Frustration!!!

[Curt B]

How far have you gotten on a model before giving up?   

 

I am am so frustrated with myself, I want to cry.  I’ve been working for weeks on a 1/48 Eduard Fw190 D-9, and yesterday, while trying to complete the paint, I completely messed up!   I was trying to do a ‘by hand’ interface between the 2 main colors, and suffice to say that I REALLY messed up the paint work.  If this was Tamiya paint, I might be inclined to get the paint off the model using Windex...I’ve done that before.  However, in the case, one color is Mission Model, the other is Mr. Color Aqueous.  I didn’t get so angry with myself as to throw the model in the trash or break it, but this model has just been frustrating from the beginning.  I’m just curious about all of you...how far in a model build have you gotten before calling it quits?   What do you do, or have you done with those models?  Stomp on them, break them, throw them in the trash, or just set them aside in a ‘shelf or closet of shame’, maybe to one day be looked at again, weeks, months, years hence, in case at one time you’ll think of a way to address the horrible mess you made of the tank or airplane?  Just curious what you do or have done with your disasters...

Edited July 20, 2020 by Curt B

[airmechaja]

At best, I have walked away from all modeling for a few months to chill out about a disaster. At worst, I've stomped it into pieces and felt no regret moving on to the next project.

[southwestforests]

2 hours ago, Curt B said:

Just curious what you do or have done with your disasters...

Sometimes similar to airmechaja.

Sometimes dismantled them for parts for freelance sci-fi projects.

Sometimes boxed it for a while then come back fresh and said, ya know, this is recoverable; won't be impeccable perfection, but is salvageable.

Sometimes boxed it for a while and never returned.

[echolmberg]

You're not alone, brother.  Several years ago, I was working on a 1/48 Revell F-89C.  I love that kit.  It's simple and it's my favorite plane.  What could go wrong, right?  The build went fine, but I started to screw things up the moment I started the painting phase.  As God is my witness, I couldn't paint the thing correctly to save my life.  I ended up putting the botched kit up on my shelf directly in front of me on my workbench.  It sat there for close to two years before I got tired of it sitting there and laughing at me.  I stripped off all the paint.  What an absolute mess!  Used rags, paper towels and nitrile and latex gloves all over the place.  

 

I ended up repainting it.  I swear I didn't do anything different from the first time around, but my second attempt yielded the best Scorpion I had ever done.  I ended up giving the model to my dad who grew up on an air base that had a couple of Scorpion squadrons on it.

 

The moral of the story:  Hold onto that kit of yours!  Put it aside.  When enough time has gone by, the universe will let you know when it's time to have another crack at it.  You just might surprise youself!

 

Eric

[Slartibartfast]

Are the two paints unhappy with each other?  What is it about the camouflage that prevents you from just repainting the goof?

[phantom]

Never let a model beat you. Persevere, overcome and endure.

 

I have taken oven cleaner to bad paint jobs in the past. The closest a model has come to beat me is stuff from Hobby Craft. But that was a model where the transparent parts somehow melted.  EVEN THEN, I just added clear plastic wrap to make the windows look ok. Last week I had a commission build that was missing the spars to hold up the heavy wings. Two pop-sickle sticks later I had a finished model. Sure, no show winner.....but the model did not beat me.

[Napalmakita]

I use it for practice.  Try something you wouldn't normally do because now your  at a point where your ready to bin it anyway.  What's the wrist that could happen? I get out the sandpaper and remove all evidence of the goof and start over on the area.  Usually I find a really cool effect that looks like  heavy weathering .  blending and fading with sanding sponges has become a regular practice I use to get some very cool results. if it's still turning your stomach, use it to practice painting on n spares.  I used to trash a model in frustration but now I exercise more patience and see each setback as an opportunity to build my skills.  It's a satisfying feeling when I can save a project rather then throw it across the room like I used to do.  

[ikar]

I have smashed more than one model before it was done in my time.  The latest one was the IJN Mikasa.  I was to the point that there was only a couple things left to do when I finally got so frustrated that I picked it up and smashed it against the wall at my workbench.   It wasn't the fault of the kit, it was mine because I was having trouble with the rigging of the dreadnaught and having trouble seeing what I was doing and getting the parts glued right. A couple days later I went back to the hobby shop and ordered a new kit then went home to salvage what I could from the first one until the new kit arrived.  

