research on a build (yea, another "i wonder" post)

[tubbs]

"That is fine for you, but some of us likes to research our projects first before we start building."

can you tell i am being philosophical today.

this statement was said to me on a recent post and got me thinking about research? "sorry, but nobody does more research than me on a build." that was my initial reaction and the more i thought about my previous statement, the more i started thinking about research. "what type of research is there building stock." i thought, i have built stock. hell, all of the info is in the kit. if its not, a few keystrokes on the ol computer and you got your answer. every car i have owned i have done something to make it mine. one of the reasons i sold my hemi car was i wanted to pro street it, make it mine. all my buddies told me not to cut it, restore it. why? i am restoring someone else's car. it's not mine. this same thinking goes into my model building, i don't have any "real" car in my project pile. i never built a real drag car. never replicated a Sox and Martin or dick landy drag car. man, i have never built a car that i have ever owned!! why i dont build replicas, i don't know, love to see them, don't care to build them.

as far as research goes. its really a 50/50 mix between research and inspiration. i put more time in research than actual building. i have over 8,000 magazines. 50+ hard and soft bound books, all kinds of racing catalog stuff, Mopar white books, plus the internet. research is my biggest building nemesis!! i will search for something for one build, then see 5 others things that look cool to give me inspiration for other builds. i have post-it notes all over model boxes, stuck on cabinets and in many magazines. to me, when you do drag, pro street or any type of race cars, that's where the research comes in. so may way to do a chassis, a cage, front and rear suspension, different body mods, different wings, size of tires. there are actually builds that i have started and then stopped because i saw a car on the net that looks like what i was building. so i will then go another direction with it. maybe that is why i dont use decals. i guess there are 2 words in the English language that i really don't use, thats "Steelers" and "replica".

so, now that i have typed it, how much research do you guys do on a build. do you like building 1:1 cars you see or branch off and take 10 things from 10 different cars and start hacking. do you take a real car and try to improve on it?

and as far as the first paragraph goes, it is there because that is what i do, it is not there to say that anyone who builds opposite of me is wrong. that is what make cars, sports and music so great, so many ways to build what you like, listen and watch, its all good, people. we just gravitate to stuff that catches our eyes and ears. confession time. last big show i was at, i spent more time and had more question with these people and their car...



than i did with the guy who owned this car...



love um or hate um, i have to check them all out.

btw, that donked Camaro, the guy said he will change u joints 2 or 3 times a year.

[tubbs]

just one more on replicas. i have been for years wanting to do the 10 most influential pro street cars of all time. so much so that i finally announced it on a pro street modeling site to start this year. i got a great response. still getting responses cause i have not started on 1 damn build. but i HAVE started on others. people are starting to question me when are you starting these builds? i can't tell them i have not started. see, my own thought of what i want to build and what i do build are starting to turn on me!! i figured it would motivate me..... i don't even know myself anymore.

[Jcon]

Who are you?

I have a good modeling buddy like you who builds WWII aircraft cutaways so you can see the innards ... has the research disease (lol) so bad that he writes museums for pictures, writes to companies for historical facts and blueprints... writes our model buddies overseas to find aircraft there and get permission to photograph the idividual components like a hydrolic pump or a bomb sight from a Spitfire for example and where all the lines go from it. Scratch builds all kinds of mini parts out of anything he can get his hands on, wires everything accurately and if it's not right he tears it apart over and over til he gets it right... he never really finishes much cause he finds a new picture that shows a different view and he is off again down another rabbit hole of research, tear apart and rebuild it better... I watched him build the flight controls once for a B17... wasn't any bigger then a 1/4" and had over 20 parts on it... is he happy, yes! Would I do that, NO! But it doesn't matter... we all are individuals and take our hobby where we want it and that is what matters!!! Quit wondering what others think and enjoy yourself brother! It would be boring if we all built the same stuff the same way!!!

[topside]

Main thing IMO is ideally build to the best of one's ability, unless the fun is in approximation; for example, I still enjoy promos, in spite of their lack of detailing: the colors & shapes are enough for me.
If it's a replica or OEM-stock build, research should come from the real world, seems to me; box art or non-original examples can lead one astray.
The military guys have my respect; the best ones are detailed so far beyond what I've done that I'm just in awe of them.
Bottom line I guess is why one builds models: to generate a 3D memory, to satisfy an urge to build something, or to create a miniature world. I don't think there's a wrong answer, though I've never been an "appreciation trophy" guy myself.

