There’s long been a similar “debate” in the machinists’ community about CAD, laser cutting, etc., vs. good old fashioned “doing it by hand.”
I have nothing against modeling “the old fashioned way.” I think those are skills that are valuable to have. However, there’s a distinction that needs to be drawn between learning a skill because you have to vs. because you want to.
I think advances in technology allow the modeler to make that distinction in more and more arenas. And that–to me–is a good thing. It allows the modeler to concentrate on those aspects of the hobby he/she finds enjoyable without having to deal with the headaches of those areas where–absent technology–they’d be mired in tedium or simply in way over their heads.I think the end result is better modeling. It’s a hobby. It’s supposed to be fun.
Case in point:
(http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/eastbroadtop/EBT7/EBT743.jpg)
(http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/eastbroadtop/TRR5/TRR509.jpg)
I spent the better part of a year (on and off) scratchbuilding the first model shown. Lots of research, climbing over photographs and a surviving “sister” locomotive, all kinds of fun stuff. I enjoyed the process, and I’m proud of the results. Then Bachmann announces a commercial version of that same locomotive. I spent probably about a month total making minor cosmetic tweaks, repainting, and weathering the second loco. By “rational” standards, I should be more “proud” of the first one because I scratchbuilt it. But–to me–that’s not the case at all. I’m equally proud of both models. For me, my sense of accomplishment comes when I set the model on the track and look at it through a camera lens. That’s what I enjoy most about this hobby. It doesn’t matter how much or how little work was required on my part to get to that point.
I know I’ll never have the machining chops to scratchbuild a live steam locomotive. I’m cool with that. If, on the other hand, I can draw the components on a computer screen, press “print,” and end up with parts that fit and run well together, then I’m now enjoying a scratchbuilt live steamer. Sure, I didn’t turn the dials myself, change the tool bits, etc., to get the end results, but there’s no way I could have achieved those end results if I had. It’d be a pile of scrap metal on my shop floor. Instead, I’m at the track breathing butane vapors the same as the guy who’s still using a 1911 vintage lathe to turn every last screw as well as the guy whose only “labor” in getting his steamer running was opening the box.
I think there will always be a healthy respect for those who “do things by hand.” I think that’s natural. I have a lot of respect for folks who possess skills I do not. But the hobby isn’t about what I think of others, or what others think of me. It’s about the enjoyment I get from my models. If anyone else wants to scoff at my second C-19 model compared to my first because it’s not scratchbuilt, that’s their thing. For me, both models are on equal footing, because both fulfill their purpose the same.
I personally see 3D printing as a fantastic benefit to the hobby. The possibilities are–literally–endless. I see it enhancing current modeling skills more than replacing them. Sure, there are those who won’t be driven to learn “the old way” of doing things perhaps as much as they otherwise might, but when the bottom line is what ultimatley runs on the rails, not how it got there, who’s to care?
Later,
K
