gorby
There are certain people who have to feel superior to others, which I can sort of understand if you are a world class musician or surgeon etc. If all they have to feel superior about is sticking plastic model kits together then I think it makes them look pretty sad and pathetic. It's one of the reasons I like Scalemates, there are some astoundingly good modellers, but they don't demean the rest of us.
Incidentally, there would be a lot more Takom kits in my wishlist if they were cheap in Britain.

Mina Ro Author
I agree, I did not want to name the site and its sad because its well known and has been around for years. I was shocked at how elitist it has become with the rash of comments. I love scalemates. I just got the Panther Ausf G by Takom Super blitz for $20 off ebay and it includes a metal barrel and several late and mid production parts! You may wanna shop around.

David Taylor
I applaud everyone who posts on model websites as they are proud of what they have produced whatever level they are at.I have been fiddling about with kits and anything else I can incorporate to make them accurateish.It's only plastic,resin and whatever else.Keep building.

Wicker Man
I totally agree wit Mina.
If I do the comparison with miniature painting, this community is faaaaaaar less elitist that the modelers' world. Through YT and FB, I had very easy conversations and encouraging comments from world class painters - and I'm not a real talented one, believe me! Many of those people are really nice, giving you advice, telling you what's wrong or how you can improve.
I never had this from modelers. To the opposite, I met many arrogant and contemptuous ones - especially in France - rivet counters who think they are Rembrandt or Botticelli.
Now, I'm an old modeler/wargamer (who started assembling Matchbox planes in the 70's) and I still do because I love it. And I don't care about naysayers or elitists!
And I LOVE Takom kits! 🙂

Nigel
It's a hobby for enjoyment. As long as you enjoy what you do, and what you create, that's really all that matters.
I agree that there are far more meaningful things to get a superiority complex over than sticking bits of plastic together.
As for rivet counting, I go for the 80:20 rule. And there's a fair amount of wiggle room in the (undocumented) historical record.

Martin Oostrom
All my builds are 110% historically correct and that makes me superior to everyone else 😉 I'm just building from a different history, one that exists only in my mind 🤪

Just build what you want, how you want. As long as you're happy.
I'm just glad that guys like Bughunter, Alex G, the Weitzer Bros, Peter Hardy, Bozzer and many more are willing to show how things are done in a generous and friendly manner. Scalemates truly is the best.

Wicker Man
"I'm just building from a different history, one that exists only in my mind": I love that one..! 🙂)

Antony Merigot
I can just imagine these manchilds complaining about every little detail that isn't perfectly scaled down to be 0.01mm accurate. If you're going to take this hobby that seriously then that's fine but it should never be a reason to look down on somebody. If you want to act in such a manner then these people should probably go and touch some grass. It's people like these that prevent new modellers from getting started. Despite all the great websites and youtube videos it takes a long long time before accumulating enough knowledge to build what could be considered a "good" model. Long story short, I believe that if you're looking down on people for a hobby then you must have an incredibly sad life.

Spanjaard
internet is great to get information and all, but I am happy I started when I had not much to compare with, well the books of Shepherd Paine and Verlinden, but I knew I would never reach that level 😄

Steven Van Dyck
Takom makes some subjects that simply didn't exist before a few years ago, so any comparison is just impossible. I have to say that both subjects I happened to build, the G6 and the ABSD1 drydock, were highly accurate. Not perfect, I did find areas to improve them, but that can surely be found on older mainstream brands like Italeri and Revell too. One thing that could improve the relationship with the clients is that they would show themselves in the community with questions about the interests of modellers and previews of what they are working on. Their websites should show the facts about what is coming, but it's not always clear. Often two are working on the same subject, that creates too much redundancy in the shops and one will press their model with too much urgency and lower quality.

But you should add the link if you mention these modellers. An argument can also be made that some of the old moulds remain superior to what is now produced even wirh the modern standards. It can depend of quality control or the commitment of expertise.

John Hughes
I've built a couple of Takom kits so far and found them great. Plenty more in the stash. As to accuracy, I take the view that it is what it is. I'm more about enjoying doing it that being a rivet counter. If others was to build to exact specs, that's fine, if that's what floats their boat (June 1942 version). They just need to accept that most of us do it for fun.
I've just doubled my age estimate for Mina. Must be all that Mr Surfacer!

Mina Ro Author
One thing about accuracy too. We can research to our hearts content. Now for example, if you are modeling some allied or german tank in WW2, pictures are very limited. You can find docs on when a unit was where during a specific time. You can see a few tanks and the paint schemes some used but not all. You can see numbers on some as well as unit marks but in most cases you can't. Pictures are limited and so tons of speculation from B&W photos as to what the real color of the vehicle was. For instance like Rommels halftrack. People have argued for decades if his sdkfz 250 in Africa was just panzer grey with some dunkelgelb splotched all over, or if it was some other color. In most cases we have no pictures of a vehicle from the other side too. Like Wittmans last tank 007. Many people model his tank with the unit crest on the front left face of the tank when in photos it seems to me 2nd SS tigers had the unit crest on the right, like his older 205 tank. The command tank antennas have also been a point of speculation for years. Regardless, you could go insane trying to be as accurate as possible and still be off the mark. Even the pros in this hobby I think are off the mark sometimes and it cannot be verified either way. You just try to model what you think is correct as best you can or just go for a build that really could never be deemed accurate or not and that's the best anyone can do. I think most everything is speculative and like all of you said, we should enjoy the hobby and not pick apart others work. I think social media in many cases, like everything else, has made a lot of people become armchair generals on every subject and ridicule has gone off the rails (be it talk of hobbies or anything else). Productive advice though is usually always welcome!