Stalled projects; we all have them.

[whale392]

So what is it about the vast majority of modelers (be it armor, ship, aircraft, or scale auto builders) that lends them to more than one project going at once and the inevitable stalling of some projects? Is it a slight case of A.D.D or O.C.D? Do we have a need to tinker versus actually finish? Is it the newness of a build wearing off and the siren call of the next possibility calling us from the current project?

I ask partly out of curiousity, and partly out of knowing my problem (and wishing to confirm the fears I have in myself/my abilities). What do you all think? Photographic evidence would be cool too. my below pics are but just a SMALL sampling of stalled projects.

you could call this FOX Row......as they are all FOX Mustangs by MPC/Revell.

Boxes of FOX kits.

, , , ,

I have so many it is sickening. Not counting the threads I have here, I have hundreds of pics of stalled projects. Maybe this coming year I will pick up some of these forgotton builds and get them to the 'Under Glass' section.

Feel free to join in with pics of your stalled projects (I don't want to be the ONLY kid in this camp!).

[my name is nobody]

I really dont know what my problem is. I have quite a few stalled projects.

no rhyme or reason to it...........just happens.

here are a couple, a '70 Torino Cobra Twister Special,

and my seventies street machine I'm gonna call 'MOCK ONE'.

(Mock because there were no BOSS 429 Mach 1's built.)

One of these days,..........thats the line I keep using.

meanwhile:

I've started dinking around with these two AMT Shelby Mustangs.

The '68 is gonna be a GT 350 with the drivetrain from the '67,

which is turning into a GT500. The drivetrain for the '67 GT500 is being swiped from another AMT kit, the '66 Fairlane 427.

So, at least you know your not alone.

[DRG]

I have projects that are stalled by my not having the needed skills to do what I want. Then there is the economy that interfers with purchasing the wired distributors and other things I feel I need to build a correct model.

Then there are times when a model is coming to-gether and I will make a stupid mistake and not being sure how to fix it back in the box it goes.

Then there are the stalled projects outside of the realm of modeling that interfere also.

[highway]

I don't know about O.C.D. or A.D.D., but I know the reason for not only many projects but some of the stalled projects on my bench is cased by C.B.P.! After years of not attending shows or even really building much, once I started posting on forums and found community builds, I've been joining almost every community build I could. It's at least made the better half happy, she was always complaining I bought and bought kits to the point she said she feels like she lives in a hobby shop, but I never worked on anything. At least now I get to the bench quite regularly! Now the issue is going to be where to put the builds when they're done!

Anyway, here are just a few (if I showed you every stalled build, it would probably be easier to post a pic of my entire collection ) of some of the stalled builds I have.

2009 Dodge Challenger, I had an issue with the paint on the seats and they went for a swim in Lake Brake.

I was working on this one for Bradley's Fox Chassis Ford CBP,

and this is where it still sits, like probably 200 more (at least) in my collection.

Oh, by the way, Bradley, I will probably be changing cars in the CBP!

Of course, I'm probably the king of stalled builds with this one, and I want to see if anyone can beat this length of a stalled build. I started this one 12 YEARS AGO!!!

It's a Revell 34 Ford, and yes, it has a Hemi! The supercharger even fits under the hood!

[slant6]

Well I actually do have A.D.D. and a slight bit of O.C.D., no joke, Ive been diagnosed with both, ask my Fiance about the volume control or the CD and DVD racks. I have at the moment, 3 stalled projects, one of which are that back to the future cars, so 5 If you count those. I really think for me it is an A.D.D. thing, cause when Im really into a project, I finish it and even try to learn whatever skills may be necessary to finish it, and I suppose that might be the O.C.D. kicking in. Ill be a lot of us (modelers) might have one or the other or both, just base on the fact that, when my A.D.D. was discovered, nobody even knew what it really was, thus it was never handled correctly. At the very least though, you've always got another build to go back to when you're done with the one you're on

[jeffs396]

Wow, where to start!

