Love it!

I am ashamed to say just how many models I have in process:

Something like 6 aircraft and 10 armor models. Plus 3 more "almost finished" (98%) armor models.
(Explanation: Short attention span, I bore easily and am easily distracted **.)

Hey, it's called a hobby AND it is also called retirement!


** Also model companies keep offering new and wonderful kits that I just HAVE to get involved in!


Opps; just bought (and started) two more!

exactly. it's a great time to be involved in The Hobby as far as i'm concerned. at 67, also untired!, I cannot believe how manufacturers have provided us with such great things.

I remember getting my first order from America's Hobby Center way away in New York City about 1960. seems I waited weeks after sending my order form money in an ENVELOPE!


that was when companies wanted you to mail a SASE for their "catalog".


the good old days? good riddance! give me 2019 anytime.

I was tempted to reply yesterday morning, when the answer would have been 0, as I finished my Pz.kpfw 111 on Friday evening, and started the Airfix Stuart last night, so the answer now is 1. That in itself is unusual as I generally have 2 on the go at any one time, as I tend to start on one when I reach the painting stage of the current build.

I have:
AFV Scimitar (base coat applied)
Tamiya Challenger MBT (under construction)
Tamiya Quad truck & 25pdr (base coat applied)
Hobby Boss Leopard 2A4 (under construction)
Trumpeter Swedish 103B Type 'S" (base coat applied)
Italeri M923 A1 (base coat applied)
Trumpeter LAV-25 (prepping for paint)
2 M151 A1 (one to corrected IDF Shmira) (under construction)
Plus two kits I inherited from another model club member who passed away last year. He started them. I intend to finish them. Do they count?

I like that Scimitar kit. That's one of the first ones I ever was serious about! I'd love to do another now just to see how far I've come.

As others have said, 'one' active on the bench at a time, but the shelf o' shame filled with partial built kits is why I'm always in the Hangar queen, Gettr Done, and Unfinished Business campaigns.

The shelf of shame has 20-25 partial or stalled builds.
This summer I've polished off two sci fi and am nearly down with the FM Millennium Falcon

Bandai UC Hardgraph 1/35 Gundam 'jeep'

the hovertruck


And an out of nowhere contender, built so far this summer
Meng ZPU-2

Very interesting octagonal camo! Good work!

That appears to be some sort of hover tank??
Those must be some serious spensors!

Thanks!

The hover truck is a Gundam thing, supposedly has a sensor that shoots into the ground to detect footsteps.. It's the Bandai UC Hardgraph series 'platoon briefing'

I got mine from HLJ a while back, but I think it is still in production.
The hex cammo stencils are from Anarchy Models in the UK. Brilliant stuff, about 10 pounds. Very fast shipping to the states and worth every penny.

I am sorry to say I have 6 on the go , all in various stages. They include 6252 Tiger 1, 6221 234/4, 6458 Jagdpanther, 6320 Stug 3, 6260 Flak 36, 6358 Panther A. All are Dragon with lots of etch sets and aftermarket tracks. Hopefully someday I can finish something out of this backlog. Maybe we could start a support group for those of us who cant seem to finish anything.I am too ashamed to say how many figures, buildings and diorama accessories also waiting to be finished. It is great to know that I am not the only one who cant finish anything.

It takes some serious will power to not have a shelf of shame. Hats off to you guys who can work that way. I like to have 5-10 builds going at once to keep from getting bored. Sometimes I just want to do assembly or only painting.

I've been on a painting kick for about 6 months. This helping me work through my shelf of shame backlog of ~35 started builds. My plan was to get through over half this year, but then I took on a big renovation project on my house. Now I'm hoping for 15 completed builds for 2019.

Because of this thread I started to clean up my box of shame started kits.
My new Tamiya Stuart has reached the point of decaling and my Meng Jagdpanther I've cut & cleaned up all of the track parts(3pcs per link with 5 attachment spots) and assembled about a half a run's worth of links. AND, spent lots of money on switching over to acrylics and weathering products. After practicing on a couple of dud kits the JP will be my first Vallejo painting project.

