As a side note, I am not exactually sure where this thread should be placed
Have you ever had one of those days that NOTHING goes right? well i have. I was just airbrushing the underside of a P-400, when all of a sudden, my airbrush spits. I reach over to get some iso. alcohol, when all of a sudden, i hear a "thunk," and my leg feels cold. I look down, and i realize that I have just poured an entire bottle of brand new paint all over my brand new pants.
I lossed it at that moment. Everything from that days expeirince of modeling flew over me. Bending my airbrushes needle, screwing up the entire proccess of pre shading panel lines, getting runs of paint all over the thing, and worst of all, droppig the model, which completely bent one of the delicate machine guns completely out of shape.
I am currently sitting in my underwear, contemplating on what i am to do next. How can i tell my dad, who baught me the kit with great enthusiasm, that i wrecked it, and its chances of being built are slim? How am i to get a huge stain out of my paints? how many times to i have to do this before i loose all my sanity?
The model is now in its box, with all its parts, sitting in a shelf. I am writting this article (if youde call it that) just to vent my frustration. If you have any suggestions on what i should do, please be so kind and leave it here.
Ex-modeler(?) ,
Jon

Jon,

First off...chill....the world has not ended! "Stuff" happens to all of us at one time or another.

So, first things first....your P-400. Clean 'er up. Finish what you started before the mishaps happened.

New pants? Well...that'll teach you not to paint in "good clothes." I'd be inclined to think everyone has a set or two of "work clothes" that they wear when doing this' or that's. I've got a few sets of Levi's and some old T-shirts I use when modeling, woodworking, or foolin' about the house. Hehehe, your "new" pants can now be considered your "modeling" pants.

The lost and spilled paint? Replace it. Couple of bucks....part of the "learning curve."

Bent needle? Yea, that sucks. Again...only option I see is to replace it.

Preshading messed? Hit the kit with a light coat of primer and do it again. I've got two models on the bench that have been primed and reprimed a few times...no biggie.

Dropping the model? Double-sucks...but. Take the time to reshape the MG barrel. Go slow, correct it, put it back the way it was. Take the time to do it right. Slow is the key word. Go too fast and you'll likely break it.

Sittin' in your undies? Hehehehhe, that's on YOU. TMI dude, TMI!

Tellin' your Dad that the kit's crapped? Not a good idea. Do the aforementioned and add a note that there was an "oops," continue, finish, and he'll be good-to-go.

"Ex-modeler(?) " Over one little mishap? For shame. We all have "little mishaps." But, you know what, we're still here. I've had the "oopso's," I've also had things happen that could/would be considered "major" happen. I'm still here...so are a bunch of others.

Chit happens. You'll figure it out.

Mike (been there, done that, still here)

Good answer Mike.

And to answer the original question of


All the time.
Welcome

Jon,

I have those days from time to time. I would seriously let things bother meot the point of throwing a major fit. But, I have learned to let it go. As many many people have said, life is toooo short to get allworried about "bad days".

Mike said it very well in his post. You can get past a bad day. Everyone can!

Hey Jon

We've all had bad days with modelling disasters, but it's not the end of the world...or your involvement with the hobby to be sure. The thing to do is clean up as best you can, put everything down for awhile and walk away for a bit. Take a break, go see a movie, make some popcorn...whatever, just take a break. Talk to your dad, he'll understand. He'll probably tell you the same things we're telling you now.

Come back to it when you're refreshed and pick up the pices and start again. Remember, it's just for fun, that's all.



Bob

those days are ripe for me!
at the moment its faces!
did a good face(for me)
nexty day i did another one to practice and it looked like i had just started the hobby for the first time.
a minor annoyment. my base for my dio is warped! how buggering annoying eh!
i have ruined a hell of a lot o kits, mostly when i was moving from enamels to acrylics and then from wash and dry brush to trying to weather properly!

