I just went through my new MR mag that arrived today. The article on page 24, ‘How to build a heavy industry’ was one that caught my eye as I have a blank area on my layout that could use something like this. As I read the list of Walther’s kits that were used to ‘Kitbash’ the model, I realized that there must be quite a bit of cash spent to get them. Well, I checked the Walther’s website just a few minutes ago and they are all on sale, for a total of $228.88 plus shipping! That doesn’t include any additional stock materials, styrene, paint or other misc details. I just don’t see spending that much on a bunch of kits to get a model, but I realize that the staff at MR can use whatever they need for the articles. Just an observation.
-Bob
Hi, Bob
I have done my share of kit-bashing and I agree that if you had to purchase all the “donor” kits to produce such an industry you’d certainly ring up a pretty big tab.
In my fifty or so years in the hobby, my “parts bins” are overflowing with bits and pieces from scores of kits that I have either modified, or in some cases, where there are surplus parts in a kit. I think one of the sub-cultures of our hobby is junk collecting. Not a day goes by that I don’t eye-ball some odd piece of— stuff and wonder what use it might be on the layout.
Of course, I regard many of the MR articles as “inspiration” more than a how-to step-by-step feature.
Still, the crafty modeler could use basswood or Evergreen plastic for some of the components.
Regards, Ed
You don’t kitbash to necessarily save money, it is true. If you really want a particular model and nobody makes a kit of it, then you do without, or scratchbuild (which isn’t always cheap either) or you kitbash. So … how much do you like and want that structure?
A few observations. First the dedicated kitbasher keeps everything (and labels what it is, as a rule) and thus the cost is amortized over a large number of projects. A dabbler in kitbashing gets less benefit from this. Thus it is not entirely correct from an accounting standpoint to attribute the entire cost of all those kits to this one structure.
Second, if you actually live in (or visit) Milwaukee and can shop at the Walthers showroom it is not uncommon for them to have damaged packing/missing parts/missing decals versions of their popular kits on the scratch and dent shelf for substantially lower cost. Whether the MR guys took advantage of that for this project I do not know. I suspect the late Art Curren (the guy who literally “wrote the book” on kitbashing) when he worked at Kalmbach sure did. I know I do!
Dave Nelson