QUOTE: Originally posted by Prince of Styrene II
In my opinion, the Bandai kits are just toys that you have to put together. In about three hours, you have a display. No painting, no putty, no sanding (well, maybe to get rid of sprue stubs), no gluing. Any of the mentioned will ruin the finish. All snap, with trenches for the wiring & bulbs to be inserted into. Nothing that really gives you a sense of accomplishment. |
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Well, fair enough, but building every kit does not have to be ascending Mount Everest to be a build-up.
It depends on how you see modeling, to some extent. I used to feel exactly the way you do about painting the minature armies I wargame with -- if I didn't paint them myself, I felt like a traitor or a loafer, or something. But then I lost time as I got older, and acquired a better income, and started buying my own prepainted armies. I've gotten used to them and now see them as the handsome step-brothers of the armies I paint myself.
Now, I admit these are to game with rather than just display, so the analogy isn't perfect, but I've also gotten in the habit lately of picking up prepainted display statues like those things from Sideshow for the Lord of the Rings -- I display them right beside my own models, and do it with pleasure. After the thrill of building it yourself fades, what's left os the enjoyment of seeing a cool build-up, and for me the feeling doesn't vary much between my (hopefully) good work and the good work of another.
Just to give the other side of the coin. If I were more into the Federation I'd buy one of those puppies in a heartbeat, just for the coolness of the completed item, and to see how ingeniously they are engineered (apparently, they are pretty nifty). If they do a Klingon ship, especially a D-7, watch out wallet!