"Please write an article related to the difficulties of hobby for modeling - for example, I want to glue a model of the battleship" Richelieu ", but I do not understand what scale is needed, what quality the model is needed, what difficulties during gluing and storage."
Sergey, 06/25/19
I already wanted to finish a series of articles about large-scale modeling, but I received this message and could not resist continuing. Of course, one could simply advise a person to ask a question in Yandex or Google: “How to assemble a model of the battleship“Richelieu”so that he could immediately stumble upon the material“Battleship “Richelieu” 1/350 “Trumpeter”: forum modelers”, but I thought it was a great reason to continue the story about large-scale modeling today.
The current level of development of large-scale modeling
Today we will get acquainted with the modern level of development of large-scale modeling based on the materials of the just published issues of the Japanese magazines "Armor Modeling" and "Model Grafix". There are a lot of interesting things literally on every page, and the print quality is also appropriate. True, you have to flip through them in the opposite direction, and what is in our magazines is the beginning - in the Japanese end! Almost every issue contains articles on assembling, painting and finishing certain models. And all this is shown very clearly. For example, how do you like this Bronco model?
Well, and I want to start with the fact that the time that we all once dreamed of in the early 90s has finally come. EVERYTHING IS! Any models of many different companies. When I started publishing my "Tankomaster", many models did not exist either in plastic or resin. Well, the tar that were, were worth a lot of money in foreign currency. For example, the British ACS A39 "Turtle". Her model from MENG MODEL 1:35 is now in my Leonardo store and costs only 2700 rubles. And there was a time when you could buy it only in England and for … 80 pounds! As, however, and our tank-tractor "Ni" and "Ni-2", although it is clear that we had only half of this amount. There are models of every conceivable scale, there are prefabricated models made of wood, polystyrene and various resins, there are models made of metal, additional photo-etched parts, including tree leaves and flowers, there are gun barrels turned on lathes, since plastic bends and gluing marks can be seen on them … Finally, there are very democratic paper models, and very complex ones, for example, the same battleship "Richelieu".
And then the question arises: why do all this at all? Because it is cognitive, it develops the hands, and hence the mind, since the mind of a person is at the fingertips, because it is "good leisure" or because in childhood he "did not play enough." It is impossible to answer these questions! I like it and that's it! And glory, as they say, to God. But … you need to be aware of just why you need it and choose the best option. Because the same "Richelieu" can be assembled "right out of the box", as it is written, and all is short-lived - and such a direction in modeling is present today (!), But you can restore the model in the form in which its prototype was, say, in 1943. And then you will have to order additionally chiseled barrels, photo-etched handrails and God knows what else.
The Internet tells in detail how one of the modelers assembled this model of the Trumpeter firm and how everyone helped him, including by sending these pictures. By the way, the modeller cannot do without his own archive of film and photo documents, because many firms make many inaccuracies and even mistakes in their models. Here, for example, is an excellent photo of the same "Richelieu" and it shows that the embrasures of the main caliber guns on it are not quite the same as on the Chinese model. And the question arises: to correct or leave as they are?
That is, those who decide to do large-scale modeling should first of all sit down and think. What is he pulling for? How much time and money he can allocate for this. And does he also have a place to store finished products? And how his family will react to his hobby. By the way, the workplace is also not cheap, especially with ventilation, if it is equipped in your apartment. By the way, the choice of scale also depends on this. Little money and time and space, but I want to collect tanks - choose 1: 100, 1: 72. More space, time and money - start collecting the Tamiya firm, they now have a scale of 1:48. Then 1:35, and if you have a three-story cottage with 450 squares, then you can also model in a scale of 1:16. There are those too!
Again, you can't learn how to make high-quality models right away. The same battleship "Richelieu" is not a model for beginners. But there are also cheap models, simple ones, and you can perfectly “fill your hand” on them. Again, a ship is not just a ship. If I was offered to start assembling models of warships, I would choose models of the Kombrig company (but she is not the only one who produces them!), A series of ships of the Russian-Japanese war. And interesting, and informative, and there is where to put your hands. Or, for the sake of comparison, I would expand the topic and include ships of all states of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. But this is an expensive pleasure, even if you assemble models without the underwater part of the case.
