Middle-aged kit building

[DonM435]

The models that I assembled as a kid -- rarely planes, most often monsters and super-hero figurines -- looked awful and were unstable, because I rushed things and got sloppy. I wouldn't wait for the glue or the paint to dry. Ultimately, we blew these up with firecrackers, and good riddance to 'em.

When my young son showed an interest in building these things, I helped him, figuring that with decades of maturity on my side, I'd do better. Wrong: I was just as impatient and reckless. No firecrackers this time, but my results were substandard. The ones he did by himself were far better. (They had this new, "safety" glue that didn't hold anything together. We had to go back to the old, pungent, lethal kind.)

I helped him assemble a U.S.S. Enterprise that turned out okay, though the engines kept falling off. I finally filled the hull with foam and put some rods in there to provide support, and that did nicely. Darn design was never meant to survive in a a gravitational field like ours.

[NEOWatcher]

A couple of years ago I did a couple of paper models like this one, which I quite liked. Free models are available on the internet. Just download and print.

Very nice.
I had my attempt a few years ago with a paper NC-1701, and posted here.
As per that discussion, I have more respect for someone who can make the paper look like something real.

I've never been good with models. But; a few years ago, I wanted a good feel for the difference in sizes of rockets, so I bought a suite of same scale rockets.

Not very good for a model maker, but I am happy nonetheless. (The LM is in there with legs folded if you can see it)

[DaveC426913]

Hey, does anyone build their own from scratch?






18" long,
articulated and synchronized solar arrays (They swivel as pairs about 70 degrees in any direction) Optional cargo pod, removable landing gear, detachable command section. Even the laser turrets were articulable.
Original version lit it with 'grain-o-rice' lights (this is v2, rebuilt decades later).
Loooots of parts on there you'd recognize if you looked real close. (You might recognize the spine from a Space:1999 Eagle, and the air-breathing engines are ventolin puffers. I still have boxes full of tiny cast off bits of plastic and metal)

Had fun shooting it too, back in the day. Used my Pentax K1000 and inserted an artificial aperature made of a pinhole in a piece of tinfoil. I calculated an F-stop of approx. 300. This gave me huge depth-of-field, as well as allowing me to get extremely close (0.0" to be exact. My camera lens was in contact with the nose of the craft and it was still in-focus). Still got that pic around here somewhere.

This was all back in early Star Wars the days when I dreamed of joining John Dykstra and his ilk at ILM. Does the nose resemble a Y-wing fighter just a bit? Maybe...

[ngc3314]

I've sort of returned to styrene modeling as a stress reducer, and enjoyed sharing some construction with Younger Son (we have a box with a 1/350 scale TOS Enterprise just awaiting him being home from college long enough - our plan did not include figuring out where to put the thing when complete). Stopped at a hobby shop in Nashville yesterday after visiting a sick relative, and I was amused to note that I, a few days past birthday 58, was probably the youngest of 3 customers in that aisle.

[grant hutchison]

Hey, does anyone build their own from scratch?

I did some similar mash-up work when I was student moving out of the parental home - I was presented with a box containing my old aircraft models, in various states of disrepair.
I created an object that combined the glasshouse from a Blohm & Voss Bv 141 with the rear engine pods of a VC10, and the twin booms and tail assembly of something or other I can't now remember. It looked ... remarkable.

Grant Hutchison

[baskerbosse]

I've just moved to a machine from which I can access your build log. That's a beautiful kit, beautifully built.

Grant Hutchison

Echoed. Although not my primary interest, I love the aircraft of that era and the "old world" craftsmanship many displayed. You've captured that craftsmanship with exquisite detail, baskerbosse.

I built a few ships, too, including the Cutty Sark. My best though was the Thermopylae...The Revell 1/70th, I think.

Thanks guys! Although Wingnut Wings does make it much easier to do a good job. The moulding details are excellent and the fit is perfect. The tricky bit is the rigging.

Grant, -I think I got it. Captain Scarlet, isn't it?

Cheers!
Peter

[baskerbosse]

Very nice.
I had my attempt a few years ago with a paper NC-1701, and posted here.
As per that discussion, I have more respect for someone who can make the paper look like something real.

I've never been good with models. But; a few years ago, I wanted a good feel for the difference in sizes of rockets, so I bought a suite of same scale rockets.

Not very good for a model maker, but I am happy nonetheless. (The LM is in there with legs folded if you can see it)

Looks great!
I looked up the paper build thread, good first effort on that Enterprise.
Much better than my first effort, -a Back to the Future DeLorean that got so badly warped during assembly that it was impossible to complete! :-(
The link in there to the airliner build discussed in the thread was amazing.
I have a build log for the Soyuz as well: http://jenssenpapermodels.blogspot.c...196-scale.html

/Peter

[Jens]

Grant, -I think I got it. Captain Scarlet, isn't it?

