Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 I built a lot of testors kits in my youth. They were plentiful and cheap. They were pretty decent for what you got. But my biggest complaint was the plastic. It was super brittle and you had to bath the pieces in tube glue to get them to stick. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tail-Dragon Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 The worst kit I've ever managed to complete (and I still ask myself WHY ??) is the Arc 1/48 Hurricane. It seems to be poor copies of some parts of the Hasegawa Hurricane, the ancient Airfix kit, misshapen lumps apparently cast from clay, tons of flash, misaligned and offset moldings, and it featured fuselage pieces of different length, a 5 piece wing that was concave and anheadral when built, and that fit 1/8" below the fuselage when installed. The fact that I completed it is a tribute to Whiskey and Millput! Arc - should have been ACK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 (edited) Shall a bottle of Jameson qualify as a modelling tool....?????? Given the nature of some other's experiences, I come to think that some of us rely on whisky and spirits when modelling certain subjects.....maybe as common as Tamiya extra thin, but cheaper.... Spoiler Edited January 4, 2018 by Artie 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil.C Posted January 4, 2018 Author Share Posted January 4, 2018 So Smer no good then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoenixII Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 15 minutes ago, Artie said: Shall a bottle of Jameson qualify as a modelling tool....?????? Given the nature of some other's experiences, I come to think that some of us rely on whisky and spirits when modelling certain subjects.....maybe as common as Tamiya extra thin, but cheaper.... Reveal hidden contents Artie, quick, plead ignorance, 'cos the Irish mafia are headed your way! Jameson is Irish Whiskey rather than Scots Whisky (other countries have usurped the name) Normal service will NOW be resumed! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 22 minutes ago, Neil.C said: So Smer no good then? Well, it depends on the subjects......Their kits come from varied sources....in 1/72 scale, you can find ex-Heller, for example, wich are not bad at all.... If we talk 1/48, things get complicated.....their origins are weird, from Merit to who knows......the amount of removed flash, plus the oversized parts tree, leave more plastic behind tan the actually used in the model.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 (edited) I too would like to nominate the Contrail TSR.2: I built many a vacform but that one defeated me. In fact scratching my head to think of anything else I'd put into the same class. A resin TSR.2 arrived a good few years later and showed how it could be done. Never can recall who did the resin one but it was a nice kit and further highlighted how dire the Contrail was. EDIT: resin one was Resitech. Edited January 4, 2018 by Sabrejet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 6 minutes ago, PhoenixII said: mafia are headed your way! Jameson is Irish Whiskey rather than Scots Whisky my fault.......but must inform you: the irish mafia is already settled here in Tenerife...we've got more irish pubs here, than we can pay the mandatory visit every weekend..... now, seriously talking.....if you combine my limited english, with Des' (an irish friend, owner of a local Irish pub) limited spanish, and a few pints of Guinness plus some shots of jameson and John Powers, the result could make you laugh..... Cheers.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoenixII Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 3 minutes ago, Artie said: ..............if you combine my limited english, with Des' (an irish friend, owner of a local Irish pub) limited spanish, a few pints of Guinness plus some shots of jameson and John Powers, the result could make you laugh..... Cheers.... Artie, your in the clear then! Could I suggest having (initially) sober words with Des!!! and suggest a bottle of 'Paddy's' or three Sláinte! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upnorth Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 A memorably bad kit for me was the Classic Airframes 1/48 Northrop F-5A. It was more a caricature of the subject than anything else and had shape issues nose to tail. The resin parts were sub-par and barely fit while the plastic parts were basic with incomplete representation of panel lines, the panel lines that were there were wide and deep enough to make Matchbox's "Mad Trencher" blush. