Been a model builder for many years & belonged to several Clubs & know a lot of other modelers. From my observations, there are several kinds of modelers & I don't mean Aircraft, Armor, Ships, Sci-Fi, Autos, etal. Here are a few descriptions of the kinds of modelers I know or have known.
THE KIT COLLECTOR: Sees new kit at LHS. Carefully examines box & shrink wrap to make sure it's mint condition. Buys kit, takes it home, re-examines box & shrink wrap, puts box on shelf, forgets about it.
THE RIVET COUNTER: Sees new kit at LHS. Asks to open it & examine contents while making tsk-tsk sounds. Buys kit, takes it home, removes all sprues from box, gets out calipers, micrometer & ruler, measures every piece, compares content to every reference known to man, writes & posts Web articles trashing kit for being inaccurate, returns sprues to box, puts box on shelf, forgets about it.
The IMMATURE MODELER: Sees new kit at LHS. Likes the box art. Buys kit, takes it home, opens kit, removes all major parts by twisting them off sprues, dry assembles model with tape, holds model & makes flying motion with hand while making RRRRRRRRRRRR or VROOOOOOOOm sounds, holds model in dive angle while making ACK ACK ACK sounds, disassembles model, forgets to remove most of the tape, puts parts back in box, puts box on shelf, forgets about it.
THE MATURE MODELER: Sees new kit at LHS. Likes the box art. Asks to open kit & look at sprues. Buys kit, takes it home, opens kit, carefully removes all major parts using $20 Xuron shears, dry fits components, sees that some filler may be required, decides to take a nap before doing further work, puts parts back in box, puts box on shelf, forgets about it.
THE MASTER BUILDER: Sees new kit at LHS. Asks to open kit & examine sprues for flash, sink marks & ejector pin marks. Buys kit, takes it home, re-examines sprues for flash, sink marks & ejector pin marks. Goes on-line, orders every aftermarket resin, photoetch & decal sheet available. Starts Google search for detailed reference material. At 2:00am, ends search, puts sprues back in box, puts box on shelf, forgets about it.
Well, you get the idea. Question is, Which Kind of Modeler Are You ?