Most Intimidating Unbuilt Kit in Your Collection?

I would have to say Hellers Solei Royale, there is just something about the thought of trying to get all that rigging exactly how it should be. The rigging thread just dosn't seem to want to go or do what it is suppose to.

Probably Tamiya's 1/12th Porsche 935 just because of the amount of extra detail that could/should be done and I couldn't afford the superdetail kit. Failing that several John Day 1/43rd kits - anyone familiar with those will know what I mean!!

Right now I would have to say that I have two that come close. My F-8 to RF-8 conversion (1/72) and the YP-37 kit I picked up years ago.

believe it or not.. . it's Trumpeters HH-65 Dolphin helicopter... not because it is difficult... because except for the canopy it's not... it's not because of a lot of pieces... maybe 90 in the whole kit...

I am doing it for my dad and I want it to be perfect... he used to make the most exquisite models for me when I was a child... hand painted camo without a brush stroke... hand painted canopies no masking.... etc...

I am really nervous about this one because he specifically asked for it when I got back into modeling.... he is in the USCG Auxillary now, and wants it for his desk.

As a back up plan I just won a set of two Widgeon kits off ebay as I am more comfortable with planes vs. helicopters.... and me and this kit have had issues already.... this is the second kit of it I am working on of it. I finally got the canopy down... but it might be a post WWII model on his desk he gets........

I suppose for me, it would be Italeri's Rolls=Royce Phantom II, not because of the kit itself, but the paint. The original car has polished aluminum hood and fenders., and silver paint just wan't going to be shiny enough. and I just can't bring myself to paint it some other colour. I considered foil, but was intimidated by the prospect of putting it over all those curves. Now that I've discovered Alclad, I may have another go at it.

Richard Bartrop
http://bartrop.purrsia.com

QUOTE: Originally posted by Dave Toews Actually I have two, the Tamiya Swardfish and the Revell Snowberry. The Swardfish has been sitting for about two years. I want to do a great job on it as its my favoret biplane but my skills just arn't up to the task to do it justies. The Snowbery is it's size. I have had it for over three years now. Not only do I need the pace to build it but a place to berth it afterwards. I build a wall bookcace in our guest room some years back with it in mind but by the time it was finished all the books and my wifes teddy bears have taken up all the shelves. I'm planning on building more shelves and cupboards in what we call the Office. That might aleviate the space problem but I some how dought it.

It may not sound so intimidating, but the trumpeter Challenger 2 is pretty hard for me. so many tiny parts!! second to that is the Italeri 1/48 Me 262A-1a. I am so close to finishing it, yet i can't... all because of the EXTREMELY messed up paint job done by that extremely crappy first airbrush.

mine is probably Italeri's M60A1 Patton

Accurate Miniatures McClaren M8B..... I'm an armor and wings guy normally. I'll pull this thing off the shelf occaisionally to "Build something different" pull the lid off, pull out the instruction "BOOK ! " look at it for a while......Sigh, put the book back in, lid on, then back on the shelf. Then I say, "Individual track links aren't really THAT tough...."

I've got two that I'm sure will be a matter of years before I start. Hasegawa 1/48 F104C STARFIGHTER (soooo many parts) and the "monster" of my collection Aviation USKs limited run Savoia Marchetti SM-82 vacuform/pe/resin. I have yet to build a vacuform kit and I don't think this is a very conservative starter. Love that plane though.

great thread,

mahoney

Scud launcher by Dragon. I build mostly 1/72, so this thing is huge, and there must be at least a million parts to it. (Looks that way through the plastic bags)

The other one is a Tupolev kit (???) of the Ant-25 in 1/72 scale. It is about the roughest, ugliest kit I have ever seen. I don't even want to try filling all of the gaps in the seams with putty. I am going to have to use lots of strip plastic, and even some sheet stock. THe fit looks terrible, and I will have to mine the smaller parts out of sheets of flash. It is probably my favorite aircraft, so I am going to do the kit, and do it well, but it will be a real rough project. I also have no clue where I would ever get another kit if I mess something up on this one.

I have to say the most intemidating kit by far is the 1/96 Constitution. I plan on really working a number on it so I am building the Jolly Roger Pirate ship as a warm up exercise. I primarily build 1/350 ships, so this will be a stretch for me.

