Yawar Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 Would like to know how many times or how often do you end up making a disastrous mistake that means you have to write off the kit itself? Would it be once a year, once two years, once every 4 to 6 kits or seldom or never? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonwinn Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 I prefer to "let sleeping dogs lie". jon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 I don't recall having to cease and discard a kit build as result of mistake. Up till a bout a decade a go the problem was finished builds taking damage during frequent moves. Now it is messy health which stalls builds. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chuck1945 Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 Once so far…, earlier this year, Rey securely glued a cockpit rear bulkhead to the cockpit floor upside down and had it glued into the fuselage before I realized the error. First time in 56 years of building I’ve had to trash a kit due to “builder error”. I’ve trashed other kits for various reasons over the years, but this was the first time an assembly error wasn’t fixable Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Yawar Posted August 30, 2021 Author Share Posted August 30, 2021 I have made the mistake of painting a model in the wrong colour and miserably failing to strip the paint cleanly. I cannot think of anything else but trashing the kit. Any suggestions? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted August 30, 2021 Share Posted August 30, 2021 NEVER surrender. Strip it down and do it again. I have tossed many a kit over the years as I build better ones, but I have even finished a Hobby Craft Dash 8 and put it on display. Had a Hobby Craft Otters windows MELT, replaced with clear card and put on display. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
joeltc Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 I recently cracked an aftermarket resin canopy for the GWH F-15C after modifying the kits parts. So until theres a rerun of that set its toast. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Benner Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 I once had a disastrous mistake of starting the Escii Alphajet, that count? 🙂 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
davevw Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 About once a year, I only ever toss a kit if I run into many of issues. The last kit was a revel ju-88, 1/48. But I gave that kit away to someone else. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peterburns Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 Almost never. Bad paint gets removed. Bad parts get replaced. Not sure why anyone would toss out a kit that has had a few setbacks. I have yet to build a kit that didn't have a bunch. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lgl007 Posted September 13, 2021 Share Posted September 13, 2021 Thank goodness I have never had to trash a kit I was working on. When I was heavily into jets ... there was definitely less room for error when building jets so I was extra careful with everything. I've kinda move to armor now and there is A LOT more room to fix mistakes on armor, especially if you are like me and like to build dioramas with all the mud and dust and weathering... means you can basically cover up almost anything 😉 Cheers, -Greg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted September 16, 2021 Share Posted September 16, 2021 I'm generally short tempered. And sometimes, small stuff really get to me. Such as lifting almost entire paint off a model with masking tape (1/72 Hasegawa EA-6B). With Primer on. Which I hate (and generally don't do). After cleaning with alcohol prior to painting (first and last time I did this), painting with gloves on (never ever). Yup. It got to me. Shame really, as I should've just taken a breather and finish the kit. After like 8 years it still kind of haunts me. And I do throw away a few kits every year. I've not a lot of shelf space. Generally, after that, every kit that actually gets started, has to be finished. There were some that I did not start however after some dryfit, or just looking in the box. AKKURA MiG-21PFM comes to mind. So that'd make like 2 or 3 more in 8 years. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sigtau Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 (edited) I've had some disasters, but nothing I couldn't recover the build from. Technically, I did bin several really old in-work builds from the early 90's that I found in my parent's basement when I was helping them move. I salvaged a few and finished them for nostalgia sake. But there was no hope for many due to missing parts. They were victims of my mother's menopause cleaning frenzies, which often entailed going through model kit boxes to see if they still had the kits inside. If it was a started kit, any remaining parts and sprues would get thrown away along with the box. The decals and instructions might get left behind. And yes, it's as messed up as it sounds. Edited September 18, 2021 by sigtau Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 Had just bought a Trumpeter F-18F and was middle of painting it. Placed it down on the counter near the stove...didnt know someone had just used it about 10 minutes prior to and the tail end melted. Had spent the entire night putting the finishing touches on the weapons too... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
is it windy yet? Posted September 19, 2021 Share Posted September 19, 2021 Sometimes it seems like a daily occurrence for me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FlyAndFight Posted September 20, 2021 Share Posted September 20, 2021 Seldom do I trash a kit, and even then, I try to keep the parts that came out well, for another attempt with a new kit. My last frustrating disaster of a kit was the Dragon 1/72 scaled Saturn V, which fought me throughout the build. I had even added 3D printed parts to supplement the lack of detailing and eventually it just kicked my butt. I ended up stripping the 3D parts off and reused them in a new Saturn V. This time all went fairly well, as I knew what to expect. Here is a quick pic of it, about 95% completed: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 It has happened to me twice. The first time was the AM 1/48 B-25B ... right after it was released. I got the fuselage halves together, but it ended up what I call "stair stepped" there was a pretty bad step, and If i tried to fix it by sanding, I would have to remove a lot of material, and if I managed to do that, it would look stupid. I was unable to get the halves apart so ... I ended up tossing the kit. It really stung, I was having fun building it up to that point. I tried the Trumpeter 1978 monte carlo ... and got all the way to the end and found the ride height was way too high .... it looked like a lifted truck. I was so frustrated I ended up scrapping that kit as well. If I did a mockup I would have caught it so it was on me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spruemeister Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 Using Squadron Green putty in the nose of a P-80 for weight instead of lead is the definition of an irreversible kit disaster. We live. We learn. We buy another kit. Rick L. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheRealMrEd Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 Over the many years that I've modeled, I've set aside many started kits. Some,because they were too tough for my skills at the time, some because something else struck my fancy to build sooner, but most because much better models had been released since I bought them. That being said, fast forward 20-30 years, some that I've decided to build recently are selling for $29.00 or so, when they where $1.69, etc. etc.when I bought them many years ago. Another thing to remember, that no kits are ever wasted. When I needed a part for one of the many conversions that I've done, there was usually something suitable in the "bone yard". Oh, and did I mention, I never throw anything modeling-related, away! Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie D. Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 Not in a very long time….although I’ve had some regulated to the shelf of doom for 5-10 years. Goal the last few years has been to finish all of those, warts and all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gwen Phoenix Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 Kits I had to write off were mostly due to having incurred in noob horrors as a modeller (using the wrong glue, different paint solvent/carrier, clear coats, decal setting solution and so on). It happens more times than I like to remember, and with rather expensive kits. Last one was the Great Wall Hobby 1/48 MiG-29 9-12 Early kit. I left it looking like the guy that went through an acid waste tank in Robocop I really ought to hone up on my modelling skills before attempting to build expensive kits, I guess. Cheers, Gwen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lgl007 Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 LOL Gwen... -Greg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wolfgun33 Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 On 9/23/2021 at 12:39 PM, Spruemeister said: Using Squadron Green putty in the nose of a P-80 for weight instead of lead is the definition of an irreversible kit disaster. We live. We learn. We buy another kit. Rick L. I did the same thing. It melted the entire nose and part of the front fuselage. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lgl007 Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 OMG... LOL... been there... done that 😉 -Greg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 It's pretty rare, but I've junked a few. One Russian biplane that went badly at the rigging stage. One short-run kit that was so warped that the fuselage was twisted despite my best efforts to straighten things out. One Mach 2 kit (Thor IRBM) that was just so bad that I gave up. Technically, I still have that one, so I could revive it, but it's just astounding to me how terrible a kit could be with so few parts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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