Should I ruin another kit?

[The Smythe Meister]

"Should I ruin another kit?".....
OF COURSE YOU SHOULD :thumb2: ....
.... I've been ruining/butchering kits for over ten years now and I'm STILL plugging away!
..... As has been said Steve,if you're enjoying yourself,keep on keeping on.:tongue-out2:

[boatman]

HI Steve as has been said we all make mistakes as im not really happy with my tomcat build fittin in these opening fusalagre panels an these are not as good as i was hopein for so maybe im makein a big mistake there but im gonna push on an hope it will look better when sprayed gull grey paint SO YOU YES CARRY ON an you will improve
ATB
Chrisb

[Guest]

HA! Mistakes, make them all the time, drop the scalpel point down into my foot on a regular occasion, glue the wrong part into the right hole or vice versa, not a problem, mop up the blood or have a mutter under my breath and when asked "Is everything alright????" I supress the agony and call out "Of course just dropped a part...."
During my 30 years living in a truck and roaming all over Europe and beyond, I thought that at the weekends when I would more than likely be sat on some industrial estate from Friday afternoon untill Monday morning I could do some modelling - not a chance.... And so I started on my stash, I bought kits, conversion kits, etch parts, paints, tools and books for reference.... I schemed and planned all these fantastic models I was going to build, the shows I would attend and the medals I would win....
My first model after I finally retired was the Accurate Armour Chieftain Mk.10, conversion kit for the Tamiya Chieftain... Knew nothing about how resin could warp, or how some parts were just a figment of the moulders imagination, blow holes in the resin parts, just at the important point where everyone could see it... But I persevered with the model and when finally finished I put it on a base and rushed of the the then MAFVA Nationals at Duxford, paraded myself through all the admiring crowds (10 people actually) placed it on the table and kept coming back to listen in to the remarks and comments, puffing my chest out even more, and the head even bigger... Imagine the let down when no one stopped to admire all that work, pass a comment except when the show was over an I picked it up to return home and somone said "Oh! is that yours.." and not even a crap comment.
I still have that Chieftain, still on its base and still in the display case, It sits with the Chieftain Bridgelayer which some on the forum can attest to that it was a love/hate relationship to get it built let alone finished, the launching gear and even the whole bridge had to be scratchbuilt, Models that I have started on this forum have vanished both into the mist of time and the trash bin...
So I say to you, we have all been there, we have all suffered, we must all be mentally ill to put ourselves through this agony when we could be a couch potato getting brain dead watching football on the one-eyed god..
And now you have kicked yourself in the family jewels, you put it behind you, and you start another project, and you have learned a valuable lesson, even the best of us screw it up, I have a drawer that contains my Gold, Silver, Bronze certificates and the same in medals from the nationals, and a debit in my banking history of all the mistakes and failures I have made and that is just the models...

[scottie3158]

Don't let that put you off. If you don't make mistakes your not trying hard enough lol. The very best still get things wrong, that's why I do vehicles if I get it wrong I can put a tarp over it or cover it in mud.

[Peter Gillson]

Making mistakes is part and parcel of modelling. You should see my 'shelf of doom' of models I built but are not up to scratch for one reason or another. I try to look at the model, what went wrong and how I can ensure the same mistake happens again - usually a different one will happen!

[Flip]

Without a doubt, yes. DON'T PANIC, CONTINUE MODELLING :smiling5:
With each and every model you learn something new.
And it will just get better and better :thumb2:

[colin m]

Even now, after years building, when I open a new kit, with loads of parts, I sort of think 'Are we ready for this' ? Sometimes, no. I put it down. But eventually, I pick the cutters up, and we start.

[BarryW]

The whole point of modelling is to have fun. What you must avoid is getting stressed over it. Mistakes happen and they are part of the learning curve, just roll with it.

It’s frustrating when a kit actually fights you due to poor design, fit and/or instructions, in which case once the fun stops and it really starts getting to you, dump the kit.

