DB, well said. As an ex "team" modelmaker (Thorp's and Karslake's) and ever since a one man band I couldn't agree with you more. I still work quicker than the average hobbyist because the sooner a job was done, the sooner I got an invoice in and waited weeks for payment.
But when I made my models as a one man band, I usually made stuff I liked and sold them, only sometimes did I get a commission direct, but when a modelmaker gets a commission he HAS to make it as perfect as possible or how on Earth would he get paid?
You wouldn't order a new car and accept lumps and bumps in the upholstery because it made it "theirs". It ain't theirs, it's yours, you just paid for it and you wanted the best shiny orange peel Mercedes could give you
The shipyard models are usually built as promotional tools as someone said, before the full size is built. Oil installation models are built VERY accurately as design tools.
Having said all the above there is still a wee bit of license available. I see John Heynes name up there. Hi John, we spoke years ago...he has some soul in his work, so did the greatest model car builder ever, Henri Baigent, whereas perfect though Gerald Wingrove's work was, it always lacked any real soul.
Work done for a major company, often through an ordering agent has to be to the very highest standard, often with exaggerated finishes, like lots of brass handrails. That's where you get your living from. I make models with a sense of place or time or soul because I don't take vast amounts of money off companies any more. I'm lucky I don't need to.
There is also the actual machine making of a lot of stuff now, produced by stereo lithography, stereo sintering, LOM, CNC etc. That's where most of your soul gets eaten! But it's all that can keep any industry in this country any more by making the unit price more affordable.
Regards,
V
