Last week, I was fortunate enough to find this Tamiya kit on e-Bay advertised "with extra parts". At ten dollars (including shipping), I picked it up simply becaused it was a sealed kit, so I really did not mind if the seller did not know much about the "extra parts". When the package arrived, I was quite pleased to find that the mystery parts included four sets of resin tires (Jaguar, RJ Productions, and one unidentified brand), a set of MR resin stowage, a Royal Model detail set, and an Aber set designed for the Tamiya Schwimmwagen.
I looked over the Voyager set and it seems to be very comparable to the Aber set. I have about eight hours into the project, so I took a closer look at your Schwimmwagen to get an idea how your artist dealt with some of the areas I know will become a challenge for me down the road.
Please do not misunderstand my intentions. I have always liked looking over your posts and have even admired your gracious nature in addressing critics. I only regret that I have to say that if you paid a commission to have the Voyager set installed, it would only be fair to you to have the entire kit installed rather than simply the easy bits and pieces.
As a gracious patron to artists who ply their trade as modellers, you ought to know that while the builder here has installed only a handful of the PE parts. Obvious pieces (engine screens, front license plate, etc) are present, as well as a few smaller details (hinges in the footwell). But, your artist has skipped over the tool clamps, the exhaust shield, rear light bracket, details on the outboard motor, engine hatch latches, MG34 pintle mount and other sizeable portions of the Voyager set.
I sincerely appreciate the concept of taking "artistic liberties" and using sound judgement in addressing my own Schwimmwagen project. Some of the etch is inferior to either plastic or resin parts, some of it will never be seen, and a lot of it is just a pain in the posterior to work with and there are accidents. So, naturally, some of the PE parts will survive the process and others will never see the kit at all. I get that things happen and some parts were just never meant to be.
However, if I was fortunate enough to be a patron to a group of artists, I would expect a great deal more on my investment. Although I got my project for a pittance, I would expect to see those parts used to the full advantage for which they were designed. PE and resin sets are expensive additions to any project and it just does not make sense to pay for all of that if it never shows up on the completed model.