It’s the loss of parts that I worry about the most. Though this hasn’t happened a lot over the years it certainly has, mostly during final assembly when I haven’t the time to either tear my office down to find those miscreant parts, or, source replacements.
29th January 2025.
Let’s just clear something up before I begin with today’s update. It’s something I need to get off my chest. A feeling that I really must share with you all.
Building more than one model at a time, is a bloody stupid idea. I don’t like doing it and when I have to it makes me cross in ways that I can’t really explain. Working on multiple projects sucks the oxygen from the room, stifles my creativity and reduces my focus to levels that I know will inevitably result in mistakes, lost parts and all manner of other unforeseen issues.
Did I mention that I loath it?
Take this week as an example. I’m working on two complex builds so have a studio that is littered with two sets of sub-assemblies; two boxes; two sets of instructions and two collections of parts that are painted and drying out. Then there are the add-ons and my need to keep track of where I am with each one. There’s assembly and painting and then the pictures and writing that accompany the articles that both are there to create. Who in their right mind thinks this is a good idea?
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It’s the loss of parts that I worry about the most. Though this hasn’t happened a lot over the years it certainly has, mostly during final assembly when I haven’t the time to either tear my office down to find those miscreant parts, or, source replacements. Today, I had one of those where the bloody hell are those parts I’ve just painted moments that I so dread.
The story cut short…
I’d painted a batch of parts that I’d secured to foam board with Blue Tack. These had been placed in the kit’s box and then as I was working, I placed another box on top to keep everything safe…Or so I thought. Work continued, things were moved and those painted parts disappeared. It was only when I started to see my carefully painted parts dropping onto the floor, that I realised the Blue-Tack’d foam board had secured itself to the underside of the second box, thus allowing parts to be spread in all directions as box and foam board, parted company. Pleased, I was not.
Can you now see why I don’t like working on more than one model at a time?!
THE AIRFIX ANSON: ONE PAINTED STEP AT A TIME…
Away from my inability to focus, or indeed keep track of tiny plastic parts, I’ve made a start on my Anson’s paintwork, liberally coating the interior parts in what I hope, closely approximates RAF Interior Grey Green. As usual, I’ve used Tamiya’s Cockpit Green as the basis of this colour, lightening it considerably with Flat White until the shade appeared to be good enough for government work. In order to create a more interesting finish (not that I’m remotely convinced such subtleties will be visible inside the cockpit…) I sprayed everything first with Tamiya LP28 Olive Drab and then misted over several thin coats of ‘Cockpit Green’ in order to arrive at not only the correct colour, but one that looked to exhibit some light and shade over the multitudinous kit parts. I guess that this is best described as preshading, though I’m happy for you to call it what you will.
As it stands, I’m rather pleased with the way everything looks, despite feeling that the paintwork may benefit from another lighter layer to punch out the highlights a little more. Like I say, it’s hard to picture how much of this will be seen, so I may elect to simplify matters (read: be bone idle…) and lean on painted details and those additional Eduard parts to create a suitably busy ‘pit. I think a few carefully chosen details and then the placards and straps, will be more than enough to be going on with. Much like the best figure painters (of which, I am most definitely not one!) I may focus of the important bits and leave the other parts in the shadows where they can fend for themselves.
And that was that. Almost. Along with my modelling work this fine sunny day, the hall has now been plastered, I’ve not cut any more cables and the BT engineer has not yet come out to fix my cock-up, despite that be planned for today. Fingers crossed it will be done tomorrow! All of that is lovely and all, but in no way as lovely as the Pot Noodle that my wife brought me for lunch, or the amazing sausage casserole that my son’s partner made for tea! Both more than hit the spot, the Pot Noodle being tarted-up with extra soy, Worcester Sauce and BBQ sauce – how’s that for cordon bleu?! Truth be told, it’s not the noodles that give me the most pleasure: it’s the gravy that’s left in the pot that I can then drink, Bovrilesque in one delightful gulp. I am, as you might imagine, easily pleased. Thanks to both Liz and Dani for the grub and to you all for yet again, reading my nonsense. It is very much appreciated!
Same again tomorrow?