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 The Roden He111's have a bad press - I love the description of committee design but apparently the problems are with the fuselage halves, not the interior. There are some good fixes. http://s15.zetaboards.com/72nd_Aircraft/topic/10332166/1/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chillaton Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 I have never yet not finished a kit, but came very close with the Fonderie Minatures Halifax in 1/48. Even the fuselage halves were different lengths and different profiles and the fit of the interior still brings tears to my eyes, but the engine mounts are indescribable! The model still sits on my shelf and lears at me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntPhillips Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 On 03/01/2018 at 11:02 PM, GrahamS said: One I’m always willing to diss given any opportunity is the Airfix/Heller 1/72 Concorde. Fits where it feels like, bares only a passing resemblance to the real thing (I mean that nose, come on!) and frankly deserves to be burnt in the box without opening. I know there have been some good builds on here, but I’ve been scarred fir life and life is really too short. That is one of the few kits that I've binned halfway through, after just losing patience with it, and as you say life is too short when there are much better kits in the stash waiting to be built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter96 Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 My nomination for the worst kit I've ever tried to build is the Kopro 1/48th SU-25. I have to admit though, compared to some to the awful kits described on this thread, it's probably a bit of a modern classic.... No location pins anywhere, mishapen and warped parts aplenty, nasty / vague instructions.... just generally a rubbish kit. I preservered for a few hours trying to get it to work, but it's last flight was a vertical one into the bin. Cheers. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meatbox8 Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 On 1/3/2018 at 3:06 PM, Charlie Hugo said: You have not been around the block too long then. There are many clunkers over the years. Ones that still remain forever etched (and scarred) in my psyche are Beechnut Models, Merlin Models (you needed to be a wizard to build one of these) Oh yes. Merlin Models. I built their 'Fulmar' once as it was the only game in town at the time. Pretty horrible. The transparencies were about as see-through as a brick wall and the wing tips were about two scale feet thick. Then along came Vista's nice kit and Merlin's Fulmar went to join the great model aerodrome in the sky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meatbox8 Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 3 hours ago, chillaton said: I have never yet not finished a kit, but came very close with the Fonderie Minatures Halifax in 1/48. Even the fuselage halves were different lengths and different profiles and the fit of the interior still brings tears to my eyes, but the engine mounts are indescribable! The model still sits on my shelf and lears at me. And modelling is supposed to be fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenko Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 3 hours ago, chillaton said: I have never yet not finished a kit, but came very close with the Fonderie Minatures Halifax in 1/48. Even the fuselage halves were different lengths and different profiles and the fit of the interior still brings tears to my eyes, but the engine mounts are indescribable! The model still sits on my shelf and lears at me. It's called Classic FM. I feel your pain.......... The Hampden is no different Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meatbox8 Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 On 1/4/2018 at 4:26 AM, Albeback52 said: I fought the Contrail TSR 2 and it won!!. Very nasty kit!😬. I fought two Airfix TSR 2 kits (1/72) and they gave so much grief that only one got finished!! The other lingered unloved, unwanted and unfinished for 2 years before I finally binned the wretched thing! I sold my other 2 kits second hand. I swore I would never touch another 1/72 Airfix TSR 2 again. Certainly one if the worst models I ever attempted. By contrast, the 1/48 kit was a joy to build😁. Allan Oh no. I've had one on the stash for more years than I care to remember and was thinking about dusting it down fairly soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meatbox8 Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 On 1/4/2018 at 5:58 AM, John D.C. Masters said: Yes...hands down the worst. I mean, it might be easier to carve something out of stone. Although Merlin was the only company to release a Thomas-Morse Scout S4-C in 1/72nd...I'll give them credit for that. Then I would add most things from Roden although I cannot speak to their vehicles. The kits always look great--fine moulding, excellent detail, interesting assortment of designs, nifty box art, etc...then suddenly something major (wings, fuselage, etc...) does not fit, and not just a little bit. Also terrible decals. I binned a Fokker DVII because it was, frankly, impossible to get the lower wing to fit. I had meticulously decalled the wings' lozenge pattern from the excellent Pegasus sheets as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meatbox8 Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 