What are some of your best ever modelling recoveries?

[Ray_W]

We often have those stalled kits where something goes wrong sucking out your enthusiasm, leading to the build being consigned to the Shelf of Doom, hidden is some box to haunt you. However, since I adopted the one kit at a time, build it or bin it approach, nothing has been binned and I have no storage of unfinished projects. It has improved my modelling skills. I have to think about how to recover my work. Things always go wrong -  stripping paint, removing and replacing decals, repairing dropped and cracked kits, thinking up ways to avoid putty and poor fit issues in advance, replacing that lost critical part, crazed or scratched canopies. Now, if there is something that I am unhappy with I just re-do it. This leads to a high satisfaction rate both in terms of finished builds and the recovery itself.  

 

What are some of your best recoveries? 

 

Ray

[theplasticsurgeon]

I made a very conscious decision to complete models on my Shelf of Doom.  Just 2 - but 2 big ones.

This Academy Catalina had stalled for nearly 10 years. 

Loads of excuses, so it was great to get it finished, as something VERY different to the Airfix Black Cat that I'd built previously.

Then this Airfix Nimrod, as an early R1, so slight modifications from the kit offering - and I wasn't happy about the glazed cockpit. 

Resulting in excuses, and about 4 years delay.

AND a resolution to not let that happen again!

 

 

[Ray_W]

3 minutes ago, theplasticsurgeon said:

Loads of excuses, so it was great to get it finished, as something VERY different to the Airfix Black Cat that I'd built previously.

Looks fantastic. Something to be proud of.

[PhantomBigStu]

Think my Shackleton counts, had several of the clear parts break and the two side windows fall in as it progressed in late 2019 and Airfix didn’t have the parts spare. Fortunately didn’t give up, tried again at the end of 2020 and it was finished earlier this year. 

 

[Ray_W]

2 hours ago, PhantomBigStu said:

Fortunately didn’t give up, tried again at the end of 2020 and it was finished earlier this year. 

 

Great work. So pleasing to see something like this finished.

[Ray_W]

One of mine, which I fought the whole way, was my 1997 1/48 original tool Eduard Tempest V. A 10 year project, often shelved, and then decided beginning of 2020 no more shelf queens. get it done. Now it is one of my favourites. So much so that I am unlikely to buy the new tool.

 

 

Ray

[Bullbasket]

This isn't about wingey things, so if this sort of thing upsets you.....look away now. About 15-20 years ago, when I gave up a lifetime of building aircraft, I built Tamiya's Cromwell OOTB to see if that sort of thing was for me. It was the kit that got me interested in all things AFV.

Fast forward to 2017, and I decided to rebuild it. The kit  purports to be a Cromwell lVD, but actually has a lVc engine deck. So I took a look at it and decided that I would rebuild it as a Cromwell lVF. That involved redoing the engine deck, altering the driver's escape hatch, removing the forward bin on the RHS, adiing new bins either side of the turret and a few other bits and pieces. And this is what I ended up with.

 

 

Many a good tune played on an old fiddle.

 

John.

 

[fatfingers]

1 hour ago, Bullbasket said:

 

 

Aye up John,

 

Excellent job on the rigging from the Bren to the main gun! 😀

 

Regards,

 

Steve

[Black Knight]

I have two of my own I'm pleased with.

 

1. An old Revell Morane-Saulnier N. 

When I first built it I painted it Humbrol 74 Linen and used the kit decals and never rigged it. One day I got it out with the idea of just rigging it and it ended up getting a full face lift. Sorry, I can't find a 'before' photo but here is the newer look

 

2 Is an old Airfix Fokker Dr.1. Airfix had issued the kit with Werner Voss' famous markings. I built it just about oob. I got it out earlier this year just to repaint the white areas which old varnish had turned yellow. It too ended up getting a rebuild, with corrections done to make it an F.1 and a repaint 

Before; 

 

After;

 

 

Number 3 was not one of my builds.

A couple of years ago a chap came to my club and asked if anyone would rebuild an old model.

Instructions were to rebuild it looking like it had been when he built it about 40 years ago

Special instructions were to preserve the fuselage markings which he had hand-painted

The chap even supplied a 'donor' kit

 

Before, as I got it

And a few other broken parts which I did not photograph

 

After the rebuild

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ray_W]

1 hour ago, Bullbasket said:

This isn't about wingey things, so if this sort of thing upsets you.....look away now.

Hi John, 

I put this in general chat to capture all modelling. Your Cromwell is great inspiration. Your rework is wonderful. I have my Cromwell locked and loaded for my next build. Hope to post in WIP. 

Ray 

[Bullbasket]

14 hours ago, fatfingers said:

Excellent job on the rigging from the Bren to the main gun! 😀

'Morning Steve,

And it took me weeks to train those spiders to get the rigging in just the right place.

 

John.

[Ray_W]

14 hours ago, Black Knight said:

I have two of my own I'm pleased with.

 

Excellent work. I am glad you also posted the Albatros repair. Delightful. Good to see you took on the repair job with such a great outcome. It deserved to be fixed.

[Bullbasket]

14 hours ago, Ray_W said:

Hi John, 

I put this in general chat to capture all modelling. Your Cromwell is great inspiration. Your rework is wonderful. I have my Cromwell locked and loaded for my next build. Hope to post in WIP. 

Ray 

'Morning Ray,

I look forward to seeing a wip. Gotta luvva a Cromwell.

 

John.

[Ray_W]

1 minute ago, Bullbasket said:

 Gotta luvva a Cromwell.

 

Sure do. I'll be starting real soon.