It is very important to consider the issue of keeping the models from dust and … your home. This means that ships need sealed cases, which are expensive and very expensive. And where to put them? This issue will also have to be resolved … For tanks - a cabinet is enough, but for a battleship on a scale of 1: 350 or a galleon 1: 100, a special place will be required.
For yourself? For the public? For competition?
Again, it is very important to think about whether you will make models "only for yourself" or become an active participant in model forums on the Internet and begin to demonstrate your "crafts" there as well. And you can, after all, participate in various international competitions of modelers. I had a chance to somehow participate in … International competition of photographs of models of armored vehicles in Turin 1996. The conditions were as follows: you send photos of the model you have assembled and the jury determines what, who and how. I presented photographs of a model of an American Ford M1918 tank. By the way, you can see them: https://karopka.ru/forum/forum261/topic17357/. It tells how one of our modelers made a model of this tank from scratch, and someone to help him laid out pages from my magazine "Tankomaster" for 1996, No. 2, page 4. I had to make two such models: the first most "from and to" and also 80 trucks manually, but the second was already branded. At that time, we in the Russian Federation produced such a model made of resin, and that's what I collected for participation in the competition. Result - 3rd place, bronze medal and prize - also a resin model of the French BA Panhard AML 90.
That is, participation in various competitions is also … quite a worthy goal, why not. If you collect Tamiya's models with high quality, send them photos - you will walk with them in their favorites, and this is very profitable!
Modeling plus journalism
You can combine modeling with journalism, like the English modeler Phil Greenwood does. In almost every issue of the Japanese magazine Armor Modeling, he sends an article describing how he made a model of one or another British tank, along with its photographs. I don't know if the editorial office pays him, but, for example, I have a "contract" with them for a free subscription since … 1990 as a fee for the same articles, and I won't say that I really overextend myself with them. One or two a year and … that's it!
Again, it is very effective to decorate any article "about tanks" in any magazine with photographs of your work. The same as the book, where the publishing house will demand from you a photo "public domain", that is, those in public ownership, so as not to pay for them. And … you won't get paid for them either, but … a good book with good photographs is a good thing and it will quickly be bought up, and after all, that's all you need.
Experienced tanks of all times and peoples can become an interesting topic for a tanker-modeller. Yes, they have already begun to produce them, too, but a lot remains in the drawings. So take and make a series of T-34 tanks, what they could be if … There are many interesting things you can think of, there is a KV-13 and others like it in front, and a T-28 with an 85-mm gun "behind", and T-29 … - in a word, there is where to turn around!
Even just illustrating your own material with photographs of your own models is always interesting. Although the models, and even articles on military history … In my experience, for one person, this is a bit too much …
Models made of wood
Do you want to build ship models out of wood? Why not, only they take up a lot of space. By the way, I also tried it and even came up with an original technology for manufacturing cases. After all, how are such models usually made? First, the frame is assembled, which is then sheathed with slats of different thicknesses. And the cannon ports are either cut through, or they are already on the plywood parts, and cut by a laser.
I came up with the idea of making two halves of the body based on the frames of the model, but each so that it was separate. The gaps between the frames are filled with plasticine and thus you get a body cut in half. Then you buy wooden coffee stirrers. They are made of very high quality wood and are ideal for boards on several scales at once.
We take them, cut off the semicircular ends, if necessary, bend them and press them into the plasticine so that we get a solid wooden surface with cannon ports with edging. No glue is used at this stage! Then on the first row, already with the help of glue, the second row of "boards", velvet is installed and, if you want, it is pasted with veneer. But now, in general, she is not needed. The wood of the "stirrers" is quite consistent with what is needed. And then you remove the wooden shell from the plasticine and properly process it outside and inside with sandpaper. It remains to glue both "shells" and lay the deck on the beams. And that's it! You have a ready-made case in your hands, and it is very durable and lightweight. With such a hull, it is not difficult to make the model floating, and the ballast from the shot gets into it simply amazing, so that no wind on the water will turn it over.
Alas, I could not finish this model, but the technology, as you can see for yourself, is very simple and easily repeated in practice.
Earn on models
This all means that doing large-scale modeling can be turned into a good source of income. But this will be discussed next time!
