discussion Modelling mishaps

[Steve-the-Duck]

Just thinking of all the unforced, unavoidable errors you might make in any build. Not necessarily something going wrong with the kit itself, but things we, as modellers, do to ourselves.
Repeatedly

There's the usual: sticking your fingers together; stabbing yourself with a scalpel
But how about washing brushes in a mug of tea rather than cleaner

Anyone got any spectacular ones?

 

[Ian M]

I had a full cup of paint from a Badger anthem 'fall off' the airbrush and land in my lap. New Jeans too!
Had a Humbrol hobby knife, one of the old round ones, roll off the desk and impale my foot. Bought some Swann and Morton handles. Heavy and FLAT and never go to the bench without shoes of some kind.
Knocked a whole new opened bottle of Ammo extra thin over with the brush while putting it back in. On a new cutting mat, naturally!
Closed a Spitfire up, canopy on, seams sorted and painted. Found the cockpit interior the next day hiding on the bench!
Dropped a Kitty hawk Jag I had been fighting with for a week or two on the floor. Did not end well. binned it.

 

[Guest]

I don't do mishaps, I have God hates me days.
Just laid a new carpet, trying out the new airbrush, filled up the cup and pressed the trigger to get the air pressure - forgot to put the needle back in.... Luckily the carpet was in my hobby room.
Went up to the shed to do some spraying, ran the extension lead out, plugged the plug into the wall socket, forgot to turn on the electric so it was all the way back to the wall socket, took the plug out, re-wound the extension and put it away then could not work out why the compressor was not working....
Finished one of my builds then realised I had put the tracks on backwards...
Went looking for a Challenger 1 model that I had put away in a Challenger 2 box, went back and forth looking, checked the bins, up into the attic, up to the shed, into the spare room cupboard. Spent hours clearing out shelves, cupboards, moved all the boxes from under the bench, no sign of it. Convinced I had put it in the recycle bin weeks before I settled for second place and got out the Challenger 2 - looked at the box top and there written in Sharpie pen black letters 'Challenger 1 - needs track'.....
Or how about in the attic sorting out the stash, in model making dream world, wife comes along and moves the ladder out of the way unknown to me, then goes out to the shops....

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Looking into the paint cup when backwashing with lacquer thinner, squirted it straight into my eye. It hurt. A lot.

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

I've just done another. All my paints are carefully separated in trays, by colour or usage
So - primers, varnishes and weathering together; metallics together; browns and greys; primary sets; greens; RAF stuff; BEF stuff; ten other boxes
I'd found a particular green for overwashing oluve spray for all my late war Churchills; Vallejo Reflective green
And then I couldn't find it again, with four tanks waiting. Looked through every tray. Looked through my brother-in-laws trays. Looked through the basic coloiurs it came from
Twice

It was, ofcourse, in with my special box of Regia Aeronautica coloours. Which is on top of all the others. Which I have to get to first.._

 

[Mark1]

Knocked over a bottle of ca, the cutting matt and desk have become one!

 

[Jim R]

Working on a 1/35 scale figure. The fit was terrible. Spent ages getting the right arm to fit. Lots of chopping, sanding and filler. Eventually all looked pretty good, not perfect but not bad. Then realised I had altered the left arm. Chucked the whole thing in the bin and gave up for the day.

 

[boatman]

WELL Chris my mishaps were very dangerguos as i was cuttin a big block of balsa when younger an pullin the stanley knife towards me an it came out of the block balsa stright into my top part of my leg an the skin opened up as big as a hens egg an boy did it bleed an had to to stick my bleedin leg in my modelin box so as not to get blood all over my mums new carpet an this was 10 pm at night so it was straight to docs for him to sow me up wont try an make that mistake again

an also when building my USS NIMITZ CARRIER i was super gluein a bit of bendy plasti card an it sprang back the glue right into my eye an boy did that burn an hurt but i kept me marbles together an ran to the sink an splashed cold water into my eye which later in hos the doc said i did the right thing an not panick but the c/a landed very near the clear part of my eye an burned a hole in my eye an doc said a couple of mm more over an i would have been blinded for life but he gave me some ointment to put in my eye an pull my eyelid down an waggled my eye about an it worked like a sand paper to smooth the c/a crater in my eye so wear safty glasses when usein this glue or any glue come to that