TODAY’S MUSIC CHOICES…
…Or rather, lack of them! I’ve been a little too preoccupied today with other things, so music has not been on in the office or my studio. All being well, we will be back to some form of normality in the morning!
SOME OF MY LATEST POSTS FOR YOU TO ENJOY!
- A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: WHY HAVE I NEVER BUILT A LIGHTNING?
- A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: A TRIP TO BRISTOL…
- A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: A RELAXING DAY…
- A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: HOW MANY MORE KITS DO I HAVE, HALF STARTED?!
- A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: 2025 ALL WRAPPED UP!
SOME OF THE LATEST COMMENTS FROM VISITORS TO THIS SITE…
Wow! I built a dozen back around 1980. Entered them as a collection at the IPMS USA Nationals. Didn’t win…
Yes, stop procrastinating……build a Lightning🤣
Who knows, you might even consider publishing another bookazine on building the BAC Lightning as well?
I am glad that the man was talked down. It’s definitely hard to see without knowing the outcome, until later.…
sadly(?), I’ve at least 15 models at various stages of completion. 2 I started back in the 80s, iirc I…
SPENCER POLLARD'S KIT BOX 
I got a lot of Airfix P51D kits recently and so I decided to clear them out of the stash by building them all together.
I purchased USAF 8th Airforce decals and off I went.
To cut a long story short on the final assembly of the 5 fully painted kits I lost all of the painted propellers and bosses.
They were all placed carefully into their own plastic tub which I promptly lost. I still haven’t found them and the 5 P51’s have been put away with all their completed sub assemblies.
I will only ever do one kit at a time now the frustration of this experience has left its mark.
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Amen to that, Spencer… back in the day I used to do one model at a time then for some reason went onto several…. result…I never finished anything!!!!! I, m now going back to what I used to do…. even to paper masking, cutting out the patterns then held off the model with tiny rolls of masking tape to get a slightly soft edge for camo work..Yr work and words continue to be inspirational sir….. and there’s nothing wrong with a pot noodle
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Heck, I lose parts even when I’m building only ONE model! I just finished an F-15E that I had masked off the cockpit with tape to paint the model. When I went to remove the tape over the cockpit area, I ripped off the instrument panel cover for the rear cockpit along with the tape, which I promptly threw in the trash. Of course, I didn’t discover this until I had already taken out the trash from my house and, you guessed it, the trash company had picked it up. After some amount of agony, I bought another kit with the idea of vacuforming the panel cover. Needless to say, this was less than satisfactory, so I ended up scratch-building the part. There seems to be a direct correlation with my increasing age and the number of parts I will lose during a given model assembly process!
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I understand your point, especially with your deadlines etc. But I do usually have several kits on the go at once. Usually an armour kit, an aircraft kit and perhaps a figure. For the most part it works reasonably well, I think. I do find that I will focus on one build to the exclusion of the others at various times though.
Not sure if that will change when I retire from my full-time job in a couple of months.
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I admire your patience and your work rate Spencer. What I mean is that the modelling you do is obviously part of your working day. The magazine work obviously takes precedence over your book work.
The reason I mention this is because I once built a model for a friend . I had a full time job so the model took me ages to put together. After that I swore never to build for anyone except myself. Ask me would I make models for living the answer would set be yes.
That’s the reason I mentioned your patience. I couldn’t do what you do, one but not both.
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That should read “definitely yes”
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Pot Noodle ?! Eughhhhh 😦
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Oh by the by Spencer .I was in Dublin recently ( what with being a Dubliner an’ all) and a presumably pretty well known band were busking .They said they had 100,000 to 150,000 registered fans emails/ ‘followers’ etc with the popular social media but that their campaigns were typically being sent to max 500 people online.Just thought you might be interested although I suspect you already knew 😦
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I’ve come to the same conclusion. Two models going at once is the most i can handle… and still manage to get anything done.
A big problem as i see it, is just the proliferation of new kits and materials coming out. It’s just overwhelming. Since i regularly surf modelling-related social media…. it becomes really hard to not start something new, because you got inspired.
For example, i came *this* close to pushing “Add to Cart” on the new Airfix Lysander.
Hence, my re directed focus on working off the *oldest* of my Shelf of Doom models. It’s a start- no pun intended.
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