When do you detail your model?

[leroyo]

Hello all,

So you have the blueprint, you want to build something and you begin to glue parts; plastic, wood, metal rod and tube, just to make the basic shape.
But when do you add the details?
I personnaly use to add details when all the basic shape are there. It can be really painfull for me to detail a part of a ship and see the other side still on construction.

What is your way?
Olivier

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

I have decided that I "sculpt" my models, and build in a balanced
fashion. I turn the model and maintain an even level of composition
all around. Then look for "dead" spots, and start filling in...

[Ziz]

You add detail when you need to. It depends on the shapes, sizes and how it has to fit together.

There are so many threads of people asking for "rules" for when to do this or that step. Reality is that for the most part there are no die-hard rules, you have to just feel your way through it, especially with scratchbuilds and kitbashes. You do it in the order that seems to make sense...if you paint yourself into a corner (or glue, or cut or...you get the idea), back up, learn from your mistake and continue.

It's like when someone asks me when a particular kit I'm working on will be done. I tell them that I have the same target deadline for all my kits - "eventually". It'll be finished when it's finished...not before.

[MillenniumFalsehood]

Personally, I like to build up the basic structures, then add greebles when and where they fall.

[AbsoluteSciFi]

Detail is an additive process in most model building processes, being something that is put on to a model... but if you are sculpting something from plaster, or making a relief somehow, the detail is inside the shape.

It really depends on how you going about the build. If you are working foam or wood, if you have inserts or relief areas to work, and on the basic design of the model itself. Detailing for the Enterprise would be (mostly) in the scribing of the panel lines, lighting, paint, and the shuttlebay. For the Borg cube, well, the Borg cube is detailing.

Another good point to bring up is what level of detail are you representing? Some models only simulate detail of things, (depending on scale) and others try to actually make the objects they represent. Most X-Wing designs have all the detail that should be present on the strip where R-2 is present, (even though nobody really knows what that detail actually does), while a 1/250 BSG Galactica will fudge a lot of the hull plating and other small details to simulate the outer parts of the half stripped hull.

Detailing is not the always something that can be used to "make" a model, for instance, some models that have too much detail and no hierarchy of structure, usually just look silly. Detailing is something to be used to promote realism in a model, not just cover it.

As far as adding detail, it is when it is TIME. if you are working foam, then the detail is something that comes after the hull is made. If you are sculpting, then it is when you get to the part. Just about everything about the question could be a variable.

[ajmadison]

Unless you're building studio scale, and in the olden days, this would involve FX "miniatures" that are 6 feet long (or even bigger, like 2001's 54 foot XD-1) many of the structures being represented, like piping, frame members, engine bells, were still reasonably easy to build with a knife, a straight edge, (some kit parts), and sheet stock.

Largest scratch build I ever attempted was 2 feet long. And what brought the effort to a screeching halt was the dang port holes. It was not the various recessed details, or the lack of reference material, or its complicated pontoons, it was cutting a couple hundred port holes so they were consistently the same width, set at right angles to the outer edge of the hull, and started at the same depth in from the hull edge. My point is, thinking about what are major details and being able to replicate them at the scale of the project you're working is critical to its success. Oh and a two foot scratch build doesn't sound that big until it covers half of your desk, leaving you almost no space to set out tools, or a cutting board, etc.

And while growing large (like attempting a 4 foot Star Destroyer) makes some problems easier and the detail just that much more accurate, there are equally difficult problems at the opposite end of the spectrum. Building a critical detail piece that is only a couple of millimeters across will prove to be very challenging.

Unless of course, you're planning on using a CNC machine, or one of those "parts printers" in your build. Some of the exquisite resin kits available are the products of those technologies, but few of us sheet & knife guys can afford one.

[Mr. Badwrench]

I agree that it is difficult to apply rules to this. But as a rule of thumb, I build from the inside out. Details that are inside the model, such as cockpits, engines, open hatches, blast damage, etc, must be built and painted before general assembly. The same thing applies to lighting, you really have to build your model around the lights.

[ajmadison]

I agree that it is difficult to apply rules to this. But as a rule of thumb, I build from the inside out. Details that are inside the model, such as cockpits, engines, open hatches, blast damage, etc, must be built and painted before general assembly. The same thing applies to lighting, you really have to build your model around the lights.

Don't disagree with the philosophy. Though my last intricate scratchbuild was designed as if Aurora made Star Trek models, so I made the cover over the crew section completely removable. I was going to put an interior in, except there's one small problem. The floor plan of the full size set, when scaled to the model, does not fit. :-^ (tongue in cheek) Shocking! That the interior is bigger than the exterior. I decided to complete the exterior and deal with the lack of an interior later. So you can decide to build the outer hull components and decide the what/how/where later if you plan ahead.

[AbsoluteSciFi]

I think his (Mr. Badwrench) point is that sticking to one philosophy is very hard to do when everyone (as you illustrate) has different ideas.