Posted by Mike Pell on May 31, 1999 at 04:59:54 in 199.212.94.66:
In Reply to: Retooled Titanic photos! Happy, happy, Joy, joy!!! posted by Sean Winterberg on May 30, 1999 at 01:20:02:
: Hi again,
: It is my honor to present these photos to you on behalf of Minictaft. I'm quite speachless at the moment, so lets get to the photos...
: Please let everyone know what you think about it on this board.
Well having read the several points of view from others and looked at the photos I thank Minicraft's (and Academy's) efforts in updating the kits. It is a distinct benefit for those not wishing to make the changes themselves. Which brings me to the point of this message. What is it that the modeler enjoys about making models. For some it is a reasonable rendition of the finished product to reflect somewhat the likeness of the original. For others it is to achieve the highest degree of accuracy. For most, somewhere in between the two. I for one enjoy the "rivet counting" aspect of model building and the FUN of building the 1:350 Academy/Minicraft Titanic was in the research and scratchbuilding of the parts needed that are not supplied for in the kit. In the end this gives each model a degree of uniqueness so they are not all clones of each other. ideally we want them all the same, but that is the milestone by which lies the difference between good models and great ones. Everyone enjoys a well made model and
those little extras can set a model apart. Some enjoy the finished product, others find enjoyment in the doing of the project.
Bob has mentioned that the new re-tooling covers around 10% of the needed changes so even with the new kit there is still plenty of challenge for the Titaniacs out there. This in no way takes away from the fine efforts put forth by the new 1:400 and 1:350 re-toolings for those that just do not have the time to commit to -exacting- model building. I can attest that some of the detailed models here are taking well over 1 year to build and longer (hi Dan!). In the end it is to each their own as to what they want to invest into their models and the committment put forth to achieve those goals. Hats off to the likes of Duane, Bruce, Bob, Robert Hahn and Loren for going out of their way to make EXCELLENT support products for our models strictly as a result of this web site, and especially to the model manufacturing companies that BOTHERED TO LISTEN and make those changes we mentioned. Everyone here should be proud in the efforts and the results that they DID bring. However the creative door is still open, enjoy!