My top 10 personal model disasters

Just completed the 1/350 USS Hornet.  I put it on the coffee table and went to open the curio cabinet door to display it. Then I heard a crash and an, "Oh no". My girlfriend was carrying a jacket on her way out and caught the edge and dragged it off the coffee table.  It's still in the box waiting for major surgery, but my skills may not be good enought yet.  

This one may be stretching this topic a little (model trains) but with all the falling models stories, I just have to throw this one in for laughs.  Back in the 80’s I was assigned to Langley AFB and was a member of the Hampton Roads Model Railroad Club in Yorktown.  I had been nursing a vintage Athearn 4-6-2 (circa 1962) steam locomotive with a total motor and gearing refit; along with super detailing with Cal-Scale and Cary lost wax castings.  Our layout had an interesting quark in that when you entered there was a flip up section of the track that allowed members to walk in rather than “duck under”.  Well, you can see where this is going.  I was running my prize baby with a consist of heavyweight passenger cars during one of our operating sessions and some how became distracted in a conversation with another member of the club.  Someone came in, flipped up the “duck under” just as my train emerged from the adjacent tunnel.  Someone yelled from across the room to “STOP THAT TRAIN” just as my beloved 4-6-2 took a scale 360 foot plunge (shades of that classic scene from “Bridge over the River Kwai” when the train plunges into the river after the bridge is blown up by Alic Gennis) onto the floor below, shattering it into a kazillion pieces.  Shortly after the disaster, the club installed a kill circuit that would cut the power to either end of the “duck under” when it was lifted.  

Radarider

I've had many disasters over the years, actually more than I like to remember. I remember I was building AirFix Vulcan bomber I have been wanting to build this model for years. After seeing the real thing when I was stationed in England at the Mildenhall airshow I thought it was the coolest thing. Everything was going right with this model. There was no fitting problems the paint job looked great the decals looked great. Here's what happened I was putting the last decal on while applying this last decal the model slipped off my desk fell onto the floor and shattered like it was made out of glass I was devastated I've never in my life seen a model break in that way and I've been modeling for 40+ years. As I said earlier I have had plenty of disasters. That's why the manufacturers make so many of the same Kit they know will buy more than one. Keep modeling

2013 ;

    I am hard at work on TRUMPETER'S U.S.S.ARIZONA . .Got the different levels done and realized I didn't put the P.E. ladders in . Oh Boy , have you ever tried to use tweezers a foot long to place P.E. ? Capitol , Grade " A " disaster . Disassembled all to start over .That is where she is right now . See , age doesn't make you a good modeler , using your brain does . Mine must've been on a coffee break that day !

mitsdude

That was 45 years ago. I still have her. She is stuffed inside a box in my storage shed. BTW, I'm referring to the model not the girl!

 

badda-bing!  Excellent!  Thanks for the laugh!!

Gary

I had just finished rigging my Revell 1/96 Constitution. Building the actual ship took about 2 months. Rigging was a 2 year ordeal.

I had a new girl friend at the time and she wanted to come over to see me. However, she was baby sitting her 3 year old brother and brought him with her. He was showing us his new basketball and how high it could bounce. Ole Old Ironsides took a broadside. Hit the floor masts down.  

That was 45 years ago. I still have her. She is stuffed inside a box in my storage shed. BTW, I'm referring to the model not the girl!

Just did it.  1/48 Hobby Boss a6 Intruder about ready for paint. Radome was the slightest bit small at the sides so I had the bright idea of boiling it so I could stretch the edges a bit.  The part shrank about 2 scale sizes in the hot water.  Currently in the process of overlaying styrene strips over the shrunken nose to trying and save this build.  I believe with enough time and putty, I'll save it.  Don't know what made me think plastic wouldn't shrink in boiling water but live and learn.

My worst one just happened a week or so ago. I was starting out on Meng's M2A3 Bradley BUSK III. The second step called for building the shock absorbers. Three pieces for each shock. No problem. I pull out the CA because the middle piece is a steel rod and the other two pieces are plastic. I put them all together and set them aside to dry. Then I notice the little icon on the instructions that advises you to NOT glue these pieces together. Well, of course you don't because they are meant to be movable. So I  try to pull them apart but its too late. I pull out the CA remover and squirt that all over everything and put it aside. The next day I sit down at the desk and find that the plastic pieces had been melted by the CA remover. Thanks to Meng, who so far has proven to have a great customer service department, I'll be receiving the replacement parts in a week or two.

Mine was when my mom accidently dropped the Budweiser horse train kit on the floor smashing to to pieces. (she was doing housework and decided the shelving needed dusting) I spent weeks working on that kit. Didn't talk to mom for two weeks after that.

chango

Mine is a superdetailed 1/200 Bismarck that was almost finished except for the rigging. We moved last January and I managed to drop it. She's still in pieces in a box... I can't bear to look at it.

Ouch !!!   That would make me sick to my stomach,the time,the money,the effort.....just horrible,I feel your pain dude

My ultimate disaster was when I rigged us my Revell CSA Alabama using fly-fishing monofilament.  Upon completion there was some slack in various sections so I figured I could take my heat gun and “gently” tighten up the rigging.  WRONG!  Should have used my mom’s hair dryer.  One swipe and the main mast buckled under the strain of the shrinking lines, most of them parted and curled up like little curly ques.  There is one consolation to this though; just remember Leonard Nemoy’s classic comment as Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn “We lean by doing, don’t we Mr. Savvick?”.

Yup, Falcon I'm with you there.

TIP ;   I bought a fine line marker .005 size from a craft store that gets in those panel lines real good. I think they use them for scrapbooking.

I'm tearing my last few hairs out trying to glue tiny PE parts with out the glue showing.

I view countless model galleries wondering " how in the hell do they do that" on many different techniques.

But the joy of modeling to me is finallly figuring it out and moving on to rhe next impossible task.

yep,  I have destroyed many models trying out a new advanced technique I read about online or magazine.   I have since learned to practice on old or scrap models first.     To this day there are some techniques I just cant do correctly.   Filling in seams with putty,  aircraft panel lines with ink are just a few that I cant seem to grip no matter how many times I try

A You tube video recommends using Krylon Fusion gloss black as a primer/base for Alclad II metal finish.

Not beiing a rattle can fan, I decanted the Krylon and srayed it using my airbrush.   Boy, THAT didn't work !  My whole plane now has a wrinkle finish even when I removed most of the paint.

Mine is a superdetailed 1/200 Bismarck that was almost finished except for the rigging. We moved last January and I managed to drop it. She's still in pieces in a box... I can't bear to look at it.