Weirdest thing to happen at the bench?

[Bigasshammm]

Not a topic I've seen before. So what's the weirdest thing that's happened to you while modeling? Can be self induced or not.

I was just adding the final touches to a NASCAR. Apparently severe cold and paint bottles don't mix. My bottle of gloss black had the lid stuck on. No problem grab my trusty wrench that I grab the lif with and gives me that added leverage for opening stuck bottles. Well you can see where this is going. The entire bottle exploded in my hand. Somehow none of the paint got on the body of the car which was sitting right in front of me but it did get EVERYWHERE ELSE. so I have a favorite pair of jeans running through it's second wash cycle hoping to minimize the stain. Never had that happen before.

Share stories!

Edited February 19, 2015 by Bigasshammm

[Darren Roberts]

I was shaking a bottle of Alclad paint. The BB's that were in the bottom created stress on the bottom of the bottle and it blew out. Metallic paint EVERYWHERE!

[ChippyWho]

Weirdest thing to happen at the bench; let's see...I built something! I remember it clearly -it was around two years ago. Or was it three?

[Spectre711]

I think you should have put some paints on before you took those photos! :rolleyes:/>

[rightwinger26]

I had a bottle of CA slip out of my hand, out of reaction I grabbed for it. When I did (excellent shortstop move BTW), I caught it and squeezed, firmly gluing the bottle to the palm of my hand. To make it worse, no debonder.

[rightwinger26]

I think you should have put some paints on before you took those photos! :rolleyes:/>/>

Does that count as a "weird thing at the bench"

[rightwinger26]

I think you should have put some paints on before you took those photos! :rolleyes:/>/>

Does that count as a "weird thing at the bench"

[vince14]

I was shaking a bottle of Alclad paint. The BB's that were in the bottom created stress on the bottom of the bottle and it blew out. Metallic paint EVERYWHERE!

I had that happen to me as well!

Vince

[Exhausted]

I hope you remembered to wash cold (instead of warm or hot) in order to have the best shot at removing the stain.

[archybean]

In college I was building a rather fragile piece of an architecture model for my design class. My bottle of CA had a clogged tip and I was using a 1/16" stick of basswood to dip in the bottle and apply it where needed. I'd then hold the stick with my teeth (see where this is going?) while I sprayed accelerator for it to set. Well this one night I was more tired than I realized...that is until I put the stick in the wrong way! Moisture helps CA cure, and being that the mouth is full of moisture my teeth got glued together. I had my trusty cup of coca cola classic there and found out that it will dissolve CA!

[Bigasshammm]

I think you should have put some paints on before you took those photos! :rolleyes:/>/>

Haha. This was post putting the pants in the wash and while I cleaned everything up.

[Hawk10]

Probably my worst incident (largely because it didn't happen in my modeling room!)occurred when I filled the bathroom sink with hot tap water and dropped the spray can of metallic blue that I was going to paint a 1/24 Corvette. It hadn't been in the water for 30 seconds when the phone rings and the wife hollered that my boss wanted to speak to me- leaving the can in the water, I head for the kitchen and the phone. 5 minutes later, I hang up the phone and then hear a "Whump" from down the hall followed by my wife using some bad language at the top of her lungs. It seems that the propellant pressure in the can had gotten high enough to blow the bottom of the can out, painting the ceiling, the floor, the walls, the bathtub and the crapper with metallic blue paint. Spent the nextcouple of days cleaning things up and doing a lot of repainting. The only good thing is that the wife had stepped out of the room a few seconds before the can let go.

[Crazy Snap Captain]

I was working on some small PE parts for a Flanker that required me wearing my magnification visor and head down right near the bench. While working away I noticed two antennae come into my field of vision, followed by a big a55 cockroach that had decided to land on my visor and take a look at what I was doing. Scared the bejeezus out of me and I lost more than a few PE parts and years off my life. I detest cockroaches.

Edited February 20, 2015 by Crazy Snap Captain

[Adam Baker]

I've had exactly the same thing happen w/ a wrench & a bottle of paint, but I didn't get off so lucky. The top of the bottle sheared off, and in the process managed to cut my hand pretty bad in 4 or 5 places. Thankfully not enough to worry about stitches, but I have to say it was incredibly uncomfortable trying to clean the paint out of those cuts.

Ever since then, I use a rubber grip pad and a rubber strap wrench for opening bottles. Works great, and figure I've got very little chance of having the bottles come apart on me.

