The one that got away

[Scotsman]

Ever had a kit that won’t be built

 I mean one that , despite your best efforts simply won’t allow its self to be completed to your satisfaction . In my safe the model in question is the Academy 1/32 Sufa, and the Videos posted this week served to re-enforce my view that this is one model I’ll never complete properly.

 

I bought the model when it first came out , built is with as many extras as were available, Resin U/C bay , Cockpit, external enhancement set , Brass , the usual. No Intake or Engine exhaust at that stage , thank goodness other the price of the project would have been closet to £300!.

 

Anyway build went fine, no issues at all really , I chose a weapons load out on the extreme side, and we’re off to paint.

And that’s where the fun started  , not I’m an ok painter r, but I can’t free hand Camo, I’ve tried, and it just doesn’t work for me , and the camo of the Sufa, with those dratted conformal tanks.. AARGH…I painted it , the camo pattern sucked, touch it up with paint brush, it still sucked, sand down effected parts and repaint , Ugh… Eventually I threw in the town, decaled it, matted it , loaded the weapons, and tried to ignore it.

 

Ever had an itch that wouldn’t go away.. Yup for me it was this model

 

6 months later out comes the paint stripper, and we go to work.. Oh man what a mess….

 

A week later and the weapons are off, and so is the paint, oh and most of the surface detail on the model

By this time I’d built a few IAF F-16’s and I was pretty relaxed about the camo , so off we go again , and yes it was better this time round, sort of , not perfect , but at least I could stand to be in the same room as it for more than 10 mins without wanting to “Improve” the paint job.

 

On went the decals,  on went the ,by now,  rather beaten up weapons ,  and just for good measure I glued the canopy down in the closed position .  Ok now let’s leave it….

Eh no , it still wasn’t “quite right” , more fiddling, and then came the accident ,  It really was an accident , a land slide in my workshop, and when the dust had settled, no U/C , no engine back end, Lantrin set  gone and so on and so on .

 

That was a year ago

 

Now I’m trying to fix things,  a new metal U/c set along with wheels , and a mammoth raiding of the spares box means I’m trying to put right the damage, but it’s still fighting me , there are bits missing , U/C bits , canopy frames and so on , so there’s’ a lot a lot of scratch building  is in my future.

And as I try to salvage this most reluctant of models I’m faced with the fact that I still don’t really like the paint job, and I KNOW I could do so much better now, However the £200+ a new kit + resin would be is really beyond me .. so I soldier on, try to bring the beast back from the dead, and try not to file it in the bin!

 

Oh Weapons load.. How about Lantrin Set, 2x600Gallon tanks, 2xGBU-15s, 2xAim-120, 2xShafir + guidance pod for the bombs.. 

Seriously what was I thinking!

[Gerhard]

Pics or it didnt happen. 

[Jeff T]

You are certainly more persistant than me Scotsman!......I would have given up on it long ago, but full credit to you for keeping at it.

 

Jeff.

Edited August 16, 2018 by JT68

[Out2gtcha]

I feel ya!  I was at this stage with my very last model.................it came close to the sole of my boot on many occasions.   I think persistence and some sort of motivation to get the model fixed/completed is needed.

 

[Scotsman]

Photos.. Ok - ths is from the first time round.. trust me it looked a LOT worse in the flesh...

 

 

And a little close ....

 

Rougher than a badgers hind regions !

 

ColinR

[Gerhard]

No man!!! That looks good.

[Ryan]

If I don't strip a kit or assembly at least once, I'm not doing something right!

 

In the end Colin, make yourself happy.

Edited August 16, 2018 by Ryan

[SCRATCH BUILDER]

There might be a few things one could pick at, but overall it looks good!

[Out2gtcha]

Personally Im not sure how you guys do it!  I dont think I ever have nor ever will go back and re-do a model. Ive gone back and fixed ones that broke after I finished them, but in reality, I generally like using old builds as a measuring stick of where my skills were in the past. 

I think overall, if I have had models that Im not happy or satisfied with, I have generally either figured out a way to finish them to my satisfaction, stomped on them, or put them on the SOD. For whatever reason, I just cant go back and redo/do over a model after completing it. 

[Scotsman]

Brian , one of the down sides of buying kits as soon as they come out, as I used to do, it that you miss out on Aftermarket goodies. Which explains why 2 years ago my Trumpeter lightning was dragged kicking and screaming to the work bench , its U/C legs and wheels were replaced, a new ejector seat  was added , and while I was on a roll, my GR9 harrier war treated to paint touch up, and another new seat . 

 

I think there's a lot of truth in the saying that a work of art is never finished, merely abandoned, not for one minute am I comparing what I do to works of art!

 

I also find that re-vamping an older model provides a nice change of pace between  battling with new kits

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, SCRATCH BUILDER said:

There might be a few things one could pick at, but overall it looks good!

I agree......Harv

[LSP_K2]

I've intended to go back and finish a few that I'd gotten bored with or were having too many problems with, but it never seems to happen.

[Gazzas]

I've stripped paint once since I came back to modelling.   But it was in a group build so I had a little more motivation to complete the kit.

 

I admire your dedication.   But, I think I'd just buy a new kit before I stripped it again.

 

Gaz

Edited August 16, 2018 by Gazzas
added text

[Out2gtcha]

1 hour ago, LSP_Typhoonattack said:

I've intended to go back and finish a few that I'd gotten bored with or were having too many problems with, but it never seems to happen.

 

Yeah, for me personally, once Im done with a kit im generally done, and have real trouble/motivation ever coming back to it. 

[MikeMaben]

14 hours ago, Scotsman said:

                    ...a land slide in my workshop,

 

                           

 

 

7 hours ago, Out2gtcha said:

      I dont think I ever have nor ever will go back and re-do a model.

 

I did it many times back when I was a kid. Before there were aftermarket

decals I'd just repaint models ( this was pre airbrush too). I musta repainted

my Monogram 1/48 109 at least 3 times , German, Swiss, Rumanian, German

again , loads of fun. I used my Dad's Flying Review magazines for reference.  back then.