But to not challenge yourself to do better by reaching beyond one's skill set? That's when I disagree. You said, "...do your best within your modeling skills..." To me, that says that we shouldn't try to increase our modeling skills at all. I think that one should occasionally reach beyond one's skills and try new ideas, new techniques, etc. How else does one learn?
Paul.
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Suffice it to say some modelers will never advance up the skill ladder because they lack the ability for some reason.
I seen modelers that knew a lot about the hobby and yet never had the needed basic skills to paint and decal a locomotive or lay a straight piece of flex track..
And as Clint Eastwood said as Dirty Harry "A man gotta know his limitions.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
selector I'm thinking on my next layout I'll have a sign posted prominently: "If you find any errors on my layout, please understand that I try to please all visitors, and some of them are always looking for my mistakes." Crandell
I'm thinking on my next layout I'll have a sign posted prominently:
"If you find any errors on my layout, please understand that I try to please all visitors, and some of them are always looking for my mistakes."
Crandell
Dear Crandell & Friends
I love this.
It's pure genius. Thanks for sharing!
Who cares how well one models? I don't try to improve my handwriting because it's good enough for me, and I can make it good enough for others when it must be. I am, however, always trying to improve my skills as a photographer. As model railroads, I have only Thomas ones, and they're out of the box.
Take it easy. Or don't. It's up to you.
--Jaddie
TA462 jwhitten: blownout cylinder: it would be nice if others would consider doing the same in return, and not refer to those who are more to the prototypical side as ....rivet counters. Yeah and besides, rivet-counting is hard work... one thousand three hundred forty two.... one thousand three hundred forty three... one thou-- ARRRGGH! Now see what you made me do! (Sigh) One... two... three... John There is a big difference between being a rivet counter (I think your the only one that has brought it up) and trying to be a better modeller.
jwhitten: blownout cylinder: it would be nice if others would consider doing the same in return, and not refer to those who are more to the prototypical side as ....rivet counters. Yeah and besides, rivet-counting is hard work... one thousand three hundred forty two.... one thousand three hundred forty three... one thou-- ARRRGGH! Now see what you made me do! (Sigh) One... two... three... John
blownout cylinder: it would be nice if others would consider doing the same in return, and not refer to those who are more to the prototypical side as ....rivet counters.
it would be nice if others would consider doing the same in return, and not refer to those who are more to the prototypical side as ....rivet counters.
Yeah and besides, rivet-counting is hard work... one thousand three hundred forty two.... one thousand three hundred forty three... one thou-- ARRRGGH! Now see what you made me do!
(Sigh)
One... two... three...
John
There is a big difference between being a rivet counter (I think your the only one that has brought it up) and trying to be a better modeller.
Weeelllllll...maybe so...but there have been some around at some trainshows who have conflated the two into one and the same.
In fact it happened to me just awhile back. Someone at a trainshow didst do this aforesaid thing when I said that I was taking down an elevator that I built and redoing it into a better model of one. I just looked at him and asked which version of what dictionary he got that from.....and he was not joking either...
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
TA462What do you think the reason is [for not advancing up the skill ladder]? I think it's because people are to lazy to try to improve and because of this Good Enough mind set that this forum tends to have. I've seen some very poor modeling that people praise up and down on this forum. Your not really helping people by praising them when the model really looks like a turd. Polite yes but honest no. I'd rather people be honest with me then polite when it comes to my own modelling skills.
And herein lies the problem with what too many modelers think of with "good enough." As applied by the acknowledged initiator of the phrase, it was that every model has a point at which it's good enough to fulfill its role on the layout. It was never intended to be an excuse for doing crappy work or refusing to improve.
For example, you may have a the back wall of a structure that a viewer will never see. Rather than expending the work on finishing that wall, you could say the model is good enough if the visible portions are complete. You still do a thorough job on those visible portions.
Can't see a structure's interior? It's good enough without that. Can't document every single detail of a freight car? Do the best possible job on the model with what's available.
Allen McClelland may have popularized the "good enough" philosophy, but he did his prototype research and exercised a high level of craftsmanship in his modeling. I wonder what he would say about how his turn of phrase has been perverted into an excuse for "anything goes?"
Rob Spangler
That is precisely the issue.
With regards to the above I found that recently the idea of 'rivet counting' has gone on to mean that it involves anyone who actually wants to, or desires, to do better even...whence did this come up?
Far be it from me to preach unto others how to do certain things..but it would be nice to go to a trainshow without someone jumping down my throat about my wanting to improve my skills...sheeesh.
If you do not want someone asking why you don't want to improve your skillsets then don't be jumping on the person who does want to improve their skillsets...simples.
I would think that as hard as you're working to admonish others for not performing at their peak, that you would have done a better job of reading my post. If you had you would have no doubt noticed that I quoted another user in my response. Moreover, I was not beating anybody over the head with it.
Also, just for the record, "modeler" is spelled with a single 'L'...
Folkses, we dun this, a zillion times. This wun's dun 2.
P.S. - In Canada, where some of us are from, "modeler" would get a strikethrough and a correction to what the country of origin of our language would insist be spelled "modeller".
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