STEN8 Posted May 10, 2023 Share Posted May 10, 2023 Hey Gang, I have been remodeling my model room (that came out poorly) and have therefore reorganized my entire stash. I went through all of my library and redid all my display shelves, cleaning each and every model. Over the last month or so I have actually handled all of the tools, decals, paints, photo-etch, resin aftermarket parts, etc. that I have accumulated. In the process, which has been quite fun, it struck me that I have been building models since 1961. On and off, I have always built models. There have been gaps over the years, but never more than a year or so. And as I look around at what is in essence my journey with this wonderful hobby I wonder about something. Is this the beginning of the Golden Age of Scale Modeling? With all of the available resources, innovations like 3D printing and the internet, manufacturers offering a dazzling variety of high quality kits, and on and on and on... I can only see it getting better and better, with more amazing possibilities and even more enjoyment as I wobble on the knife edge of my dotage. And the grandkids are going to have a blast. Harry Lutz, FL Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted May 11, 2023 Share Posted May 11, 2023 2 hours ago, STEN8 said: Is this the beginning of the Golden Age of Scale Modeling? With all of the available resources, innovations like 3D printing and the internet, manufacturers offering a dazzling variety of high quality kits, and on and on and on... I can only see it getting better and better, with more amazing possibilities Sounds reasonable to me. 👉📜 While we're here, perhaps we should deliberately identify what a golden age is ... so that we're all participating in the same conversation ... (underlining by me) Quote a period of time, sometimes imaginary, when everyone was happy, or when a particular art, business, etc. was very successful: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/golden-age Quote A golden age is a period of time during which a very high level of achievement is reached in a particular field of activity, especially in art or literature. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/golden-age Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scorvi Posted May 11, 2023 Share Posted May 11, 2023 The terminology and nomenclature for 'Golden Age' is highly subjective from a historiographical standpoint. WHO is it golden for? So applying historicism to modelling may not really work. Lets say Golden Age as in best of times for Modelling Sorry my history training is kicking in lol Steve, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eraucubsfan Posted May 11, 2023 Share Posted May 11, 2023 I'm sure someone will comment on the cost of kits... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
STEN8 Posted May 11, 2023 Author Share Posted May 11, 2023 Compared to the Golden Age of Pericles my phrasing was perhaps a tad....hyperbolic. How about "Darn Good Times for Scale Modelers"? 😀 Harry Lutz, FL Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scorvi Posted May 11, 2023 Share Posted May 11, 2023 OK that is more like it. OK Pericles and all Well if you are an Athenian-sure Golden...... Maybe not so much for a Corinthian or Spartan. Not so Golden?? LOLSteve, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eraucubsfan Posted May 11, 2023 Share Posted May 11, 2023 It was the Tamiya of Times, it was the Kitty Hawk of times... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
STEN8 Posted May 11, 2023 Author Share Posted May 11, 2023 44 minutes ago, eraucubsfan said: I'm sure someone will comment on the cost of kits... Okay, the Tamiya of Times crack was damn funny! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nspreitler Posted May 11, 2023 Share Posted May 11, 2023 I agree, what we have today is far better than what was available 10 years ago. The number and quality of new releases is just astounding. I’m building Tamiya’s F-4B now, with a Quinta cockpit, 3D printed Sidewinder rails from Flying Leathernecks, decals from Bullseye and Eduard, and Mk82s that I printed from a file that was available for free. It’s a fantastic kit but Tamiya then exceeded it with the F-35. I also picked up the Kotare Spitfire which is a stunning kit. The new HK A-20 looks amazing too. Great Wall has released incredible stuff like their family of Flankers and the P-40. ICM is crushing it with stuff like the OV-10 and CH-54. Dora Wings is filling the niche Classic Airframes used to have. 3D printing has revolutionized aftermarket, with companies like Eduard releasing new and better stuff all the time. There are numerous paint companies with ever growing selections. MRP, AK, Ammo, Gunze, Tamiya, etc are all readily available. Sprue cutters, scribing tools, and anything else you could possibly want are a click away. Bandai with Gundam, Pokémon, and Star Wars have kits the appeal to very young builders up to the most experienced with everything from Pokémon kit that can be built in an hour to the PG Millennium Falcon. It’s safe to say it’s a golden age, with the definition of achieving a very high level of achievement. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 19 hours ago, eraucubsfan said: It was the Tamiya of Times, it was the Kitty Hawk of times... 'Tis better to have built and failed, than to never have built at all.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
STEN8 Posted May 12, 2023 Author Share Posted May 12, 2023 This thread gets better and better... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scorvi Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 'Absolute modelling...corrupts absolutely' Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eraucubsfan Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 We choose to build Kitty Hawk kit in less than a decade and even the kit decals not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we're willing to accept. One we are unwilling to postpone, until Tamiya releases the same kit Quote Link to post Share on other sites
STEN8 Posted May 12, 2023 Author Share Posted May 12, 2023 And so my fellow modelers, ask not what your display shelf can do for you, ask what you can do for your display shelf. Harry Lutz, FL Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scorvi Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 “No Trumpeter kit extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with a Tamiya release.” Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eraucubsfan Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 “Finishing our kit will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.” - Kitty Hawk Models Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 Pre-fit softly and carry a big Xacto blade. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 and who could forget: " I love the smell of Tenax in the morning" 👍 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spejic Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting the kit one wants, and the other is having a massive unbuilt stash. - Oscar Wilde Quote Link to post Share on other sites
airmechaja Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 "Do not judge a kit by the color of it's plastic, but by the content of it's sprues." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
STEN8 Posted May 13, 2023 Author Share Posted May 13, 2023 "I build scale models...therefore I am." Socrates, I think. This thread took an entirely unexpected twist.😀 Harry Lutz, FL Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 Somebody has waaaaay too much time on their hands and less on his/her mind! But very funny, in a punny way. You have all brought a smile to my face today as I read each post. So even if you weren't gluing plastic together, (or fingers to something else), you have earned my respect. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 Start? I wouldnt say it was the start at all, its been running for quite some time now. We are certainly at a point where it has never been quite this good in terms of models available, tools to do it with, information to build them etc. But it has been so for quite some time now... Several years infact. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 To build, or not to build: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of raised panel lines, Or to take arms against a sea of trenches, And by opposing end them? To glue: to paint; No more; and by a primer coat to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural scratches That styrene is heir to, 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To glue, to paint; To paint: perchance to weather: ay, there's the rub; For in that box of parts what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal workbench, Must give us pause… Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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