Posted by Mike Pell on May 31, 1999 at 16:31:55 in 199.212.94.66:
In Reply to: Re: No foolin' on da retoolin' posted by Jerry Davidson on May 31, 1999 at 16:01:22:
: Mike,
: I agree with most of what you have stated here. You make your points very well. The problem I see here is the fact that there are MANY of us here who are very excited about the retooling of the the 350 Minicraft Titanic. And there are a great many of us who expected an almost new version of the ship. I for one, have bought 4 versions of the older tooling (which I know is less than most of the rivit counters here) and just had hoped that Minicraft would have done more. If they had listen as much as you say they did, they would have taken care of the hull plating, the decking, and so many other concerns that so many of us have here. The model is improved for sure and I'm sure the scratch builders would find plenty to do no matter what Minicraft does. But when Minicraft puts out a new product, they completely reengineer the molds. Why wouldn't their Titanic project warrant the same treatment. They will sell a large amount of them no matter what they put out, so why not do the job right. We all will pay the price for a great model, not just an improved one.
: Alot of us paid through the nose for a copy of the Lusitania and/or QE2 models. Why wouldn't we pay the same for a truely fantastic model of Titanic. It seems to me that Minicraft expects us to buy whatever they put on the shelf, which we will, because they support us. Well, that is a two way street. We also support them.....with alot of our hard earned money. I can just imagine what they could put out if they really put their mind on the project. They could put out the 'definitive' Titanic model and charge whatever they wanted to because we all would be in model heaven. I would gladly pay up to $200 for such a model. Some rivit counters pay that and much more for the resin ships that are available. Why not a truely fantastic copy of the most famous ship ever built?
: I do, in retrospect appreciated the fact that Minicraft has listened to the learned people on this page and improved the ship. I am however disappointed that they missed a great chance to totally satisfy the one group of people who support them as much as they support us. They could have broken new ground in modeling and thrust themselves into the forefront. They just seem to have missed out on a great opportunity. Titanic mania is alive and well and will carry on for years to come. They could have wiped out all of the competition because I don't feel that there is any other model that has the monetary potential that our Titanic has. A truely Great model would have captured the imagination of All modelers and brought so many more into the fold. I for one, will buy a new copy, but just wish they would have considered how much there is still left to do on an already fine model.
Hello Jerry, your points are well spoken and I am sure shared be many. Not knowing the ins and outs of cost production to re-tool I think it would have had a great factor in the over-all decision as to how many and what changes to make. I, speaking as a modeler, truly appreciate that Minicraft and Academy took the time to listen and make changes, when they didn't have to. Did they do everything they could, no. Should they have? Perhaps, but again as a modeler I am glad they didn't because that allows the modeler room for creative license so they can finesse their models into detailed mini-T's. That was the point I was trying to make. Changes were made to address some of the more glaring errors but not everything done so it can still appeal to the creative aspect of model building as opposed to just make an out of the kit version. When making my model my objective was to make it appear "alive" in that it was not made so much as a model to look at but to also capture the feel of what Titanic was. I feel I
have captured that with certain projects not offered in the kit. In return I hope this makes my version of the Titanic unique. What interests me is the diversity in people's approaches, techniques and fnished products. If everyone's model looked EXACTLY the same, the photo gallery here would get boring awful quick I should think. With this thought in mind I don't mind do the extras to make a model better than its kit counterpart. THAT is the true enjoyment of model build for -ME-. Though a model manufacturer probably could produce the ultimate model, I do not think it could be done for an affordable cost that would ensure high sales. It would be more of a speciality item that would fill a niche. These companies must keep things reasonable for the purchaser and generate as large a sale as possible for any given kit and I think they have done the right thing (personally). Though the kits are still no 100% accurate the large portion of the buying public won't even notice. It is really only we detail fanatics
that can tell, and since not everything is known anyway (ask Bruce!) I don't get too concerned of errors. Options are available in scratchbuilding the entire ship like Jason and Michael Cook or put one's talents to good use on the existing kits. If one can improve on the kit version, others having built it will see that difference and can truly appreciate the work involved. It is a measuring gauge of sorts and can show what can be done when finances, time and desire are there. I know of no model with high degree of accuracy that is affordable by the common modeler and unfortunately that is where the model companies direct their main target goals towards. Personally I like the shortcomings, because it demands of me as a modeler to be innovative and observant it it has taught me more about the ship (having to do the research for missing detail) then if everything ws kit included. I here what you are saying and agree with the majority of it but that was what I was trying to address in this thread. The thanks
for the changes seen but also the thanks for leaving room for creative individual modeling. I do thank you however for your excellent points and I hope some of the other detail fanatics respond with sincere commentary.