Thanks, that helped. But unfortunately, I never saw the series so it didn't bring back anything because I didn't know it in the first place. I did watch Thunderbirds though from time to time.

[grant hutchison]

Yes, it's the Angel Interceptor from Captain Scarlet, 1/72 kit by Airfix.
The Airfix cockpit detail is non-existent, so I'm using a resin add-on that provides a rather nice cockpit tub and a distinctly husky-looking Angel pilot.

In other news, I've just managed to generate a slight pebble-dash effect on the upper surfaces of the model - that's what I get for not changing the filter on my spray booth often enough. I'd normally just give that a gentle fine sanding and it would be right as a trivet, but this kit is so old it has raised panel lines. I don't think I can bear to sand them off and rescribe the whole model.
<Sigh.>

Grant Hutchison

[Jim]

I would enjoy building models again - planes, ships, tanks, etc. - but I don't have any special urge to display them, nor do we really have the room. (And I don't have a man cave.) ...

Me, too. They were fun to build and to look at after building, but what do you do with them?

... For me, the big problem with doing these intricate models when you're older is failing eyesight. ...

Actually, that should be a plus. If you mess up, you can't tell.

[PetersCreek]

Actually, that should be a plus. If you mess up, you can't tell.

You don't understand. We. Just. Know.

[pzkpfw]

You don't understand. We. Just. Know.

That was explained to me by a friend many many years ago. He built a VW Beetle. Lots of detail on the engine, then the body went on and the engine was out of sight. I couldn't understand why the engine was even there.

But (to use your phrasing). He'd. Know.

[danscope]

Most of the stuff I built , some from plans, some kits, and some original designs ...were flown , and flown well.
Remember folks, " Balsa Flies Better !!!! "

Dan

[PetersCreek]

I couldn't understand why the engine was even there.

But (to use your phrasing). He'd. Know.

Or...the model might allow display with the bonnet open...and he would just know.

It's a condition that plagues me at times and I have to remind my wife about why I sometimes obsess over little details that no one but me will take notice of. The most recent was my hall table project. While there is a practical benefit to applying finish to all exposed wood surfaces, even if hidden, I applied all of it with the same care. I could have just slapped it on in the concealed areas but it would have haunted me.

[schlaugh]

It's a condition that plagues me at times and I have to remind my wife about why I sometimes obsess over little details that no one but me will take notice of. The most recent was my hall table project. While there is a practical benefit to applying finish to all exposed wood surfaces, even if hidden, I applied all of it with the same care. I could have just slapped it on in the concealed areas but it would have haunted me.

What condition?

[John Mendenhall]

I've sort of returned to styrene modeling as a stress reducer, and enjoyed sharing some construction with Younger Son (we have a box with a 1/350 scale TOS Enterprise just awaiting him being home from college long enough - our plan did not include figuring out where to put the thing when complete). Stopped at a hobby shop in Nashville yesterday after visiting a sick relative, and I was amused to note that I, a few days past birthday 58, was probably the youngest of 3 customers in that aisle.

Suggestion from a ship modeling fiend: build a case for it first. It will cost more then the model (yes, I know how much the E costs), and it will be a nuisance to build, and it will be worth it in both the short and long term.

[DaveC426913]

... sometimes obsess over little details that no one but me will take notice of...

This. Guy. obsesses over details:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54D0_rr-7Dk
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lucaia...7632208677161/

The rest of us are rank amateurs.

[baskerbosse]

Or...the model might allow display with the bonnet open...and he would just know.

It's a condition that plagues me at times and I have to remind my wife about why I sometimes obsess over little details that no one but me will take notice of. The most recent was my hall table project. While there is a practical benefit to applying finish to all exposed wood surfaces, even if hidden, I applied all of it with the same care. I could have just slapped it on in the concealed areas but it would have haunted me.

Well, the whole interior is represented in the WnW kit. Most is not visible when it's completed.
Some years a go I read an article by someone building a model of the Royal Yacht Caroline.
All internal timbers were represented, royal cabins had exquisite parquet flooring made with miniature wooden inlays using many different kinds of wood.
Much of this was closed up, never to be seen again. He had the same comment. "-I know it is there".

I'd say it's partly the enjoyment of creating it in the first place, partly the "I know it's there", but it also changes what the object is.
That Royal Caroline for example is an exact miniature replica. If you were to take it apart, it's consistent all the way through.
The difference between gold plating and solid gold if you like.

/Peter

[ngc3314]

That was explained to me by a friend many many years ago. He built a VW Beetle. Lots of detail on the engine, then the body went on and the engine was out of sight. I couldn't understand why the engine was even there.

