Model Mishaps

[slusher]

I had a bad accident today that took most of the day to clean up. Right when I started i turned over a whole bottle of Loctite super glue 495. I did not loose many parts but spent part of the day sanding the dried glue off my table. 495 is considered industry strength and my wife gave me 2 1.oz samples. Very hard to sand but i cleaned up my table its plastic on top and sanded it smooth. Now the glue will sit inside a small glass she bought to prevent it from happening again.

[Guest]

Glad you didnt get stuck in it! Also glad you didnt lose any parts, etc. Sounds like a mess.

[Zarana-X]

Oh, super glue...

I've glued parts to myself, and myself, to myself several times. I use mostly the cheap tubes, and once the tube squirted all over my pants, which glued them to my leg.

[Austin T]

I remember when I first started using superglue I had a big bottle of "ultra thin". This tip had clogged on it so I removed it and cleaned it out,when I went to screw it back on I accidentally knocked it over and sent a tidal wave super glue all over my workbench. After spraying it down with accelerator and sanding for a few hours I finally had a level bench again.

[disabled modeler]

I almost cut my right thumb off once....took it all the way to the bone...good thing it was a new blade... I also had some old rare models packed away in a good sized box for storage once and the wife decided to move some things...she stacked heavy stuff on top and the models at the bottom....

[Tom Geiger]

I don't know if I've shared this episode on this board before. Above is my model room in my old house in NJ. Nice quiet little sanctuary, with everything in my reach. Watch the shelves...

We were away for a weekend and I came home to this! The shelves came flying down. My wife spotted it first. This was on our anniversary and we had a dinner planned, so she didn't even tell me! She knew there was nothing I could do at that point and my day would be over! So she told me after we got home from dinner. My stomach turned! I immediately started wading through, it was like hoarders. Stuff filled the entire floor area of the room. I had to climb over things to get anywhere. And there was nowhere left to stack things etc.

There was irony on several levels. The day we were leaving for our trip, we left to put our dog in the kennel and found it closed for several hours. So we returned home. My '53 Ford pickup Pyrite's Paddler was on the bench for a repair. I used that bit of time to do the repair and return it to my display case. Otherwise it would have been right in the epicenter!

The next interesting thing is nothing spilled. No paint containers broke, glues were all sealed. So it was a dry mess. And nothing really got broken. As the shelves came down, things seemed to slide forward, rather than tumble upside down. Most of the unfinished project boxes were sitting upright and had their lids on. Even my multi drawer storage cabinets pretty much held their own.

Stuff slid forward and filled the entire room. The magazines and other reference materials were probably the culprit, weight wise and shouldn't have been on the shelves. The issue with the shelf standards was that they were up with standard dry wall screws. The paneling thickness didn't allow them to get into the studs. That was 1960 era 1/4" paneling. It all did come down with some force. The bench stayed in place, but my wood chair was completely broken and flattened! We wondered just what that sounded like. Or if there was any sound at all since there was no one there to hear it?

And after digging, this is what the top of my bench looked like. Note the sealed paint bottles. Now something ironic. Go look at the "before" picture and the position of the bottom shelf. That was a narrow shelf I used for paints and supplies. It came down straight and landed on top of a couple of eXacto knife set boxes, completely surrounding the '50 Ford pickup. The scissors on the hook severed the bumper cleanly. That is not a doctored photo. The pickup was on the bench for a repair. The white body is my Ranchero police car when it was in primer, also undamaged.

The shelves did go back up on the wall, but with huge long screws deep into the studs. The books and other heavy stuff never went on them again. The same shelves are over my bench in my current home. Again with screws long enough that we joke that they can be seen through the siding outside!

Moral of the story... make sure your shelves are securely in place. And don't think you are okay because they've been up awhile. These fell down after being in place for years! Imagine what could've happened if I was sitting there.

Edited June 20, 2015 by Tom Geiger

[chunkypeanutbutter]

I remember one time when the cat got on the model table in my old room while we were away on a ride. Came back to the jar of thinner tipped over and broken... engine blocks, headlight lenses, tires, and wheels: all fused to the tabletop.