[goofy62]

I will say that I believe that sometimes it's the opinion of some that building "factory stock" is basically the same as building "box stock", but that is not the case.

I build almost exclusively factory stock, and I find myself very often having to do a great deal of research over the entire life of the build.

If you're building a factory stock car that will be the exact version of what is contained in the box, I suppose not a lot of research is required, although there are often plenty of inaccuracies right from the get go in many kits.

If you are going to mix it up at all, you may have to spend a considerable amount of time researching if you want the end result to be somewhat accurate. 

I'll offer my most recent 1968 Dodge Coronet project as an example.

One example, and one of the first things that I found, (and this is not unknown to anyone who has built one of the MPC 1968 or '69 Coronets, but is missed by many who have not adequately researched) is that the body crease that runs 3/4 of the way across the the rear portion of the door, just above the door handle, is inaccurate and needs to be removed.

This is just one small example, but it is an important detail if you are striving for accuracy.

If you are like me, and are not aware of all of the finer idiosyncrasies of, in this circumstance, the differences between non-Hemi, and Hemi cars, you will find through research that there are quite a few, and they are not represented in any of the Mopar B-Body kits in circulation, whether they are MPC, AMT or Johan.

Namely, details such as the torque boxes and K-frame skid plate that were part of a Hemi configuration for example.

In the end, I spend nearly as much time sitting in front of my computer, studying photographs as I do sitting at my bench working on the model, contemplating everything from the correct location of throttle return springs, to the correct positioning of the radio antenna, and in the end, I inevitably will still miss certain details, which sometimes tells me that more research was required.

So, in conclusion, research on a factory stock build can entail much more than just sorting through correct color combinations.

I often feel that people consider factory stock building as the easy way out, but in my opinion, it requires much more diligence and discipline than say, custom and hot rod building, in which case virtually anything goes.

Factory stock has some rather rigid parameters that need to be followed, where some other genres are a relative free for all.

My opinion is that any time you are building a replica, which would include any "particular" automobile, considerable research may be required, and factory stock is, in my opinion, a replica.

If it's truly factory stock, there is really no room for artistic interpretation, just as if you were building a Sox and Martin or Dick Landy car.

Steve    

[tubbs]

great answers guys. thanks for the time and the thoughts. i'd like to talk about Steve's answer for a minute. go back and read it again, and put yourself smack dab in the middle of the Mopar national. exactly what he said can and does relate to 1:1 cars to a tee.

"Factory stock has some rather rigid parameters that need to be followed, where some other genres are a relative free for all."

exactly why i sold my hemi car. too many rules. too many people telling you what's right. they don't even know. all you can do is do your best research and build it the way you see fit. i feel the best research you can get is NOT the internet, it's these...



... especially if you have access to that year magazine and the road tests or ads. that will tell you the truth... to the best of its knowledge. i understand the research that has to be made on stock builds. there is a lot of area you have to look at to correct things that the model company did wrong (maybe they have to do more research, right!). research facts are sometimes easy to find, when do you use red caps on a battery on a Mopar, when do you use yellow? some are not so easy to find, when t=do you use black thumb button on a door handle and when do you use chrome? was the battery cable connected to the motor or the battery before painting?

i guess the easiest way to end this is build it the way you see fit and the way you want to see it on your shelf. built down to the knats ass on accuracy or built to please your eyes. just keep building, baby!!

ok, one last thing on 1:1 cars. lets open a nuther can-o-worms. this 1 owner Daytona is stock, exactly the way it left the dealer... oh , wait, you say Daytonas never came from the factory with vinyl tops? what about "dealer installed" options? this car was shipped to the dealer, they put the top on, and then it was delivered to the owner. factory stock? if you had a chance to restore this car, would you include the top? what about "factory" race cars, they left the factory looking nothing like the hemi race cars we know. that was all DEALER installed parts. then why do they call them "FACTORY" restored race cars?