Saturday 21 June 2014

Poking them with a stick


I love internet modelling forums; they educate, inspire and I enjoy contributing but sometimes they make me put my head in my hands and weep at just how some people conduct themselves on them.  I guess its the anonymity of sitting in your bedroom (in the house you still live in with your mum despite being a grown man in your 50's) and never having seen a naked lady in real life that makes these guys unleash complete and utter bollocks!  The Eduard 109 probably generated every modelling cliché going from spurious red lines on dodgy photos (a particular favourite of mine), ill informed rumour spreading, self appointed experts talking nonsense, petty arguments over nothing owing to wounded egos and so on.  Plus it wouldn't be forum twattery without a certain member of Hyperscale with the self appointed nickname alluding to his egotistical and spurious patriarchal role on the board wading in.  I'll say it now; this annoys me so I go on there and purposely poke them with a stick.  It really is great fun and I enjoy a little sabre rattling as one thing I can't stand is grown men arguing over a little plastic model aeroplane.  Gentlemen, it is, and you are pathetic. Take a step back and for once look at the big picture; do this correctly and you WILL see how sad and insignificant this really is.  Oh, and that bloke from Hyperscale, if you are reading this go and learn your Blackadder quotes you bell!

Ok, that rant over (we have a rantometer at work so I'd better chalk one up when I get back in on Monday) its back to the serious thing (if making little plastic aeroplanes and tanks can be serious).  I posted finished pictures of the Hunter last time but some of you eagle eyed guys will have noticed it wasn't quite done!  Oops!  Here are the finished shots (honest governor).  This model will be featured in Model Airplane International magazine in due course.



Actually, while I am talking about MAI, look out for next month's issue (July 2014) as my Monogram B-17 article is due to be published.



Staying with the large scale theme, here is a sneak preview of a model from my new, special, exciting project!  The focus of the project will be obvious to many, its weathering, however as you can see, that bit hasn't been started yet so here she is in her base livery!  You'll also note that I've done some extensive scratch detailing inside, I was going to button her up but there was some interesting internal weathering effects I could showcase and the kit is rather bare in this regard.  I normally don't really enjoy this bit but actually I rather enjoyed this one.





Ok, that's it for now, I'm just off to weep owing to England's lamentable performance in the world cup!  Next time I hope I can show you a sneak preview of the finished Hind along with more modelling observations.  I best check those forums!

10 comments:

  1. Can't agree more on your comments on those "experts". Sometimes it makes me wonder why are these people into modeling? I even read somewhere a guy being "disappointed" to Eduard as if Eduard owns him. You don't like it, don't eat it. I just hope that the manufacturer will not pay any attention to these guys because it is Eduard people's passion for modeling that gives us these perfect kits.

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  2. Nice work Jamie! Your B-17 looks the business. Cheers

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  3. I quit participating on that board ages ago. Got sick of self-appointed experts and the elitist mentality of some of those guys.

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    1. I actually like the forum and can usually ignore the chaff.

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  4. Ok lets poke with a stick.
    Haggo do you have "any" images of you not taken wearing a bone dome embarrasing the not so egotistical pilots among the community?
    We get a bad enough rap for being arrogant and ego driven without you adding fuel to the fire.
    Thanks.
    You will notice i dont need to use an image of me and my 4 bars on the flight deck of the A-330 i am Captain of to make myself feel more important or impress the non aviators in the modeling community.
    On 109's feel free to call me a Douchbag but really do you want an Eduard 109 sitting next to the far more accurate Hasegawa and Fujimi kits looking like a mutant 109 fresh from Fukushima?
    And we are not talking a subtle curve here or there but a wing which is clearly long to any laymen's eye a kit even Eduard have decided to retool its so inaccurate.
    I am sure by throwing a few hand grenades at Hyperscale and LSP you have generated some more traffic for your blog.
    Well done.
    In the process you have lost the respect of many people but based off your comments I doubt you really care.
    Regards
    "One of the pathetic modellers" who expect a kit to at least look like its i tended target.
    Aka
    Captain Darren Howie..minus the photo.

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    1. Howie, I am a naval aviator and as such am a highly experienced front line operational pilot. That means I have an ego a mile wide and will metaphorically lunge at every opportunity, especially if there are pretty ladies around! But seriously, I am extremely proud of my country and the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy, if I choose to have 2 pictures of me in my jet rig then that's up to me. If you choose not to have a picture of yourself in airline gear then that's up to you! I really fail to see the relevance of your comment.

      As for the Eduard 109 blah on Hyperscale and other forums, I think it is well known that the discussions got a little heated. As I stated in the blog post, I think it was unfortunate that all the great technical information got lost on occasion owing to the emotions of some of the posters and their douchebaggery. For the record, I think it is a fantastic kit, I have one in the stash and it will be included in one of my forthcoming books, in fact it's number 2 on the to do list. All I will do is trim each wing by 2mm, it's a simple mod and will improve the look immeasurably. For some people, they'll just go ahead and build it anyway, some will do what I will do and do a simple mod, for some however, it's an evil kit and Eduard are an evil company! I think it goes without saying that this is an extreme view but some guys are in that part of the Venn diagram. I want accurate kits as much as the next bloke but honestly, this 109 is not that bad. The fuselage is within 1% of the Zvezda kit (I note one of their employes was active on the forums) and the wing is an easy fix, it won't be perfect, but it will be the best looking 109G on my shelf! For the record. People who demand accuracy from a kit are not douchebags, people who squinny like little children over a little plastic aeroplane are douchebags. It's not their opinion, it's how they put it across which makes it douchebag behaviour. Again, I guess some people have misinterpreted my writings.

      As for a certain "personality" on Hyperscale. I stand by my comments. He has a hell of a lot of really useful information and he is a very knowledgeable chap. Unfortunately, occasionally he does something which is completely unacceptable which erodes the message he is trying to get across. It's a shame but when he goes off one one the useful stuff can get lost in all the noise. And as for that Les bloke, he's one of the biggest douchebags I have ever had the misfortune to interact with however it was fun poking him with a stick!

      I enjoy debate, I enjoy speaking my mind, I enjoy calling people douchebags when they are being douchebags as I think they deserve it. If a few people take umbrage and feel they have lost a little respect for me then so be it, my first paragraph should point out that I have a pretty thick skin. In fact, I have had a hell of a lot of support and messages like yours are outnumbered by about 20 - 1. However, I don't write my blog to boost my own ego, it's large enough as it is. I do it because I enjoy putting my musings and opinions out there and it's a good place to post my models. In the time I have being doing it this is the first time there has been this kind of feedback but I am glad it has happened. One bloke claims he will not buy MAI any more (his loss! I only write 1 or 2 articles a year for them now anyway) and he's unsubscribed, I've only got just over 200 subscribers anyway but 8 people have signed up since the weekend!

      I thank you for taking the time to post your opinion, I welcome all feedback good and bad. Fly safe shippers.

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    2. And what has LSP got to do with it, I never mentioned anyone on there or even hinted at it? It's one of the few oasis of sanity out there!

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  5. Hi Jamie, just found your blog this morning and had a good trawl through, inspiring stuff. I will definitely be be giving some of your techniques a go. Any news on your book / books?

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  6. I do agree with you Jamie. At the end of the day it's a plastic model. It's not the be all and end all is it? I for one find your blog informative and will be trying out your techniques too!

    Cheers Daz

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