Edited February 20, 2015 by Adam Baker

[rightwinger26]

Probably my worst incident (largely because it didn't happen in my modeling room!)occurred when I filled the bathroom sink with hot tap water and dropped the spray can of metallic blue that I was going to paint a 1/24 Corvette. It hadn't been in the water for 30 seconds when the phone rings and the wife hollered that my boss wanted to speak to me- leaving the can in the water, I head for the kitchen and the phone. 5 minutes later, I hang up the phone and then hear a "Whump" from down the hall followed by my wife using some bad language at the top of her lungs. It seems that the propellant pressure in the can had gotten high enough to blow the bottom of the can out, painting the ceiling, the floor, the walls, the bathtub and the crapper with metallic blue paint. Spent the nextcouple of days cleaning things up and doing a lot of repainting. The only good thing is that the wife had stepped out of the room a few seconds before the can let go.

Sorry for your misfortune, but that is freakin hilarious!! That almost seems like a sitcom scene

[TomcatFanatic123]

Not so much weird as it was a bit freaky (the first time it happened, anyway) but, X-acto blades and blood thinners. Need I say more?

Doesn't bother me any more, I've been on Warfarin for over 10 years now, but the first couple of times it happened it was a bit freaky.

[Kevan Vogler]

Many years ago, when I was a teen and the "bench" was the kitchen table, I was putting decals onto a model and stepped away for a few minutes.

The family dog had been sitting on another chair at the table and watching me work, as she sometimes took the notion to. When I returned, the dog had left the table and there was a small puddle of drool that completely covered one decal. I thought the decal was a loss and started looking through my spares for a suitable replacement.

After a few minutes, I found a replacement decal and returned to the table to find that the drooled on decal had settled down on the model's surface quite nicely. Easily equal to what the setting solutions could do.

[TaiidanTomcat]

Many years ago, when I was a teen and the "bench" was the kitchen table, I was putting decals onto a model and stepped away for a few minutes.

The family dog had been sitting on another chair at the table and watching me work, as she sometimes took the notion to. When I returned, the dog had left the table and there was a small puddle of drool that completely covered one decal. I thought the decal was a loss and started looking through my spares for a suitable replacement.

After a few minutes, I found a replacement decal and returned to the table to find that the drooled on decal had settled down on the model's surface quite nicely. Easily equal to what the setting solutions could do.

Ha!

[Pierre Sacha]

Not so much weird as scary - I once arrived at my bench to find a long black scorch mark on my cutting mat. For a long time I could not figure out how that got there. I do on occasion use a candle to make stretched sprue but always dip it in water to make sure it's out. The candle had never fallen over either as I had always been there the whole time. Then with my neck hair standing on end it suddenly dawned on me. Seeing my magnifier/light combination I knew I must have left it in just the perfect position for the afternoon sun to hit it just right and make a nice little burn mark on my cutting mat. I still have the shivers thinking of it. Thank the Lord it never ignited.So you guys working with magnifiers, beware! :woot.gif:/>

Regards

Pierre

[chuck540z3]

Working on my F-4E build a few years ago, I detected out of the corner of my eye something rolling off the workbench towards my lap. Not wanting the item to hit the floor, I instinctively squeezed by legs together to catch the object. Due to timing and circumstance, I caught my #11 knife directly between my legs, using my left leg to completely jamb the knife blade into my right thigh the entire way. Looking down I knew right away I probably shouldn't have done that as shock and pain set in, but there was no blood, or at least not immediately. Pulling the tip of the knife out of my thigh, a stream of blood came gushing out, so I used my finger to plug the leak soaking my jeans. I was very lucky I didn't hit an artery since I was home alone at the time with nobody to help me. By holding the cut for 1/2 an hour and gradually sealing the cut with tape, I avoided a visit to the emergency room by ambulance. Lesson learned. From then on I have yellow Tamiya tape on all of my hobby knives with a tab on one side to keep them from rolling!

[galileo1]

Weirdest thing would be when my entire stash fell on me as I was working on something. My stash is located directly behind my workbench and, one day, while working on a P-51, I heard a noise coming from behind me. When I turned around to look, trying to see where the noise was coming from, it was too late. Fifty or so kit boxes landed on my head, the workbench, everywhere! The P-51 I was working on got smashed by a big 1/32 Academy Hornet box and had to be binned. From then on, I started using better shelving for the stash and, although they're still all sitting behind me, I haven't had another accident. Watch those shelves if you have them near your work area.

