For some modelers BIGGER is better! I like big models, I have a 1:18 scale F-104 Starfighter hanging in the stairway leading down into the Man Space. I also have a F-86 Sabre in the same scale on display elsewhere in the room. (Both are from 21st Century Toys) There are other large models in the Man Space…some in 1:24th and others in 1:32nd. Big models are great if you have the display space for them.

In this case however I am referring to not the models themselves but other aspects of the hobby…two specifically. Instructions being one. Recently I acquired a short run production kit which had a one page instruction sheet. It didn’t have a great deal of parts but the detailed illustrations were critical to proper assembly.  When and if I ever get to meet the producer of this kit I’m going to ask…”Why did you go cheap on the printing of the instructions?”

A single sheet of 8″x10″ paper has two sides…why not use both sides! Reducing the illustrations down to squeeze them into the confines of one side of the sheet requires one to use some serious magnification to read it. Had they used both sides, splitting the illustrations apart to create a second page, it would have been much easier on the eyes and made the project all the more enjoyable. BIGGER IS BETTER!

This notion of saving paper to save a tree is fine, but it also creates eyestrain. The second area of concern is some of the information I receive in the mail promoting various events and products…again many of these are squeezed onto a single piece of paper. Trying to read a books worth of information on one sheet of paper isn’t fun nor effective at conveying your message. The message gets lost in the clutter.

REMEMBER who your audience is! A bunch of middle aged folks who don’t see as well as they once did. ;0)  I for one can’t lace a piece of thread through a sewing needle from a yard away as I once could. Just make it BIGGER! Using larger print, bigger illustrations and printing on both sides shouldn’t break the budget.

Now how about some bigger models of such subjects as C-131, C-123, T-28, C-141…my list is lengthy!   Seriously a 1:32 (or larger) AT-6/SNJ/Harvard or T-28 Trojan would be scooped off store shelves in the blink of an eye.