Scratchbuilding/detailng

One of the guys I work with gave me a spool of super thin Fiber optic cable...
I had an A-10 in my stash with AM cockpit parts...well it just screamed for lights.
I've spent months stringing Fiber optics to all the guages and have started on landing lights.
All leading to LED lights under the office, sealed in ..get this, plastic handles from Bic shavers to keep light from bleeding out, with the batteries being used as nose weights.
I'm modifiying the nose gear bay so it can be removed to replace batteries.

I really should have considered the work involved before starting, but the office looks real nice when you light it up.

Well, I had to go an do it. After 21 months of working on the Clipper Thermopoly and calling it "done" many times, I had to think I had to adjust the jackstays and the upper futtock shrouds in the upper main mast. Well, after an hour of superimposed surgury working with tweezers, I got the job done and was ready to marval at my accomplishment, when I forgot to notice that the tweezer in my left hand was fouled in the main braces for the upper royal yard (my hand fell asleep). Well, I pulled back with glee and with it came the whole upper mainmast assembly. She now looks like the captain forgot to reef the royals during a hurricane. Well, another big ball of twine to add to my collection. (Building large sailing ships and having cats tend to creat big balls of twine mixed with plastic)

Sometimes it doesn't pay to try to add "a little more". I also dumped a 1/2 bottle of Weld-On on a model the night before a contest trying to add "Remove Before Flight" tags. It was a 1/32 A6 Intruder and I was so impressed with all the accuracy and detail I had put into it. Needless to say, it ended up being a representation of an A6 being hit by a SAM.
RC flers have a saying "Ah, just one more flight" which usually ends in disaster. So does "Ah, just one more detail".

Scott

I know the feeling, I had to call a halt to my tiger project and pronounce it "done". The more I put into it, the more I found I had to put into it!!! ha!


After I finished this, I had to build two or three kits OOB for therapy.....

Steve

I still build my models straight from the box. I have been taking baby steps with detailing and customizing though. I built a VW beetle for my fiance(she wanted it purple) But hey, I'm in love. Anyway, I had a spare set of racing slicks from an old car that I took apart because it really stunk. I put those on the back. I enjoyed the challenge of putting huge tires on the rear axle and making it work. It looks awsome though, huge slicks on the back, dinky little tires in the front. It looks mean with the "flower power" and smilie decals I put on there. For you guys who go ober nuts on detailing, maybe you should alternate between a detail build and a straight from the box build. I've thrown a few models together just for the experience of putting one together. Now I'm at that transitional point where I don't want to just build a model, I want to make an accurate representation of the full scale subject. So it's pretty cool.

I gather up all the references I can for a build, size up what needs to be done to "accurize" the kit that I have, then decide how far I'm willing to go on that particular build. During the build I'll modify my plans as I go, sometimes adding things I want to do, sometimes cancelling things. But I usually have a good idea of what level of detail or accuracy I'm going for from the beginning, and I usually stick pretty close to it. I even write out a list of all the modifications and additions I'll need to make to reach my goals with the build.
I really find all that planning and logistics great fun!

I usually buy several reference books per model along with some aftermarket/PE stuff. But I still try to streamline the detailing unless it's a very special build.

Dave

Unfortunately yes. Somewhere down stairs there there is a box with an M-109A5 with a totally rebuilt breach, scratch built rammer, all the hydraulic lines, electrical lines, switches, operating handles, aiming devices and ammo racks in the turret and the drivers compartment is completly detailed and painted. The gunner's compartment is about 75% completed. I've got the operators manual, the maintenance manual and the parts manual which is probably the major problem. I ain't got the brains to recognize when it's "good enough". So I got burned out about 3 years ago and haven't worked on it since.

Yep. I was in the last stages of finishing a 66 Chevelle that I started in August last year. About a week ago, I decided to take it all apart, scratchbuild a completely new interior, alter the entire chassis height, recreate all of the front and rear axle components, and cut the doors open. Now I've got a stripped down 66 Chevelle with the back of the scratchbuilt interior finished and one out of two doors mounted back onto the body.

tht hapnd to me. i statd a build bout a year ago in march. jst finished it this pas weekend. now i do smaller stuff for a chang

I forgot to mention the opening up of the 'boot' of the Bronco. Ran into some info on that peace of the OV-10, and I just had to construct it. Stands still at the moment as well.... some day, however...

Actually, yes.
Could hit myself in the head for it. Building the model, and doing more research makes me want to put more and more detail in the model. At this moment building of my Shorts Tucano and Fokker G-1 have come to a complete halt, because of this 'problem'.
The Tucano need custom decals, which I cannot get (no one of the suppleirs responds to my emails ).
The G-1 is hard to get info for. I've collecting now for approx 2 years and probably have "everything" there is to have on it. Now to find the time to finish it.

Running 'stuck' made me start new projects again and again. At this moment, I have 7 in progress models (see my website for a list of in progress models). I intend to finish some of them 'quickly', to clean the desk again. First, the simple paintjob (without any research) on the SciFi Thoregon 6 (see scifisection on forum). Then for some more research modelling, hopefully with enough focus on the true building process.

I try to avoid that, because that can really drain the momentum from a build.