[goondman]

Ive sent more than i care to admit cartwheeling across the garage. I hit point back in March where it felt like every kit was going to be a battle

[viper730]

I goof up paint(or something) every build its just a part of modeling for me....Just sand it or strip it and go from there. One quick example. I was 95% done with the 32nd Tamiya Corsair. I went to touch up an area and the airbrush hose got hung up and it ripped the AB from my hand the lid popped off and a big ole mess of paint fell on top the fwd section. I wiped most away then I let the rest dry. Next day I taped off the good areas following the panel lines and went to town sanding away the damage. I repainted and finished the build.

[Curt B]

Guys, thank you SO MUCH for the words you've given me here.  I really was feeling like the Lone Ranger, though common sense would tell me that probably most everyone who has gotten to a certain point in this hobby has probably gotten to a point where you just want to give up.  What has killed me with this particular model is that I had been terrified to even begin working on airplane models, and I have about 6 completed by now, and every one of those 6, even the first one, has ended up, build-wise and paint and weathering -wise, going really far better than I had a right to expect.  I've been thoroughly thrilled...up until this one.  Granted, I probably made the mistake of trying a different brand of paint, which I should know is a likely recipe for disaster, but I guess my hubris, and the good experiences I've had up until now, got the better of me, and I paid for it, this time.  Outside of the main painting (wings and fuselage), the rest of the build went great.  Even the Fw-190 D-9 visible part of the engine through the main wheel wells tired out great...the engine looks wonderful, at least to me, the small part you can see, and even the landing gear looks good.  So, the 'easy' stuff I look upon as a 'piece of cake'.  I should know better than to think my barely passable airbrush skills aren't nearly good enough to do freehand edges for a feathered transition.  I think things would have been at least minimally acceptable if I had just masked off the transition areas, and make using rolls of silly putty to raise the edges off the surface just enough to give a slightly feathered  transition between the colors, and painted the camo THAT way, like I've done with my other airplanes.  I know, for sure, that going forward, that's the way I'm GOING TO GO, until I am 1000% CERTAIN that I can freehand camo transitions.  I was even happy with the new black basing technique I used, and it was looking good.  Damn!

 

For now, my D-9 is in its box, cowering from my angry, evil glances I've been sending its way.  Though I have several other airplanes that are ready for paint, including a new Tamiya P-38F/G, I'm not ready to take on paint, again, just yet.  Instead, I'm starting something new, a Tamiya P-47M, and I'm gonna copy Doog's construction and painting methods precisely.  That's cheating, I know, but I need a success to get back even a modicum of confidence.  He's got 34, I think, individual Youtube lessons or sessions, so it's detailed.  Hopefully, even I can't mess that up too badly.

 

Thanks again, though, gents, for your very nice responses.  This is one of the reasons I have to love this forum.  You guys are the best!  

[Bounce]

my models 30 years ago always took heavy damage flying CAS in the backyard.  Sooty puddles in the burn scar under the dense triple canopy weeds and grass.

 

I do recall some of my very first models around age 8 or 9 and the sikorsky Jolly Green and an aircraft carrier or two were a bit out of my abilities.... 

 

1979 Testors gloss red enamel began drying immediately and don't try to drag a brush across that tacky paint again...oops, well maybe adding some more paint over that....Nope!  

[B.Sin]

On 7/20/2020 at 5:53 AM, Curt B said:

How far have you gotten on a model before giving up?   

 

I am am so frustrated with myself, I want to cry.  I’ve been working for weeks on a 1/48 Eduard Fw190 D-9, and yesterday, while trying to complete the paint, I completely messed up!   I was trying to do a ‘by hand’ interface between the 2 main colors, and suffice to say that I REALLY messed up the paint work.  If this was Tamiya paint, I might be inclined to get the paint off the model using Windex...I’ve done that before.  However, in the case, one color is Mission Model, the other is Mr. Color Aqueous.  I didn’t get so angry with myself as to throw the model in the trash or break it, but this model has just been frustrating from the beginning.  I’m just curious about all of you...how far in a model build have you gotten before calling it quits?   What do you do, or have you done with those models?  Stomp on them, break them, throw them in the trash, or just set them aside in a ‘shelf or closet of shame’, maybe to one day be looked at again, weeks, months, years hence, in case at one time you’ll think of a way to address the horrible mess you made of the tank or airplane?  Just curious what you do or have done with your disasters...

