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Satisfaction from a HORRENDOUS kit

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  • Member since
    June 2006
  • From: Westerville, Ohio
Posted by Air Master Modeler on Sunday, January 14, 2007 1:01 PM

I think Bill aka Bgrig said it best on the Good and Bad Kits thread,

" the kit is only part of the equation, the rest is in your eye and hands."

I think that sums it up pretty well.

To borrow JFK's famous quote; Ask not what your Model can do for you but, what YOU can do for your Model. Thumbs Up [tup]

Air Master 

Rand

30 years experience building plastic models.

WIP: Revell F-14B Tomcat, backdating to F-14A VF-32 1989 Gulf Of Sidra MiG-23 Killer "Gypsy 207".

  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: returning to the FSM forum after a hiatus
Posted by jinithith2 on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 9:00 PM
HIP HIP HOORAY!!! HIP HIP HOORAY!!! HIP HIP HOORAY!!! Big Smile [:D]
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 5:04 PM
THREE CHEERS FOR CHEAP CRAPPY KITS! Make a Toast [#toast]Make a Toast [#toast]Make a Toast [#toast]
  • Member since
    January 2006
Posted by Agamemnon on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 4:34 PM

Funny, I was going to start a thread on this exact topic.

Today, I build the Italeri Panzer 38(t) which is a really rough beast (I don't know the age but the parts are thick enough to endure a hammer blow, the road wheels are hollow on the back side, and the moulds appear to be worn out judging from the excessive flash). I bought it online for what was almost certainly a few Euro too much money, and built it practically in one sitting. The most complex revivification I did was drill the exhaust.

And here's the moral of the story: I had a great time. The on-vehicle tools look like crap, some of the seams are a bit dodgy, the Notek light looks like its proportions are completely askew, the suspension arms look nothing like a Pz38 suspension, and so on, but I had fun making the kit because it was easy to build, had a low parts count and despite all its flaws, the finished product will look like a Panzer 38 to my eyes.

I guess it's that whole "Eye of the Beholder" thing.

Look at these people, these human beings; consider their potential! From the day they arrive on the planet, blinking, step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than... no, hold on. Sorry, that's The Lion King. But, the point still stands... leave them alone! -- The Tenth Doctor
  • Member since
    March 2006
  • From: Boyertown, PA, USA
Posted by Dubau on Wednesday, January 3, 2007 7:35 PM

PICS, PICS we want to see PICS

please

Bud 

" You've experienced a set back, and without set backs and learning how to fix them you'll never make the leap from kit builder to modeler "
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, January 3, 2007 6:40 PM

that's all i ever do.  actually, i always do so much scratch-building on even relatively good kits (tamiya 1:48 t-34 got a scratch-built engine hatch grill among other things), it's gotten to the point that i just look for crappy kits knowing that i'll be using it as a loose guide anyway.  here's the pile of debris kit i'm working on now:

 

 so far, i started rescribing the panel lines, redid the bottom sections where the ill-fitting bay doors go with thinned styrene and sanding, and plunge-formed a new canopy.  Currently working on the cockpit and making plans to scratch-build the visible portions of the engines.

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Friday, December 29, 2006 11:36 AM
 qmiester wrote:

Rob - I think the Revell PT109 was a repop of an even earlier PT kit.  I remember building one some time between the 6th and 8th grades ('56 - '58).  At the time, it was considered one of the better kits available.

 

PT-212 was the first one they released in 1954 and several times since then. PT-109 first came out in 1963 in conjunction with the movie's release. It was a brand new mold at the time. You are right, as I stated earlier, it was state-of-the-art when it was first issued.

They also did a third PT boat, PT-73, which was released in conjunction with McHale's Navy in 1965. This was not really a US PT boat but was actually a British Vosper MTB. They issued a Vosper MTB because that's what the TV show used to portray a US PT boat.

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: Central USA
Posted by qmiester on Friday, December 29, 2006 10:37 AM

Rob - I think the Revell PT109 was a repop of an even earlier PT kit.  I remember building one some time between the 6th and 8th grades ('56 - '58).  At the time, it was considered one of the better kits available.

 

Quincy
  • Member since
    July 2013
Posted by DURR on Monday, December 25, 2006 11:12 PM

i have made this point many time on this forum

take a 2nd rate model and using your talent alone make a gem out of it  never mind the tamigawa shake and bake kits

now if you want a disaster to build get the 720th revell arizona it only goes for about 5-6 bucks

  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: returning to the FSM forum after a hiatus
Posted by jinithith2 on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 1:55 PM

Shock [:O]

didn't know that...

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 8:43 PM
You're complaining about a kit that was a hot seller around the time JFK was in the White House and the movie about his boat in the theaters. Now he died before I was born and I'll be 43 years old in a few months. That makes the kit at least 44 years old. I'm amazed the molds are still intact and they are able to reissue the kit instead of having to look for one on eBay.
  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: returning to the FSM forum after a hiatus
Posted by jinithith2 on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 7:53 PM

ok so the deal is made between my friend and me

I give him:

1 No.11 or chisel blade (depends on my mood hehe)

1 tan acryl paint

1 liquid glue (not the tube kinds but the watery ones in bottles... forgot their name)

1 finepoint artist quality nylon brush (not the ones that smash once they get within 10 feet of any type of liquid but actually good ones)

He gives me:

SR-71

7 bucks Big Smile [:D]

 

  • Member since
    June 2006
  • From: Patterson, CA
Posted by SoD Stitch on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 7:36 PM

Yes, and I'm actually in the process of doing that (again!) with a Hobbycraft Su-27; there's something very satisfying about turning a pile of plastic garbage into a reasonable-looking model.

Most of my crappy models have been old Revell issues, in between when they were making decent kits ('60's & '70's), and the time they bought out Monogram (which was always better than Revell anyway).

1/48th Monogram A-37 Dragonfly: 95% (so close!); 1/35th Academy UH-60L: 90%; 1/35th Dragon "Ersatz" M10: 75%; 1/35th DML E-100 Super Heavy Tank: 100%; 1/48 YF-12A, 95%; 1/48 U-2R: 90%; 1/48 B-58 Hustler: 50%; 1/32 F-117, 50%; 1/48 Rafale M: 50%; 1/48 F-105D: 75%; 1/48 SOS A-1H Skyraider: 50%; 1/48th Hobby Boss Su-27: 50%; 1/16th Revell Lamborghini Countach: 75%; 1/12th Otaki Lamborghini Countach: 25%; Tamiya 1/35th M3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle: 25%

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: Upper left side of the lower Penninsula of Mich
Posted by dkmacin on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 7:30 PM

Not yet, but I am in the process of working up the courage to attack the Glencoe Albatros kit or the FM 1/35th LCI. According to my sources these two are almost tied for the worst kit produced,and I have both,go figure.

 

Don

I know it's only rock and roll, but I like it.
  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: returning to the FSM forum after a hiatus
Satisfaction from a HORRENDOUS kit
Posted by jinithith2 on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 7:24 PM

well I was just wondering if it was me or it was true.

has anyone ever gotten a kick out of turning a horrible kit into a model?

I got a Revellogram PT boat thingy for christmas (2004 or 2005) and nothing fit and the "interior" was a spacious and empty compartment. so I went about sanding, filling, sanding, filling, sanding, filling, throwing objects, sanding and filling and turned the model into something that I was greatly satisfied with. Now Im not talking about the satisfaction in the final product, but this "fun" sensation in the middle of the build.

I am in search for another bad kit and I am about to purchase the Revellogram SR-71 from a friend to rescribe, fill and to all dat stuff to it.

Soooooooooooooooooo

has this happened to anyone?

 

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