I have been working on a Hobbyboss F-84 Thunderstreak since last August. Life has gotten in the way since then, with football season, my daughter’s volleyball season and Girl Scout activities, the holidays and work keeping me from much bench time. I had steadily made progress, laying down first a gloss black undercoat and an Alclad natural metal finish last weekend. Today was another marathon paint session (I am also building 2 P-38s).
So after everything had suitable time to dry, I went back out to my workshop to take a look for any details I might have missed. Both Lightnings are progressing fine, and up until a moment ago so was the Thunderstreak. I picked it up to take a look at the anti-glare panel I painted earlier today. It apparently was a hot potato. I juggled it briefly before it took its one and only solo flight, nose down onto the concrete garage floor. Pieces of the nose split and have vanished, perhaps unreachable under one of my tool boxes. Even if I find the shattered remains I fear it is not repairable.
You could do what I did with one of my broken builds… you know have a test subject to try new skills on before you apply it to your next build. I have a P-47 and a F-5 that look like a mish mash of paint and liquid masking tape!
I have similar situations with my model making where if I make the wrong pass while carving I get fire wood. No easy way to take such a happening is there?
My skills are questionable after laying off the hobby for many years and I’ve got a few hangar queens that I’m redoing to get my skills up before taking on a $$$ model I can really do damage to. I’m looking forward to doing a model with Alclad maybe this year. But I drop test stuff all the time.
I feel your pain. Did something similar with a B-29 build after months of work. Ended up building another (there’s a thread with the whole sordid story under my name). I was unconsoleable for days. Finally got over it, but it really was tough to have wasted all that time. Hope you have better luck with the P-38’s! Cheers, Bob
Yeah, I just threw up a little. Yikes, I’m sick for you… Best thing: Take a day, build a bridge, buy some carpeting, get over it, start another… Better luck next time… We feel your pain, Raymond
Drop testing is a good way to get that subject you need for that damaged in flight dio ?"
Well, the room I have set aside for making models has sorta taken on the look of dio. Not sure of the theme that’s developing. A Davis-Monthan motif perhaps?
