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Monday, November 19, 2012

Pros vs Hobbyists mentality



Following the coverage of S'pore's 2012 GBWC and discussions with fellow modelers, I noticed that there has been a lot of buzz regarding the mega builds and how everyone is going BIG this year. It's all been fun to read, but there is one debate that I have came across, that I feel I have to address - Mainly, some people saying that mega builds are by the "pros" who have the money to buy multiple kits and just bash every part they have together to make some humongous monster. And that supposedly kills the competition for hobbyists in the process. I would like to add my two cents worth on it:- 

  • Firstly, there is no such thing as a distinction between "pros" and "hobbyists", especially in Singapore. All pros are hobbyists. But maybe not all hobbyists are pros. How do you become a pro then? Stick to the hobby and improve. When you reach a particular level some day, it doesn't matter if you churn out a humongous piece of work or a tiny little 144 scale kit. People WILL see you are a pro.
  • Granted, to build a "monster" kit, you do need to invest some money. But here's the thing - if I gave a beginner the same amount of money a so-called "pro" used to build his mega kit, is that person able to come up with something of the same calibre or better? You should know better. So a lot of money might mean a mega build, but does not necessarily mean it's a good one.
  • Which brings me to the last point - Some people have been seeing pictures of the mega builds and dismissing them as "messy", "fail", "can't see anything" etc etc. This might be true for some big builds, but not all. I think the tendency to simply dismiss a build just cos it's big might be due to the bias-ness mentioned in the above two points - the accusation that these modellers are simply richer guys who whack everything into a monster kit.
At the end of the day, it's simple - your quality and creativity never lies. It's not about money or size of build. Just down to skill level. 

While I can go on and on about this for the rest of the night, I believe it is more productive to continue working on my next project and start leveling up. 

I suggest you do so too. 


6 comments :

Yes could not agreeore with you toymaker :) U expressed it in a very accurate sense. Hope this message could pass down to others and realise all these u have said bro.

You are a modelling philosopher Toymaker! Very insightful stuff. And I agree the monsters kits don't make the pros. The pros make the monsters.

I think they are some people who wanted a level playing ground and in any competition, there sure people who like to pull people down so they can look better. Nevertheless, in contest, not the best looking will win too as the decision is still on the judges who may have personal favourites. So in contest there is never fairness. :)

So you saw them comments too regarding about "Messy" build and being "ugly" eh?

I wanted to slash the guy with verbal about, but then I thought, it's gonna be a worthless argument again and again.

I don't see this guy doing any great build either, so yeah, I let it slide for the time being.

Nah, just forget it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Jump into the fray, it gets ugly and this will be never-ending. My advice, Let it be.

I wouldn't use the word "messy" generally speaking. A battle scene is supposed to be messy.

To busy, perhaps?

And yes, like I mentioned somewhere, it boils down to preference in most cases. Whereas we may not get the "concept" as to why the modeler built what, he alone knows what he built.

Personally, I still consider myself very much just a hobbyist. I am still learning, and will continue to learn, more from my mistakes than anything else. As far as my current project is concerned though, less is more. I made less fuss over how complicated i tend to make things, and in the process learned how to simplify things.

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