Most intimidating Kit for me would be a kit not known to you guys.

1/6 scale sitting Morrigan from Darkstalker(aka Vampire Hunter)

Very nice pose on the Kit, pity is that the casting sucks and I will need to do a LOT of cleaning up and re-sculpt a few sections that re too rough or missing.
Also I am thinking of redoing her wings using wire and wooden plane covering, those wings are just too thick and badly marred.
Yeah, I could fix them most likely but it would longer than making new ones.

Actually the first Anime Resin Kit I ever bought and didn't know that it was the guys first Kit, he has gotten way better since than.
But than if you buy from the smaller manufacturers(1~2 man companies) the quality tends to be lower.

Will get round to it one day I guess, as I REALLY want to finish this kit.

Probably my K5e. (hasegawa 1/72) I screwed up the paint job years ago and haven't been very eager to fix it. It will be involved.
For some dumb reason I'm really balking at assembling my P-61 fuselage. I've always been slightly intimidated by fuselage assembly, don't know why.
I'm not looking forward to my Mini Hobby 1/350 USS Bunker Hill since all the instructions are in Chinese. The assembly doesn't bother me but it will be my first legitmate attempt at a ship, so I'm not really familiar with the colors.

Toss up between the Heller VICTORY.Hull finished.My eyesight ruined painting the details and chequer.New wood masts and spars plus brass cannons to replace the kit parts still sitting in the box laughing at me.The other is the AMATI wooden kit of the Americas Cup yacht 'Endeavour' The larger version! 6 feet high and 5 feet long when finished. I know I have nowhere and never will have anywhere to put it but just after selling my house and having cash in my pocket I just could not resist it.

By far, it's the Pocher Mercedes kit that I keep as far away from me as possible. Makes my sphincter pucker just to look at those bags of proton-sized parts...

I would have to say it's the Heller So'le Royale, I am hesitant about all the rigging. I want to build it very accurate.

It would have to be either my Classic Airframes 1:48 Westland Whirlwind or my Czechmaster Resin 1:72 Westland Wyvern

not sure which scares me the most!

cheers

MikeJ

1. Trumpeter 1/35 Leopold
2. Tamiya 1/35 Famo & Sd.Ah.116 trailer (plus the 4 Aber sets available for it.)

Gip Winecoff

My most indimidating kit is a Occidental T-6G Texan I'm building for a friend. Assembling the kit is pretty much straight-forward and I've added some after market PE parts. The problem is I am just about paralyzed over the fact that this plane may not be absolutely perfect in every way. My friend always expresses his admiration for my work, saying he can't beleive the quallity of my models. Of course, like most of us, I am my own worse critic and I know all the imperfections that those outside the hobby don't notice.

So now, here sits the kit, uncompleted, because I can't bring myself to finish it because I know it won't be perfect even though my friend will never notice and will heap praise on me for, in his opinion, my amazing talents.

A 1/32 USS Kennedy Gulf War Interactive F-14B Diorama.

Title: "SHOW OF MIGHT"

Description: A viewer interactive diorama showing a 1/32 F-14B on a portion of the deck on USS Kennedy. The cockpit of the jet can be opened or closed via a microactuator that can be activated by a control panel by the user. Similiarly, the user can activate all the different lightings on the jet with the correct frequency (based on the real F-14) via LEDs and flashers.

Material used:

1/32 Tamiya 1994 Version Tomcat F-14 ($90)
Teknic F-14B Cockpit Resin with PE (the $50 )
Teknic F-14B Exterior Conversion (the $30 )
Cam aftermarket Decal ($12)
Verlindon Osprey F-14 Photobook ($14)
Miscellaneous books on the F-14 and USS Kennedy (very expensive)
US Navy plan on the USS Kennedy (not easy to find or get)
Lumber for building the Carrier deck (not cheap)
Handmade metal parts (WILL be very labor intensive)
electrical accessories such as LEDs, circuits, switches, actuators.

...
AND micro medical tweezers, needles, and magnifiers.