I feel your pain!

[Spruemeister]

I honestly think every modeler should own a bottle of Scalecoat II Wash Away paint remover.  I have hit the reset button on a half dozen builds with a new finish, and Wash Away is so stinking easy to use on a model with an old toothbrush.  It takes time sometimes to let a failure sit on a shelf while you grieve and work on something else.  Then you Wash Away your sins and start anew.  If the bones of the build are too good to trash, give it time away from the bench and a facelift. 

 

Rick L.

[Mstor]

On 7/20/2020 at 8:21 PM, Curt B said:

I think things would have been at least minimally acceptable if I had just masked off the transition areas, and make using rolls of silly putty to raise the edges off the surface just enough to give a slightly feathered  transition between the colors, and painted the camo THAT way, like I've done with my other airplanes.  I know, for sure, that going forward, that's the way I'm GOING TO GO, until I am 1000% CERTAIN that I can freehand camo transitions.  I was even happy with the new black basing technique I used, and it was looking good.  Damn!

 

I've been making and painting models for decades and I have NEVER been able to master freehand airbrushing of camo. I have always envied those who could. I have stuck with using Blu Tack, or paper masks raised off the surface with rolled tape or pieces of Blu Tack. I have managed to do some free hand touch ups of areas if I am VERY careful. Anyway, with all my limitations, I still manage to make models that I think came out relatively well. But, I'm no master, that's for sure.

All that to say that everyone has their limitations. Once you find them you either figure out a way to overcome them, or you live with them. Having failed in the former I have settled on the latter. I have also found that when I reach a roadblock such as you have described, I usually set the kit aside for a while and when I am of cooler mind, re-approach the problem and usually find a solution that allows me to continue and finish the model. I have a few models that are still sitting in their boxes awaiting my attention. Some are so old now that I cannot remember what paints I used so I am afraid to try to start them again. Oh well, in the end they are just models and while important to me, not so much that I let them get in the way of life. Kind of a perspective thing.

[MikeC]

I've sometimes binned models in a fit of frustration.  Some I've felt a regret for later, thinking I could perhaps have salvaged it after a bit of a break.  Others I've been glad to see the back of.

 

The most frustrating is a 1/32 Bu 131 I'm working on now.  A couple of the chaps at my model club have told me what a great little kit it is.  And it is mostly: but the cowlings have fought me every inch of the way, and it's been sitting on the shelf for a while now.  The worst part is thinking, "Others have done a good job on this, why can't I?"

[K2Pete]

Just reading through your posts, you're such a rank beginner, you NEED to make these mistakes. Good On Ya!

You're gonna learn the intricacies of this hobby way-y-y-y quicker.

 

I've been in this hobby for about 12 years and every model I've done, mostly Real Space subjects, have been to try out a new technique I saw online. If I screw up the paint, I'll sand it off and do it again.

Now, I've been a commercial artist in a different lifetime, and know my Airbrush quite well and the freehand fine line transitions is what the Airbrush specializes in, it's what it's DESIGNED to DO-O-O ... learn to handle your tool, either the Single Action or especially , the Double Action. Forget the Silly Putty worms ... practice. Learn these little subtleties. Then comes the scratch building aspect, my fave!

 

By the time you've done your 20th model, ( phantom does this in 2 weeks    ) you'll just be getting the hang of this hobby.

Keep at it, don't try to build an award winner in the 1st ten models, experiment, don't be afraid to fail, and don't throw 'em out ... sheesh ... use 'em to practice on ...

 

And by ALL means ... this is recreation, this is fun .... take some time, think about your issue and then ... git 'er done! Eezy Peezy!

 

Pete

[fasteagle12]

My almost 6 year old grandson got a couple of old 1/72 jets that I wasn't very proud of.  He loves playing with them even without the gear and stores....