I don't want to build that kit because....

[flakmonkey]

Are there any kits in your stash that are perfectly good collections of plastic parts but for one reason or another they keep getting themselves returned to the naughty cupboard? This occurred to me yesterday as I was tidying a precarious looking stack of boxes and came across Tamiya's clear edition Me262 and the HobbyBoss Rafale C. Both very well engineered and accurate kits and each with its own deal breaker.

The Rafale is, by all accounts, a very well engineered kit that fits together nicely and would have been across my workbench months ago were it not for a couple of things. Firstly, in spite of its delicately crafted parts, crisp surface detail and a generally high level of OOB goodness, HobbyBoss forgot to bless the Rafale with any air intakes. The Rafale has pretty large intakes and on the model they lead straight into a wide open fuselage. You could scratchbuild some, but the shapes involved are very complex. You could also avail yourself of D-Mold's resin intakes for very nearly the same amount of money you spent on the kit. The other plot hole with the Rafale is the decals. Only one scheme is provided, and that is for the all over black C-01 pre production machine. So if you want an in service Rafale, you need to cross Skyraider Model Designs' palm with silver, again for nearly the same amount of beer tokens as the kit cost. So you're quickly looking at a £60 model. You could almost buy a Hasegawa A4 for that.

The Me262 is perfect in all respects and comes with a pair of fully detailed BMW engines, fuel tanks, radio equipment, choice of fabric or metal skinned rudders, early and late landing gear, even a die cast nose weight. It is, without a doubt, still the best Me262 kit on the planet. But what do you do with it? I'm not sure that I want a see through model (in fact I know I don't want one), but all of those interior goodies are too good to leave out. This model is almost too nice to build. Seeing Mike Grant's cut away Roland has given me an idea of what to do with it but it's much more work than I fancy at the present time.

So, does anybody else have kits like that or do I have some sort of personality disorder?

[SJPONeill]

Armor models like those on a Panzer IV chassis with ALL those road wheels to paint, especially the 'rubber' rims...

[Chris]

Two that come to mind are Heller kits.

The first is a Ship of the Line, royal luis from the napoleonic era, i just don't have the eyesite to do the rigging that i once had.

The second is a roman ship, a beautiful kit but again with fiddily details very difficult to do.

There is also a space issue with both of them, I really haven't a place to put two majestic kits like that.

[jssel]

From a different pont of view.

There is but one kit in my stash that I have owned since 1980. The 1/48 AMT Beech Staggerwing. Not only is it one of the prettiest airplanes ever made , the kit is very nice for its age. I wasn't a very talented model maker back then so it was tucked away until such a time when (I felt) my skills would do it justice. Well, it has worked on my psyche to the point where the feeling is the time may never come. I mean, gloss finishes and scratchbuilding details, well, you know that whole line.

I am scared that when that day comes, the meaning of life will become clear, the world will be at peace and there could be great disturbances in the Force. Maybe a great flood would ruin all my decal sheets.

The head shrinkers could have a field day on this one.

[PaulBradley]

Mine is the Mongram B-36. Love the aircraft,nice kit, have all the references, BUT:

1. Detailing - I'd HAVE to detail it, as it has raised panel lines, and the interior detail, while OK, is not up to modern standards, or mine for that matter. Besides, I have this whole diorama idea that involves lighting the insides and opening up the crew door - its a Jimmy Stewart/Strategic Air Command thing...

2. Natural Metal Finish - need I say more!

3. Size - it is seriously large - where would I display it? I have this recurring idea that I could build a special display case/bookcase on which to display it, complete with perspex cover, but I have nowhere to put such a piece of furniture....
Still, one day I do want to build this kit and the diorama and the display case, but it is all a bit daunting....

[bluesteel]

Mine is the Mongram B-36. Love the aircraft,nice kit, have all the references, BUT:

1. Detailing - I'd HAVE to detail it, as it has raised panel lines, and the interior detail, while OK, is not up to modern standards, or mine for that matter. Besides, I have this whole diorama idea that involves lighting the insides and opening up the crew door - its a Jimmy Stewart/Strategic Air Command thing...

2. Natural Metal Finish - need I say more!

3. Size - it is seriously large - where would I display it? I have this recurring idea that I could build a special display case/bookcase on which to display it, complete with perspex cover, but I have nowhere to put such a piece of furniture....
Still, one day I do want to build this kit and the diorama and the display case, but it is all a bit daunting....

I have one of those too, with much the same problems keeping me from building it. I bought the necessary Alclads from Telford last year, reducing the NMF excuse. Also I have an idea as far as display is concerned, hanging it from the ceiling and depict it dropping a McDonnell XF-85 Goblin. I think I keep on not-quite-bidding-enough for a Goblin on eBay just so I can retain the excuse for not building the B-36!

