Detail that only God can see...

I like to detail the inside of aircraft more for the learning experience I get by knowing what eguipment was in what location. I think it provides the modeler with a deeper appreciation and understanding of the model they are building. If you only worry about the visible details of a model, then you will never fully understand or appreciate what you built. If you don't care about the whole plane, why bother with any accuracy on the visible part of the model. Who cares if nobody else gets to see what you did, you know more about the model than they ever will unless they take the time you did to build one themselves.

I am an artist who believes in detail see << www.panamaliving.com/inkdrawings.html >> and click on the images there. I believe in detailing my art "two or three levels" beyond what the average eye might perceive, most often, going over photos with a 10x magnifier or making notes of what might be seen with a pair of 7x50 binoculars when photos won't work.

SO put my vote here for YES, do the detail. If you are building for enjoyment, simply KNOWING it is there makes the project far more enjoyable.

Personally I would rather spend the extra time on detailing things where they would be seen. I have done on armor piece with an interior but left the hull unglued so it can be removed to show off the interiour. I have painted the inside of a turret along with gun breech and then glued the hatches closed also.I also say to each his own though.

I only add interior detail that won't be seen if the kit's instructions tell me to do so. Otherwise, I camouflage the interior by painting it all flat black, so that you really can't see anything in there. With a budget that doesn't allow for PE and resin aftermarket parts, I've gotten VERY good at camouflaging and using shadows to my advantage!

For me it's a question of time.

I don't have that much modelling time, so I'm certainly not going to waste it on stuff which no one is ever going to see!

Karl

I believe that it depends on how you would like to build it. If by any personal reason you want to go with the full interiors even if you are planning to seal it off, then by all means do so. I agree that there are times that we get satisfaction and enjoyment more from the building process more than in the finished product. On the other hand if you feel that going with full interiors is not necessary then, don't.

Go with what you feel you would like to do with your kit. And get the most fun and enjoyment out of it.

This is one of those modeling things that comes down to personal satisfaction. I've done small bits of detail on a piece here and there that I knew wouldn't be visible after just because I was enjoying it at the time or trying something new out. Then it got buttoned up, never to be seen again but I knew it was there. I couldn't do a whole interior on something, it's just once and a while I'll do a little something.

Eric

Us ship molders are INSANE, what more can I say. Build 100 scale cannons just so the tips of the barells can be seen, yup, gotta do it. Why? Cause, welI, I don't no why I did it, I just did, and I feel better although now I cannot see more that 2 inches in front of me. I plead insanity.

Scott

If it can't be seen, I won't do it. Modeling time is too precious to waste on details that only insects will see!

As with all things in this hobby, I believe it's entirely up to the individual to do what they want. If someone feels good about fully detailing an aircraft or armor interior and then sealing it up to never be seen again, then so be it! It's all about what makes you happy.

Personally, however, I think it's nuts, but that's just my opinion. I don't spend any time at all on areas that won't be seen.

I started my Flower Class corvette model with the intent of modeling the interior spaces that would be visible through the 1:48 scale portholes, and built the frame accordingly. This would have included the engine and boiler rooms, as well as the mess decks, tiller flat, and so on. Now having the actual frame to work with I have done some tests with miniature lamps to see exactly how much would be visible, and the answer is: Not a Lot!

So I have decided to compromise and detail only some of the upper deck spaces that will be visible with the extra light from the open hatches as well, and close in the rest. I had to think long and hard, weighing the pros and cons that have already been made in this thread, but I am comfortable with the decision. At the end of the day, the model must only pass one test, and that is "like what you build, build what you like", right?
Bruce

QUOTE: Originally posted by Robertomoe you can always do a weird cut away with the red lines showing where you cut through

I really like that idea. I love looking at the insides of things, and models are one really great way to do that. For the same reason, I like the models with clear body panels or fuselages.

Just last week, I saw a 1/72 scale P-51 with a clear fuselage and visible interior details. I think it was made by Hasegawa. It took a lot of discipline to not buy it.

A kit like that could be painted on one side and clear on the other. I suppose one could vacuum form half a fuselage from a kit with clear styrene and make the details visible that way. There's a fellow working on a Monogram B-17 who has posted pictures over at the Aircraft Resource Center web site forum. It's absolutelly beautiful!
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http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=14&t=12286&s=2bd8424f2fb5b3d3fbbb1570d36e9f68
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The guy working on it (Kelly Quirk -- I've seen other examples of his work -- they guy is very skilled) knows that most of the detail won't be seen, but it's a labor of love for him. I'd be neat to do something similar, but with half the fuselage clear.

