1. Home
  2. Scale modeling discussions
  3. Aarrgghh!!!!!!!!

Aarrgghh!!!!!!!!

Finished the G-29 (G-11) last night. I'm pleased with it. Maybe not a prize winner, but I like it.

Set it aside to do some shredding for Lynne. My work table is also where I do ESM 72 typing and computer work. The typewriter gets set to the side and up on end to be out of the way until needed.

Sooo...I turned to the shredder and banged my knee on the table leg. Down came the typewriter onto the glider. :-( x infinity.

I reinforced the wings and stabs with metal rod, so only the left stab snapped off at the mid-point where the rod ended. The fuselage seam opened wide from the base of the windscreen to the center of the belly. Undercarriage broke off, tail skid broke off. Three of the seven tiny horn balances broke off. One of the decals on the tail suffered some damage. My peace of mind and contentment in finishing a model also evaporated.

So, today I closed the fuselage and carved off the skid mounts and opened up the undercarriage attachment points. Repaired the stabilizer, puttied the seam and the damage to the stab. That's when I noticed that the cockpit floor had shifted up on one side. Drilled a hole in the roof behind the canopy and used a steel rod to push it back into place, sealed and sanded the hole.

Replaced the tail skid supports with steel rod. The skid itself will be shaped plastic. The new landing gear shall be steel as well. Since I wasn't happy with the belly and underwing blue I'll sand that down and repaint. The upper surfaces should do well with some careful brush work and I have a good supply of the right type and size of red stars, so I'll replace all but the fuselage stars and the right side tail star. I'll also replace the belly skid closer to the belly as I wasn't happy with that, either.

As God is my witness, I'll never go without a completed model again!!! (And the typewriter now has a new home).

Tom

Reply to
maiesm72
Loading thread data ...

Awwwwwwwww. That sucks :(

I find that taking the attitude that breaking a model means that I have to go out and get another helps with the trauma : )

Reply to
Jessie C

I had a similar experience - I was building an acoustic guitar - 20 strings, 3 necks, fairly elaborate.

One night, the shelf unit above the work table collapsed due to me not having inserted the rails securely enough (I assume). Down came the shelf, and down came a 10-pound chunk of solid maple. WHAM!

Blissfully, the shelf saved the guitar. If the wood had fallen directly on the top, it would have crushed it completely. As it stood, it had

2" crushed area along the edge where the shelf hit it, and a nice big GOUGE out of the spruce top, as well as a few small dents. I steamed out the dents, but the gouge was far too severe to fill or repair directly. So I had to choose between jumping up and down in rage, and then getting on with fixing it - or just fixing it. I chose the latter. Had to surgically remove a 2" wide swath of wood from the top, find a spare piece with a matching wood grain, and insert it into the gap. Took me all day.

All in all, the repair worked very well - but I'd really prefer to have had my choice of when to learn how to repair such damage. ;)

Reply to
BD

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.