Placeholder for a sailing ship build To Be Named Later

[Joe CalPo]

I've three to choose from, a cutter, a corvette, or a frigate.

Are we allowed to think up the back story before the week starts or is that part of the build?

[Old Wombat]

Let's face it, there no whif builds that don't have a backstory before they are built, it just comes down to how in-depth they are.

As I understand it, the back story is not considered part of the build unless the backstory is being entered as a non-physical entry in its own right.

However, if it's good enough, the Moderator(s) may decide to enter it for you as a Wild Card as a non-physical entry (there may/may not be a specific category for non-physical "builds").

[zenrat]

I'd argue with you about that Womby.  I often make it up as I go, developing the back story later to fit what I have glued together.
Sometimes there is no back story other than "a _________ in _________ service".

[NARSES2]

Are we allowed to think up the back story before the week starts or is that part of the build?

As far as I'm concerned, and I'm moderating the build, then yes you can think up the back story before the GB starts.

Some people need a backstory to build to, others form a backstory around a build, others just call it a ****** ******.

[PR19_Kit]

My backstory and build idea appeared simultaneously in my  head, and you'll see why when it appears on here. That's the only way it COULD have 'happened'.   

[Weaver]

I'd argue with you about that Womby.  I often make it up as I go, developing the back story later to fit what I have glued together.
Sometimes there is no back story other than "a _________ in _________ service".

What I call "Whifjitsu": the arcane martial art of wrangling the backstory to fit the model you actually ended up with...

[PR19_Kit]

What I call "Whifjitsu": the arcane martial art of wrangling the backstory to fit the model you actually ended up with...

See Kit's 2nd Rule................. 

[Old Wombat]

Even if you're just picking up the first random piece against which you'll be trying other random pieces & seeing what works, there is an underlying aesthetic at work &, within that aesthetic, is the germ of an idea, & that germ of an idea holds the DNA of a backstory.

[zenrat]

Even if you're just picking up the first random piece against which you'll be trying other random pieces & seeing what works, there is an underlying aesthetic at work &, within that aesthetic, is the germ of an idea, & that germ of an idea holds the DNA of a backstory.

Maybe.  I work on the principle "if in doubt, put it in the anime".

[Joe CalPo]

Okay, I have a name for her and came up with a whole new backstory. I wasn't impressed with the story I'd already written, it wasn't whiffy enough for me or us.

She's the USS East Jersey, an old frigate/corvette acquired by the nascent US Navy after the Revolution.

Building her out, looking forward to having fun rigging her.

[Joe CalPo]

Even if you're just picking up the first random piece against which you'll be trying other random pieces & seeing what works, there is an underlying aesthetic at work &, within that aesthetic, is the germ of an idea, & that germ of an idea holds the DNA of a backstory.

Maybe.  I work on the principle "if in doubt, put it in the anime".

Och, the anime! Our local IPMS has a Gundam squad always showing their snap-together yet REALLY expensive kits and then the very confusing backstories of which particular thread from which particular oddly-named anime.   
Of course many a modeler gives us whiffers the side-eye!     My favorites of those are people who build either sci-fi or telly/movie subjects, which are by their very nature what-if subjects!