Snake45 Posted January 15, 2015 Posted January 15, 2015 You familiar with the Mendoza Line? Mendoza air rifles? I have one, a lovely thing, and a certified squirrel-assassin. It would be just the thing for destroying recalcitrant projects, if one got tired of flinging them against the wall or stomping them into bite-size pieces or blowing them up real good with M-80s. (I don't do such things, but I've read posts of many airplane modelers who do. I hate wasting or trashing things I've spent good US dollars on.)
Petetrucker07 Posted January 15, 2015 Posted January 15, 2015 0% a kit is never finished I second that.^
StevenGuthmiller Posted January 15, 2015 Posted January 15, 2015 It's funny because I have a ton of unfinished kits in my stash, but they're all from many years ago. Since I started again about 3 years ago & have "simplified" my approach to building, I finish probably 95%. I've built roughly 35 kits in the past 3 years & I can only think of 2 that have not been finished, mostly due to paint issues. I fully intend to revisit those 2 at some point. I'm guessing that I probably built maybe a dozen kits in the ten years leading up to my hiatus. Not a very good ratio! I find myself much more excited about the hobby now that I am finishing builds! Steve
Roadrunner Posted January 15, 2015 Posted January 15, 2015 You familiar with the Mendoza Line? I wasn't before, but I am now. That's pathetic, and probably on par with my own finishing averages.
AC Norton Posted January 15, 2015 Posted January 15, 2015 .....it was perfect, way back in the day....however present day I start more than I get finished, maybe 60- 40, at best.....the ace.....
slusher Posted January 15, 2015 Posted January 15, 2015 (edited) I would say 98 percent...The others become organ donors... Edited January 15, 2015 by slusher
SfanGoch Posted January 15, 2015 Posted January 15, 2015 Mendoza air rifles? I have one, a lovely thing, and a certified squirrel-assassin. It would be just the thing for destroying recalcitrant projects, if one got tired of flinging them against the wall or stomping them into bite-size pieces or blowing them up real good with M-80s. (I don't do such things, but I've read posts of many airplane modelers who do. I hate wasting or trashing things I've spent good US dollars on.) Not that Mendoza line. It's a baseball expression named after journeyman player Mario Mendoza. It describes the low end cut-off point (a .200 Batting Average) for offensive productivity. Good ole Mario batted below that ( between .180 and .199) four out of five years from 1975-79. The term has also been co-opted for use outside of baseball. If you started five builds at the beginning of the year and only finished one (1/5 = .200), you're at the Mendoza Line. If you started more than that and still finished only one, you're below it. Now, pick up yer glove an' hit de showers.
Tom Geiger Posted January 15, 2015 Posted January 15, 2015 (edited) I'd say I've finished maybe 50% of what I've started. I'm guilty of all the above excuses, I sometimes run out of steam or missed the deadline for a club contest. I lose inspiration on how to finish a model so it will sit. Sometimes I hit a skill roadblock and don't know how to move forward. And sometimes I'm frustrated and rather than throw it at the wall, I put it back in the box until a better time. I keep most of my unfinished projects on the shelves over my work bench. That forces me to remember them, and not lose sight of models locked in my basement. Sometimes I'll sit at my bench and pull them down one at a time when the label on that box intrigues me. Sometimes with a fresh look, I'll immediately see the issue that was in my way when I gave it up. Other times I'll now have the skills that stumped me back then. And sometimes just playing with the parts will renew my interest and the next thing I know I'm working on it again. I don't always finish them on that second round. Sometimes I fiddle for a few days and maybe complete a few more steps before it goes back up on the shelf. But that's okay because it's one step closer to being finished the next time. Maybe. And there are models that will never get finished, but I developed a skill or learned a trick while working on them. So that's okay since they are the stepping stone to the better models I build today. And I never say never, I'm currently finishing up a model I started over 20 years ago. I do have this Christmas Amnesty Program thing I've done since 2000. Every year when I'm off work between Christmas and New Years, I'll pull an old unfinished project off the shelf and actually finish it. I have done this pretty successfully with only one DNF and two years where I wasn't able to work on models during that break. But of course, I've started a few more projects during that year so I will never catch up. And that's okay. I refuse to feel pressure to finish models, and I won't promise to finish anything before I start a new model. I will do what ever my heart desires because it's a hobby, and I do it to feel good! Above photo shows my shelves. Most of the boxes on those two shelves are unfinished projects. Edited January 15, 2015 by Tom Geiger
Belugawrx Posted January 15, 2015 Posted January 15, 2015 I'd say I've finished maybe 50% of what I've started. I'm guilty of all the above excuses, I sometimes run out of steam or missed the deadline for a club contest. I lose inspiration on how to finish a model so it will sit. Sometimes I hit a skill roadblock and don't know how to move forward. And sometimes I'm frustrated and rather than throw it at the wall, I put it back in the box until a better time. I keep most of my unfinished projects on the shelves over my work bench. That forces me to remember them, and not lose sight of models locked in my basement. Sometimes I'll sit at my bench and pull them down one at a time when the label on that box intrigues me. Sometimes with a fresh look, I'll immediately see the issue that was in my way when I gave it up. Other times I'll now have the skills that stumped me back then. And sometimes just playing with the parts will renew my interest and the next thing I know I'm working on it again. I don't always finish them on that second round. Sometimes I fiddle for a few days and maybe complete a few more steps before it goes back up on the shelf. But that's okay because it's one step closer to being finished the next time. Maybe. And there are models that will never get finished, but I developed a skill or learned a trick while working on them. So that's okay since they are the stepping stone to the better models I build today. And I never say never, I'm currently finishing up a model I started over 20 years ago. I do have this Christmas Amnesty Program thing I've done since 2000. Every year when I'm off work between Christmas and New Years, I'll pull an old unfinished project off the shelf and actually finish it. I have done this pretty successfully with only one DNF and two years where I wasn't able to work on models during that break. But of course, I've started a few more projects during that year so I will never catch up. And that's okay. I refuse to feel pressure to finish models, and I won't promise to finish anything before I start a new model. I will do what ever my heart desires because it's a hobby, and I do it to feel good! Yep that sounds like me too... Thnx for saving all that typing Tom I don't get discouraged at all when I get a pause in a build,.. I will read up on techniques, experiment on other builds, get a lock on it,... Pull the stall out and try again,... Always building,.....something (oh by the way.. I did pull that Amnesty '55 chev build, and it is on the bench too) Cheers
Tom Geiger Posted January 15, 2015 Posted January 15, 2015 Thnx for saving all that typing Tom That's okay Bruce! Sometimes I post just to type. I love to type!
cartpix Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) Double post Edited January 16, 2015 by cartpix
robs4516 Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 I dunno, if I ever finish one, I'll do the calculation.
Aaronw Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 I'm going to guess 75% eventually get finished (even if it takes 10 years), and maybe 20% power through and get finished more or less without distraction (get finished within 12-18 months of starting them).
Mike_G Posted January 17, 2015 Posted January 17, 2015 I've finished every kit I've started except one- an AMT '40 Ford coupe that I haven't worked on since 1987, but I do plan to finish it some day.
Lucas van H Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 I finished almost all the kits I started, the only ones I didn't finish are a Revell Chevy Silverado and, due to very very poor fitment, the Revell Porsche Carrera RS
iangilly Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 I try for 100%. But a majority of kits in my stash I know I will probably never get around too. I try and keep my projects under 5 at a time.
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