A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: FINAL ASSEMBLY, STRESS AND DANGER…

1st October 2025

I’d like to say that construction of a complex model is the most difficult part. Filling. Sanding. Alignment. It is not. I’d like to suggest painting and decalling are the toughest steps, both needing a degree of accuracy and care that perhaps only comes with plenty of time and experience. They are not. I could say it’s the clear parts that form the basis of my darkest fears. Maybe as a beginner, yes. These days, not so much.

No, the most nerve wracking step in any build, especially those that feature multiple sub-assemblies that need to be joined around an already completed and often delicate finish, is final assembly. It is, without doubt the most involved, slowest to complete step in any modelling project. And yet despite that, it’s the payoff for all of your work. The moment when parts become whole. Your model goes from an unfulfilled dream, to fully fledged miniature that you can finally admire.

I love this part of a build. Until I don’t.

Most of the time final assembly runs on rails, plenty of effort having already been expended checking that all parts will locate at the end of the project and that any unforeseen pitfalls will be kept to a minimum. Despite that, I can always rely on my own ineptitude to call a halt to any progress I may find myself making. Dabs of unwanted adhesive, smeared paint in unwanted places, parts broken off that I’d already carefully placed, all can combine to raise the heart rate and temperatures in my studio.

Today, I’ve begun the arduous process of completing my latest build. The airframe is finally together, weathering, such as it is, all done and major and actually minor sub-assemblies, ready to be dropped in place. Having worked on this model for a few months now, I’m being very careful with all final construction, so resisting the temptation to sprint over the finish line. I have a little time to get it done, so will hopefully not fall prey to too many issues along the way. That being said, I’ve already smeared superglue over part of the rear end end whilst locating a jet pipe which involved a minor respray, but that’s about it so far. Fingers crossed I don’t cock anything else up and the next time we speak, I’ll have something akin to a completed build!

See you tomorrow.