Just some thoughts.

Regards,

-Drew

So I bet a cutaway configuration will set things straight......It is also quite unusual anyway...

you can always do a weird cut away with the red lines showing where you cut through

DJ, there is a whole book about those ship models. Some of them are "shipboard models". Models built to "sell" ships to the admirality of a country.

There is also a book specificaly on "prison ships". These were super detailed models built by 18thc. prisoners or war (sailors) on prison ships or in land prisons. They would make them from soup bones and bits of wood they could scrap together or were supplied. They would sell them to pay for amenities or for food during their internment. They would have alot of the same interior detail so that patrons could peer through portals or gun portals into the ship.

Some of the shipboard models had puzzle like sections that could be slid open to reveal those interior details. I read an article once about a guy that was doing a restoration on one of these models and found it by accident. No one knew about it except for the original builder and the admirality board at the time. 200 years later it was stumbled upon. The guy realized you had to slide some parts around and then insert a "key" to push a latch down that would allow part of the hull to be removed.

Mike

If you can't see it don't detail it. That's the reason I like to model open top vehicles, so I can add details that you will see.

I can't see painting or detailing an interior of a turret, if you can't see into it. It's a waste of my valuable time. Of course its IMHO.

Outa sight out of mind. Detail the exterior of the vehicle is good enough in my opinion. It's just .
mark956

I read an article about sailing ship models that were built in the 1600s and 1700s. They put a fiber optic camera in one of the ships and to their' amazement there was significant detail where no one was ever going to see it. From the time the model builder sealed up the interior until the time the fiber camera caught a glimpse, no one had ever seen the detail that was there. Who knows? If you have a fine model, maybe a few hundred years from now someone will put it under a 3D scanner and all that beautiful detail that no one ever saw will be seen!
For most models I wouldn't bother with unseen details, but for some models I would because "I" know it's there.

DJ

It all depends -
If I'm building purely for myself (not for competition), then I'll probably throw in some stuff that I know I'll never be able to see.
If I'm building for a client, then I never put in stuff you can't see - they wouldn't know and probably wouldn't care, anyway.
I've got the Airies set (#4097) for the 1/48 Accurate Miniatures B-25B - much of it won't be seen when the fuselage halves are closed. Will I still put it in? You betcher ****** I will.
I just can't help myself.
Cheers
LeeTree

I agree if its not going to be seen, there is no reason to build it. Now I have added detail to a compartment, that if you lloked through a drivers hatch, you could see the detail. But only as much as you can see through that drivers hatch. Maybe the seat back, the machine gun breech or main gun breech area. But not the rest of the detail that can't be seen at any angle. Sort of a hollywood set design trick.

Now in some competitons I've seen where the kit was built to be able to take the top of the turret off and see a detailed interior. The kit was built so that if the turret section was put back on, the piece looked like a buttoned up tan and you couldn't really tell where the "cut away" was. Clever and definately an exhibition trick.

Mike

I have to agree with those who think if the only way you can see the detail is to break it open to see then it really no worth the time. I've spent hours on a cocpit dash only to find out it cant be seen anyway. PE rudder peddles is a prim example.

I know some guys who throw loads of unseen detail into their models, they tell me it's purely for the knowledge of producing an accurate model. Personally, I only put details if they can be seen-then I can show off a little!

but the satisfaction of knowing it's there is priceless

TO QUOTE: .... if you can't see it, don't build it.

'nuff said!

A long time ago I was given a very simple bit of modelling advice .... if you can't see it, don't build it.

The person that shared this with me is a fairly noted modeller who had spent umpteen hours super-detailing the motor of a halftrack only to realize that even with the interior engine doors open, you couldn't see squat without inserting some sort of mini optical probe.

Its a waste when you can't see it.

I remember an article a few years back in FSM about a fellow building a ME-163 Komet (can't remember if he was superdetailing a kit or scrathcbuilding the model).

This guy built a gorgeous engine for the model, then sealed it inside the fuselage so only the tip of the tailpipe could ever be seen. A crying shame really, all that work on the engine and nobody will ever see it except in pictures he took before sealing it in.

The way I see it, detail what can be seen and leave the rest to the observer's imagination.

We're building models here, not the real things.

I've wondered that too.

QUOTE: then why increase the building time?

because we can?

Actually, for me its the build I enjoy, not the completion.
I go thru a period of angst when one is finished and another hasn't been started yet.