1953 Willys:

Art Deco custom:

Jeep CJ-8 Scrambler:

P-39 race plane:

Chevy HHR:

Jeep J20 pickup:

and there's quite a few more...

[Foxer]

Just search On The Workbench under my name and you'll find about half of mine. The others I've kept secret from all of you!

Nothing you will find has been completed.

Some of the reasons include needed part, new technique being researched, boredom, excitement, botched paint, ... I can probably come up with a lot more reasons.

[Ben]

Wait a minute......I thought when you stopped working on a project, you were finished with it? Then you move on to another, "finish" it and then go back to the first project again and "start" again! Yeah, that's the ticket!

I have so many unfinished problems that on another group I belong too, they actually started a poll asking if I will ever finish one!

Here's a link to just a few of my current projects.

www.public.fotki.com/lotso

[brett]

I got stuck on the making the rear end mounts for my pro mod frames (out of brass, cant bend styrene for peanuts). Everything would start coming apart at the other joints but I've since learned about transferring the heat so will get back to these in the new year.

extended the front end and through the rear guards and chopped the top on this, all 1sts for me at the time

and this one was finished but I wasn't happy with it so need to redo part of the frame

and somewhere there's a 59 caddy with a chopped top that the bondo warped the roof on

[Greg Cullinan]

I have two stalled projects.Unfortunately I truly have OCD.I had a few more but they had to go .

Sometimes I struggle with having open kits . Makes me wonder if this is the hobby for me,

as I see open kits,bags or boxes of parts is a big piece of this hobby.

Thanks for letting me share

[GOTH KUSTOMS]

I think we all suffer from A.D.O.S.D, Attention deficit, OH, Shiny Disorder, I myself have over 29 stalled, or in progress, which ever you wanna call it, no I'm not about to post that many pictures, I just get to point that I don't want to build on the kit anymore, and put it back in the box for another day, and start another one, or I work on 2-4 of them at the same time, but I think with me I just lose a Lil interest towards the end of the build...

[RodneyBad]

WOW Dave.

At the rate I've seen you build, I didn't think you had any unfinished projects.

I really dig the VW Bug and the Dodge Ramp Truck..

Plus all the others ya got going

I have a few unfinished projects myself.

a few there, over there, under there, up there and right here.

"O" and here.

Edited November 3, 2010 by Zukiholic

[camaroman]

Thanks for starting this post.... Double D has made me feel much better about my own started stash!!!!!

[Foxer]

WoW, Dave! I feel like I'm with family here! Feel free to borrow my Signature.

[Robert81]

Wow Dave, thems some killer stalls.

I have my fair share of stalls, if you car to look they can be found in my Phtobucket account in my signature.

[seanyb505]

Right when I got my second model when I was 8 my dad told me, "Only do one at a time, or you will never finish them." I'm proud to say I have no stalled projects, and work in alphabetical order so as to not show favoritism, or avoid building a particular kit. If I get an idea for a certain build I write it down on my master build list. Having said that, Dave that is a very large collection; I counted around 80 including background cars. You seem to enjoy mockup, but painting throws you off lol. Get to working!

Edited November 3, 2010 by seanyb505

[torinobradley]

I've got quite a few. Here are the ones with photo evidence:

'34 Fastback LSR

'34 Roadster Pickup

'63 Corvette Grand Sport

'34 HotWheels Sooo Fast LSR

'70s Ford Truckster

Not to mention the other dozens of kits sitting in my stash with little colored dots on them indicating they've been started and the hundreds of little and sometimes large sketches in folders (most used to be on a large cork board).

My reasoning is that I get a new idea and start working on it, against my better judgement and desire to get the last 20 or so projects done. Right now, I'm fighting the urge to start my '32 Devil Dog Strip Ripper Ford and my '55 Italian T-Bird Thundari

[ewaskew]

My stalled kits come from the mood I'm in.

