where I see some modelers replace very well detailed parts with aftermaket ones when IMO it is really not a big factor in increasing detail.

As for me, I will replace a part or parts with aftermarket ones only if the kit details are poor or missing all together.

As an example, ROG is producing some very detailed models such as the 1/32 Uhu, the 109's and their latest the FW190F-8. In my opinion, these kits only need some pe belts with the exception of the FW190 that can benefit from pe details in the pit. I feel ROG fell a bit short in this area specially in this larger scale where things are very visible. I thought about getting a pe set for the Uhu pit but the molded details are so well done that I see no benefit in changing anything. 

I'm not advocating not to add pe or resin parts to your build. After all it is your decision and you do as you see it fit.

Cdn Colin

I think "enough" is when you decide: "Yeah, I'm not spending that much for this."

 

My thoughts exactly. I won't spend no more than $60 for a kit no matter how badly I want it. I'd rather wait for it to go on sale first.

However, I will buy AM parts if the original parts look too flimsy or unrealistic  - be it tires, gun barrels, cockpit set, etc... I'm currently working on Tamiya P-47 Thunderbolt kit and I wasn't crazy with the gun barrels that came with the kit. I ended up ordering AM parts as relplacement. What a difference in appearance they are.

I have been building models now for seventy years, and never took a break.  That may have made it easier to deal with that monster called inflation.  I find model kits similar to what I built as a kid have increased pretty close to the official inflation rate.  In fact, the kits that I first built, now offered under the Lindberg brand, are indeed still available.  Yes, you can build them, but they are pretty basic.  Try their racing planes, like the GeeBee or the Howard Ike.  Most of the kits I buy are far more complex, with about ten times the parts of those simple kits, so it is reasonable that they cost more than the inflation factor above what those old kits (I think they were Hawk back then).

The thing that has gone up far above inflation is the model magazines.  When I was buying them at the newstand back in the fifties they were 25 cents.  Factor of inflation would make them about $2.50 to $3.00.  Try to find a model magazine today for three bucks!

I gues its the pure pressure of modeling. I read so many article's on build reviews, tips where amp are as common as building the model them selfs. Personally i wish they can build and talk about the model in the box and then add a side conversation about amp and even PE parts. Wow PE is a whole other topic, lol i think they invented that to keep me from getting back into the hobby all together lol. Safe to say i don't do much with that lol

I've gotta say... AM or not, if you are building to impress other people or to "keep up with the Joneses" in the scale modeling world rather than building what you personally enjoy working on, you're doing it wrong!

That said, I DO like AM stuff,  enjoy working with PE, welcome the additional challenge (and it IS a challenge, especially to integrate aftermarket stuff seamlessly into the kit) and I especially like the end result.

My favorite genere is model ships; I couldn't imagine buiding without the stuff!

For me the bottom line is what you want from your model. There are so many kits these days that are beautiful right out of the box that aftermarket parts are sometimes totally unnecessary. That said, I have several 1/700 ships that I won't start without photo-etched railings and small guns. The models are great but to me that extra detail makes a huge difference. In that case the extras are worth the price - to me anyway.

I did recently purchase a generic WW1 cockpit set and a set of pre-painted seat belts, because I feel the model needs them.

For another build I bought four gorgeous 1/72 brass Lewis Guns just because they looked so good in the pictures. When I put them together I was not disappointed, but I probably won't do it again. It really depends on what you want.

If you pratice enough you learn some very good and useful skills in scratch building many of your own parts. Having said that, there is no need to build up a kit except for the pure desire to do so. Building out of the box is fine, as long as you are fine with it.

If you plan on entering shows, thats a differnet ballgame. Scratching parts truly comes in handy for this level of building.

I have been building since the 50s and from that point to the 80s if you wanted extra detail, you made it form whatever you could find.  WHen the aftermarket parts started to show up they were mostly pieces to enhance the cockpit parts, instrument panels, seat belts, mirrors and so on.