Rob

[MacStingy]

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Working on my F-4E build a few years ago, I detected out of the corner of my eye something rolling off the workbench towards my lap. Not wanting the item to hit the floor, I instinctively squeezed by legs together to catch the object. Due to timing and circumstance, I caught my #11 knife directly between my legs, using my left leg to completely jamb the knife blade into my right thigh the entire way. Looking down I knew right away I probably shouldn't have done that as shock and pain set in, but there was no blood, or at least not immediately. Pulling the tip of the knife out of my thigh, a stream of blood came gushing out, so I used my finger to plug the leak soaking my jeans. I was very lucky I didn't hit an artery since I was home alone at the time with nobody to help me. By holding the cut for 1/2 an hour and gradually sealing the cut with tape, I avoided a visit to the emergency room by ambulance. Lesson learned. From then on I have yellow Tamiya tape on all of my hobby knives with a tab on one side to keep them from rolling!

+1, difference was that with cat like reflexes, I managed to grab the Exacto mid-air embedding it into the palm of my hand.

Paul

[AX 365]

You're one lucky SOB Chuck.

One of my old dogs, a collie / husky mix named Homer, used to sit in the model room while I was working. Years ago (before I knew about AM decals), while working on a 72nd scale Hobbycraft CF-100, I had to leave the room for a minute. I came back and Homer was nowhere to be seen. I looked in the model box that had been on the floor. Missing were the decals for the CF-100. A trip to the bedroom next door saw Homer eating the decals. I couldn't get mad as it was my fault for leaving the box on the floor.

As an aside, I should have known his penchant for eating things. Previously, he had eaten a pound of butter (wrapper and all) we left on the kitchen counter to soften, a pound of bacon I had just opened and left on a plate on the kitchen counter (while I was using the facilities), a slice of pizza I left on the kitchen counter and most of all, one of my police notebooks that was on the kitchen table. I brought the notebook home from work as I had court the next morning. As I get to the kitchen the next morning, I find the notebook in tatters on the floor. He had gnawed along the glued spine of the notebook. Fortunately most of the notes survived. I packed everything up and went to court. The looks on the faces of the judge, Crown prosecutor and defence lawyer were priceless after I asked to review my notes to refresh my memory. I pulled this mangled duty book out of my pocket and while showing him the notebook said, "Your Honour, I haven't used this excuse since grade school but my dog ate my notebook." Judge Nadelle, who was a very nice man and an extremely well liked judge, couldn't help but laugh and that set the tone for the rest of the proceedings. A little off topic but related to the initial response.

[billw]

No messy mishap here, but is a little on weird side. I was doing final assembly on a 1/48 Tamiya P-51B, and was putting on those tiny strut arms for the inner gear doors with a sticky-tape toothpick. The strut slipped off the toothpick before I could place it, and of course, vanished into thin air. I didn't hear it hit the table, and was too far from the edge for it to drop to the floor. Still I figured the carpet monster had it, so spent the better part of an hour scouring the floor to no avail. I didn't have a replacement, so I just put the gear doors in up position so I could move on with it. A bit later when installing some final bits, I picked up the plane and turned it nose down and that little strut promptly fell out of the radiator intake scoop where it had been all along. I surprised myself by actually laughing at the whole thing instead of cussing a blue streak.

Score: model 1, me 0.

BW

Edited February 20, 2015 by billw

[vince14]

Working on my F-4E build a few years ago, I detected out of the corner of my eye something rolling off the workbench towards my lap. Not wanting the item to hit the floor, I instinctively squeezed by legs together to catch the object. Due to timing and circumstance, I caught my #11 knife directly between my legs, using my left leg to completely jamb the knife blade into my right thigh the entire way. Looking down I knew right away I probably shouldn't have done that as shock and pain set in, but there was no blood, or at least not immediately. Pulling the tip of the knife out of my thigh, a stream of blood came gushing out, so I used my finger to plug the leak soaking my jeans. I was very lucky I didn't hit an artery since I was home alone at the time with nobody to help me. By holding the cut for 1/2 an hour and gradually sealing the cut with tape, I avoided a visit to the emergency room by ambulance. Lesson learned. From then on I have yellow Tamiya tape on all of my hobby knives with a tab on one side to keep them from rolling!

Someone once told me that, in the same circumstances, men have a natural reaction that closes the legs but for women the natural reaction is to open them...whether it's true or not I can't say, but I certainly slam 'em shut as soon as anything falls off the workbench!

Vince