Ever Get Scared Or Intimidated By A Model Kit

10 yrs ago I bought Dragon's 1/35 Tiger "3 in 1" , probably the hobby's most complex plastic armor kit at the time.  I opened it, saw the 1000+ parts and said, "Uh....later!"

Still sitting in the stash!!

Thanks! and they do love those clips. They're good men, but they are smart asses. My mom always hit them with the old 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree' cliche.

Neuman

My adult sons always ride me about my past self critiques, they'll say things like "Dad, this looks like crap, his left eyebrow is slightly thicker than his right" or "no, that's not the color of western Ukarainian mud."

  

LMAO! Sounds like they were raised well... or perhaps have seen a few too many re subtitled “Downfall” clips...

Good points. I'm starting to lower the bar myself and have stopped comparing my models to the award winning stuff. I find my family and friends are more impressed with my work than I am.

My adult sons always ride me about my past self critiques, they'll say things like "Dad, this looks like crap, his left eyebrow is slightly thicker than his right" or "no, that's not the color of western Ukarainian mud."

It's all about how much we enjoy doing this.

No.  I can build them all. Sure, they can be a bit of a challenge to paint and assemble, but I have enough patience to do most anything.  At least I think so.  They no longer need to be "award winners", anymore.  That takes all the pressure off, and no one realy cares what they look like.  Only me, and I just tolerate the final result.  I've been doing this to long to go nuts on little errors.

Hi;

 To be honest with you,YES! there have some ship kits that I rather back off from. Why? Well they aren't available in any scale now!

The Model Collect 1/72 T-14 Armata. The PE cage armour on the rear flanks consists of five vertical pieces and 18 horizontols ON EACH SIDE, with the top pieces bent in different places to form the outer frames. I've thought of a hundred ways this could go wrong (including a trip to the emergency ward to have it unglued from my fingers), and considering that I've never had much luck even with the PE brush guards on 1/72 Dragon Shermans and end up using the plastic parts, I've kept putting it off.

There are other things I don't like about the kit: the unprimed white metal hull and the two piece barrel (their other kits have one-piece barrels with open bores). I'm seriously considering selling it, then getting the Zvezda kit, which does the cages in plastic (though probably a little thicker).

All the time. I have just recently started model building again after decades of hardly doing it at all. I have a few excellent unbuilt kits that I'm not wanting to attempt at this point, so I'm practicing on cheaper kits until I'm more confident about my skill level.

Old Airfix, Hasagawa and Monogram kits are good for practicing and trying out new techniques.

My current goal is the Revell 1/72 Schnellboot s-100 with all the available photo etched parts.

When I was a kid, I attempted to build Monogram's Wright Flyer. Total fail on my part. Could not get the struts to line up and did not have anything like a biplane jig to assist with mounting the top wing. I finally made another attempt earlier this year, some 40 years after my first failed effort, and this time I was successful.

The 1/350 USS Texas I did earlier this year was intimidating only for all the PE ladders and rails, but that turned out to be almost a piece of cake.

There are lots of parts in the Airfix 1/24 Typhoon, but there were more in the 1/24 Mosquito. The Typhoon won't be a problem.

i also have the 1/72 Fine Molds Millennium Falcon, and while there are a lot of parts, where I would say I have some dread about it is my plan to light that bad boy up - engine, cockpit, running lights. I put some wheat lights in a Monogram Hu-16 I did; they work but are not bright at all. I had more success using LEDs to light up a Moebius Iron Man, but I've never tackled anything as big as the Falcon with lights. I will likely take a stab at the Revell Republic Cruiser, Fine Molds Slave 1 or Fine Molds Y-Wing before attempting the Falcon. In other words, I will work through smaller projects to build confidence before tackling something like the Falcon.

Yep, then I built it and got over it. I shall never surrender!

I don’t worry too much about damaging kits as I build them. I have plenty of practice fixing that now... But I do confess that some new tool kits turn me off with their over engineering. I’ll build the ones in my stash one day. But likely as long term projects because I tend to lose interest on the high parts count kits and set them aside.