[Ace-Garageguy]

For anyone contemplating hanging shelving on a drywall surface...get yourself a cheap electronic stud-finder. Use it correctly, and you'll avoid any problems associated with screws simply pulling out of the sheetrock.

LONGER screws simply have no effect if what you're screwing into is soft and brittle...like sheetrock. A stud-finder allows you to locate studs accurately, and the 1/2 inch nominal thickness of most sheetrock means you'll only need a screw a couple of inches long, at most, to give you 1.5 inches of purchase into the stud, and to do the job correctly.

The little plastic "anchor" inserts that supposedly "reinforce" holes in sheetrock are pretty much useless too. They WILL pull out if moderately overloaded.

Moly bolts are better, and expand behind the sheetrock face, but still only distribute the loads into a relatively small area in a relatively weak material.

Toggle bolts are better still, as they make a larger footprint on the weak drywall.

[slusher]

Glad you came out good there Tom, i would not sleep until i went through everything...

[chunkypeanutbutter]

I hung an ugly shelf in my closet-turned-workroom yesterday in about 10 minutes. Stud finder, three brackets, six 2.5 inch screws, and a drill. Not rocket science, and a couple extra minutes prevents a shelf from slamming my head into a table of knives and soldering irons.

[thatz4u]

I knocked over a bottle of liquid cement on to a Johan hearse I was building, it did some damage, nothing that couldn't be repaired with a weeks worth of body work.

Live & Learn I guess.

[disabled modeler]

Well there is also burglars getting into ones home and model room too like they did here a few years ago....

[Art Anderson]

Well there is also burglars getting into ones home and model room too like they did here a few years ago....

That nearly happened to me about 35 yrs ago! Only thing was, the burglars, while they got into my breezeway, failed to notice 65lbs of very protective German Shepherd who objected vociferously to their intrusion. They bolted out that storm door, but Suzie wasn't finished--she dove right through the glass pane (fortunately with not even a scratch) and relieved one of the creeps of the back side of his pants!

All that happened within mere feet of my model car workshop of the time. Needless to say, when we got home, Suzie got a pretty nice reward, not to mention a lot of petting and hugging!

Art

[disabled modeler]

That nearly happened to me about 35 yrs ago! Only thing was, the burglars, while they got into my breezeway, failed to notice 65lbs of very protective German Shepherd who objected vociferously to their intrusion. They bolted out that storm door, but Suzie wasn't finished--she dove right through the glass pane (fortunately with not even a scratch) and relieved one of the creeps of the back side of his pants!

All that happened within mere feet of my model car workshop of the time. Needless to say, when we got home, Suzie got a pretty nice reward, not to mention a lot of petting and hugging!

Art

Art... I am glad they did not get to your shop...she deserved the rewards. Our house got broken into a couple of days before Christmas a few years ago...they tore a lot up and found my model room...they stole big boxes of old promos,unbuilt kits and build ups of my dads and mine... ...what they did not take they tossed around and stepped on or...?... . They ended up getting about 75% of everything I had from my and my dads collection....devastating...they even got a box of kits for the disabled builders group...the Grinch lives...

[Tom Geiger]

Mark, and you got no resolution? It HAD to be someone you know, who is in the hobby, to recognize that there was value. Most break in thieves are rather unsophisticated, looking for jewelry and electronics they can pawn to buy drugs.

I'm surprised that nothing surfaced at local club meetings, shows, eBay etc... and that they didn't brag to someone else in the hobby. That's usually the thief's undoing.

[1930fordpickup]

I agree Tom. A few years ago on the show It takes a thief the host explained they do not like to take things that break easily. When they go in for a fast grab they want to be able to throw things in a box or bag to carry things. Damaged items bring less money. This was a former burglar doing the talking.

[Krazy Rick]

Mark, and you got no resolution? It HAD to be someone you know, who is in the hobby, to recognize that there was value. Most break in thieves are rather unsophisticated, looking for jewelry and electronics they can pawn to buy drugs.

I'm surprised that nothing surfaced at local club meetings, shows, eBay etc... and that they didn't brag to someone else in the hobby. That's usually the thief's undoing.

