what makes a model?

hhmmmmmmm........did i say that ?????......
what i meant was..............um...............er...........decalling brings a subject to life.......
what makes the model is the modeller.......not too nebulous......huh ?

Every single blessed thing that you do that boxed plastic makes a heap of parts
into a model. Even the most laborious, tedious things like puttying & sanding--
they're all part of the process & all part of the satisfaction at the end. Working hard at something is what makes it valuable in the end, IMHO.
By the way, rik, I showed your signature pic to my wife & she LOVED it, as do I.

I guess the "Life" just kind of evolves to me. They always start to look like something when I get the fuselage (or body or whatever) together, but they are the always a mix of colors from sanding and filling and gluing. Then a primer coat makes them look more alive, but still not right; maybe just in a juvenile stage. The paint makes them start to look like what they are going to be because once that is done there is no turning back. The decals start to really give life to them but it isn't until they are painted, decaled, and standing up that they look alive to me.

To me, a REAL model should be very well constructed - I mean that there is absolutely no sloppy construction - the finesse of the detail is all important - the cleanliness of the paint job is imperative.
Then there's the most important part - weathering the thing to make it look REAL.
Then, and only then, is it a "scale replica" - as opposed to a "model".
A model can be anything - cheap and nasty, small or large, expensive or cheap.
But a "scale replica" looks like the real thing that's been shrunk. Put gas in it and drive it away.

For me, it's the whole nine yards that makes a model. And one person's nine yards might differ greatly from another person's.

I think the main ingredient is passion. The passion for building something, making it somehow unique (even if it's a Mustang or Tiger I!), and trying to take it beyond just being a collection of assembled and painted plastic, metal, and whatever parts.

You can see that passion in all great models.

QUOTE: Originally posted by J-Hulk For me, it's the whole nine yards that makes a model. And one person's nine yards might differ greatly from another person's. I think the main ingredient is passion. The passion for building something, making it somehow unique (even if it's a Mustang or Tiger I!), and trying to take it beyond just being a collection of assembled and painted plastic, metal, and whatever parts. You can see that passion in all great models.

I couldn't agree more.

I think we all have a vision in our heads of the finished model from the moment we open the box and are just looking at an assortment of components.

When we are able to meet or exceed in quality that image we hadwith the finished piece, then we have trully MADE the model.

I draw as an example, my Italian ME-163 Komet. Hypothetical as it is, I strived for a plausibility by using an arrangement of the decals that would have been likely in reality and a derivation of an actual Italian camoflage scheme on my finished model. The passion to do it came from my long standing want to see this type of aircraft in Italian markings. The very good response it has gotten from anyone who has seen it tells me that I got this one right.

The first time I start to see the fruits of my labor, the seemly endless texturing, filing, sanding, adding of detail and damaging detail, is the basecoat. That's when for me it comes together and I could spend hours looking at it.
It's also before it all ends up being covered in weather and mud.

The builder's realizations and expectations.

QUOTE: Originally posted by renarts The builder's realizations and expectations.

Mike, that is an excellent statement!

Very well said.

When a modeler puts in the effort to make a creation that is greater than the sum of its parts. Successful models are a single, cohesive unit. All the ingredients (parts, assembly, paints, weathering) work together. No single aspect of the build is emphasized more than the others. It is a balance of the skills necessary to produce a convincing model. That's what it means to me.

QUOTE: Originally posted by J-Hulk QUOTE: Originally posted by renarts The builder's realizations and expectations. Mike, that is an excellent statement! Very well said.

Yes well said. This is a hobby that is best measured in personal satisfaction.

to me of what makes a model a model is when you look back at it when your finshed and looking back at all the hard work you put into it and enjoying it and being proud of yourself for making a nice piece of art, for alittle while now ive been considering model building not just a hobby but art.

I think it is the creativity to put together bits and pieces to form a likeness of a subject as designed in the mind of the modeler.

ummmmmmmmm................ a model company??

can't believe noone jumped on that one......

I believe its each model builders originality and what he does with it.

All that a modeller puts into it to complete it.

No matter how it will look in the end it is the modeller's efforts that really counts

and makes a model.

To me, I don't think there is one single act that brings a model to life. A model is never trully 'alive' to me until it's actually finished, so that last step, that last spot of glue on the accessory, or whatever it may be, that's the lifebringing part to me.

I get to dream and play and be a kid again.

Research, dedication, effort, and personal satisfaction.