I don’t know if any of you guys have been through this before, but I would guess that many have. Last week, my apartment was being painted, with some minor remodeling being done. As you know, this entails turning one’s house upside down, and you find yourself practically shielding your models with your body, like a secret service agent over the president. Well, I’m standing there making it clear in no uncertain terms how imperative it is that the workmen not damage any of my fragile models (I’d managed to pack most of them away, but not all), and that if they needed to be moved, to call me. He assured me that they would take utmost care with my models, and to emphasize how seriously he took this mission, he SLAMMED his hand down on an end table…right on top of my ProModeler F-84G.
I couldn’t make this up. The model was practically reduced to dust, for this man had a hand that wasn’t much smaller than a wrecking ball. Ah, well, sez les maquettes.
Ouch! I hurt for you my friend!
ouch. one question comes to mind. what was his reaction.
joe
That was what really made me approach meltdown. He shrugged his shoulders, mumbled something like, “I give you little glue, it be OK…” and then he walked away.
I wanted to knife him.
And girlfriends can be just as insensitive to what they consider our “toys.” Once, my livein GF’s four year old nephew was over, and while the adults were talking in th eliving room, the kid had gotten into my workshop and destroted FOUR complete shelves of builtup models. The reaction of my GF and the kid’s mother was something like, “Look, Tom, isn’t that cute? He likes airplanes.” I remember just leaving the house without saying another word after “Keep that damned house ape out of my workshop!”
Tom
I’m sitting here wincing just reading this stuff!
I hope they’re giving you a discount on the decorating! Or are you planning to sue for mental cruelty?
I’ve got 3 kids between the ages of 3 & 8, and they have never touched any of my models, or modelling stuff without first asking. It’s a shame other peoples children aren’t as well mannered.
Karl
A very sad story. Don’t have any tales to compete with yours.
Regards, Rick
Oh My! I’m guessing the child in question was a boy. I give thanks everyday I have daughters. While they have always been very interested in my models, never once, even as infants, have they ever had an urge to pick them up and play with them. It has to be a guy thing, this urge to touch small airplanes, tanks and soldiers. Now that they’re older, the first thing they do when freinds come over is explain the rules. Namely, “don’t touch my Daddy’s models”! I can’t help but wonder what would happen if I had sons instead?
Thats terrible! What can a guy do in such a situation?
All I can say is that you handled yourself very well.
OUCH! That would be about the time I check into the requirements for “Justafible Homacide”. Seriously, did you get them to reimburse you for the cost of the model?
Here is my story. Few years ago, my dog (a 50 pounds boxer) who use to stay out of home find his way into my bedroom that was at the end of a long corridor, the door was partially open and he heard my voice, he ran trhough the door to find out that there was the stand where I had my 10 years + collection of models including the first model that my father gave me in my 10 year birthday, he slamed against the stand and send all my airplanes to the airplanes heaven. I recovered since then and just yesterday my baby girl who started crawling adjust her sight on my shelf of to build models, it is about time to start her education. By the way my dog survived the accident and remained as my best friend for years, I’m not sure if an human best friend could survive.
[#ditto]
i never let anyone touch my models, but sometimes they take it out of my display case. usually its a relative or someone i have to be nice to so i try and remind them how much time i spent on it and how delicate it is and they tend to put it down.
my condolences to you tom, perhaps there is some legal recourse you have against the painting company. even if you dont recover any more money, you should not let them charge you for the paint job.
ROFL…“house ape”
I’ve got some friends who have an autistic 3 year old son. Last June, he wandered into my office and literally climbed the shelves in an attempt to get to my Evangelion Unit 01 kit that I had standing on top of the bookcase. He fell off the shelf, and would have been severely injured were it not for my wife keeping me from kicking his tiny little arse. These friends seem to believe that since the kid is autistic that he doesn’t require any disciplinary correction when he does something wrong. My buddy’s wife just said “Why the hell was the door open!?”
Augh!