AN WHEN Building my HMS TIGER i had a very near mishap when runing the eletric motors at full speed as the vibrations lossened a pin in the U/J an the spingin thounds of rpm U/J hit the bottom of the hull an got stuck an the whole big motor tore free of its mountins an flew out of the hull just missing my face boy if that had hit me i woud have been in A/E again OH DEAR this modelin lark is not safe lol but they are the worst mishaps that have happened to me over the yrs an there maybe more that i cant remember at the moment but this is over the last 30yrs span
chrisb

 

[PaulTRose]

Lost count how many pots of paint ive knocked over.....bench and carpet used to be alsorts of colours lol

Dribbled a bit of ca on my jeans.....ca dosnt like cotton......the sudden heat and smoke coming from my thigh soon got my attention

 

[rtfoe]

I sometimes mix my paints in thin plastic pots, with all the clutter on my table there was once they flew off the table from a blast of my airbrush. Since then I have them put far away.
Did you hear the one about my cat running off with a kit part?

Cheers,
Wabble

 

[PaulTRose]

Did you hear the one about my cat running off with a kit part?

Yes.....i looked high and low for a crucial part......scratch made a replacement.......hour later cat jumps in my lap with the part in her long fur....doh!

 

[simontie]

Emptied out some small bleached parts in to the sink of my 1/6 YZ250, watched them all go down the plughole I ran to the outside sewer cover, opened it and after several flushes of the sink i found most of them ( I re bleached them) and carried on but for awhile i really thought id lost them for good

 

[Ian M]

Emptied out some small bleached parts in to the sink of my 1/6 YZ250, watched them all go down the plughole I ran to the outside sewer cover, opened it and after several flushes of the sink i found most of them ( I re bleached them) and carried on but for awhile i really thought id lost them for good

Same reason I pour though a serve.lol.

 

[Peter Gillson]

Like many others I have had my fair share of CA mishaps; spilt and fixing stuff to the worktop/cutting mat. And yes - on my trousers, ruining them.

Spilling paint, airbrush cups falling off - on onto my slippers. Paint splattering onto a good shirt.

the absolute worst was hobby related, albeit my other hobby of woodworking; i cut my thumb with my circular table saw. Suffice to say it is not good if you can do a 'V' sign using only one thumb! And I wasted a whole day of hobby tine in hospital - great nurses and surgeon.

peter

 

[boatman]

Like many others I have had my fair share of CA mishaps; spilt and fixing stuff to the worktop/cutting mat. And yes - on my trousers, ruining them.

Spilling paint, airbrush cups falling off - on onto my slippers. Paint splattering onto a good shirt.

the absolute worst was hobby related, albeit my other hobby of woodworking; i cut my thumb with my circular table saw. Suffice to say it is not good if you can do a 'V' sign using only one thumb! And I wasted a whole day of hobby tine in hospital - great nurses and surgeon.

peter

YES Peter i remember that happening to you an it must have been agaony
chrisb

 

[Peter Gillson]

Hi Chris - strangely there was no pain at all. There must be some truth in the old saying "no sense, no feeling"!

Peter

 

[A_J_Rimmer]

Okay so here's one. Years ago before I worked from home, I used to model on an old tray in my car during lunch breaks. I once dropped a full bottle of Humbrol liquid cement over the back seat. I had drive around with all the windows open for a fortnight - it was January...

 

[boatman]

Okay so here's one. Years ago before I worked from home, I used to model on an old tray in my car during lunch breaks. I once dropped a full bottle of Humbrol liquid cement over the back seat. I had drive around with all the windows open for a fortnight - it was January...

WOW Arnie bet that was chilly to say the least but better than the pong from the glue as ive found breathin that in for long periods gives me a whackin headake an now when i model im wearin a smask an glasses or the helmet magnifier for protection as nr losein my sight was a big wake up call for me
chrisb

 

[Tim Marlow]

I once dropped a soldering iron, but managed to catch it on its way down. Trouble is, I caught the hot end……

 

[boatman]

I once dropped a soldering iron, but managed to catch it on its way down. Trouble is, I caught the hot end……

Yes Tim ive done the same thing as its just a reflex reaction to stop it landin on the carpet but its imossible in that split second of catchin it goin down to tell which end you will be catchin isnt it ?
chrisb