Sprue Cutters Union #36 and #37 - Scales and Imperatives

Damnit, it happened. In the long running history of the Sprue Cutters Union, I've missed a topic. Hand in the badge, hang your head in shame and go stand in the corner!

Since I have rather short answers for both this and last month's topic, I'll just skip over the shame part and sum it up a bit.

- What's your scale? -

A highly subjective topic, but personally, I've yet to find my preferred scale. I guess it depends on the topic.

Airplanes
I've never made anything other than 1/72 - except for a single 1/144 Jaguar (that was really TOO small. ) - and it feels comfortable. 1/32 seems too big and also seams too big. I don't mind filling and sanding, but always that structural seam going front to back is a turnoff (for me).
Also, in this scale, wingspan means you need a lot of room to display the model.

Sci-Fi
Huge fan! Most kits I built (mainly Star trek & Star Wars) used to be just box-scale (meaning they made it as big as what would fit in the box), rendering the scale-topic moot.

Ships
Having build a 1/1200 Bismarck - which was too small - and not finishing (I will, one day) a 1/535 Missouri - which is too big - I think I'm going to leave this range of topics to the fans.

Armour
I haven't reached consensus here yet. I really like 1/35. It's not too big for the display case (unless you like railway guns) and it looks fantastic. I have no problem with 1/48 or 1/76, but my gut says to go bigger, not smaller.

- What are the essential aspects you cannot afford to cut corners on during a build? -

Hmm, I think I might be somewhat of a corner-cutter myself. I'll usually "do my best" up until the point it feels to take too long. It's just a matter of finding the balance between actually enjoying the work versus enjoying a perfect result. Spending too much time on one little facet or problem, is what's made me walk away from the bench for a couple of weeks on more than one occasion. I'd rather enjoy building something imperfect than becoming frustrated at said imperfection.

I do not like ugly seam lines. No one does, unless you're a very lazy modeller, or a true beginner, or you truly don't care. I'll always work hard to correct the biggest flaws, but I'm usually happy with "close enough" instead of 100% perfection.

Airbrushing is important. I love the clean paint finish and absolutely hate brush-painting any kind of surface (for figures, I can understand the need), for the simple reason I always leave brushstrokes.

Weathering is something I'm working on. I recognize my tendency to experiment with a product or technique, like the result and then only perform that technique for a couple of models. I'm learning though.

I guess the one thing I should really start paying attention to is monochromaticity (I love how that word rolls of the tongue). My work could benefit from some more colour-modulation. My about-to-be-finished AC130H is entirely sprayed in the same colour and I just couldn't bring myself to start modulating.

The important thing is enjoying your hobby and being proud of your work, flaws and all.