Model vs Art Piece

Abduction! A new Space Hopper-ization candidate?

I was talking about the Space Hopper conversion with 30Squares' Head of Research a couple of days ago. At one point he mentioned that it was interesting that I had ground off the hopper side detail in the areas where the decals were placed so they would adhere better. It seemed that by removing detail this transformed the project from being an exercise in model making to one of creating an art piece, something lower down in the hierarchy of miniatures. It's true the Space Hopper would never win a contest, be featured in a magazine, or be taken seriously by real model railroaders, but it was fun to build, and brings back some pleasant, light-hearted memories. So, although it isn't a model, or an art piece for that matter, I think of it as a significant object built in the style of Casualized HO, in so-called HO^c.