Modelers enemies

How about losing a TOOL to the carpet monster? Just yesterday, I was trying to get a sanding stick when they and their container fell off the little shelf and behind my workbench. I managed to find most of the sanding sticks all over the carpet but the coarse sanding stick had utterly vanished along with the container I keep the sticks in. A fifteen or twenty minute search with the flashlight along with moving a bunch of stuff (like the typewriter) yielded nothing. I did manage to bang my head on the workbench--twice. A few days earlier I had made a homemade headrest for the rear seat of my Tamiya Jeep Cherokee Limited and glued it into place. As I was searching for the sanding stick yesterday--SCRUNCH! I broke off the headrest from the seat! So I had to glue THAT back into place! I never did find the coarse sanding stick nor the little plastic container. Instead, I had to make a new stick and find a new container.

QUOTE: Originally posted by rebelreenactor ya your probably right with pieces bouncing even further than on carpet. How about putting everything in a clear box with armslots (like what new born babys have) and working with that. part flies, its stopped by the box...

Not ever having had any kids, I've never seen one of those boxes but it sounds like a good idea. Where do you get one?

The carpet monster in my new apartment is definitely meaner than the one I had in California. The only parts of my apartment that don't have a carpet are the kitchen and bathroom. I could buy a small dining table and use that for my workbench in the kitchen, but the kitchen would have its own hazards, namely the kitchen sink monster (just waiting for the occasion when I forget to put the screen over the drain), the stove monster and the refrigerator monster (both just waiting for that tiny part to roll under their exact geographic centers). And who models in the bathroom? (Actually, my bathroom might be a fairly decent place to model: it's one of those two-part bathrooms where the toilet and tub/shower are separated from the rest by a wall. It's got a nice large vanity and even a cupboard handy where I can store modeling tools. But then, I'd have to deal with the bathroom sink monster and the clothes hamper monster.)

i am proud to say i have never lost against the carpet monster (knock on wood) and i have 2 cats and a huge dog. but there not allowed in my room unless im there.

ya your probably right with pieces bouncing even further than on carpet. How about putting everything in a clear box with armslots (like what new born babys have) and working with that. part flies, its stopped by the box...

QUOTE: Originally posted by rebelreenactor Carpet monster = get a wood or tile floor

Uhmmmm......hardwood or tile floors ain't all that great either since parts like to "bounce" in any given direction making it a bit harder to find if you're not kinda watching it. Trust me on this (picture of me on hands and knees with 300 W halogen light searching nooks and crevices for the last part that bounced)

Ahhh....the sixth dimension. yes, I understand it's rules and it rules both my work area and model area. nuthin' worsze than having an entire set of 24"x36" set of drawings (redlines none the less) go missing only to turn up after a has been obtained and revision notes reconstructed. Thank heavens iyt hasn't invaded my computer yet.

It's strange...I have a cat that's oblivious to models (so far)
kids who know better than touch dad's models
and no carpet monster...
but my wife tries hard to "help" me cleaning my models.....arghhh!!!!!!
1 out of 4 is not that bad....??????

Trains.

I grew up next to train tracks and hung my models from the ceiling and had them on my shelf. Needless to say, between having a cat, and three fast moving frieght trains a day, I never ran out of space to put models.

Ceiling Fan.

Dad installed a ceiling fan in my room while I was away from home and didn't take my planes off the ceiling and also failed to warn me. I came home and flipped my light switch and, well, you get the picture.

Ahhh yes the carpet monster... close friend to the tweezerpult. Actually they are cousins and work together. My wife has a cat but its so lazy shes no problem.. the cat that is (god hope my wife never sees this). But the carpet monster... man. I dropped something recently, watched where it landed, put my glue down and looked back and the friggin thing was gone. Oh man, gonna poor lighter fluid all around my work bench and give him one warning!!! I use my lone 5 shelf bookcase for everything... including books. I wouldnt have a modeling corner without it.

Ive got it figured guys. A distance, no matter how small can always be divided in half. With that being said, the reason that we cant find that dropped part is cause it's still falling! LMAO Einstien I aint!! As of right now my biggest enemy is my coworkers and my biggest fans. They come in, and start tinkering with things. My NCOIC is the worst. LOL, he trys to open hatches, turn props, roll wheels ect, and when it breaks, God bless him, he says "SGT, thats faulty craftsmanship, you need to work on that. " Then he quietly lays the broken part next to the model and leaves. You know how it is with Xmas trees, the longer they are there the more needles they leave on the floor. Its the same way with my models here in my office. The older ones have shed numerous pieces on the ground and the newer ones not so many. All at the hands of my fan club. Thank goodness Im a patient person. LOL

I agree with modelgrandpa and gunney. GOTTA have my cats. Did the dog thing years ago and that won't be happening again. The beast actually ate a bookcase and the models on it (if he wasn't eating it he was running into it and knocking everything everywhere). My cats haven't caused near the grief that blasted dog did. The carpet monster and I have an agreement. I sacrifice a small unneeded part when I sit down, and then when I do drop a peice I need he leaves it alone. And books on a bookshelf? How novel!! never thought of that before as I thought they were for models. Books get stacked in a corner or in one of my desk drawers. Paints and tools go in a large tool box sitting on top of a stack of books. Kids know better than to even get near my models, especially after threatening them ejection out of a slow moving room with a fast moving boot. I've lost one kit over the years to kids that being a He 177 from airfix. Aint happening again.

i have no cat, shelves of my own, and tiled floors that seem to be spring loaded. when i say tiles, i mean 70's mozaic-ey tiles, each individual tile measuring about 2/3 inch by 1 inch, with 1/16 gaps between them the color of the grout between the tiles is EXACTLY the color of tamiya sprue, and a shade darker than academy sprue. thank goodness for a water vacuum cleaner that can pick up the parts without too much damage. but its still a pain to drag out

I've heard more than a few modelers mention that beer can be quite the gremlin!

