Ever have a jinxed model?

[Bill J]

Seems like every so  often there is one model or another that just won't cooperate to graduate. In 2010 I took a Model King Mercury Cyclone kit and did a few small mods to the body and painted it black, all black, from a Tamiya spray can. Looked fine. I applied some NASCAR decals and it still looked good but as it went along I notice I had held the decals a tiny bit too high and they would not lay over the front fender's sharp edge. I ended up painting another body another color and finishing a model. The original body was put in a container of Super Clean and soaked in there for years, maybe 4 or more. Stripping Tamiya spray (TS) with Super Clean is not the best solution.

A few weeks ago I decided to see what it all looked like. After a little brushing the body was fairly well stripped of the black paint and grey primer. I sanded it a bit, primed grey again and shot it again with a new can of Tamiya black. I let if dry/cure a few days and polished it with Novus. I did not like the look, it had some orange peel. I decided, dumbly to coat it with Pledge Floor Care, or whatever they call it now. Didn't help, looked worse and now I had to strip the Pledge off before more sanding and repainting. I got all that accomplished, shot another fresh can of black on it and while checking my latest effort, it slides off the bent coat hanger and rolls around on the floor. Really! Luckily it had cured just enough that it seems ok, so I will see later how it's going to look.

I still have to apply another set of the decals and have more opportunities to mess it up, but I am not ready to toss in the towel yet. I cannot imagine all the things that have gone wrong on this particular car ever happening, but I have to wonder about some curse or voodoo being in play!

This was the first attempt before stripping:

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by Bill J

[bobthehobbyguy]

Ah the dreaded modeling gremlins.

[stavanzer]

Been There, Done That, Stepped on the Fuselage as it fell off the paint stand. Airfix 1/48 ME-109G Wings and stabilizers all nice and Square(for once) I just finished spraying underside in HellBlau,, had a nice clean coat. As I turned around to Set the paint down, my shirttail caught the edge of my paint stand. Down the whole thing goes!  I set the paint down, and move to get the plane and it's stand. I trip on the legs of the sawhorse that I set my paint stand on, and crush the kit under my Size 13's. Argh. I never have started another ME-109G kit.

[Hotrod 97]

Yep, sure do. I was rescuing a half-built Mustang Mach III. It wasn’t in the best condition, but all the parts were there.

the build was going good... until I went to glue the windshield in. It needed trimmed down a bit to fit in the frame. I guess I held it a little too tight while trimming, because next thing I know the windshield split clean in half.

the next hurdle was when I knocked the hood (which had the hinges applied and drying) onto the floor. I still have yet to find the hinges...

and the last thing that happened before I put it away for a while was the rear broke while I was test fitting the chassis.

I still have it sitting on “the shelf”. I’ll give it another go one day.

[Snake45]

Absolutely. Can think of three right offhand. 

[BrianC]

Yep - got one of those!

 About 20 years ago I bought a Tamiya 1/12 scale Yamaha scooter. It was from a guy in the Vancouver Car modellers club who ran a table in the vendor area and the proceeds went to the Salt Lake Model Car museum. I bought it as a "quick build" as it is a very simple kit to put together. I must have painted that thing five or six times - or parts of it and something goes wrong every time. I put it away several times and several times I have tried to finish it - with the same result. It has become an annual joke when we attend their spring model show that Jerry asks me if I have " finished that scooter yet ".  I haven't stomped on it yet so there is still hope........

[cobraman]

More times than I care to admit !

[Bucky]

Yes....yes, I have!

Revell '57 Chevy BelAir...with the steerable wheels, opening doors, hood, trunk, and rear windows that went up and down.

I was around 13, or so, and ended up flinging it down the hallway. I haven't built a '57 Chevy since, and that was in 1968.

I have several in the stash, just in case I get brave, again.

[RichCostello]

Almost every one I build goes like that.

[Tom Geiger]

Ah, it's not how you screw it up, it's how you recover!

I've screwed up many.  I've walked away and put them in the penalty box... the unfinished kit shelf.   Years later after I'm emotionally over it, and maybe just a bit more skilled, I pull that project off the shelf and actually finish it.   

[bobthehobbyguy]

I remember reading a builders rant. He was trying to glue a part using ca and it kept falling off. Finally the part stuck to his fingers.

[Wm David Green]

Absolutely, I have had numerous disasters, more than probably self inflicted, but I like to blame bad luck. 

Recently, made a hash of the AMT 1/25 1966 Olds 442. After the trauma of removing the body side trim, for the correct hard top spec, and filling some sink marks, then discovered that the chrome was really bad, too thick with runs all over and obscured details, the center grill part was unacceptable, the brown glue / varnish stuff they used was the culprit, . So I tried to strip it. The chrome is off, but the glue varnish stuff is still there, and in places rock hard. Put to one side until I calm down and think of a solution.

