Studs showing

Studs showing is a design aesthetic that leaves the studs visible in a finished model. The opposite of studless, studs showing is often used purposely to evoke the iconic look of LEGO sets produced before the 1990's.

Debates

Debates on the visibility of studs often occur when building models based on a prototype that is clearly smooth (ie: trains, cars, airplanes or spaceships. The question also arises amongst builders in the Town theme especially for roofs and floors or sidewalks (ie: the more modern modular house series use tiles to achieve smooth floors and sidewalks which do not allow for minifigs or details to be attached except in locations where a tile is replaced with a small plate.)