The first extreme:
I have recently started working on Trumpeters SA-2 Guideline missle on transport trailer kit, (the one with the ZIL-157 truck), and have been amazed at the awesome detail of this kit, this is my first Trumpeter kit and I can't believe all the itty bitty parts and how durable the plastic is, even though some of the parts are very fragile looking, I have yet to see anything break, not even the smallest parts have shown any sign of breaking, it seems like the plastic is not the least bit brittle, so far everything has fit exactly into place without any modification, I am most definitely looking forward to building more kits from this company in the future. I am keeping my eye on that Karl at the hobby shop.
The segue:
I was talking to this guy at work and somehow I mentioned that I had been building models for most of my life, He was very impressed and asked me if I would build a kit for him if he brought one to me and what I would charge to do it, He told me he had bought a model of his favorite Nascar drivers car and when he opened the box and saw "all the pieces" and that "everything was white", He just closed the box up and shelved it, He also told me it was a "skill level 2" kit.
Now I know the guy pretty well and he is good humored, so I started laughing, not at him, but at the whole idea, I told him to bring it to me, I figure I could build it over the weekend and put a good finish on the body over the next week, so he brought me the kit.
The other extreme:
I don't remember exactly what kit I built years ago by AMT/ERTL, but I do remember that I planned to avoid any future kits by this company. Well as it happens, the kit my friend brought me is by AMT and I had an idea what to expect, so far I have spent at least a half hour removing the excess flash from the parts just so I could shoot them with primer, I finished that up last night and got everything primed and let them dry overnight.
This morning I started to build, and as with most all car kits the engine is the first item for sub assembly, so far nothing has fit together properly, I have cut the tabs off of every piece so far so I could flush things up the way they should be, I haven't got very far because I had to share this with someone who would understand and that is why I am posting this.
I figure the most important thing is going to be the final finish on the body because that is all my friend is going to see when I return his completed Nascar to him, but I can't just "slap it together", over the years I have developed a certain standard for the kits I build, even if it is for someone else who doesn't have a clue about the detail and quality (or lack of) concerning the kit.
I'll tell you, it is quite a contrast going from a costly (and well worth it) Trumpeter kit to a (cheap) kit of (much) lesser quality like the one I will be spending my weekend with, but I know the end result will be the same, I will do my best to create a finished product that my friend can proudly display.
Oh, and I'm not going to charge him anything for doing it, I might even throw in a plastic display case, if he insists on paying me, I will have him buy me lunch one day.