On 1/4/2018 at 10:06 AM, Giorgio N said: I have a P-51H from the same company and while at least the fuselage halves are of the same length, the kit sure is very, very rough. It was with a Merlin kit that I found one fuselage half longer than the other by some 5 mm when I attempted to build their FJ-4 Fury. Merlin kits were very difficult builds but we should keep in mind that they were some of the very first pioneers in the short-run injection technology. I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy a Merlin kit today but we have to look at them for what they were in those years That's very true. As fun as it is to dis Merlin Models (something which I have just done myself!) they were, indeed, at the forefront of short-run, cottage industry kits. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_C Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 The worst kit I actually faced in more recent modelling experience was Airfix Centurion tank in 1/76. It had warped body parts which took me a while to properly attach to each other. That experience maybe distracted me from any other armoured vehicles modelling. Another bad mainstream kit was Revell's EF2000 that is I think known for having different quality of molds - some are nice and crisp while others are from softer plastic, sometimes warped etc. However the kit as it's designed is probably okay. The really awful kits in my life though were MiG-15 and MiG-19 of Leningrad Toy Factory I had in the childhood. MiG-19 was especially awful beast having zero in common with the prototype and extremely simplified. E.g. it did not have undercarriage struts - wheels were glued directly to gear bay doors. Pilot was just a flat piece of plastic as if he suffered from extreme G. Though construction was fairly smooth and quick! Much quicker that I spend on each kit now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alancmlaird Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 45 minutes ago, Meatbox8 said: As fun as it is to dis Merlin Models (something which I have just done myself!) they were, indeed, at the forefront of short-run, cottage industry kits. I'm on the final stages of detailing a Merlin DH5 and I must defend this wee model. Yes, its shy on detail and I had to discard the strut material and some of the supplied white metal parts, but it was a very easy kit to get right and flattered my skill level. Everything fitted and was undistorted with not much flash. I had to replace the aged transfers though. There are some pics on last years DH group build, and I'll be placing some more on the WiP sometime. Maybe I'm just easily pleased , I honestly can't think of a really hateful kit.....oh wait - a vacform Westland/Sikorsky Dragonfly with an impossible to glue canopy in two halves and no interior detail or info to scratch-build any in the kit instructions. Went in the bin when I moved house. I do now have a Mach Dragonfly still in the box - I'll let you know if I still have a smile on my face when I get round to building it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meatbox8 Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 32 minutes ago, alancmlaird said: I'm on the final stages of detailing a Merlin DH5 and I must defend this wee model. Yes, its shy on detail and I had to discard the strut material and some of the supplied white metal parts, but it was a very easy kit to get right and flattered my skill level. Everything fitted and was undistorted with not much flash. I had to replace the aged transfers though. There are some pics on last years DH group build, and I'll be placing some more on the WiP sometime. Maybe I'm just easily pleased , I honestly can't think of a really hateful kit.....oh wait - a vacform Westland/Sikorsky Dragonfly with an impossible to glue canopy in two halves and no interior detail or info to scratch-build any in the kit instructions. Went in the bin when I moved house. I do now have a Mach Dragonfly still in the box - I'll let you know if I still have a smile on my face when I get round to building it I'd really like a RN Dragonfly so I will read your thoughts on the kit with interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hepster Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Interesting topic, but worrying at the same time. I can certainly go along with the comments about the Roden He 111B/C kit, having built one and just about survived, it really fought back. I have the Lindberg 1/48 X-3 and a Beechnut kit in the stash, there does seem to be a common opinion that they are crud. Oh 'eck. I have tackled the Smer Macchi Costoldi twice, and it is buildable and looks good even if the props are wrong. I have found the Smer branded Heller repops buildable enough, after buying a few some years back when Wilkinsons were selling them off cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Revell Halifax - I wish some other manufacturer would give us a decent Merlin Halifax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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