I think I’ve experienced one too many times the incredible frustration and anger you feel when you see one of your finished models destroyed by someone who doesn’t care enough or at least not as much as you do. And they only say OOPS! Makes me want to squeeze their throats! >=( I don’t have any models from the time I was in school, all of them were destroyed by my brothers, my mom, maids, visiting kids, you name it. The worst is that many people don’t realize the amount of work and dedication you put in one of your “little airplanes” as they call them, they see our Hobbie as something silly someone does just to spend time. An so I became really intolerant when it came to my models, I decided clear cases for each one, locked drawers where I keep my tools (which everybody think they’re absolutely cool for things they’re not meant to) and Don’t touch that! became my motto. Then everybody at home started to hate my hobbie, I needed a new approach, so I gave a few of my models as gifts to the people who usually broke them, painted a cute figurine for mom, etc and Magically they started to care! I even made one of my little neighbors become interested in modeling and history!
I’ve had more trouble with touchy-feely types with my railroad models, fortunately nothing has been completely destroyed. I like kids, but if ANYTHING happened to a contest winner . . . bad bad bad . . . for the kid.
Because I like BIG stuff, I’ve been thining about making simple diorama bases (grass field, tarmac, etc. on 4’x8’ (well, maybe 3’x6’) sheets of plywood, big enough for a few heavy bombers or a bunch of mediums), then constructing a heavy-duty plexiglas box to go over each one. Because they’d be the same size, they’d be stackable, so as not to devour even more space. I’d want the lid to be robust enough so a falling (or flying) little brat would just bounce off . . . . Keeps the dust off, too.
One of the beautiful things about hanging my aircraft I build is that no one can reach them, and if they can they don’t touch. There’s something about something hanging that seems to say “museum-like, don’t touch”. And I’m getting a display case from my parents soon for my armor and cars (my wife thinks it’s for her pewter miniatures, but she doesn’t know I’m buying her a beautiful curio for her stuff for her birthday [:D])
I guess I’m lucky…my wife has been very understanding and encouraging about my hobby…she’s the one who practically beat me into getting a new compressor and airbrush. She really enjoys seeing them finished, especially the one’s she’s “commissioned,” and she only handles them as much as I do, which is almost not at all. And my workshop is in the garage, and she has no wish to impose that sanctuary.
When my nephews get older and are visiting more, we’ll have to see how things go…
yeah I had something similar happen the other day… these little neighborhood kids came by with the usual school fundraiser stuff. While I got out the checkbook I heard from the living room “Oooh! look how pretty!” then a resounding SNAP of the antenna on my N1K1 George I finished recently, being brutally torn from its’ roots… then the ‘tinkle’ of it lightly hitting my hardwood floors… I held my breath and counted to 100 I think, and politely told them I couldn’t find the checkbook they would have to go… (I was amazed at my self control)
It wasn’t the most time consuming or beloved of my models but it’s just the idea… At least it wasn’t the AM SBD-5 sitting next to it… I probably spent 6 hours on the cockpit assembly alone… or the S-100 Schnellboot in the middle of the table where they were displayed… that one took FOREVER to paint rig and finish…
Luckily my wife and dogs are well trained that they are off limits… .even my 15 month old niece doesn’t mess with them when she comes over, I think she has a 6th sense about them… I think I just need to get a “No soliciting… this means YOU kid!” sign for the door…
Of course I never climbed on my bed and detached the dogfight from the Battle of Britain scenario my dad had built me from my ceiling, and promptly launched them across the room to simulate them flying… no not me…
How many of you have had a conversation like this:
ME: I make models, airplanes, some wooden ships, but mostly airplanes.
IDIOT: Oh, so you fly those little remote control airplanes?
ME: No, mine are called scale models, and they just sit on a shelf and look pretty.
IDIOT: (Condescendingly) Well, I guess it’s hard to make the kind that fly.
(Here’s the response I never give, because at this point I’m too angry and frustrated to say anything eloquent or even coherent):
ME: No, what is hard is spending a month or more simply researching my subject, then another few weeks matching the paint to chips and obscure government codes, and then another few weeks locating and ordering parts from every corner of the globe. Then I sit down and start to build the model. And to do it correctly I have had to develop the hands of a cardiac surgeon, and the concentration of a professional chess player…but, hey, I can’t make the little bastards fly for some reason, so I guess they’re pretty worthless.
TOM
Exactly!!!
The clear case is a great idea. As is keeping the tools locked up. I HATE dust, and the display case I use (an old hutch) keeps the dust at bay. [:D] When my wife and I have kids, we’ll get the toddler-proof cabinet locks.
BRILLIANT! That, is a perfect example of turning a conflict into an opportunity. Your story should be an inspiration for all of us.
Warm regards,
if i ever have kids, they will NOT go near my models under the threat of DEATH