The Little World

I have often stood in awe of the work of other modellers. I can say truthfully that when I have seen results that are far superior to anything I could ever hope to achieve, I have given them their due. It is the fair and gentlemanly thing to do and if you look at things with the right attitude you can benefit from their expertise. There is a lesson in every model.

At the same time I can say with equal truth that I do not care what others think of what I have built. My models – though they may share a commonality with others from the same factory – are my vision of what a kit or plan might promise. My only criterion for success is whether I have fulfilled my own plans with as much skill as I could muster.

This means I can tackle any sort of kit with equal enthusiasm…or so I tell myself. There are times, however, when I need a cup of Bovril beside me when I open a kit …to prevent that sinking feeling…There are kits that promise much and deliver it, and there are those that promise nothing and deliver that. I have never flung a kit back in the teeth of the hobby shop owner with a snarl, but I have practised snarls in the bathroom mirror and an confident that I could do a good one.

There are standards in anything – cutting throats is probably a quantifiable skill. And you can get better or worse at whatever you do. One should never abandon ambition. However you need not attempt Everest over every speed hump in the road.

The final thing you need to ask yourself …and actually answer the question…is whether you are having fun in what you do. Move heaven, earth, and the paint rack at the hobby shop to do this as long as it can be done…but do not scar yourself whilst you do.