But (to use your phrasing). He'd. Know.

Another example (I deny everything, not even owning this kit) - loads of interior detail in a big kit of a Tu-160 which is then covered by fuselage skin and bulkheads. (The magazines were off-kit additions, but a nice touch).

But you'd still know. And have the pictures taken during construction. Much better than the phase when I'd ask the merest of acquaintances to admire the control panel barely visible through the open hatch of a 1/24 Gemini capsule.

[publiusr]

Hey, does anyone build their own from scratch?

I collect old pens--bits of plastic--and accumulate model kits. I need to get to building.

is that a sewing foot you used as a landing skid?

[Trebuchet]

Do you guys build kits as they come, or do you "kitbash"? That is, make then into something they weren't quite intended to be?

When I was somewhat interested in model railroading, I used to read Model Railroader magazine occasionally. They had a feature called the "Dremel Kitbashing Award", for people who'd started out with a kit and made it into something else. They had one for a specific railroad loco in "twelve inches to the foot scale". They'd taken an actual loco from another railroad and modified to look as if it was one of their own.

[DaveC426913]

I collect old pens--bits of plastic--and accumulate model kits. I need to get to building.

is that a sewing foot you used as a landing skid?

Landing gear I built myself.

[danscope]

Hi Treb, Part of the fun and education in building and "Flying" is to learn how to build for strength, weight and durability, just like Mr. Dorfman's
" The Real Thing " . When you get a 6 foot sail plane that comes in a box the size of a pound of spaghetti , it's bound to be a little delicate.
When the wing folds in half on the tow line, it's back to the building board for reinforcing and "Improving" the design. This works .
Some people throw their plane in the trash. A determined model aircraft builder learns from the experience and presses on , so as to apply what you learn throughout your building career . It leads to stronger trebuchets

Dan

[Trebuchet]

Hi Treb, Part of the fun and education in building and "Flying" is to learn how to build for strength, weight and durability, just like Mr. Dorfman's
" The Real Thing " . When you get a 6 foot sail plane that comes in a box the size of a pound of spaghetti , it's bound to be a little delicate.
When the wing folds in half on the tow line, it's back to the building board for reinforcing and "Improving" the design. This works .
Some people throw their plane in the trash. A determined model aircraft builder learns from the experience and presses on , so as to apply what you learn throughout your building career . It leads to stronger trebuchets


Dan

I spent too much time at the airplane factory. Quality is King, but Light is God.*

*That's actually a paraphrase from what everyone know at that company: Quality is King, but The Schedule is God.

[grant hutchison]

Do you guys build kits as they come, or do you "kitbash"? That is, make then into something they weren't quite intended to be?

Minor kitbashing. Custom decals I print myself, different paint jobs, a little scratch building, some resin & metal detailing.
I'll usually convert to something slightly different from what the kit manufacturer provided, and will try to correct any errors in the original kit.

Grant Hutchison

[Swift]

Do you guys build kits as they come, or do you "kitbash"? That is, make then into something they weren't quite intended to be?

Yes. I've done everything from as they come, minor kitbashing, major kitbashing, and built from scratch. Even if I don't do serious kitbashing, I will almost always paint and detail with my own touches.

[grant hutchison]

Schedule has slipped a little - the decalling took three days.
I quite like kits with very detailed decal sheets, but there's no way I can do the whole kit at one sitting. Experience has proved that if I push on with it, at some critical point I'll find a previously placed decal from the other side of the kit stuck to my thumb.
So it was one surface at a time, coat with Microsol, and let set overnight.
All done and rinsed now. Couple of coats of varnish to seal, and then I have some matt black detailing to do.

Grant Hutchison

[eburacum45]

Since I gave up railway modelling the forums seem to be full of descriptions of CAD printed parts. Modelling might be a completely different ball-game once everyone has a 3D printer.

[grant hutchison]

Since I gave up railway modelling the forums seem to be full of descriptions of CAD printed parts. Modelling might be a completely different ball-game once everyone has a 3D printer.

Yes, I think 3D printing will put a lot of the small-scale resin detailing producers out of business. Some of the photo-etched metal (the flat objects that are folded into 3D shapes) will go the same way.

Grant Hutchison

[Nicolas]

Used to do some model building in the past. My brother and I still have a lot of railroad stuff in boxes, and he is about to have a large attic available... most recent scale building I did was last year a wooden castle for my youngest. Who is still way too young to play with wooden castles. Anyway, cutting out hundreds of angles on the top of the walls was not fun. the result was nice though, so worth it. These days my models are on scale 1:1. Rebuilding the car for vintage rally demonstrations.