Ya Tom, that is highly, Highly unusual, I'm pretty positive models & hobby related items wouldn't be on any burglars list, in fact, I would bet on it ....nope, this would have to be someone who was there & knew about the stuff, most likely from a previous tour / visit - do you have any pictures that were taken for your home insurance policy ? ...... I sure hope all these expensive promos & kits were fully covered, if not, consider it for the stuff you do still have , or put in an alarm system & window bars........ in any case, it may be time to consider not looking back to when this occured & just appreciate what you have now ; & move on from there.

Edited June 22, 2015 by Krazy Rick

[disabled modeler]

Mark, and you got no resolution? It HAD to be someone you know, who is in the hobby, to recognize that there was value. Most break in thieves are rather unsophisticated, looking for jewelry and electronics they can pawn to buy drugs.

I'm surprised that nothing surfaced at local club meetings, shows, eBay etc... and that they didn't brag to someone else in the hobby. That's usually the thief's undoing.

Tom... I think they just got in and grabbed anything that was easy to pick up and go but it had to be more than one person. I did see a few that looked like mine on e-bay...the vary late 50s through mid 70s promos of Pontiac,Chrysler,Plymouth,Chevy,Cadillac,Ford,etc. promos and 60s,70s unbuilt kits many were rare muscle car ones. We did not have renters insurance...they also got a few old lighted signs auto and gas related ones. Who ever it was they thought and planed it out. I am happy to still have the ones they busted up bit trying to find the parts they will need to restore them on my budget is not going to be fun or easy...bummer.

[Krazy Rick]

Tom... I think they just got in and grabbed anything that was easy to pick up and go but it had to be more than one person. I did see a few that looked like mine on e-bay...the vary late 50s through mid 70s promos of Pontiac,Chrysler,Plymouth,Chevy,Cadillac,Ford,etc. promos and 60s,70s unbuilt kits many were rare muscle car ones. We did not have renters insurance...they also got a few old lighted signs auto and gas related ones. Who ever it was they thought and planed it out. I am happy to still have the ones they busted up bit trying to find the parts they will need to restore them on my budget is not going to be fun or easy...bummer.

Mark, let's try to think about resolving this issue for once and for all, and perhaps allow you to be at peace with what occured at that time, which you continue to rehash; it must bother you a great deal & perhaps by looking at it in a logical fashion; may help you to move ahead & not look back. If we reopen this, as a cold case file, we should look at a short period of time ( 30 days ) before this occured, now we should try and remember who was a visitor, including all, strangers, neighbours, repair men, etc. - write those names down, as "people of interest" . Now, try to remember, out of that list of people, who were NOT familiar with models / promos. Now, try to remember if it was brought to anyone's attention, by either you, or your Father (from the list of visitors ), that these items were something of value. Now, think back to shortly after this break in, who, on that list seemed to be acting "different", or perhaps, not been available either immediately afterwards, or ever again. Now, make the same type of list, but this time, for people that you believe would have some knowledge of value, and again, try to remember if thier behavoir had changed in anyway after this occured. I would say that the odds of this being done by someone you had contact with, are very strong, and I would say it is more likely to be someone from list # 2 ( but don't rule out list #1 ) ..... the odds of an average thief breaking into a place & taking models & lighted signs ......... are really very slight. If you take a few steps back think about the dates as I mentioned & do the lists, I'll bet you'll pinpoint a couple suspects - if they are still "in the hobby" .... chances may be good that they'll still have a couple of your things hanging around thier place

Edited June 23, 2015 by Krazy Rick

[oldcarfan]

Other than severely cut fingers, my only real mishap was at the age of 12 or so. I had gotten an MPC Vega kit from my parents and did a really good job on it, at least in my opinion. Anyway I was so proud of it that I took it with me when my mom went grocery shopping. I put it on the dash. I had painted it black, it was Texas, it was summer and the windows were closed. You can guess the rest.

