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Things that make you fume


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Guest PetrolGator

I know we all love this hobby. We wouldn't put hours/days/years into the union of plastic/resin/paint without some sort of madness that makes us think that is a good idea. Still, everyone has ONE thing about the hobby that drives us nuts. I was curious what aspects of building drive my fellow modelers absolutely insane.

 

Mine: horribly placed molding lines and engineering. Look, I love detail. I wouldn't build ships if I had an issue with SUPER TINY LITTLE THINGS. Still, all the slide molding and clever design work will get you no where if you place a hatch right on the edge of a future seam (looking at you, Trumpeter) or strategically locate a molding RIGHT THROUGH an extremely delicate ventilation duct. Thankfully, I have a growing surplus of generic photo etch parts that help me make up for this.

 

Committee: Explain one thing that drives you nuts and how you compensate, if ya'll don't mind. I'm curious.

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My two nits probably don't occur too much anymore, but;

(1) manufacturers that bag the clear parts in with the rest of the parts trees so that they can get scratched

(2) using tinted clear plastic for all the clear parts in an auto kit. Windshield, headlights, etc...

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People that try and ruin the hard work done to complete a work of art by making false accusations that it was not their own!!!!!!

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Aftermarket decals that fracture! And, as Murphy's Law would have it, it always seems to be a marking that you can't replace rom the spares box. You know to be careful with very old sheets, and some kit decals (like CollectAire sheets), but don't expect it with a major manufacturer within the last 5-10yrs. Gloss coating them almost defeats the purpose of buying aftermarket, since you add thickness and lose flexibility.

 

GIL :smiley16:

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People that try and ruin the hard work done to complete a work of art by making false accusations that it was not their own!!!!!!

 

I missed this one. What happened here?

 

One of my pet peeves is huge sprue gates that are so big you end up breaking the part before cutting it free.. Or sprue gates that straddle a part that is supposed to be 'stepped' with an edge and you have to carve the sprue gate off the edge (such as on the edge of landing gear doors.)

 

Then there is when they attach a sprue gate to the inside of a delicate curve, making it nearly impossible to cut the part off.

 

If I think of more, I'll post them.

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Duke,

Ya gotta be quick! We had an issue on FB and were able to fix it without EVERYONE having to see it!!!!

 

Mark

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People that think good paint work(and nothing else) makes a prize winning model.

 

When one "judge" is obviously campaigning for a friend's model.

 

People who forget to bathe\shower before they show up at an event.

 

Events where Automotive categories are still called "Civilian Vehicles"

 

People who think "scratch built" means an automatic prize.

 

Poorly placed ejector marks.

 

Judges that don't know some cars have toe in\toe out and caster\camber.

 

Judges that don't read documentation. At least skim it over.

 

"Hoverers"...we all know one.

 

Last and most important...judges and or modelers that ignore\forget Basic Modeling Skills

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Here's my list:

 

Trophy hunters at contest,We all know them. Really bugs me when they place second or not at all and start acting like a two year old throwing the biggest tantrum in the world :smiley11: . Humm Scratch that last part about bugging me, I actually really enjoy that one. I actually get the biggest evil smile on my face for the day :smiley15: . Ahhh happy thoughts!!!!

 

Oh yes Mold lines on small hard to clean up pieces and ejector pins on tracks.

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Guest PetrolGator

Going to add a big one for me:

 

Burnout. I have a horrible, horrible tendency to go nuts on a build then lose interest toward the end. Thankfully, I'm in the rigging stage of the Indianapolis. I tend to take on more building that I can possibly stand to force myself into new territory. Even within my hobby, the concept of relaxing is lost on me.

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I know this will irritate a lot of people, but so what...

 

Verlinden's style of highlighting aircraft panel lines with dark wash. (A) There's a Mil-Spec (I don't have the number at hand) that states that 2 adjoining skin panels can't have more than 1/10 inch height or linear gap between them. Do you realize how small 1/10 inch is in 48th scale, let alone 72nd? (No self-respecting crew chief/plane captain lets his plane get anywhere NEAR that filthy. I accept some shading differences for REMOVABLE panels, but not for the riveted ones. My 2 cents worth....

Edited by MikeBrickman
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Duke,

Ya gotta be quick! We had an issue on FB and were able to fix it without EVERYONE having to see it!!!!

 

Mark

 

No wonder I missed it. I almost never go to Facebook, much less the IPMS USA Facebook page. it's tough enough getting off of it when I'm just trying to keep up with my family! It sucks so much of my time away.

 

Chris G, I agree; I love seeing trophy hunters humbled.

 

Mike B, I agree there too. I never give any of my aircraft a wash. It may make the model look better in most people's eyes, but I never see anything like that on the real thing.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My attention span and bad habit of rushing a project. The lack of scifi entries at the local contest/swap meet, it's been a while but last time it was nothing but military and a few cars covered in after market parts that won.

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Orange peel and I'm not talking about the fruit! Can't stand it on my own models and can't stand to see it on a contest table. A little time with a sanding stick and some polish and it goes away even if you can't do it straight out of the can or airbrush. Just simple laziness as far as I am concerned.

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My one thing would be the need for everyone to superimpose their standards on everyone else's models. We are all guilty of it; it is often hard to control.

 

For instance, I am mainly a modern armor builder. When I see someone build a modern armor kit, I tend to look at it more critically. I'll spot easy errors I knew about and would have fixed. I usually hold my tongue unless I see the builder did a lot of work or research and was striving for perfection. Only then will I add a comment pointing out the error for next time. Otherwise I'll let sleeping dogs lie.

