What sort of whiffer are you?

[GTX]

Hi folks,

Fairly simple question:  What sort of Whiffer are you?  Do you have any preferred type of What-if Modelling genre or format or are you all over the place?

In my case, I would say that I am heavily interested in Alternate Australian Defence Whiffs, especially those alternate equipment choices that could have been made (e.g. F-104 instead of Mirage III) and then developing them further.  I also like the same for other countries.  In essence, I prefer to do something that is close to reality and that makes people think "Well it could have happened...".

What about you?

Regards,

Greg

[Scooterman]

Close to what you do, Greg, minus the Aussie stuff.      '50s on up, jets mostly, speculative, cancelled orders, or military 'wish lists'.  The real reason I do what I do, however, is probably because I do have the eye nor talent to scratchbuild! 

[rallymodeller]

+1 to the above. Whatever I do, at least in my own mind, has to be "realistic" given the time period. I do a what-if project the way alternate history writers keep their stories believable -- take one Point of Departure and work from there. It can be a trivial event or a massive sea-change but whatever follows has to remain in the world of the believable, or barring that, has to have a good explanation.

[puddingwrestler]

I am the kind who believes that imagination is the core of our hobby. I don't built real world, and I don't even tend to build close to real world (with the exception of customized cars). I view a kit as a blank slate and a set of interesting shapes which can be used to fuel my ideas. I always feel that the bigger the idea, the better, so I never just slap on alternate markings and call it a whif. I tend to think that's too close to real world anyway.
I like to name everything, but I don't always do a back story.
I never let science, physics or common sense get in the way of a good shape.
I like cake.

[wacek85]

+1 to above except that I'm also building real world kits. I'm interested in Polish Military whiffs, Macross and other s-f's. My most important sources for inspiration are films, partially books. I'm also building 1:1 replicas (now I'm working on lightsabre), in nearest future 1:1 Warhammer Space Marine armor

[GTX]

I am the kind who believes that imagination is the core of our hobby. I don't built real world, and I don't even tend to build close to real world (with the exception of customized cars). I view a kit as a blank slate and a set of interesting shapes which can be used to fuel my ideas. I always feel that the bigger the idea, the better, so I never just slap on alternate markings and call it a whif. I tend to think that's too close to real world anyway.
I like to name everything, but I don't always do a back story.
I never let science, physics or common sense get in the way of a good shape.
I like cake.

Good call...esp the cake

[deathjester]

+1 to above except that I'm also building real world kits. I'm interested in Polish Military whiffs, Macross and other s-f's. My most important sources for inspiration are films, partially books. I'm also building 1:1 replicas (now I'm working on lightsabre), in nearest future 1:1 Warhammer Space Marine armor

If you are doing lightsabres, the best thing is to hit your local plumbers merchants.  Tubes, large screw on brass nuts (pommel) switches etc all available in broadly matching sizes - and prop sort of strength too....

[Weaver]

I'll do anything for a laugh - nearly real to really whacky, as long as it catches my imagination. I have bad spells of motivational deficit syndrome and a chronic lack of stickatititis though....

[raafif]

into armour & MaK sci-fi.

Armour -- IDF whiffs & alt equipment for the OzArmy -- DeMole instead of Mk.IV in WW1, Sentinel 1943 into the 1960s, Marders instead of M-113s, Abrams with MGS turret (like the Jordanian Falcon), Merkava IIIb instead of Abrams etc.

[sequoiaranger]

I guess that is my byword for whiffery. I do only 1/72-scale WW II-era aircraft, in general (or last biplanes to first jets). That era was a time of massive technological strides, as well as individual design features that sometimes reflected national trends, etc. What an era to draw from!

So I mix-and-match to come up with "original" designs with heavy emphasis on believability. I typically make several, and sometimes massive, changes to whatever "original" kit is being whiffed. I enjoy "pushing my envelope"--sometimes I take a deep breath before proceeding on a task, cross my fingers and hope for the best. Trepidation be dam__d! It has worked for me FAR more than not, so I am more apt to take chances, confident that more than likely it will turn out fine. I like to invent my own camouflage colors, schemes, and sometimes markings, too, diverging from the real-world "norm" but not too outrageous. I like to write backstories, especially those with sly humor and/or known attributes of the nation represented.

And, unlike many here, I prefer to stick with one task to the finish, rather than dilute my interest with many partial builds. I still "play" and calculate with unbuilt kits, but once I start building, I proceed to the end. I also am in the habit of "forcing" myself to take a month off when I finish a build before starting another. Helps keep things fresh, and preseves domestic tranquility with my spouse.

[beowulf]

for me whiffing is just a part of model making.....i build almost anything.............i guess about 75% of all aircraft i do are whiffs.......and probably 90% are to an AH i thought up ages ago..........ive done some armour too which was loads of fun

[Ed S]

I guess I would describe my WHIFFing as "part time".  I still build more real world than WHIFFs. Most of my WHIFFs are variations on real a/c; new markings, prototypes in operational schemes, and conceptual ideas turning into models. I have also done some Sci Fi, both kits and original ideas. I tend to build things that still work withing the framework of real world physics and aerodynamics. But I must admit that what I've seen on this forum has caused me to open up my limits on WHIFFs.

Ed

[RPadavan2]

Currently, I am taking the quick and easy road to whiffing.  I build primarily in 1/144th scale, so my options are limited to what is out there and what I can make myself.  Until my scratch building skills improve, I build existing kits in different country markings.  Back in 1988/1989, I did an F-14 in RAF markings, and a few years later, after the Berlin Wall came down and Germany reunited, I was going to do a MiG-29 in West German markings (basically stealing the decals from a Luftwaffe F-4 and putting them on a Dragon DDR MiG), but before I got to it, Dragon came out with Luftwaffe MiG-29 kit.  Currently I am working on an Regia Aeronautica ME-262, at least I was until I got distracted with building starship miniatures.

[rickshaw]

Hi folks,

Fairly simple question:  What sort of Whiffer are you?  Do you have any preferred type of What-if Modelling genre or format or are you all over the place?

In my case, I would say that I am heavily interested in Alternate Australian Defence Whiffs, especially those alternate equipment choices that could have been made (e.g. F-104 instead of Mirage III) and then developing them further.  I also like the same for other countries.  In essence, I prefer to do something that is close to reality and that makes people think "Well it could have happened...".

What about you?

Regards,

Greg

Similar.  I'm into post-WWII, primarily Cold War.  Some real world, some not.  I particular like RAF/RN whiffs.  I've also done a couple of French and one US Army one.  I tend to plan whiffs, then accumulate information and the bits and pieces long in advance of building them.  I like my whiffs to be fairly realistic, if possible.

[MilitaryAircraft101]

I whif cool models! Some of coops' profiles inspire me for the modern ones and apophenia for some prop driven madness. Alas I must get back to the 4 whifs I have going, don't worry that's less than half of my WIPS