Kit vs. scratchbuilt

[daltman1967]

I've designed several Star Trek ships over the years, and have always wanted to build a model of one.

Now, I could buy the Enterprise NCC-1701-A kit and use that as a base to make my model. Since I can't find the version with lights & sounds, I could work out my own lighting scheme.

My question is this: Do you guys out there, who have done this before, have any opinions as to kitbashing vs. scratchbuilt?

I mean, other than the question of scale, is there an advantage to doing it yourself? Disadvantages? I'd like people's honest opinions on this. I am very serious about this; I'm working on the full-detail blueprints now, and will have them ready in about a month.

Thanks for the input!

 

[8 perf]

IMO, don't reinvent the wheel, as they say. Unless you absolutely want to do a scratch build and think you can do it justice, or ned it in a particular scale as you say, I wouldn't do it. And I'm a scratch builder over kits any day. Although what I build is rarely offered in a kit.
I tend to think the original builders of our favorite ships and models turned to what is now called "kit bashing" for that very reason. Why would someone on a budget and a time constraint want to build a whole lot of tiny detailing that might never get seen when someone else has already done it and was nice enough to put all the parts on a sprue for you? Then again they were using any old shapes that looked cool enough to busy up what would otherwise be a dull flat surface. My .02 cents.

 

[Eric Ardros]

Well, the most obvious advantage to doing a scratch-build over a straight-up kit build is that you get exactly what you want out of it; the right scale, the right details, etc.

The major disadvantage to scratch-building is the amount of time and effort (and funds, for raw materials) one has to put into it, as compared to a much simpler, easier, quicker build using a pre-fabbed kit.

Something you might want to take into consideration is whether or not there's already a fairly decent, detailed kit of what you're looking to do. If so, it may be easier to do some alterations to a kit, if said alterations aren't too complex.

I'll quickly show you both sides of the coin, as it were.

Take my studio-scale TOS Galileo Shuttlecraft, for instance. I decided to completely scratch-build it as no one (that I know of) has ever made such a large-scale kit of the Shuttlecraft, and so I had to build it myself. Not only that, but I wanted to make sure it would be accurately detailed just the way I wanted.

Then there's my planned 1:350 scale Phase II Enterprise build. I'm using some parts (ie. warp nacelles, support struts) from a scrapped Polar Lights Refit Enterprise, and intend to do some esthetic changes to better reflect Matt Jefferies' Phase II design.

Granted, I'll still have to make my own secondary hull and neck (hopefully I'll be able to use someone else's 1:350 scale TOS Enterprise saucer for the build), but using those existing parts and slightly modifying them will help save me a good amount of time on parts I don't necessarily need to build from scratch.

Like 8 said, don't reinvent the wheel if you don't have to. Think about all of your options (whether you can go with something pre-fabbed and modify, or whether it absolutely needs to be hand-made), and also how much time and effort you're wanting/willing to put into this project, then go from there.

 

[vaderman1701]

I would start with a kitbash. It is much easier to modify existing parts than to scratch build them. Also, you can make sure that the look remains consistent with the time period starship you are creating.

John Payne who is on several Star Trek modeling boards has done numerous kitbashes and has comne up with some great designs. Here is a link to some of his kitbashes.

Kitbashed Starships

Scott

 

[trekman1017]

I am about half way through a 33 inch NCC-1707 and so far have only spent $12 so money is no problem in scratchbuilding

 

[Eric Ardros]

Perhaps I'm not conserving resources for my Galileo project, but with all the raw materials (ie. styrene) and supplies (ie. crazy glue, modelling putty, primer) I've definitely spent more than that on my scratchbuild.

I would imagine the cost involved/incurred depends on the size and complexity of the model being built. That's not to say your 33" Enterprise isn't any less complex a scratch-build than my 22" Galileo.

Somewhere along the line I'm probably just being wasteful with it all :rolleyes lol

 

[asemblyrequired]

I am learning from this site quickly that kitbashing might be the way to go . I see great masters and then after they are kit produced they are terrible looking with holes,warped parts and even worse business practices.
I was reading all the posts about this Steve N. guy who has great kits , but can't either produce them or ship them fast enough. Seems like the master makers should stay with the whole process.

-James

 

[3d-builder]

I dont see it myself so much as an opinion, but more of
skill level. I am not sure if you can build it from scratch?
If you can and your looking for a break by all means ya,
like what was stated "Dont reinvent the wheel" LOL

"If" your not a scratch-builder, I think it's a good idea
to use the parts that would be hard to recreate. For
example shapes that had compound curves. You can
still get in a bit of scrath-building on other assemblies
that were a bit less challenging, and develop some good
scratch-building skills!! I see guys do it all the time the
"kits" and "toys" have gotten so much better a lot of
them just need minor scratching!:thumbsup

Me myself i like to stay tuned, so I like to try
to scratch all of it especially the compound
curved stuff. It keeps you sharp, if the kit is
good i may use it as reference. But if your just
starting out or you need a break, I think using
the kit for the hard points is a good choice!thumbsup

 

[Jedi Dade]

Kitbashing is a time honored way of getting good results - even if its primarily a scratch built project. Heck Superdetailing a regular kit of something with kitbashing is a great project.

And like someone else said unless you need a specific scale using a Kit of something similar to start with is the way to go IMHO... provided the kit is a good representation of what you're going for. Usually you'll have to scratch something along the way anyhow so it's not really like you're cheating

Additionally if you don't have the master scratching skills that a lot of people around here have, it's a good way to get your feet wet by starting with something "sorta close" then modifying it and superdeailing it to what you want... that's how I learned to scratch things... by modifying something first.... Not that I claim any mastery at scratching, just that "I can" if I need too :$ Although now that I have some skill at it "sometimes" its easier to scratch something then modify something else, but that's not "usually" the case.

Jedi Dade

 

[daltman1967]

Thanks for the opinions. They really are greatly appreciated. Most notably, the link to John Payne's kitbashed ships was an awesome inspiration.

The ship I've designed is right around Star Trek V - VI, so I'd kitbash using the 1701-A Polar Lights kit. As far as lights, I'll have to work that out on my own.

In the mean time, I already have the profile and top view; I'm trying to puzzle together the bow, stern, and bottom views. I'm also considering doing an isometric view both as an artistic challenge and so that I can see the various angles.