Why EVEN BOTHER???????? WHY???

[pflau]

I just went today to that diecast car store again.. for those of you who live in nyc. its at 48th and fifth, right next to the bear sterns building. its very much worth a visit.. I guarantee you wont be disappointed.

well.. everytime I go there I was impressed by the quality of the autoart diecast cars and the bbr 1:43 miniatures. they have a lot of stuff that are not so impressive.. such as the hot wheels.. but the autoart 1:18 stuff.. they look so good with their metal drilled disk brakes and their fully carpeted and fully detailed interior that does not at all look plasticy.. beautiful paint job and everything.. I was wonder why I even bother to build my own models.. why even bother.. now-a-days some of these die cast cars are just so good.. Ive never seen anything like them 10 years ago. OK.. so under the hood they might not be as impressived.. I mean I picked up a couple and looked under the chassis and the suspensions are nothing to write home about.. and the engine compartment is not as crisp as tamiya.. but everything visible on the outside just look so darn good.. even got the little buttons on the radio painted perfectly. made me feel kinda sad I'll never achieve that kind of perfection.

and those bbr and mr models.. yes they are expensive ($190 a pop) but they are so perfectly made and perfect paint job and with those photo etched parts.. I can never build anything so small so clean.

why cant I just buy my models like so many other people do... I must be nuts..

[7th_skyline]

I can't understand diecasts personally. The reason I build models is to BUILD them - like my paint may not be perfect etc, but I did it and its representative of my vision.
But diecasts....
-No interactivity
-If you buy them to represent cars you want, well thats just sad- you may as well save the hundreds of dollars...
-All you can do is look at them and dust them, if you even take them out of the box....

I don't get it. In fact I really don't understand collecting many things, though I do collect stuff myself, like 100 year old first edition books...but thats me, and I can get more from a first edition of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (Oscar Wilde) than I would staring blankly at a shiny model in a cabinet...


*for the diecast modifiers - disregard most of my comments.

[bergerac54]

So you can feel the pride of finishing a model that good yourself after years of practice and hard work, and be the only person in the world to have a model exactly the same as that one Don't give up dude, you'll be that good one day, all the masters on here didnt start making perfect models first go

[Ogryn]

I like building models and buying diecasts both. I do like the models I built much more though. Maybe I'm being too sentimental, but I feel I have more of a connection to the car because I built it. More pride too.

[anodize7]

i used to love diecast... but i love models now... cos i get to see from the assembling til the finishing.... although things may screw up here and there... but still it come from ur effort.... and the sense of satisfactory is... wonderful.... just my 2 cents....

[Grampas Club]

I think for most of us, we enjoy the process of BUILDING a model, and applying our craft to simple plastic materials- transforming the kit into something special.

Buying a diecast and throwing it on the shelf does not appeal to me at all! I most enjoy building models, and in fact, somewhat lost interest in them once finished.

The best so far has been building one as a gift- a very satisfying feeling!

HOWEVER, I would consider modifying a die cast if I absolutely had to have the subject matter- and it wasn't available as a kit.

[Ogryn]

I kinda wish they would make 1/18 scale plastic models. Just think of the kinds of detail they could put on them.

[willimo]

It's the journey, not the destination.

And one day, you will build better than AutoArt or BBR, if you keep after it. My AutoArt S2000 is nothing next to the Tamiya one I built.

[Vric]

Diecast is for lasy kid that just want to collect them

[dag65]

Its all about doing it yourself, anyone can plunk down a wad of dough and put someone elses work on their shelf.
I get satisfaction out of having folks see my work and wonder how it was done,.
I bought a Franklin Mint Pro Street 57 Chevy some years back and it inspired me to make my own models better and more detailed, so maybe those high dollar diecasts are your inspiration.
D

[primera man]

At least when you buy a model you can have the satisfaction of saying you built it and it was all your own work.

[tonioseven]

I build because I think I'm pretty damned good at it and I know there are tons of people that can't do what I do the way I do it.

[RallyRaider]

Why bother? Because when you're finished building (modifying, detailing, etc) a kit, you have something that is unique, handbuilt and yours. Anybody can pass over the cash and put a diecast on the shelf. Not to mention the quality and realism of a well built model will make a diecast look like a toy (which 99% of them are) anyday of the week.

[pflau]

yup the real reason I build model is to make a truely accurate replicate of the real car.. I build because I believe that if you want to do it right you better do it yourself.. but I think some of these diecast manufacturers are really doing quite a few things right now-a-days. if I could get a tamiya model perfected painted and built for a reasonable cost I would just spend the money. but I know its probably gonna cost a lot so I just build it myself. Im very particular.. I dont mean to brag but I think Im even more particular than that italianhorses.net guy.. see I make better taillights than he does.. mine are perfect even when viewed under a loupe. that's why I tend to build everything stock.. cus if I start adding stuff I would drive myself nuts.

anyway.. I was just really impressed by those autoart models.. they have these modern production technique that produce such beautiful interiors.. even though under the hood and chassis things are still lacking. and the bbrs.. they are just perfection.. but for $190 for a 1:43 things better be perfect.

[tonioseven]

You buy what you want, I'll build until can't build anymore.