Of course, the end result will show every rivet and bolt on both the carrier and the jet. The diorama will conform to the real thing in shape, color, marking, proportion, and detail (down to the nails)

Time planning to spend on project: 3 years

Started on: Not yet started.

Why: Very scared.

Heller's 1:100 HMS Victory. First, I'm not a sailing ship modeler. Second, I quote from an internet ad for the kit:

" Kit contains over 2100 parts, 300 yards of rigging line in four diameters, display base, 20 pages of plans and step-by-step instructions."

I got it dirt cheap and maybe once or twice a year I take it down and look at the sprues. I'm saving it for my retirement.

The other one that scares me is Tamiya's Enzo Ferrari. This kit is just too beautiful to subject to my talents - at least in their present state. Reading through the topic I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that feels this way.

a very old fujimi 1/72 f4f phantom II luftwaffe version - white milk. this is a very basic set, details are minimal, the decals have turned yellow, the paint scheme is white. i hesitate to start this one, trying to find replacement decals wil be a pain in itself. putting in extra effort to make it look good knowing fully well that it will most probably look like a toy next to my modern hasegawa kits built straight out of the box is too daunting for me still. yet knowing that doing a good job will mean a rare bird in my collection....i am torn just staring at it. can't get started.

I have a Monogram 1/24 #88 Quality Care Thunderbird "Dale Jarrett" from '98 still in the wrapper. I don't even remember where or why I bought it, I model primarily aircraft!

I would say tamiya's SAS landrover with eduard PE. never done PE yet........

QUOTE: Originally posted by scottrc QUOTE: Originally posted by wibhi2 QUOTE: Originally posted by Jim Barton I've seen that kit, wibhi2! Hundreds of wood parts that have to be bent to shape before being glued into place, plus instructions in Italian with a translation to definitely broken English! My father liked to build wooden ship models and he was about halfway through that kit when he got too sick to work on it and ultimately passed away. The half-finished model ultimately went to somebody in the retirement community that my dad knew who also likes to build ship models. (My mother did offer me the model, but having never built any kind of wooden ship model [let alone plank-on-frame], I decided against taking it as I would never finish it. Trying to do so would be like me picking up a guitar for the first time and trying to run off an Eddie Van Halen lick!) I am truely sorry for your loss. I have a lot of respect for the people who build these models. The wood working dosen't really bother me too much as I will eventially get it right. Though I am not looking forward too making all those little knots in the rigging and tieing off the canvas sails. I will never read Patrick O'brien and C.F. Forrester again Sounds like it was a Aeropiccola kit. I have built the Cutty Sark and am finishing the Endeavor from this company and I tell you, those instructions can only be used as kittybox liner. The kits don't have plans, just an exploded isometric drwaing of the whole ship. If the kits weren't given to me, I would have chosen to scratch build. BTW, reading Patrick O'Brien, C.S. Forrester, and my favorite, Alexander Kent (a.k.a. Douglas Reaman) always gets me in the ship building mood. Scott

Before he began the "Constitution," my father built the "Endeavour." I don't know if it was the Aeropiccola kit or not but he did a great job on it. Shortly before he started it, a 1/1 replica of the "Endeavour" stopped in Port Hueneme, California, during its round-the-world tour. I took dozens of pictures knowing my dad was going to build the model and he did a fantastic job. He even painted the model the true colors of the "Endeavour" rather than leaving it bare wood like many ship modelers do.

QUOTE: Originally posted by scottrc Sounds like it was a Aeropiccola kit.

It's the C. Mamoli kit. The plans are really good (10 double sided 18 X 24 Sheets)
I just need to be able to refer to what they are referring to and the broken english translation is damn near impossible to read.

QUOTE: Originally posted by scottrc BTW, reading Patrick O'Brien, C.S. Forrester, and my favorite, Alexander Kent (a.k.a. Douglas Reaman) always gets me in the ship building mood. Scott

K... now you got me. I'll have to go find Alexander Kent.

QUOTE: Originally posted by scottrc I rigged the futtock shouds on the foremast backwards.

Hell of a thing those futtock shouds!!!

Ummm what exactly are they Scottrc??

For me its Dragon's K5(E) leopold, mainly due to finding room to build it and finding somewhere to display it when completed.