A bad day is when your #11 slices through the tip of your left middle finger and sticks into your right thigh just below that place. 10 stitches to close the finger up.
A bad day is when you realize that on the last three M60's you built, you've put the drive wheels at the wrong end of he tank
A bad day is when you open a new figure kit ot examine the contents and immedialtely lose an arm in the couch seat.
A bad day is when you've realized the eight wheels for your Scud launcher are assembled with the treads incorrectly aligned and you take off a chunk of your thumb trying to take them apart.
A bad day is when your really nicely painted mountain man slips form your fingers to the floor and becomes completely disassembled.

hi all, my bad day was last sunday , I was getting everything ready for display at a model Show and dropped the diorama base I had spent 3 months work on . I have spent most of yesterday and 3 hours today trying to salvage it . I am at the stage when everything that can be put back is ready and it leaves tomorrow for final assembly and touching up . cheers ian

hello Jon,
i have 3 dogs,2 that know to stay away from my workbench,and a 1 year old who wants to see everything i am doing.
the 1 year old,Tigger The Wonder Dog,has eaten 2 completed,painted models and eat a set of spuces of a $100 ship model.
so yes i have had "one of those days",so clean up the mess,get a new needle,tell your dad what happen,and never model in new clothes.
cheers,
Bruce

Perspective gentlemen..... its all about perspective.

Bad day? Not one of the above is an example of a bad day. Because at the end of each of those "mishaps", you still had your life, your family and your limbs (maybe minus some skin) intact.

Who had a bad day recently?
Army Pvt George Delgado, 21
Army Pfc Andrew Habsieger, 22
Army Spc Jose Rubio Hernandez, 24

KIA, March 24, Bahgdad

Every time I read page 7 of Navy Times and read "The Human Toll" roster, I get perspective.
Because WE will have the time to fix, learn, and build another of whatever we were doing.

Jon Murphy - Most of what you describe can be fixed (maybe not your pants!) including the bent AB needle. Do a search in this and other forums, ask specific questions, you will see that we ALL make plenty modelling oopsies, but many have solutions. Cheers mate!

My bad day was back in november,when I tried cutting my thumb off.
Came close.
But then I got some kits for christmas.
Now I go about cutting small pieces off of sprues and have no idea where they flew to.
Then I glue them together, and it looks like a spastic monkey with a putty knife cemented them.
And painting them looks like I used a broom sometimes.
But my hand is getting better and the broom is getting smaller.
There is always tomorrow, and another kit to start.

Mike

Jon

And where exactly did the day go bad? I only read about learning moments in your post. Mike Already pointed out a lot of things you have learned in one day. Pretty much everything that happened can be fixed, replaced or made better (unless you threw it against the wall and started to jump on it in your frustration). There is a big chance that pretty much everything that happened to you will not happen again... at least not in short term.
When something will not go the way I want it to I usually stop with it for a while, have a smoke, talk to the parrot, stroke the cat and make a cup of tea. And I only return when it feels right again ( which sometimes can take weeks). And you learned that doing double work takes longer which is a really good motivation to do it good once... And this means taking your time.
Ex Modeler? No way... you simply am going to finish the kit you are working on. I have not a clue what a P400 is... it sounds like something with wings... Certainly because your father bought it for you. He will love seeing it finished. Which is in turn also a great motivation.

So yeah there it is... I guess we all have these moments. It is a bit what you do with it. Do you take it calmly and go on later or will you stay frustrated with the guaranteed result that nothing will work anymore and nothing comes out the way you want. Not really a hard choice (ppssssjt option 1 is the easiest way)

Looking forward to seeing your P400 being finished because then I will know what a P400 is.

With friendly greetz

Robert Blokker

Hey happened to me the other day when I was airbrushing my Fokker E.V . I drop my airbrush , paint went everywhere , broken the landing struts off and lost a piece . God knows where it is (hope he tells me ) , but on the plus side of it all I now have a very nice shade of olive green foot prints that my cat was so kind to leave behind through out my house . No it wasn't a bad day just a learning experience . I'm sure you will be building for many more years . Happy modeling !!!!