[Beowulf Shaeffer]

got quite a few really

a couple of 1/35 WW2 German afv ............im scared to tackle the camo paint jobs, especially since i have a dodgy compressor at the mo
an Academy 1/16 Jaguar SS100...........cos i would have to really detail it to make it worth while and i just dont have the skill........yet!
a couple of ships, cos the idea of doing that rigging scares the bejaisus out of me


in fact my stash is down to about 80 kits and i bet theres at least a dozen i am too apprehensive to think about starting

[PaulBradley]

I have one of those too, with much the same problems keeping me from building it. I bought the necessary Alclads from Telford last year, reducing the NMF excuse. Also I have an idea as far as display is concerned, hanging it from the ceiling and depict it dropping a McDonnell XF-85 Goblin. I think I keep on not-quite-bidding-enough for a Goblin on eBay just so I can retain the excuse for not building the B-36!

Well, that's the 4th thing - I have both a Goblin kit (A 12-Squared kit) and an RF-84F to convert so that I can do the FICON aircraft to display next to it.....excuses, excuses.....

[Chuck E]

I suppose that my problem with building certain models from the stash fall under three headings :

1. So big that I don't have space to store them.

2. Can't make my mind up which version to build.

3. Nice old kits that I keep unbuilt to show how kits used to look. If I have two, I'll build one and keep one.

Additionally I have the Matchbox Corvette and a huge amount of etched brass and diecast bits and this is going to be a full year's project at least, so I give it a good look and a fondle and put it back in the box.

[MerlinJones]

My issues with not building kits I'd otherwise seize the opportunity to do so...

The size of the finished item.This one gets in the way for most of my Put It Away kits. Because I 'need' to be able to display my finished items, giving the model away afterwards doesn't help me address this. Besides my collection of WWII Airfix bombers and AMT Star Trek kits, I have the Fine Molds 1/72 Millenium Falcon within this category. To counter this, I then went and bought the 1/144 version and came up against Issue No.2.

A perceived inability to do the kit justice. To be honest, this excuse is starting to seriously recede as my modelling confidence increases. That said, I've tasted success in the past and want to repeat that, without having to repair and redress modelling errors, or just bits I'm less than satisfied with.

Fortunately for me, the rarity or expense of a kit does not influence whether or not I'll build it.

Regards,
Bruce

[BWP]

Hmm.

ESCI 1/72 Panzer I kits. I've built one and it was a chore (even though it came out OK). They're just too inaccurate out of the box for my tastes, I have to try and fix them, and it's a lot of work. It's even more work for the Panzerjaeger I, which is open-topped and thus the interior is completely exposed. Unfortunately, ESCI not only didn't provide an interior, they didn't even provide an opening into the interior. I like challenges. I think I can do it. I just want to do something easier instead ....

More generally ... i.e., this line of reasoning applies to many of the kits in the stash ... "I don't want to build that kit yet. There is some expensive after-market stuff that I want to get for it that needs to be budgeted for. There are some even more expensive reference books I want to purchase and read before I start building it. I need to get more practice on my airbrush. Once all of these issues are addressed, I will build that kit right away. Unless someone publishes a new book ...."

[JohnRatzenberger]

I'm sorta with BWP/Bruce -- "yet". I rarely buy anything that doesn't interest me as subject material, first and foremost, so everything in there is meant to be butchered built -- that takes care of rarity and all that. As to complexity, quality, etc -- my skills peaked long ago and I no longer worry about it. It really comes down to "is that the most important modeling subject in my life right now" ....

[Softscience]

I have a few kits which fit the bill, but one which comes to mind is the Revell Gannet. It is by all accounts a lovely kit, and a cool looking airplane, but I just can't bring myself to deal with building the cockpit. I'm not entirely sure why, but I simply feel that with three open hoods, I will not be able to do the thing justice in its current configuration. Its more of a mental block than anything else, as I've done some nice cockpits in my time. Still for some reason, each time I sit down with the gannet, ready to give it a go, I pull out some parts, maybe even paint something, and then I put it all back in its box.

Same goes for the Hasegawa B-26 and my 48th scale Academy strike eagle

[m1ks]

Are there any kits in your stash that are perfectly good collections of plastic parts but for one reason or another they keep getting themselves returned to the naughty cupboard? This occurred to me yesterday as I was tidying a precarious looking stack of boxes and came across Tamiya's clear edition Me262 and the HobbyBoss Rafale C. Both very well engineered and accurate kits and each with its own deal breaker.

none at present, i just tend to pick one from the stash to suit my building mood, not yet returned one for any reason other than i got another I wanted to build first.
I think that you need to send the clear me262 to me, it's obviously causing you too much turmoil and worry.

[Barry]

I'm right there with Paul and the rest on the B-36. With me though, it's purely a size issue. I've squinted hard and long at the cockpit on more than one built up kit just to prove to m'self that you can't see nuffin through all that framing. Besides, its dark in there.