If I plan on custom work I'll start then to the side it go's,until the mood to throw puddy hits.

If all body work is done then the mood to paint has to hit me.

I have came up with more bad paint jobs just trying to finish one,instead of doing it when I feel that I want to paint one.

Detail work go's the same way.

Thats why,at time's I'll build straight out of the box to get back in the mood for whatever,and back to some stalled builds.

Case in point the truck is waiting for the puddy and finish mood to hit so that the paint mood can hit,then on to the details

and finish mood.

The 55 is waiting on final clear coat and detail work then finish.

[whale392]

Dave, I thank you kindly for the photographic evidence that I am related to you! I have about 400 stalled projects, and for the same reason as you; I like the 'Mock-up and Fit' era of a build. Once I can see what it is going to look like finished, I lose interest.

Keep the pics coming. Believe it or not, this is cooler than an 'On the Workbench' posting any day!

Edited November 3, 2010 by whale392

[Robert81]

Here are some of my stalled projects for you all to Enjoy.

Switchers T-rod

32 Ford Truckster

Deuce sedan

49 Ford coupe

50 Ford F-1

56 Ford Victoria

more to come.

[Robert81]

61 Impala

66 Ford Galaxie

67 Corvette

69 Nova SS

Last but not least

70 Mustang

[CAL]

I think it is the equivalent of writers block, which has been summed up as, the writers desire to write brilliantly out of the box.

It is a combination of desire, ability, skills and the envisioned outcome or final piece. How many times that we envision the final model but along the way, this didnt turn out quite right, and this is off, I have no idea how to do that and million other little things come up along the way. I think we get to the point where more is wrong with a project that right, or fear of not doing good enough we put it off to the side. Maybe we learn or develop the skills and ability to tackle that project again… maybe not.

All that I know is I have more started than finished ones so I guess that makes me somewhat of an expert on the subject, yeah?

Sometimes, I just get tired of working on the same kit. I have a super detail F4U Corsair that is about 70% done, but I worked on it for months and months and months on the same kit and I was stuck of a few very minor details. It's been shelved for years now.

I got all kinds of stalled projects, and they are stalled for any number of various reasons, but mostly just a lack of ambition.

Edited November 4, 2010 by CAL

[59 Impala]

Great thread Brad. I have a few stalled builds in my stash. Here are some pics of some of them.

Both of these Pontiacs

Both of these Corvettes

Sometimes I feel like doing this to some of them.

I started this garage about a year ago and this is where it sets now.

I have a 56/57 Corvette that is also unfinished and waiting.

Here is the oldest one that I have that's waiting to be finished. It's a 68 Firebird that I started way back in 1968 while I was on Okinawa. It's still waiting.

Thanks fer lookin, and thanks Brad, maybe now I can at least get this one finished. Dan

Edited November 4, 2010 by 59 Chevy Impala

[Jantrix]

For me a build stalls for one of three reasons.

1. Design issue. Parts fit this-a-way and I want it that-a-way. Usually it goes into the box but not away. Stays on my desk forcing me to think about it.

2. Paint issues. Undecided color, too humid, in the purple pond, etc.

3. A genuine lack of interest in the subject. One of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" situations, to quote Steve McQueen. This situation is a no-go. The whole idea is scrapped and she'll either get parted out or redone some other way, later on.

Currently on hold

The rat is getting a major make-over.

Waiting on better painting weather.

Original Batmobile. Waiting on the guts to start it.

Project scrapped.

Paint weather soon.

*sigh*

Edited November 4, 2010 by Jantrix

[highway]

Here is the oldest one that I have that's waiting to be finished. It's a 68 Firebird that I started way back in 1968 while I was on Okinawa. It's still waiting.

Thanks fer lookin, and thanks Brad, maybe now I can at least get this one finished. Dan

Well, Dan, I think you have me beat for longest build!