QUOTE: Originally posted by qmiester Actually, I've always felt that the 1st enemy of the modeler is the sixth dimension. You know the one I'm talking about. The one that the piece you've dropped or knocked off the top of your desk falls into 1/2 way between the desk top and the floor. That dimension only returns the part after A. You've gotten a new part either from the manufacturer or a friend and installed it or B.You've just installed the scratchbuilt part you've built to replace the one that disappeared. Never seems to fail.

Oh, yes; I know that very well!

Personally, I think its just the Bermuda Triangle proving its a mobile phenomenon. You know, just like it takes up residence in your dryer when your socks are in it and only takes one sock from a pair?

Now I am thinking how he would have got that?????????

QUOTE: Originally posted by j.s.harrison Cats i don't have one,carpet don't have that either but i've found that a dropped part can travel great distances once it's bounced of the tiles,i've dropped a part and found it on the other side of the room about 10 feet away.... Lizards got it right my worst enemy is my kids my 3 year old son has nailed 2 of my 109s but thats my fault i'm the stupid one for leaving them where he can get them....

Yup mine got the 109 I built and demolished it. And it was hanging on the ceiling.

QUOTE: Originally posted by qmiester Actually, I've always felt that the 1st enemy of the modeler is the sixth dimension. You know the one I'm talking about. The one that the piece you've dropped or knocked off the top of your desk falls into 1/2 way between the desk top and the floor. That dimension only returns the part after A. You've gotten a new part either from the manufacturer or a friend and installed it or B.You've just installed the scratchbuilt part you've built to replace the one that disappeared. Never seems to fail.

I know exactly what you mean, it drives me insane!

Hey joe, bye bye kitty kitty sounds like a fun game

QUOTE: ... there is usually about 3.5 dogs worth of hair on my floors at any given time...

Yep...sometimes I feel like I could knit myself another cat...or a dog in your case.

Actually, I've always felt that the 1st enemy of the modeler is the sixth dimension. You know the one I'm talking about. The one that the piece you've dropped or knocked off the top of your desk falls into 1/2 way between the desk top and the floor. That dimension only returns the part after A. You've gotten a new part either from the manufacturer or a friend and installed it or B.You've just installed the scratchbuilt part you've built to replace the one that disappeared. Never seems to fail.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Model Grandpa 5 cats in this household, biggest problem is having to clean all the fur, indoor cats seem to shed all the time.

I have 2 indoor dogs and they shed winter/summer/fall... one is a catahoula (Louisianna breed, similar to a golden retriever with shorter hair) and a border collie... there is usually about 3.5 dogs worth of hair on my floors at any given time... (could probably clothe the entire chihuaha population of TX with the hair I collect in a week) but the carpet... ::tearing at hair:: the carpet!!! I hate it! not only do the parts get lost in it, but because of the grain, they bounce in the oddest trajectories!!! it falls toward my feet, I find it 5 ft behind me under the computer desk etc...

i played bye bye kitty kitty today when the feline walked on my fortress. it flew very well thankyou. the cat not the fort.

joe

5 cats in this household, biggest problem is having to clean all the fur, indoor cats seem to shed all the time.

This one is really not a monster but I’ll list it here. I call it the space/time membrane. The SPM can be any horizontal surface but can also be on the vertical plane. When you drop a part no matter what the surface, my hobby room has hardwood floors, the part will fall straight through the membrane into another space and/or time leaving no sign or opening behind. I first discovered the SPM working in a bicycle shop when I lost many small parts never to be found again, it has followed me to the hobby room.

Cats i don't have one,carpet don't have that either but i've found that a dropped part can travel great distances once it's bounced of the tiles,i've dropped a part and found it on the other side of the room about 10 feet away....
Lizards got it right my worst enemy is my kids my 3 year old son has nailed 2 of my 109s but thats my fault i'm the stupid one for leaving them where he can get them....

couldn't do with rule 1. I have to have my cat. she sometimes finds missing parts for me. by that I find them in her mouth

couldn't do with rule 1. I have to have my cat.

I'm about to spend several hundred dollars to extend the wood floors from the living room and halls into my work room just for that... I convinced my wife that for every lost piece added up over time we could have more than payed for the floor in 3 years.

haha not really she is more than supportive of my addiction... problem is my living room is a light color wood and I would rather do my work room in dark... just to be easier to spot the missing pieces... I don't think she would compromise on that..

I have dogs and thankfully they are blissfully ambivalent about my models...

Y'all forgot a couple.

Kids- My 3 yr old is great at being sneaky.

Myself- I am my own worst enemy.

Bookshelves and earthquakes don't go together either. An '87 quake took out most of my collection at the time.

... cats ... don't get me started ...

no cats here, no problem with my fish but the carpet monster......... the carpet in my modeling room is white, with bits of brown, and very bouncy, parts can bounch up to 3 feet away! very hard to find pieces, and i have no shelves yet.