Customer Reviews

Scratch Built!: A Celebration of the Static Scale Airplane Modellers Craft

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This book describes several methods of building airplane models from scratch. Aircraft kits have become very sophisticated lately, and high quality aftermarket detail sets are available seemingly for every one of them. This makes scratchbuilding less necessary, if one's goal is to create superdetailed model. But it still provides very different kind of experience from assembling a kit, and as such is as interesting as ever.

In SCRATCH BUILT! (I'm not crazy about the title =), the entire process is described, from gathering reference materials, through creating basic structure, detailing, assembling to painting and decaling. Most of the material is presented in text, often with some drawings or photos. But emphasis is on text, most of the pictures show completed models - and these are all masterpieces, providing inspiration.

Because of strong reliance on text, knowledge contained in this book is not necessarily very easy to digest. Several different methods are described, some being illustrated better than others.

Most of the models shown are built in large scales (1/32 - 1/16), and include huge amount of details. These are typically all replicated in styrene or custom made PE. Printing silk-screened decals is also described (no mention of Alps printers or designing using computer - the book was written 15 years ago).

For such a dated book, advice on construction is still very relevant. If you have any interest in creating model of an obscure subject - this book contains all the advice you'll need. Don't expect to read it in one evening, and scratchbuild a masterpiece the next. But you'll have all the knowledge to create something out of sheet plastic.

Highly recommended.

The photos in this book show what is possible in the art of model airplane building. After looking through the book you may be tempted (as I was) to throw away all your model planes because the chances are they aren't anywhere near the quality of the ones in this book. But that's what the book is for, to improve the readers skill by showing what is possible. If you build model planes, this book is very worthwhile.

A master class in scratchbuilding aircraft, can only wet the appetite to try and emulate the modellers featured.