[disabled modeler]

Mark, let's try to think about resolving this issue for once and for all, and perhaps allow you to be at peace with what occured at that time, which you continue to rehash; it must bother you a great deal & perhaps by looking at it in a logical fashion; may help you to move ahead & not look back. If we reopen this, as a cold case file, we should look at a short period of time ( 30 days ) before this occured, now we should try and remember who was a visitor, including all, strangers, neighbours, repair men, etc. - write those names down, as "people of interest" . Now, try to remember, out of that list of people, who were NOT familiar with models / promos. Now, try to remember if it was brought to anyone's attention, by either you, or your Father (from the list of visitors ), that these items were something of value. Now, think back to shortly after this break in, who, on that list seemed to be acting "different", or perhaps, not been available either immediately afterwards, or ever again. Now, make the same type of list, but this time, for people that you believe would have some knowledge of value, and again, try to remember if thier behavoir had changed in anyway after this occured. I would say that the odds of this being done by someone you had contact with, are very strong, and I would say it is more likely to be someone from list # 2 ( but don't rule out list #1 ) ..... the odds of an average thief breaking into a place & taking models & lighted signs ......... are really very slight. If you take a few steps back think about the dates as I mentioned & do the lists, I'll bet you'll pinpoint a couple suspects - if they are still "in the hobby" .... chances may be good that they'll still have a couple of your things hanging around thier place

You have a very good point Rick and I appreciate it....I did that not many people knew what all was in the house then or since...came up with no suspects though. I really believe it was just the time of year and a thief thinking there might be money or new valuables due to it being only a couple of days before Christmas like Maybe jewelry,money,gifts that could be taken back to a store for cash,etc. which we did not have so they just grabbed anything that was a easy target and loaded up. Nothing can be done about it now so my only option is to try to find replacements for the ones still here and the ones that meant a lot to me. The ones that did show up on e-bay were in northern IL. near Chicago area but south west of it. Anyway maybe in the future I can replace some of them...?

[Mike Kucaba]

I remember ordering a pizza and the delivery guy eyeing my models in a display case and saying "wow nice display,are they worth a lot of money" Without hesitating I said not really maybe 100.00 for the whole deal.

[Tom Geiger]

Don Emmons tells a story about when some of his models got stolen. Aside from his work in the model business, he also owns a glass business that has supplied a lot of the glass cabinetry that is in the International Model Car Builders Museum. He had a display case of the model cars he built for the magazine articles in his glass shop. There was a young guy, maybe 18 who came in and was enamored with the models. He came in a few different times to look at them. Then one night the shop was broken into through a small window on the back of the building. Nothing touched but a few of the models were missing. Don knew exactly what happened, but there's not much to do about it except file a police report.

And I can understand Mark's dilemma. The police really aren't interested in doing a big investigation. About five years ago I was doing a gut job home renovation. The house was near done and apparently the contractor I had working on the house got into a dispute with one of his subs. We show up at the house one day and the central air unit is missing! Instantly I knew exactly what happened. The house was on a corner lot and the back yard was very visible. I ask around, and sure enough one of the neighbors, the retired fire chief, saw the contractor removing the unit. He didn't act because they were the guys working on the house and he figured they weren't doing anything wrong. But a perfect witness.

I file a theft report. Detective comes around, takes a few photos. I had to go to the station and file a report. I hand this guy over to the cops. What do they do? They don't go and arrest him, they call him on the phone, and I'm listening. He ADMITS he took the unit. The cops tell him it's theft because I have receipts that I paid the contractor, and his dispute is with the contractor and not me. And that what he did was theft and trespassing.

What do they do? Nothing! They tell me the guy lives an hour south of the town and they're not sending anyone that far to pick him up. So I keep on them every week for something like a year and nothing. They tell me that if he comes to our town and gets pulled over, he'd get arrested. Never happened.

So what did I do? It cost me $2500 to replace the unit, which was less than my deductible. I reported the serial number of the unit to the manufacturer, which voided it's warranty. And since he just snipped the cooling lines, I sent a complaint to the EPA that he illegally released the gas into the atmosphere. I burned his reputation as a contractor on every board I could find. And that's about all you can do.

[disabled modeler]

Yep not much one can do once it happens but try to replace stolen or damaged goods if possible. The police here is terrible unless you are one of the wealthy or related to someone important with anything unless your at fault. Dont get me wrong I have known a lot of very good cops and they do their best on everything they do for everyone. In this situation its just up to me to do what I can which is not much other than to try to replace or repair what i can.