discussion Shelf of Doom 😱

[Geoffers]

When I first returned to the hobby I was such a good lad. I tended to start a kit and stick with it until it was finished.

Lately however I seem to be acquiring a few “shelf queens” for one reason or another.

Currently residing on my shelf of doom I have:

Airfix 1/72 Phantom- not so much a shelf queen as I am still picking it up and doing a bit from time to time but progress is so slow

Italeri 1/72 Wellington- started but put to one side while waiting for some paint masks to arrive and not picked up since despite them arriving shortly afterwards.

Airfix 1/72 Spitfire Mk.22/24 construction more or less finished and put to one side for some reason that I can’t even remember

Airfix 1/72 Lightning - cockpit started, put to one side when I started something else.

Eduard 1/72 Spitfire - construction halted in disgust when I messed up the undercarriage - awaiting repair.

Not too many but they keep nagging me to finish them, like a siren call from the deep but there’s always something new and shiny to start first .

How do you chaps manage, finish everything you start or are you a procrastinator like me

Geoff.

 

[yak face]

That was something I used to suffer from when i was younger , always got lured by the shiny new release and the under construction ones got left aside . Since I started modelling again , i seem to have more patience and finish them , but I do usually have at least two on the go at the same time so I can swap between them which seems to keep the interest level up .

 

[pjgtech]

I tend to stick to one model at a time and finish it completely before starting the next one.
Although I m always thinking ahead about my next model and have ideas for things to make, diorama's, etc.
Currently I don't have a shelf of doom, (yet).

 

[Geoffers]

It’s probably only a matter of time Peter

 

[PaulTRose]

The way i build these days they get finished or binned as unbuildable

Ive got 1.....a tamiya bike whos decals are kaput.....one day i will get some aftermarket ones for it

 

[adt70hk]

I have a lot in the 'too be completed' pile but I now only start something once I have finished whatever I have been working on......

 

[minitnkr]

I have two, a modern semi-scratch RR fire truck & a WWII scratch 10ton wrecker. The model RR is my go-to when my mojo flags as it is on-going, there's always something to do.

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

I have had 2 models that made the shelf of doom. One was the 1/72 Dambusters Lanc which got relegated to the shelf when I made a complete hash of sanding down the fuzz seams, Anyway covid came along and we all went into lockdown so the Lanc was resurrected and turned out a half decent model in the end. The second one was my BAE Red Arrow Hawk which I completed this year after it made several trips to the shelf. I started it in 2020 and completed it 5 years later. Now I try to finish what I build and have found the group builds that I started taking part in last year a big help. I am a slow builder and all my builds this year are planned around a GB. So at the moment my shelf of doom is empty and hopefully will stay that way.

 

[Airborne01]

I plod on with one model until I hit an impasse, or I get bored or distracted by exterior forces - sometimes I start a simpler, less complex model whilst considering my way forward or domesticity rears its ugly head! Generally though I go from flash to bang on a single model!
Steve

 

[flyjoe180]

The only shelf of doomer for me is my Matchbox Panther, which I lost interest in after dropping it a second time. Totally repairable, just need motivation for the build to return.

 

[Valeron]

I have a few on the shelf. My plan this year was to clear them out. But it's increased by one instead.

i seem to lose focus. I dont know why as I genuinely do love the hobby. I am quite active in other hobbies etc so I guess I don't give it the time it needs.

 

[Richard48]

Big time guilty of this.Off the top of my head i think i have at least a dozen stalled projects.Some just need painting and for example ive a Hasegawa 48th RAF Phantom Fg1 that is waiting to be completed since about 1994!!!!.Plus my many armour builds.I get inspired to do something and then i lose interest far too quickly.Read books and watch youtube and then lose interest.I seriously need a rethink or cull a lot of my stash but usually end up buying stuff all over again.Maybe by only having say 12 kits in a stash is maneagable.I doth my titfer to any who dont start a kit before starting another.It was a simpler time as a youngster getting a model only on birthdays or Christmas and treasuring it and building it as best as i could.We werent well off at all and i think the odd kit brought some joy to me and i think all my purchases over the years have been sort of a comfort blanket.My wife despairs as we only have a small flat and no room to display stuff.But she says if i dont make much in my 60s then maybe time to be practical and sell a lot of stuff.I find it gets all consuming and stressful at times and its a hobby but i just wish i could finish things.Think its been over 20 years since i used an airbrush as i concentrated on figures for a long time.Dabbled in sculpting which was mediocre results but its a skill that takes years to perfect.Perhaps i should just use the old brushes or figures again or drop off the radar and see if the flame of interest ignites.
Richard

 

[Miko]

Yep, me too, various reasons stall my builds, non of them really insurmountable

However, I did complete something! Well, sort of??

Yaayy!! Born out of GuP experience, this one is missing the St Gloriana GA decals

(c'mon Ali express, I ordered them weeks ago, 4-10 days indeed!)




However

My shelf of doom includes

1/72 Sword Lightning T5 to be a raspberry ripple ETPS aircraft
Lost part and fit issues

1/72 Hasegawa Lightning F6 a Japanese 'what if'
Lost nose landing gear and decal issues

1/72 Airfix Classic Hawker P1127, because I really like prototypes
Cockpit canopy and nose fit issues requiring major surgery, mostly complete



Miko (seriously considering having another go at the JASDF Lightning)

 

[Geoffers]

Some interesting answers thanks guys.

Glad I’m not alone in having a few inhabitants on the shelf of doom, I don’t feel so bad about it now

Cheers,

Geoff.

 

[PaulTRose]

Miko (seriously considering having another go at the JASDF Lightning)

Sounds a plausible whiff.....needs to be done.....crack on

 

[Miko]

Sounds a plausible whiff.....needs to be done.....crack on

Yep, it's a single example offered as a trials aircraft to compete and compare against the F-104 in a similar way it was offered to NATO air forces in the 1960's

Had this happened it's conceivable that a licence production of Mitsubishi 'Inazuma' F1 (ライトニング) could have occurred​