Where it’s my mistake and i still make plenty, I just try to learn from it and make the best of it. The key is to enjoy it and to select subjects that interest you.

[Flip]

The whole point of modelling is to have fun. What you must avoid is getting stressed over it. Mistakes happen and they are part of the learning curve, just roll with it.

I know it's true Barry, but it does me good to keep hearing it from time to time. Thanks. :thumb2:

[Peter Gillson]

One thing I forgot to add is keeping sub-standard builds provides useful models to practice painting and weathering. i have practices different camo schemes on old models. It doesn't matter what they are - I've practices ww3 german cammo on post war british AFVs!.

Peter

[Miko]

Scale modeling is a learning process, we start out not really knowing what to expect and through experience we improve,
and because of that process it's a series of problem solving exercises, this is good!

If your starting point is 'I don't want to ruin another kit' then that's really being hard on yourself, you managed to recover your helicopter kit, so, if something goes wrong with your next kit, you'll find a way to put it right! For me it's all about planning and taking time to complete the build properly, I have made many horrific mistakes,

Using a big blob of polystyrene cement in a nose cone to fix ballast weight, I had a Tornado ADV with a wrinkly nose for a couple of months before it cured enough to sand and fill back into shape.

I've fixed tail planes, landing gear doors and everything else that's symmetrically opposite on the wrong side,

Thought I knew better than the instructions and left parts off to make painting easier only to find they don't fit once the fuselage is closed up!

Not adding enough ballast weight to prevent a tailsitter, drilled a hole in the forward bulkhead of the nose landing gear and slotted lead shot through the hole!

Poor preparation for paint job, painting on a kit that has been stood for a while and gathered dust makes for an interesting finish! I'm yet to find a paint I cannot strip back to bare plastic and repaint, (take a bow MrMuscle oven cleaner)

The worst was when I melted a kit (Frog Fairey Delta 2) by leaving it too close to a fan heater to dry the paint! layers of plasticard to build up the sagging aera before sanding back to shape and rescribing panel lines

Part dissolved an under carriage wheel while trying to paint strip acrylic paint with Tamiya lacquer thinner, shaped it the best I could and live with it until I find an after market replacement, that build is in 'Miko retrospective' see if you can find it!

Losing bits to the carpet monster, I had a Jaguar with 'bicycle' undercarriage for a while! Clear back the furniture and give the floor a good vacuuming then sift through the detritus in the dust recepticle, the lost part turns up most of the time!
The longest the carpet monster held a part to ransom was over ten years! Only when we had a new carpet fitted did the Matchbox 1/72 SAAB Tunnan canopy turn up!

As a boy I was frustrated with a build, it was a German night fighter, (can't remember which?) with an antenii array on the nose, it just wouldn't go right and I kept breaking bits off, I lost my temper and threw it at the wall, i was literally in tears! Spent the next day putting it back together again, wasn't perfect, but it hung from my bedroom ceiling for many years as a constant reminder that patience really is a virtue worth having

There are more but I think that's enough!

Miko (I really don't understand why guys bin kits, there is always salvage to be had)

[Guest]

I really don't understand why guys bin kits

Same. I put models that are giving me too much grief back into the box, or I might even try to sell them (possibly for nothing more than postage), but throw it in the bin …?!

[Miko]

Same. I put models that are giving me too much grief back into the box, or I might even try to sell them (possibly for nothing more than postage), but throw it in the bin …?!

Always something salvageable

Miko (frugal northerner)

[Dave Ward]

Always something salvageable

Miko (frugal northerner)

The technical term is 'reduced to produce' - like ' constructive total loss ' means a write off!
Eschew obfuscation.......................
Dave

[Miko]

The technical term is 'reduced to produce' - like ' constructive total loss ' means a write off!
Eschew obfuscation.......................
Dave

Management speak eh? Cah!

Makes you wanna 'degastrificate' your lunch! Ha!

Miko (styrene assembificator)