Model kit words comes from a french word “maquette”. The meaning of this word is “to make a three dimensional model of a decor, structure (building, house..), a device, car, truck or other items depending to their original scale and appearance in real life.
What can be done as a model? Every kind of vehicle such as cars, motorbikes, trucks, bus, military vehicles, marine vessels, planes, helicopters, tanks, submarines and mant others. Besides this a model of a building or a house can also be done. Examples can be enhanced.
How factories do these model kits and how they reach us. First of all they need the original scale plans of the vehicle(s) they are going to produce. By making certain license agreements factories get these plans and transfer them to the computers. By using special programs the big scale plans becomes smaller depending to the scale of the model that is going to be produce. A machine called CNC makes the copies of all parts from smallest to biggest one. First they get an exact copy of each part. These copies can be made of metal, wood or wax. After controlling and examining all parts carefully, they bring them together and make the molding tree depending to the quantity of parts they produce.

This is a mold tree:

After all these parts come together they make a piece of metal mold so that they can pour hot and liquid plastic inside of it. Each metal mold is made of 2 separate parts ( Upper and lower). They place all parts according to their shapes and open canals between them so that liquid plastic can be reach to all parts easily. After pouring the liquid plastic inside the molds they leave them to get cold. By this way we have mold trees like the picture above.
After producing these plastic parts, they put them inside the box with the decal and instruction sheets. Thats how we receive them.
Because the moulding process is very expensive it directly effects to the price of the kit. The price of a 30-40 piece kit can not be same with the kit that has 500-600 pieces.
Also the price changes according to the producer factory and the quality of the model kit. Although we can make up these ready to assemle kits, we can make our own model kits by having the right materials. We can cut, paste, bend or drill different materials to make a model kit or a structure. Just like the models I designed for the contest of Efes Pilsen in year 2007 and 2008. In 2007 mu model took first place and 2008 third place. The catchword was so simple. Cut & Paste, Fold & Compress.
In year 2007 “Kokorecci Vahap Usta” and 2008 “Antepli Meshur Ali Haydar Usta Kebapcisi”
I did all these models based entirely on my imagination. Except the names, I did not use any similar object or style from the things around me. First I tried to understand what kind of model kit or object they are looking for and then combined different materials together to make up my model kit. I tested my self.
Because I make model kits and spend my time to this joyful hobby, I realize that each day I learn new things. I am looking for new styles, objects, technics…What can I do more? How can I use different materials together? Can I bring parts together without using glue? These are some of the questions I ask to myself when I begin to a new model. I keep myself away from the things that are mostly waste of time.
You can do this hobby alone or as a group. If you do it as a group you learn more and more each time you share the information, you learn how to act together, accepting the different ideas or finding solutions that no body thinks of.
Thats why I chose this hobby when I was a child and still I am working on it like the first day.
I would definitely recommend people to interest in this hobby as they will find another world inside of it.