Frustration

[simon hudson]

I suppose it happens to all of us.I've been making (attempting to!!) a coaling gantry (metal staithes) for my layout Nothing is going as planned, the first attempt wasn't bad but I wasn't happy so I tried again this time using a different adhesive.

I should give a bit of background. First attempt using Evergreen 2mm I beam adhesive Mek-Pak it was going together quite well but just didn't look right.So I started again using 2.5mm I beam. Looked better but as I had run out of Mek-Pak I used Plastic Weld (boy is it aggressive).First catastrophe spilt the new full bottle then as I progressed all the joints would distort and I ended up with a lovely abstract piece of art.So thrown against the wall!!

I will not be beaten so back to the drawing board and start again when I have purchased some more materials and adhesive.Still if you didn't laugh you'd cry.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Go on whats your modelling catastrophy we all must have them at some time or other

Simon

[pointstaken]

Trying to paint carefully the windows in a DPM "Crickets Saloon" !

 

Looks like an elephant has been busy with the yard broom !

 

Fortunately acrylics will wash off.

 

 

Dennis

[AngryMeerkat]

On my previous layout I built a flyover using a ply former covered with plasticard and glued with UHU adhesive.

 

Looked brilliant when finished......

 

A week later when the glue had dried properly all the plasticard was warped to buggery and peeling off!!

 

Mark

[Happy Hippo]

Popped a 16mm etched brass body shell into the oven for the paint to bake.

 

Too hot for the soft solder!

 

Came back to a nice set of painted parts..................which then had to be stripped so it could be soldered back together and repainted.

 

Doh!

 

Richard

[Torper]

Almost every loco chassis I've attempted to build.

 

(though I'm pleased to say that my last two attempts have been successful, largely thanks to the advent of the Avonside Chassis jig and the High Level gearbox).

 

DT

[37255]

Plenty of industrial language gone into my industrial locos...

[simon hudson]

Popped a 16mm etched brass body shell into the oven for the paint to bake.

 

Too hot for the soft solder!

 

Came back to a nice set of painted parts..................which then had to be stripped so it could be soldered back together and repainted.

 

Doh!

 

Richard

I know that feeling my other pastime is rebuilding knackerd old Mamods and yes I popped a painted boiler into the oven to harden and meted all the solderd joints I managed to repair it though-

Simon

[Mrkirtley800]

Know all about frustrations in modelling.  I used to do my wagon building on a small table in the lounge and watch the tele at the same time.  Many of my wagons were built using plastikard and the rivets/bolt heads etc were added to the shell of the wagon using small cubes cut from 10 thou plastikard strip.

My way of doing the job was to prepare a large number of cubes.at least enough to do a complete wagon.  The last time, I managed to knock my bottle of MEK over a large pile of cubes, fusing the pile into a sticky mess.  In the ensueing panic I split the whole lot on the lounge carpet.

We have now got a new carpet and I am banished to my work bench, away from the lounge, and where I cannot do any damage.  doh

Derek

[Waverley West]

Yesterday, I was squeezing out some model filler to fill some gaps in my platforms. The filler stopped coming out but, being pretty slow on the uptake, I carried on squeezing, wondering what was going on. Then I looked down at my top and saw that the bottom of the tube had unravelled and a big dollop of filler had been squeezed out through the resulting hole and was now nicely smeared over the front of my top.

 

Frantic efforts only partly removed the solvent-based filler and I now have a top with a nice permanent and not particularly small splodge on the front to show for my modelling efforts yesterday.

[Castle]

Hi All,

 

Over the Easter bank holiday weekend, I was going to just finish up my latest project - a K.41 full brake. Lovely paint job, all the lining and transfers done just a few details to go and then I spilt the black acrylic on the sides. No problem though I - it's only acrylic, it will wash off. This is the only time that this has not been true. I guess the matt finish grabbed it and wouldn't let go... Grrrrrr!

 

An overnight soak in Dettol left me with a fresh smelling but bare brass coach body. From a few little jobs to finish it off to a complete repaint in one easy move! I am nearly finished with it (again) and I simply await the modelling gods to take a further dislike and pitch it off a table or open up a black hole on my workbench which sucks it in and crushes it utterly (you know which black hole too - its the one that swallows any and all dropped tiny, effort heavy or expensive part) or cause some other unspeakable unpleasantness to befall it to finish it off permanently. I had forgotten to drill the holes in the roof for the end hand rails so it was a bit tense this evening as the Dremell nibbled its way into the lovely grey roof paint...

 

On the plus side of this tale of woe, the second paint job I feel is better in one or two minor areas than the first. This tends to be the upside of any of these disasters. Lessons learned, experience gained and ultimately better models in the long run. My lesson is keep poorly sealed paint pots AWAY from finished paint jobs. It is cold comfort at the time but keep going Simon - that coal gantry will get finished and it will be great when it is finished! Post some pictures when you are done so we can see the fruits of your frustrations, er, I mean labours.

 

All the best,

 

Castle

[Gwiwer]

The layout is well-known as representing Cornwall yet lacks a modelled mine engine house.  Three are painted onto the backscene at different places and appear almost as silhouettes as is often seen in the real landscape.  Trying to build a decent model of one has eluded me .....

 

Wills moulded sheets, card, downloads and sculpted clay have all failed to bring about the required model which has to have the added complication - if in fact it is one - of being partially ruined.  There is a spot on the layout waiting for me to produce something.

 

Except that Kernow MRC has now come to my aid and I intend to customise one of theirs and fit it where intended.  Not perhaps modelling in its purist sense but it will get the jonb done and the scene complete.  And it won't end up loking like one straight out of the box.

