By complex I mean most parts. Mine was Dragons Nashorn in 1:35 with some 700 parts. Took me a long time to put it together but I enjoyed it.
kit, kitbash or scratch build?
For highest parts count, I would guess that it was the Academy 1/350 Graf Spee. But for actual complexity, I would say that it was the Dragon 1/35 SS-1C Scud TEL. Lots of sub assemblies and moving parts on that one. Self inflicted? My Monogram 1/48 B-26 where I scratch built up all missing interior detail for the fuselage, wheel wells, bomb bays, engines…
Hi !
I would have to say it was a scratch built model of a Hydraulic Log Loader. With the size at Barbie and Ken scale it took seven months and 3200 parts.
As far as a kit it would be the Shell " North Cormorant " offshore oil rig and those types of Revell models. I now have the 1/32 Clear Mustang. Low parts count. But,Many of the moving parts are molded in clear plastic. After examining them under a bright light with a Jewelers Loupe they will have to be re-manufactured out of something else. Starring and Stress marks not visible to the naked eye.
Ships run the Gamut and I found the Bismark and the New Jersey the best in these categories.
Heller’s 1/100 scale Soleil Royal which has 2300 parts. I should also confess that I haven’t rigged it so mine isn’t complete.
Hey Stick,
Being a fan of the B-26 I would love to see your model of it. I did one with all the PE but I bet it pales in comparrison to yours.
Jay Jay, thank you. You can see the finished build here…
http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/161156.aspx
But to follow the build WIP, it was part of the D-Day 70th Anniversary Longest Day GB… that’s where my insanity took over and was well documented…
Mine would be DML’s 1/48 Me-262a night fighter prototype. I define complex as difficulty getting parts to fit, demanding assembly, and additional self-inflicted detailing. The kit’s fit is not stellar at the wing/fuse join line, and atrocious at the wing/engine nacelle fairing. The PE is stainless steel, so it resists most attempts to trim and clean. This was the first kit where I used PE, so it was a real trial. I detailed both exposed engines with missing bits and all the fuel and electrical lines I could descipher from photos. That alone took over a month of continuous work. I did gain an understanding of how the Jumo engine worked though, so it was educational.
The kit I built with the highest part count is the Perfect Grade Gundam GP-01 in 1/60 scale. If any model could be said to have kicked my heinie, this one would be it. It had well over a thousand pieces in it, and the construction just wore me down.
Both models taught me some valuable lessons:
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Stainless steel PE is to be avoided
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PE seat belts are highly addictive; I can’t build an aircaft model without some form of seat belt anymore
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Exposed engine models are not my thing. They are tedious to do, fragile, and nigh impossible to dust
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The level of complexity in the Gundam kit’s joints leads me to believe that real mobile suits are definitely not practical, as they would be a headache to service and maintain
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Don’t build more PG 1/60 Gundam kits. It just wasn’t fun slogging through the assembly sequences, and the size/mass tips past the point of the strength of the polycaps used in their joints.
Easily the Pocher car kits, I built three of them over the years. Very precise parts fit and quality materials, but they took PLENTY of time to complete.
Next would be some of the old balsa Cleveland model airplane kits, with scale parts assembly. Elegant when finished, too nice to cover and hide the details. Like the Pocher car kits, plan on spending some time at the bench, not week end projects.
A Hubley 1930 Packard with a metal body working suspension worm gear steering a lot of filing
The Tamiya 1/32nd McDonnel-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle. I built it back in 2002 or 2003, and that kit had a LOT of parts!! Especially all the ordnance pieces. Took me a little over a year to finish it, but, it met its demise at the hands of an angry ex-wife, so it exists no more.
I must agree with Patrick, re the Pocher car kits. I also built three of them years ago. The engineering and parts manufacturing was amazing! Thousands of multimedia parts, including lots of metal hardware, like individual wire wheel spokes, and lots of special brass fittings; tiny nuts, bolts, and screws and on and on. They were totally amazing kits with spectacular results. I still have them, protected in dust proof display cases.
That is just criminal [:@]
Oh Dawg… thats just wrong. Like keying the hot-rod. Nasty, nasty woman.
So for complex (not to hijack) but the level of surgery is a big deal. The S2T fire attack plane I did was a pretty complex build which required quite a bit of cutting and resin.
My vote would be the Collect Aire 1/48 scale F-108 Rapier.
I’m gonna name it The Bondo Girl if I ever finish it.
My first, only, and guaranteed LAST resin kit.
Stick
As usual , the FSM search for your B-26 turned up “no results” so I can’t find your B-26 .
Jay Jay, look at my last post above. I copied and posted the B-26 build thread address. Unfortunately the stellar interaction between the last new improved forum update and Apple iOS do not allow for a hot link to the thread. Even if I did copy and paste it into the link icon… just like the FSM forum search functionality… anyways, copy and paste it into an open browser window to see B-26 Flak Bait.
Mine would be the Dragon 1/35 Sd.Kfz. 234/4 with the 75mm pak. Think all told there is around five hundred or so parts. Took around three months working on it on and off. I haven’t built them yet but I have a couple Russian tanks that have over eleven hundred parts.
I have two in contention. Neither is finished- they are ones I work on for awhile and then put aside for doing something easy in meantime. First one is a ship, Hellers 1:00 Soleil Royal. I know it has over a thousand parts, forget the exact number. It is in the rigging stages. Sailing ship models always go slow in the rigging stage, since I find I cannot work at rigging for very long at any one time. Have been working on it for quite a few years.
Second is the Revell London bus. I am not aware of the total parts count, but it is lots. And lots of difficult masking, painting, and decaling.
Mine was a 1/350 scale resin US light cruiser. Since it was the ship on which my Father served in WWII I wanted to do it as accurately as possible so the research took a year and a half and was very hard to find. I had to invest in all the PE I could find because the kit’s resin parts where for the most part junk, all 104 guns for example. I finally finished it after 2 years and I’ll never do another.