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Like me, you've maybe read those articles in magazines where the author rants on about hand building 1/72 scale rivets "because those on the model are a scale 1/4 inch out of position"?

Now I've been a model builder for a long time, and I can safely say that "models" fall into 2 main categories:

1) a scale model of a real machine, with detail appropriate to scale; something you spend days getting perfect and then put in a dust-free display cabinet forever to look at.

2) a representation of a machine, built and painted similar to the original ( or down to your imagination for sci-fi stuff), that you're going to play/wargame with.

There are excellent examples of 1) in the Gallery, lovingly, painstakingly done, and I admire and am envious of the modellers' skill.

Then there's the rest of us. We'll throw something together in a couple of hours, slap some paint on and we're good to go!
And just about then, some cleverclogs will begin carping that you've used too much paint, the wrong varnish, there's a gap there and too much glue there, etc etc ad nauseam. And they may even mention your rivets aren't aligned.

But don't get downhearted! I spent 22 years in the British Army, mostly with armoured units, and I'm also interested in the history of armoured vehicle development, and a one-time restorer of ancient Land Rovers.
With that in mind, look at what history tells us:

The first armoured vehicles were knocked up in factories employing men skilled in cast iron and steel machinery.
Come ww2, when AFV production got into its stride, most were built by women on production lines. Women with minimal training, often "producing" only 1 part of the whole, maybe spent all the war putting bolt a in hole b and tightening up?
Some types of AFV were built in several factories, even in different countries. At times, specifications changed, for example metric bolts instead of imperial, and during those periods of changeover some models ended up with a mix of both bolt types.

Once given to the troops, field modifications come into play. If bracket "x" keeps banging your head in an AFV you're likely to remove it yourself rather than wait for the Chain of Command to feedback a modification to the manufacturer. If stores don't have a 1/4unf nut and bolt, 10mm will hold things together for now. And so on.

So, given ACTUAL REALITY as opposed to Makers' Handbooks, is it just possible that OUR models are more representative of the real thing?

I, for one, think so. In the end, we build these things as a hobby, a pastime, something we should gain enjoyment from.
Don't listen to the Anoraks, they'll continue stressing about the correct paint patterns on late1944 panzer iv's. You and I know that young Schutz Schmidt used whatever his QM gave him and a 4 inch brush.

Now go build your army, and ENJOY yourself. And remember, if you can't fix it with a 10lb hammer, it's probably an electrical problem.

I don't think this belongs in the P and M area: if you're not posing photos of a model or an actual technique query, then this would be better off in the General Discussion forum.

And I have no idea what you are talking about, apart from something along the lines of "Don't bother making your models 110% accurate to what is (or would be considered) the real thing"

Valk

I think what he is getting at is "Don't mind the regular parade of a-holes that never post their own stuff but are the first ones showing up in every thread to crap on people's work".

You know who they are: check just about any thread in this section and you will see the same gaggle of sad haters spouting off...

This thread not only belongs here it should be stickied...

I agree.

There's the "idealised" models that the anoraks like to drool over and mention ever minutiae and how accurate it is - then there are the "real vehicles" which are never quite what the manufacturer intended.

Brackets removed because you scone yourself once to often? Different sized nuts and bolts to the standard ones because the proper ones weren't available. Duct tape on surfaces to hold stuff in place?

All good.

Close enough IS good enough.

Thanks for the support. I'm always impressed when someone shows their work.
Sometimes it can be obvious that the model has been built/painted by a relative newcomer, perhaps a kid or perhaps not.
Those of us with more experience should be encouraging new modellers, not criticising what may be their first, or best, effort.
Above all, stress that the enjoyment they've had in getting this far is worth it, and carry on improving their skills.