[SNCF stephen]

Most of my frustrations with model trains come from being too eager to get going with it all.

 

When I sprayed the track with paint to give it the grimy/rusted look I did not properly mask the turnouts and they have since had to be fully cleaned whilst glued in situ.

When I installed a DCC chip into a steam loco and then tested it and it worked until it shorted out on a section of track that has caused no other problems...

 

There are plenty more from previous layouts and the like but I think those two are some of the more recent ones! There will be more to come I am sure!

[SM42]

Fiinshing off a 21 ton mineral  and after several days suddenly realising that the white diagonal stripe really should go on the door end.

 

There is now some strange diagonal weathering one end. My how rust is unpredictable!

 

Andy

[TheQ]

Many years ago (err 34) I attempted to move down from OO to N but managed to destroy several weeks work scratch building a diesel (from plasticard), by trying to add more detail. After that I went to EM to improve detail and gave up on the little stuff.

The Q

[Barry Ten]

Yesterday, I was squeezing out some model filler to fill some gaps in my platforms. The filler stopped coming out but, being pretty slow on the uptake, I carried on squeezing, wondering what was going on. Then I looked down at my top and saw that the bottom of the tube had unravelled and a big dollop of filler had been squeezed out through the resulting hole and was now nicely smeared over the front of my top.

 

 

That one happened to me a few weeks ago - ended up with a massive green slug-like mass of filler all over my nice plastic cutting board.

[SM42]

Building a van kit and realising one side is on upside down. Fortunately noticed quite soon so could rescue the situation with more solvent and gentle persuasion.

Don't even start me on brake gear disasters.

 

Andy

[Belsay Lad]

Perhaps modellers suffer from a lack of 'RTFM', or in the case of kits 'RTFI'???

 

(for those who don't understand FTA and as I can't type in full here - Read The '&%£$' Manual/Instructions...) 

 

Works for 99% of the population 99% of the time

[simon hudson]

Who needs instructions!!.Being an ex TV/video engineer it was a matter of pride not reading instruction books etc  .

Had lots of fun trying to suss out some of the obscure timers. Every TV workshops have a very clever engineer you know the ones who are just brilliant without trying.

Ours was a great lad, but erred on the forgetful.He had repaired and returned a repaired VCR after battling a horrible fault.He was beaming as he came back to the workshop. Ten minutes later the phone rang it was the boss could he go back to the customers house and put the cabinet base back on it was still on his bench

[Belsay Lad]

and following on from Simon's post... 

 

There are of course instructions which leave a bit to be desired, maybe through translation (many years ago I bought a garden bench which originated from the far East. In the instructions was a list of the tools required to assemble it, including an 'adjustable wench'...!!!)

 

And I am pretty certain that there was a quote somewhere (maybe even on RMweb) along the lines of 'I bought a Baldrick kit - there is a cunning plan hidden somewhere in it!)

[simon hudson]

Typical Guess who's had the hobby gremlin in?. I'm building a R.T Models J94 chassis got as far as the brake pull rod levers put them down on my work station go off for a cup of tea and to look for some relevant photo's (couldn't find the bu99ers) came back "Wheres me bits" checked everywhere hands and knees on the floor re-traced my steps think "Oh bu99er it I'm going to pack in" turn around and they are on my work station!!!. Bloody gremlins been in again I swear down blind they weren't there.

The wonders of this wonderful hobby.

As an aside I have to say the RT chassis is a joy to build it just goes together so well.Thats me just jinxed it 

[MJI]

Who needs instructions!!.Being an ex TV/video engineer it was a matter of pride not reading instruction books etc  .

Had lots of fun trying to suss out some of the obscure timers. Every TV workshops have a very clever engineer you know the ones who are just brilliant without trying.

Ours was a great lad, but erred on the forgetful.He had repaired and returned a repaired VCR after battling a horrible fault.He was beaming as he came back to the workshop. Ten minutes later the phone rang it was the boss could he go back to the customers house and put the cabinet base back on it was still on his bench

I have a broken VCR requiring a repair, but no one will look at it.

 

Party fried - a cable had caught on th eloading deck and snapped, unknown to me my soldering iron had gone live and damaged the control board.

 

I would like to get it repaired as it would be worth about £500 in full working order and I stil have some tapes I need to play back.

 

I do have the instructions, big folder full.

[simon hudson]

I havent had the back off a TV for over 10 years I was a pretty good engineer now I just sell them.  A sad fact of life  I class myself as like many other engineers a dinosaur!!.Most TV shops don't even have engineers now, it just simply isn't viable.Without being flippant buy a new combi spares are probably no longer available, even pattern ones for machines, these days

.It really breaks me up havving to scrap stuff it's not right but thats for another thread methinks.

Back on topic I found the offending parts ,ready for the next mishap!!

[MJI]

I havent had the back off a TV for over 10 years I was a pretty good engineer now I just sell them.  A sad fact of life  I class myself as like many other engineers a dinosaur!!.Most TV shops don't even have engineers now, it just simply isn't viable.Without being flippant buy a new combi spares are probably no longer available, even pattern ones for machines, these days

.It really breaks me up havving to scrap stuff it's not right but thats for another thread methinks.

Back on topic I found the offending parts ,ready for the next mishap!!

 

My previous TV, needed quite a few visits from the manufacturer due to it being a very early digital TV, but support was good, my current TV is same make, as is my video camera, expensive and rare VCR, games console, and car hifi.

 

But I tend to buy by quality rather than popularity, I don't believe in purchasing mp3 music as it encourages them, I do have SACD and DVD-A which I am prepared to pay for. But then I supported Beta and used a HiFi Sanyo (the Sony was dead) until I got a DTTV (pre Freeview) PVR