It has been interesting and instructive to look back on my past ten or so years of modelling, but there’s little point if we can’t learn anything from it. I need to learn something, because at this point I feel like I am just circling, unable to improve. I have successfully reached a stage where I can easily build models to a decent quality, often with a nice finish, but I know that I am a long way from the quality of the guys I really look up to.
While thinking of what I wanted to say for a 2019 roundup, I realised I got back into modelling in 2009. That’s not quite ten years, because of how numbers work, but it still feels like a good point to pause and reflect on how I got here. All I can say is that I hadn’t realised I’d improved that much. The bar was set low…
Why do people build so many WWII German subjects? Many possibilities have been raised, and here are three reasons I think we are missing: poor history, subject visibility, and perceived elan.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about default settings: what they say about who we think matters and their impact on the market. They may be contributing to an elitist mindset among scale modellers.
Lately, I’ve been reflecting upon the kits I’ve built. While thinking about what I enjoyed building as a kid and what I’m enjoying now, I wondered how much of my choice has been personal interest and how much was dictated by the kits available. As a kid, many were gifts, too.
“Basic modelling skills”, also shortened to “BMS” is a phrase that has entered the modelling lexicon. Here I will argue that it has a negative effect on the hobby and its community, show why it is flawed, and suggest how we might improve.
Fish swim, birds fly, bears steal hubcaps (thanks Gary Larson!), and scale model bloggers write about what they built during the year. So “bear” with me as I talk through the good, bad, and ugly of this year’s building.