Every now and then, something sticks in my craw and I write words about it. These are those words. The 🔥 indicate the level of butthurt elicited.

Modeling Culture

It’s the Modeler at His Bench – Thoughts on whether or not the quality of tools, kits, paints etc matter, or whether it’s truly “the modeler at his bench”. 🔥

On Conflation – On the shitty arguments and petty bitchfights that erupt in this hobby. 🔥🔥🔥

America. Not That Great (at Modeling). – When you look at contest tables in America vs. Europe and Asia, entries seem…bland. Why is that? 🔥🔥🔥

Is Modeling Art? – Well, is it? 🔥🔥

Fetishizing the Enemy – What’s the obsession with German WWII subjects? 🔥🔥🔥🔥

The 4 Key Attributes of Kits – and the 2 Reviews Usually Miss – Kit reviews regularly obsess over detail and accuracy, at the expense of engineering and fit. 🔥

Down with Attaboy Culture – When everything is “stunning!” or “amazing!” and it’s attaboys all around, how do you get useful critique and improve your work? 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Thoughts on a Show – Some random observations from the local contest. 🔥

Lighten Up, Francis – The key is to both give a fuck and not give a fuck at the same time. 🔥🔥

“Just” a Hobby? – The key is to both give a fuck and not give a fuck at the same time. 🔥🔥

Stupid Things Manufacturers Do

Nope: A Rant About Awful Engineering – My infamous “mad as hell” post about Kitty Hawk’s subpar Kingfisher. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

One Shot, and Only One – Want to convert me to a product? Get it right. 🔥🔥🔥

Decals Are Magic – On the weird and mysterious ways of decal performance 🔥

How About Better Aftermarket Cockpit Sets? – Crazy thought – engineer cockpit sets, or critical cockpit elements – as drop-fit replacements. 🔥

Sideways – Side-opening boxes. Fuck ’em. 🔥

Techniques and Their Side Effects

Weathering Words – How we talk about weathering is fucked. So let’s have some better words. 🔥🔥

Panel Lines: Do They Even Exist? – A response to a commenter who declared that “panel lines don’t exist in nature”. 🔥🔥

The Problem with Panel Line Shading – Stop pre-shading panel lines. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That – To build, detail and paint hidden details, or not? 🔥

Tonal Crush – Why do high-contrast schemes and markings tend to crush subtle tonal variations? Here’s your answer. 🔥

Just Buy a Damn Airbrush, Already – If you’re serious about this hobby, it’s a worthy investment. 🔥🔥

Non-Transference – Why do some products seem to work great with armor, but not aircraft, and vice versa? 🔥

My Own Bullshit

Haters Gonna Hate – They are. 🔥

Out with the Old – Techniques, materials and preferences change. Maybe it’s worth refreshing to bench to clear out some of the cobwebs of yesteryear. 🔥

By Grabthar’s Hammer – The special joy of repetitive questions. 🔥🔥