5-6 years ago yes, but, now I welcome the challenge of any kit.

I had one that was very intinadating, at least the paint job was promising to be.  It was the 1/350th U.S.S. Enterprise starship from the first movie.  I ended up selling it and the extras I picked up for it at the last Modelpalooza..

castelnuovo

Nope. I don't like kits with lots of PE parts. They are fiddley to work with and once painted over, weathered and dirtied up they don't make hack of a difference but add to the price of the kit. I don't feel intimidated, I just don't like them.

 

The "state of the art" in that league is only as far as the major companies not including details in the plastic that would need to be cut off because they are crude. And maybe a little PE included.

I agree with you about aircraft. I don't think PE is representative at the larger scales.

Nope. I don't like kits with lots of PE parts. They are fiddley to work with and once painted over, weathered and dirtied up they don't make hack of a difference but add to the price of the kit. I don't feel intimidated, I just don't like them.

yes , with expensive PE .

modelcrazy

Every time I put a ship into a seascape.

 

Ut Oh.....The wet stuff is getting almost deep enough to need a dive suit and helmet.  The water master is joking with us, at least he still has a sense of humor.

Every time I put a ship into a seascape.

Other than that, what GM said

Well, that $170, two and one-half foot long Star Trek USS Enterprise kinda glares at me funny whenever I open the closet...  so I wrapped it up in a garbage bag and no more problem! 

Gary

As I become more comfortable with processes and such I have found that most screwups can be fixed, so I stress much less about messing things up.

When I first started building though, yeah, big time, and for good reason... I screwed up a lot! On the first few builds I'd get two copies in order to make 1 good one. No joke. Fortunately, I think I'm past that, I hope. 

The only time I have ever felt aprehensive is when I contemplated an extremely large piece count and complexity, such as a large plank on frame boat kit or a Pocher car kit. Even then, it is not intimidation but rather looking at it and not having the commitment or patience to complete the build....

Basically, for me, it is something that I know will take many months or even a couple years to finish to the standard I would want. In the end I just look at others who build them and enjoy thier work as if it could be mine.  

Scared or afraid... nope. Lack of fortitude or focus to see an age long build to the end....yes.

Ben

Only a few, wooden ship kits mostly.

Otherwise some of these big plastic kits with thousands of parts do get set aside partially built when get frustrated with them.

I also give or throw away almost all of my builds, so I don't take any of it too seriously.

I've got four (3 carriers and a BB) that have me intimidated, but more for the extensive PE that is on them, and one of the carriers you can't get most of it anymore.....but one day, one day....

Scared or intimidated?  Sure, all the time.  That's how builds end up on my Shelf of Doom.  I'll start a build with some ambition to do something, and then hit a technical snag, or just hit a step where the fear of messing it up seizes me and I freeze.  Which is silly, I know, but it's a failing of mine.

A club member had the Fine Molds 1/72 scale Millenium Falcon kit at a meeting when it was new. It was awesome, but very detailed and a lot of pieces parts. Not really intimidated, but I knew if I ever got one, that I wouldn't do anything with it.

Just too much plastic that would forever be hidden.

never felt like that. On just about every build i will lose or break a part, it can either be repleaced from spares, scratchbuilt or just covered up. Once i have bought a kit, my interrest in its value is gone, i buy to build them.

No,if I buy its to build.That being said I have been apprehensive about some kits,a high parts count,confusing instructions,or a special build that I have been looking forward to.If I am I slow down,take my time,study the instructions,work in silence,and if things are not clicking,perhaps I am fumbling around,knocking stuff over,I stop for the night,take a deep breath and start up another day when my mind set is better.

Every time I buy a new one however it passes.

    Are the Rare kits re-issued with new tooling? If they are truly OOP then to build or not to build really comes into play. 

     Unfortunately old kits unless they are completely sealed and pristene don't gain much value monitarily over time. They mean and are worth alot to you, which is fine, however someone else may pick it off of you for pennies on the dollar and add it to the spare parts bin.

My advice is, if you want to build them hone your skills on something else until your ready, or just sit back and let them be the corner stones of a massive stash.