All because of this thread....

Glad I could help!

I am a bit ashamed to post here to this question, but I have to admit, I have found a new love in my life. I used to have five or six different kits (singular kits) I worked on, and carried them through to completion and then, at least, the base coat, before I would go back and start another model, keeping 5 to 8 in a continuous state of build. I didn't really have a "shelf of shame," per se. Sometimes I would find I genuinely disliked a model and decide it was not worth the time to build, and it would be boxed up and put in a land, "far, far, away".
In January, however, a new phase began. The various Bergepanthers were coming out in plastic and with interiors, as well as Trumpeter' s FAMO/BILSTEIN upcoming offerings, and the various Fries cranes. Then I realized that if I don't build my resin kits of these versions NOW, I will never get around to them once the plastic kits come out.
So I drug out my resin offerings, which included:
7 units Tamiya FAMO/ TMD BILSTEIN
3 units DML/TMD Bergepanther
2 units Tamiya/ OnTrack Bergepanther
2 units Tamiya/Calibre35 BILSTEIN
2 units DES Fries gantry crane
2 units DES 12ton halftrack

I got busy with the FAMO/BILSTEIN conversions first, followed by the TMD Bergepanthers. I also had been working on the AFV CLUB Bussing NAG/BILSTEIN kit, which is beautiful but has a lot of failings and lots of very small parts. I realized that it was sad that so much study and figuring out on both resin kits and complicated plastic kits ends up in only ONE finished model. So I changed my plan of attack.
Since most of the time on a resin kit IS figuring out the directions and test fitting, I built all seven FAMO conversions together. It is much more efficient and enjoyable, plus I have a kit for every possible combination in use- travel mode, crane right, crane left, back outriggers down, all outriggers down, etc. I also built six of the Bussing NAG crane units in the same configurations, according to the reference photos. I built the three TMD Bergepanthers plus five of the TAKOM Bergepanther A kits, which helped me to build the TMD kits, since the TAKOM kits have much better directions. I built three more FAMOs while I was at it, one with a spade and two standard FAMOs. I am also building five of the TAKOM M3 Lee series (two M31, two LEES, and one Grant). As The other kits wound down to completion, I started, together, the two DES Fries and three TAKOM Fries kits, to use the TAKOM Fries kits as comparison to help make the resin DES kits. I am also starting on four Tamiya 116 FAMO trailers.
Why? I can build five of a unit, cleanup and all, with better attention to detail, seam cleaning, efficient assembly, and better painting efficiency, in the same time I would build two regular kits. And I have much more fun. Then I can use the complicated kits in various configurations, not just pick one and forget the others. I make better models, have more enjoyment, paint better. I have bought dozens of plastic storage boxes to efficiently cut, clean by assembly, store, and inventory for subassemblies and final assemblies. A few processes become more tedious by larger production, for example, on the FAMO windshields, cutting, cleaning, taping, cleaning the window frames, gluing, and then priming the entire taped five piece window required time, care, and patience (I did the windows for 13 FAMOs while I was at it, even though I only built a total of 10 FAMOs). This way they are ready and in the boxes whenever a get a taste for FAMOs again. When I replaced the plastic boom tubes on the Bussing NAG Bilstein kits(I replaced them with brass tubes with drilled holes and plastic side bushings), I made booms for 14 kits, even though I only built six NAG/BILSTEIN kits in total. I just doesn't take much additional time.
You might think I am crazy, but at least for now, I am enjoying model building more than I ever have. Better models, more models, more configurations, more diversity, better understandings of the assembly processes. And the more complicated the model, the more efficient the process becomes. The new kits with torsion bars, engines, transmissions, turret interiors, winches, these are incredibly efficiently built in multiples. You study once (take your time, get it right), then build five transmissions at one time. And since there are always bottlenecks,such as waiting for assemblies to dry so you can clean up residual plastic, or painting bottlenecks, having several multiples gives me time to study and reflect. For example, if a question comes up or a problem with an assembly (how it should be), I work on another set of multiples for several days while studying and clarifying the problem. Photoetch is now fun, for the first time. I get crazy glue out for multiple parts on five of the same kit, and after study, it always goes efficiently and quickly. The FAMO/BILSTEIN crane unit handle mounts had six small PE pieces on each crane times seven kits. I studied it a bit, cut them all out and filed down the burr, and then glued 42 pieces at one time. Not a burden at all, and a much more efficient use of glue.
Enough said. I held back replying here until now because of the assuredly negative reaction I will probably get. However, try it, you might like it. And with kits with multiple configurations, like the Bergepanthers and the FAMO/BILSTEIN units, or the complicated BussingNAG/BILSTEIN units, this would allow you to branch out. Pull an engine from a Tiger with one, travel mode one, heavy pull crane three o'clock with outriggers far out on one, crane nine o'clock with outriggers short, tow a Blitz truck with accessories with another. This is what I plan to do with the six I have.
Shake it up a little. And remember, the more complicated a kit is, the easier it is to build in multiples. Five is my desired number, but even two or three becomes much more efficient and opens up additional modelling opportunities.
So in response to your initial question,how many kits am I working on? I still have some of my initial singular builds. A 3ton halftrack, a Russian T35, Blitz truck, Blitz Maultier, Tiger I (with added zimmerit), two 1ton halftracks (I wish I had built ten,complicated little turds), a DML SIG33, a Jagdpanzer IV L/48, a DML KKRAD, two DML 15cm howitzer (again, I wish I had built five). So altogether, maybe 40 kits in process. The Bergepanthers and FAMO conversions are at the point of painting now (some interior and undercarriage painting, as well as engines, transmissions, torsion bars, and recessed areas already painted). Some groups are at 95% complete, some 80%, some 50%, but all moving along steadily and efficiently.
Your comments will be welcome.
Regards,
Mark,
[email protected]