 

Conversely, I enjoy building other types of models on occasion. When I build a plane, German tank or something not normally in my lane, I may just build it straight OOB or perhaps make some minor corrections I noticed or read about in a review or such. In these situations, I am not striving for perfection or accuracy, I just want to build a Tiger tank or P-51. I don't really care that the kit I built is the least accurate or most accurate.

 

I just enjoyed the build, but don't want to hear that even though my kit looks nice, I should have taken the turret from kit #1, the hull from kit #2, road wheels from kit #3 and used $45 metal tracks. I just wanted to build a darn Tiger and found one at what I deemed to be a good price.

 

It's probably one of the reasons why I rarely post photos of my work. That and I am entirely too lazy to stop what I'm building to take a stupid picture.

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.

 

 

People who forget to bathe\shower before they show up at an event

 

 

Oh, yes. Or who haven't washed their clothes after several weeks of wear.

 

People who think "scratch built" means an automatic prize.

 

Even with glue marks, misaligned parts, bent photoetch, out of scale modifications. "But it's scratchbult!" Which is related to the -- "I spend (a very large number) of hours on this build so It deserves a trophy" -- argument.

 

Judges that don't read documentation. At least skim it over.

 

Yes. And, on the opposite end of the spectrum, documentation that equals a volume or two of the Encyclopedia Britianica. Which is related to the scratchbuilt and number of hours arguments for trophies.

 

"Hoverers"...we all know one.

 

And modelers who overtly politic for their entry -- the modeler who camps out by his entry and explains in excruciating detail why it is the best on the table. I would add "campers" -- like the guy who placed a chair by his entry at a Nationals so he could politic for his entry without cease for two days.

 

 

 

I would add contest room samurai -- the modelers who accost judges after the results are announced and demand to explain why the judges' evaluation of their model is completely wrong.

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Contestants who enter well after the entry deadline and the head judge who permits it. I recall a Nats in which a modeler, staying in the convention hotel and who had been present for the previous two days, showing up over an hour after judging began. We had to rejudge every category in which he had belatedly entered a model.

 

I also recall a major regional contest in which judging was delayed for over three hours because some modelers had called in and complained that traffic was delaying their arrival. Others coming from their area left for the contest earlier and had no trouble being on time. There were people removing their models and leaving before judging finished. Their were judges who removed themselves from judging. And there were contestants who removed their models and departed before the results were announced.

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Contests where "home cooking" is the norm, and qualified National judges are turned away.

Phamtom categories that aren't posted on the event flyer, but are always won by the local sponsoring it.

Best in Show is awarded to a model that doesn't win it's category.

 

 

I witnessed all these things at a local show, that will remain nameless.

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Guest PetrolGator

I hate cheerleading. I'm a member of several forums where I post in progress pictures. I do this in order for people to tear apart what I build so that I can get better. I've been building for two years and I know my painting isn't perfect. Don't get me wrong, I like the "good build" comments, but if you see something I missed or messed up, tell me.

 

I've had this happen at a few shows, though I've met a few judges (like Gil on here) who will nit pick when asked in person. I work in the oilfield. I have thick skin.

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I hate cheerleading. I'm a member of several forums where I post in progress pictures. I do this in order for people to tear apart what I build so that I can get better. I've been building for two years and I know my painting isn't perfect. Don't get me wrong, I like the "good build" comments, but if you see something I missed or messed up, tell me.

 

I've had this happen at a few shows, though I've met a few judges (like Gil on here) who will nit pick when asked in person. I work in the oilfield. I have thick skin.

Good attitude, but I have seen more flame wars started by good intentioned comments that the other way around. After a while people get gun shy. It would be nice if folks could rate themselves as open to suggestion or keep it to yourself, but that is unlikely.

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Agree 100% about cheerleading...The way I look at it, Pete\Christopher, is if you enter an event, you'd better be prepared to takes the lumps with the praise...most people can do it here in Region 1, but there are always some that can't. The best way to improve is to let other eyes inspect your work. This can be done without hurting the builders feelings.

 

Seeing some of the other posts in here reminds me of some more...

 

An IPMS RC who come into an event and tried to throw their weight around like they owned the place, and then whined to the event host when they all but DEMANDED to be added to an already complete judging team(of 3 different clubs I might add).

 

Another IPMS RC that used the old "do you know who I am?" when his models didn't place at a local event.

 

@Highlander....I guess Camper and Hoverer can be the same....though the hoverer is more about hearing what people say about their model from a short distance away, and as you say, the camper is more about pontificating. ;)

Edited by Lumpulus
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Guest PetrolGator

Confession: I've eavesdropped in/around my model at my first shows. I was SO curious to hear what people would say about how I did, and honestly, expected more honest comments. I've since stopped that behavior since, well, it's annoying.

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Well, I may have been a 'hoverer' at this year's Nationals, but not by intention. I was taking pictures and heard a gentleman named Lee evaluate my aircraft to someone else. After the other person left, I went around the table and asked him for more info on what he found on that particular aircraft. He was very specific, and even pointed out other issues on two of my other aircraft sitting nearby. I never told him until after he was done that these were my aircraft. He started apologizing and I told him to stop. He said he didn't want to hurt my feelings. I told him that didn't happen. I had asked because I wanted to know; and I deliberately didn't tell him they were mine because I wanted him to be as honest as he could be. I wanted to learn and I did learn! He really opened my eyes that day and I am still thrilled to have been told what I need to watch for. So, if that is hovering; I'll be happy to do it again so I can learn even more!

 

I hope I run into him again at a future Nationals!

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