The newer 1/25 AMT Mercury Cyclone, tried to correct the asymmetric lower body contours, several times. Just about got it right, but still loads of filling and smoothing to do.

Then I decided to fix the incorrect front roof line, wish I hadn't bothered. Will have to wait until I have figured how to make a new windscreen.

Still have two more Cyclone kits in the stash.

In the past I have attempted a few 1/72 & 1/48 aircraft, but made rookie mistakes and blunders. But you learn eventually, for me skill and patience came later. 

Amateur modeler with advanced modeler delusions, measure once, cut twice (or more).

"IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT".

[disabled modeler]

I have way too many that for some reason fight me tooth and nail....ether its needed parts...bodywork on conversions...restoration projects...the weather...funds...etc. always seem to have to try and fight me in some way for the most part...?

[Rusty92]

The AMT 57 Belair was one for me. I couldn’t get the paint to lay down right at all, I tried so many times and it went sour each time. I’ve used that same system before and it worked fine. Oh well, it’s parts live on elsewhere and the body is in the bottom of the pile.

[Deathgoblin]

Less a jinxed kit, usually jinxed hands. 

[oldcarfan]

I've had several jinxed paint jobs. One 911 I painted and stripped 4 times. The first time the primer was perfect, the paint went on and promptly wrinkled. I redid it and a stray clump of hair floated by. Once again into the bath and this time the paint was great and the clear coat spattered instead of sprayed. The last time it came out 'decent" and I decided to call that good enough.                         My Monogram Land Rover has been fighting an insurgent war against assembly for a while, with a cracked windshield frame, then a crackle finish paint job and finally the hood decided to go on vacation.

[slusher]

On May 13, 2019 at 6:29 PM, cobraman said:

More times than I care to admit !

X2 and have a couple waiting to see who wins.....

[MrObsessive]

Two actually..............this one.....

This BMW 850i is one of my all time favorite kits to be done by Tamiya, only to have NUMEROUS fit difficulties getting it together! I've ran into more problems with this one that I have before in many years and I doubt I'll ever build another. In Tamiya's defense, this was a reboxed Revell kit and had I known what a pain in the tush this would have been to get together, I may have thought twice.

And then this one which I've all but given up on..................

After THREE tries with the hood warping, I gave up and put in its box where it sits. A while back I did get an original plastic hood for it so I may attempt to get this one together, but I don't have the ambition right now to fool with it.

[Straightliner59]

I'm sure there have been others, but, the one I am working on, now doesn't seem to want to be finished. Earliest photos  I have of it are time stamped 12/31/01. It's fought me almost every step of the way!

[Tom Geiger]

15 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

 Earliest photos  I have of it are time stamped 12/31/01. It's fought me almost every step of the way!

I’ve got projects on my shelf going back to before digital photos!  My oldest, a Revell 57 Nomad dates back to 1988

[Sam I Am]

I think my oldest one goes back to 1979. First Tamiya, first F1, REALLY over my head. Pulled it out, oh, years ago, did a bit, found paint, still looking at it. 

[Straightliner59]

4 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

I’ve got projects on my shelf going back to before digital photos!  My oldest, a Revell 57 Nomad dates back to 1988

Like me, you probably have projects without photos that go back even farther than that!

 

4 hours ago, Sam I Am said:

I think my oldest one goes back to 1979. First Tamiya, first F1, REALLY over my head. Pulled it out, oh, years ago, did a bit, found paint, still looking at it. 

I know I don't have anything that goes that far back, except an old engine from a Badman I built in '74 or '75. It has fishing line for plug wires, because I didn't like the fuzz, on thread.

[Junkman]

All of them. Especially the ones moulded in red, since red plastic is made by the Beelzebub.

[64Comet404]

3 minutes ago, Junkman said:

All of them. Especially the ones moulded in red, since red plastic is made by the Beelzebub.

Remember to only get your red plastic from the Beelzebub, and not from some other garden-variety demon! Accept no substitutes, and get your almost-impossible-to-cover red styrene from the Lord of the Flies himself...

I'm currently working on a kit I believe is 'jinxed', the Revell/Monogram '70 Buick GSX. I manage to assemble the chassis and engine cleanly, and test-fit the body, interior, and running gear together. Upon disassembly, the engine breaks free from the mounts. All the small parts are painted, and ready for assembly, so several of them disappear! (I don't have a cat, so I can't blame it) I find a parts kit at the NNL, rob it for the needed parts, and sell it at the next week's contest. Since I have sold the parts kit, I can no longer find the rear bumper! Considering how nice the overall kit is, I wish it would stop fighting and submit to assembly.

[lordairgtar]

The AMT 69 Chevelle...and not because of the rear tail lamps. I have been trying to convert this to a 69 Beaumont. Fights me every time I put it on the bench to work on it.