Ever built a kit without using the instructions ?

the doog

Good grief! I can't imagine it! I put wrong parts on even WITH instructions! .....

Dont tell anybody but I did it! lol 

Good grief! I can't imagine it! I put wrong parts on even WITH instructions! .....

waynec

mustang1989

Sometimes following the instructions can be a bad thing. Like the decal placement on the instruction sheet below. Anybody see the problem????

 

 

if decal no. 2 represents kill marks don't they belong on the left side where it shows no. 19?. just a SWAG since anything in the air is just a target.

No,never had any reason to,hey wait do Dragon kits count as no instructions ?

I have a couple of times but not happily.

Once I bought a 1/72 Italeri C-130and a 1/72 DC-3 from the same vendor on eBay. He offered a shipping discount for multiple purchases.

Well he dumped all of the parts from both, about 1/2 off the sprues, into a plain box no decals no paperwork(as advertised for the Herc but not the Douglas).

Major hassle to sort out, but the price was right at about $ 10 each.

One that comes to mind right away is the old Aurora Jaguar XKE kit back in the 60's.  I acquired the kit second hand, with missing instructions.  

It was a beautiful kit with a highly detailed suspension and engine.  But it was like a jig-saw puzzle without the instructions.  I think it took me about a month of dry-fitting to figure out how the rear suspension and differential went together.  Finally figured it out by random luck - that was when I learned that the XKE has inboard rear disc brakes and I had been trying to figure out how to build it the way my limited knowledge of cars at the time thought it should be.

I've got one of the re-issued kits in my stash and plan to build it again someday, this time using the instructions.

Mark

mustang1989

Sometimes following the instructions can be a bad thing. Like the decal placement on the instruction sheet below. Anybody see the problem????

 

 

if decal no. 2 represents kill marks don't they belong on the left side where it shows no. 19?. just a SWAG since anything in the air is just a target.

Sometimes following the instructions can be a bad thing. Like the decal placement on the instruction sheet below. Anybody see the problem????

TarnShip brought up a good point regarding the assembly order.  I've wished on more than one model that I'd have done something in a different order than the instructions called for.  I learned to ALWAYS read through the instructions first before you start a build.  Build/paint/weather it in your head & look for problems before you cut the first piece off the sprue.  

built a cheyene attack helicopter about 40yrs ago. the instructions that came with it in the sealed box was for a huey helicopter. used the box art to build it & came out correct tho i never painted it being it was drab green to begin with.

Not without instructions but one of the instructions were so poor that I might as well not have them. It looked like a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy made on a photocopy machine that was running low on ink. I was on the internet all the time looking for photos of other people's models to see just where to hack do the pieces go. It is still work in progress.  

and BlackSmithn, I have to say that the NASA stripes on your Battleship model turned out beautiful, and the wiring on that Hemi engine is great.

but, to answer the OP, yes, I have,,,,,,,,but not one of the Hasegawa Tomcats or anything like that,,,,,in fact, a lot of the time the instructions have to be modified anyway. Many aircraft kits want us to put the clear parts on far earlier than is sensible.

Rex

That's how I ended up with my M4 Sherman Helldiver....

CN Spots

The older stuff maybe.  These new kits with hundreds of pieces, lots of extra parts and PE, like Eduard's Profipacks... no way.  Especially not for 30+ bucks.

Between these 2 sites I rarely don't have access to kit instructions: www.1999.co.jp/eng, www.model-making.eu

The older stuff maybe.  These new kits with hundreds of pieces, lots of extra parts and PE, like Eduard's Profipacks... no way.  Especially not for 30+ bucks.

Sure have, done it several times over the years, although I really prefer to at least have a set of instructions on hand or readily available for reference.

i have many times with various results  the only type of model i would recomend doing in this manner would be cars  building them is hard to screw up   the only painfully hard part of cars in the painting  getting that perfect gloos finish is  ......