Vodnik's Reviews

VODNIK'S BLOG

2008-08-27	Oooookay.... So it looks like the blog wasn't a particularly good idea... Maybe I'll post something here from time to time, but regular blog updates are obviously not going to appear.
2008-02-06	In China a year of the Rat has begun. The rat is my Chinese Zodiac sign - so, is it going to be a good year for me?... It is certainly going to be a good year for modelers of 1/48 scale Vipers! Kinetic are supposed to release two brand new F-16s before the end of this month and Tamiya just announced their second new F-16 in quarter scale. In Nürnberg the Toy Fair begins tomorrow - will we see any new announcement for 1/35 releases? DML hint for three new kits on their website, but my DML contacts mentioned only some "big" announcements for ship and large scale airplane modelers - no mention of armor kits! It would be surprising though not to see any new armor kits from Dragon.
2008-02-05	Those two blog entries below were copied from my blog on "Mighty Dragon Fan Club: Armor Club" website. A year and a half ago Dragon invited me to their new "Fan Club" for armor modelers to have my blog there. From the very beginning it wasn't working the way I expected. I had no access to directly posting anything in my "blog" - I had to sent all updates to MDFC admins and they uploaded them to the website. I only posted two blog entries and couldn't find inspiration to write anything else. In my opinion best thing about blogs is that they can be created spontaneously. The way Dragon designed their website made such spontaneous updates in a blog impossible. And then infamous "Blogger Hiroshi" started posting his childish, stupid, ridiculous, insulting posts on MDFC... At that moment I decided to not post anything more there. In fact I asked MDFC administrators a couple of time to completely remove my blog, but they simply ignored me... I think that Terry Ashley (PMMS) writes the best reviews currently available on the Web and Hiroshi's constant attacks on him are simply outrageous! Sure, Terry makes mistakes sometimes and I don't always agree with all his findings, but it doesn't change the fact that he does excellent job. As a (former?) reviewer I can fully appreciate the amount of work he puts in his articles. Many, many thanks Terry!!! Please just ignore this Hiroshi dork and remember that not all people associated with Dragon are like him! :-)
2006-09-09	Okay, so we already know why we build models – for fun! But what is our goal when we do it? Probably there are as many answers to that as modelers in the world! Some build models just for the fun of modeling itself, others do it to build a collection related to some topic that fascinates them and yet others like to recreate moments of history in miniature. Some do it to win prizes at shows; others never show their work to anyone. I think it is important to try to define your own goal. Once you do it, it is easier to focus on chosen subjects, styles and it helps to create your own approach to modeling. I feel that without any focus or defined goal, it is easier to lose interest in modeling quickly. So what is my goal? Some time ago I was building models only for myself. Only my friends and family ever saw them, but they never showed much interest. And then came the Internet! I started posting photos of my models on various websites and discussion forums and discovered that it is actually fun to be able to share results of my work with others this way. I was able to learn a lot from other people’s comments and I hope some people also benefited from my advice. But I still keep all my models at home and don’t take them to any shows or clubs. I’m not really interested in general history or current world events. That’s why it doesn’t matter for me if I build a model of US Army M1A1 Abrams tank in markings from exercise in Germany or from real war in Iraq. And that’s why I will probably never have more than one model of US Army M1A1 on the shelf. But I will also have models of Marine M1A1HC, Army XM1, M1IP, M1A1AIM, M1A2, M1A2SEP and other versions of Abrams tank. That’s because I am really interested in current development and history of armor from technical point of view. I like to have multiple versions of vehicles and in my models I pay a lot of attention to properly represent all details specific for each variant. I do try to paint my models in historically accurate colors and apply correct markings, but only to create consistent and accurate replica of specific type of vehicle. Such approach to modeling also determines the way I finish and weather my models. I avoid putting loads of stowage gear on my models and heavy weathering because such things obscure details and make it most difficult to tell the difference between variants. I only apply as much weathering as necessary to make my models look like miniatures of real combat vehicles, but not necessarily in the middle of combat itself! For me a model looking like vehicle parked in a motor pool ready for inspection is just fine. After all every military vehicle was nice and clean when it was first issued to the troops and displaying them like that is just as accurate as covering them with tons of mud and crew gear! :-)
2006-08-31	"Why modeling? The answer seems to be simple – except for those few who do it for money, the majority of us do it for fun! Modeling is our hobby. But still it doesn’t mean the same for every modeler. Some like to build models, but don’t treat it seriously at all. They forget about modeling as soon as they step away from their workbench and return to “normal” life. But there are also some modelers for whom this hobby is a true life passion. They have families, friends, they have regular jobs, but modeling is always with them. Part of their mind is almost always occupied by modeling problems, ideas and plans. Even if their jobs or personal lives require them to focus on other things, they return to thinking about modeling as soon as they can because it is a true relaxation for them. I’m one of those modelers. That’s why it always annoys me when I hear or read comments like “get a life, it is just a hobby” when modelers who treat this hobby more seriously start discussions about details other can consider irrelevant. For some of us our hobby is our life! Even if we have happy and successful lives outside modeling, it is still extremely important part of our life. And we like to treat it seriously – treating something more seriously doesn’t necessarily mean that it is not fun anymore! So next time before you tell someone that it is just a hobby – think twice. Maybe for that person it is more! After all if you find some modeling discussion ridiculous and a waste of time, you can always just ignore it and don’t spoil the fun for those who care more.