IN THE BEGINNING
When I first started to dabble with model kits, I really had no clue about using proper glue and paints. Anything sticky was game. You could say my first fully built model (as far as I can remember) was a Matchbox plane… covered with fabric plasters. It was a bluish-white jet of some kind (but not the Alpha Jet), which literally flapped its wings. But I call that done and was quite happy with it. Then I ventured into scratch-building with clear toothbrush casings but that would be another story.
Fast forward many years later, when I revisited the Hobby, this time armed with the knowledge that cement glue exists. And so, with some models under the belt, I felt accomplished. OK, at that time I was heavily into thinning Tamiya Blacks with their thinner and running the brush on all surfaces. And yes, that was that.
More years passed by and then I realised, apart from sucking at painting, there is something missing from the models. This was the time where accurate resin upgrade parts and photo-etchings were the rage. They do make the model look accurate and yes, very detailed. It was more or less what I was looking for.
ACCURACY
In all honesty, I want a model to be as reasonably accurate as possible. How shall I describe it?
I mean, a plane has to look as if it was really scaled down and not some out of proportion looking toy. It would have a lot of tiny sharp proportioned details instead of clunky plastics molded from a designer’s “artist impressions” i.e. simplified details. Call me judgemental but it would trigger me into thinking that the person either has no knowledge nor passion in their profession. It is silly but I just cannot help it.
STOCK IMAGE FAILS
Which comes to today’s topic. Stock images has come a long way since I notice them more than two decades ago. Their uses are for Catalogues, Training, Advertisement and so on. And they are usually ‘harmless’. You know, a guy talking to a girl in an office, a Doctor showing a chart, that kind of thing. But once the topic becomes specific, like someone repairing a PC with a soldering iron, a lot of people in that respective field are going to sit up and take notice.
To a normal person, that person must be a qualified technician reparing a PC. To those in the field, it was the opposite. Let me clue you in on this. A PC’s PCB aka Motherboard is a very complex design made up of multiple layers of optimised copper tracks. The tiny components are so close to each other that only reflow soldering is the answer. Using a soldering iron with a flat blade is akin to using a hand grenade to cook chicken. Sure, you get some pieces of edible chicken but the collateral damage is enough to fail the whole exercise.
For years, we laughed at these photos and they do not seem to be stopping. But deep in our minds, what kind of expert allows for and approve them? It does make you think about their qualifications. Or were they plain lazy? And in most cases, the Company being questioned as well.
WHICH BRINGS ME TO THIS
Yea, just as I woke up this morning, I was faced with this image. Yep, that cooking the chicken with a grenade thing.
I’m not even sure if those were his hands as they do look kinda weird plus that is not how you hold the glue gun.
Luckily, I have a hot glue gun too. Its not accurate since it has an orange trigger and comes in black.