Jesus... I can not imagine the amount of space you need for all of that!!

I love cranes and recovery vehicles (although far from your level), so it would be great if you could share some photos of your models, all of them have been/are on my wish list

Well, the other day I broke down and started a second one while waiting for some paint to dry on the M9 ACE. I'm about 5 steps into the Trumpy SA-4 Ganef kit for the Anti-Aircraft: 2019 campaign that ends in October. I'm hoping I can get it done in time. I don't usually like to rush.


Happy modeling, all!

Yeah, I love cranes and stuff like that...I've got an HO scale Kibri crane kit (I think it's labelled as a "Gittermastkran") to dive in to someday. It's been sitting in my stash for about 27, 28 years, so I think it needs a little more "seasoning" before I start slappping it together.

Tim

Well Mark you took my shame away entirely for having 15-20+ kits started, totally!

I too love cranes, recovery equipment and heavy military haulers of all kinds!

I have one. A Panther F that I hand-painted a hard edge scheme on and was unhappy with the way out of scale brushmarks. I don't know what to do so there it sits as an awkward reminder that not everything turns out as planned.

I've got an old Tamiya Bradley kit that taunts me like that. I just tell it to shut up and go back to whatever I was doing!

Do you ever go back to some of your earlier kits that you've finished and say, "Damn! I really didn't know sh** back then!"

Greg - have you tried over spraying the model with a lite coat of Tamiya Matte Clear. (Hate to admit it but the Tamiya brand is just about the best aerosol hobby paint out there.)

The matte coating can sometimes hide or eliminate visible brush strokes. (As well as decal shine and decal edges) On the last coat hold the can at least 20" away from the model and over spray just a lite coating so the paint is almost dry when it hits the model. This will produce the most flat, non-reflective surface possible.

Couldn't hurt!

Good Luck

My problem was I was using life color and the opacity was a problem. the first two coats were almost perfect brush stroke wise but the opacity was still a problem. Some areas took 4 coats and now there are brush marks. I thought about submerging the entire kit in windex or something to remove the paint. Just haven't rounded up enough motivation yet.