The Little World

” But only in the under-flange. This is 13mm longer than the 1943 modification. Few modellers realise this.”

Not surprising, Chief. 13mm in 1/72nd scale is .18 of a millimetre and very few modellers can see that small – or care that much. We are struggling to get parts off a sprue without digging holes in them – measurements under a millimetre are the stuff of fantasy.

I read a lot of forums – Australian, European, and North American. I watch a lot of YouTube modellers. And I marvel at the ability of the British to wind themselves into knots about trivia – especially 75-year-old measurements and paint colours.

I admire precision in modelling. I admire it in science, and sometimes in art. But what we make from plastic model kits is ever more decorated toys…and we would do well to realise it. We are not making standard works of reference for the edification of mankind into the 24th century. We are making toys for ourselves. If our toys are 3 mm too long in one dimension and 2mm short in another, it will not affect their beauty nor our pride in assembling them well.

Likewise the debates about colour and surface. I’ve been to the RAAF museum at Point Cook and can testify from direct observation that there are surfaces of very kind, from glass-smooth to cobblestone – the latter on the toilet seats. You cannot nail down anything past probability and in some cases you can’t go closer than possibility. And that’s over 75 years – the people who build medieval four-engine bombers have it even worse.

You need not be perfect. This is no excuse for being lousy, but there is a wide space for acceptable performance between the two extremes.