Eventually, entire cockpit sets came out and since then it seems that you have got to use these to really build an exceptional model and maybe even be accepted.  I do have some after market supplies but they are mostly bits and pieces to enhance a cockpit unless a simple set like for the Mystery Ship I'm working on can fill in where just a simple plastic seat is provided.

Test yourself, try making some parts out of sheet plastic and other items to add a bit more detail.  An antenna here, some harness straps there, or even a cockpit with home made consoles will improve your work.  All they really are is some thin plastic sheet comming up, going horizontal, and a little bit angled up for insruments and it's done.  Don't have thin plastic?  It can be ordered or use some thicker pieces stacked on top of one another.  If you need some thin stuff, I have plenty.

Here's a couple examples of added detail without expensive aftermarket products:

The parapit armor and interior are added with scrap plastic I had laying around.

This is the Airfix C-130 kit turned into a AC-130H using salvaged parts from other kits, a couple beads, paper, and a metal tube for the 105mm gun.

I've not purchased any AM parts. I refuse to pay more for an enhancement part than what the kit cost.

Fortunately AM parts in the scifi genre is not at the level as you armor and aircraft modelers.

I have purchased a few kits that included PE parts and found they can require a considerable amount of extra work over going with the standard plastic part.

We scifi people do use lots of lighting. I do not use the AM lighting kits preferring to go with a home brew option. This is very easily done with LEDS and wire.

I keep hoping for the day we can all just "print" AM parts. However, that technolgy just dosn't seem to be advancing as rapidly as I'd like it to. It still kinda like 3D in video. Cool idea but just not ready for prime time.

I know that I'm a little late to the party, but here's my take on it. I don't buy, or use aftermarket parts. I know that there are those who swear by them, but these guys go to all the shows, and the models that they build have all the bells and whistles.  They build them up and the parts that are extra aftermarket you usually either don't see, or know that they are even there once the model it built! I find that unless you're building something that you can take apart, or show as a multi-media display that you can see a lot of detail with there's not much of a point to doing so. I make the parts that I need that I know are missing, but only if it's something that can be SEEN from the outside.

Some of the members here have built models that have ultra cool detailing, but once assembled cannot be seen ever again! What's the point of that? This is why I don't sweat the small stuff, and it's also why I don't buy photo etch, or extras that I can make myself. Basically put: depending what the theme is, how big the model is, what detail you hope to put in, and ultimately will this be something that you'll be looking at a lot, or others can see too. Also, if it's something that you're only going to build once, and you want it to be the ultimate showpiece then I'd say yes. Otherwise it's a waste of time, and money in my personal, and professional opinion.

~ Cobra Chris

There's a lot of truth in that pic above. When I first started modeling some 56 years ago, kits were around .50 to a couple of dollars so I guess those were the good old days but then the details in those kits were poor by today standards but they were still fun to build and one could always knock off a couple models in a day. And it was always fun to scratch build added details into those kits.

Today, the average kit is at least over a $100 and you still feel the need to pick up all the niffty AM sets for it which can easily total up more then the model itself. Been there done that with so many kits and I may do it again when the HK 1/32 B-17F is released, I'm just trying to justify the cost of that kit and how to sneak it in pass the wife.

I know I can leave out the AM sets or the scratch building which speed up my building time because the only one here looking at my kits is the wife and when I show her something I get the obligatory hmmm mmm that's nice dear.... You out there knowing this is true can I get a Oorah!! Thank you.

But I, like all of you, would still like to capture every accurate detail possible and AM sets often helps to achieve that worthy goal. So I still buy the AM sets but now only for certain kits that I want to enhance, the others I will do the OOB builds.

Happy Modelling

Scott

The only time I will get AM parts is for exterior enhancement - be it tires, correct propellers, machine gun cannons, seat belts, or what not. I won't hesitate to buy aftermarket IP because I hate painting them. Decal IP is even worse.