Tamiya FW13B F1 car

I’m calling this done

What a shame. I was enjoying the build coming together.

This is part of the reason I stopped building, I’ve crushed more than I’ve completed.

What annoys me more than anything is I want to do stuff like this but if I can’t get a perfect body then I have 0 chance of being able to do it.
I get that 2 years of building 5 years ago and 5 months this year is nothing compared to you guys. It just frustrates me with all that effort then something happens that you can’t fix. I’ll repaint things as much as I need too but spending money on decals when there’s a huge chance I will do it again is just pointless. It basically becomes end of build.

I wouldn't beat yourself up about it too much. I've never completed a build to a perfect standard myself so I too just make the best and roll with it. It's all about the therapy of the build for me and any mitsakes I make are all part of the quirks of my build of which there are many.

You know, that would make quite a good crash diorama. Just a thought.

Ash, don't be so hard on yourself my friend.

When I got back into the hobby 23 years ago, I was so influenced by all the great things I saw others doing, I just dived in and tried so many things it took me eight models before I finished one.

What I am saying is be patient, don't rush from step to step and set your self to learning one new skill on each new build and pretty soon you'll be wondering what all the fuss was about.

You'll get there mate.

Thanks people,

It’s all about learning and every build I do learn something, this time it was tyre decals and if you’ve got a line taped up don’t brush paint it, it always seeps underneath no matter how good you think the taping is, decals got easier as the build progressed and I was pleasantly surprised when I managed to get an up and over and around one to sit perfectly flat, after reading Al’s decal tutorial I’ll hopefully see some improvement on a future build. The higher the zoom on the modelling binoculars the easier it is to do smaller parts, I’ve also found that 1/20 scale is too big for my cabinet so I need 1/24’s and finally that F1 cars are way sharper than normal road going vehicles.

I know I can do one which I’ll consider my best works ever but I don’t know if I can handle a couple more builds which will make me loose it again.

Then choose a simpler build Ash. Maybe a curbside road going vehicle.

Perhaps this?

I need decals Al, the last 2 builds I’ve done both have died due to decal issues. I just need to practice that’s all

Ash....cocking things up is part and parcel of scale modelling. I couldn’t count the number of kits that I’ve never finished or have ended up as donors for parts of other cars. I’ve been building for......years, and I still make mistakes and misjudgements. Sometimes it’s better to leave it and move on to the next kit, and go back to it later. Decals are still a bit hit and miss for me too - I think those that are good at it have made a pact with Devil !

That's as near as I can get Ron.

This was a part started from years ago, have you seen what Al wrote about decals? It seems to work and I haven’t really killed any whilst I’ve been messing around this afternoon.

Very suspicious

Yes Ash, I have read through Al’s thread - and I do all that, but every now and then even I fail.
I think the kit manufacturers should sell replacement sheets of decals.....it would be a good money earner.

I know Hobbyco at least do replacement decals fo Tamiya. They may do others too. Worth checking out.

Hobbyco

Hiroboy
...also do replacement decals for Tamiya, but checking out that section - although many kits are listed, most are out of stock. 🥴

Another one is Hobby Link Japan ...

But like Hiroboy, not everything is in stock, you can select the different available/not available in the side options...

I just don’t understand what’s happening in the model building world, everyone is on a 3 year teabreak or something, everything is discontinued or out of stock or awaiting stock. Kits seem to be limited release producing hardly any so within a few months they’ve gone. Aftermarket decals come out when there’s no kits left anymore as do detail kits etc so 6 months to 10 years after release. I’ve just seen some Alfa dtm decals on spotmodel which appeared to be a new release. Who’s got the kits? I haven’t seen alfas at a good price so a long time.
I contacted dmodels about the escorts coming later this year asking if anyones bringing out pilot decals for them, no because they are for a different type of car group A Vs WRC.. all the same to me pal just get the pilot ones out!
Positives are.. belkits are bringing back the polo at the end of the year as a rerelease so if you want one there’s your chance.

Take it from somebody who has been building kits since the 1950’s - I think it is simply because there is little demand for the products - even though we ‘dyed in the wool’ builders are wanting them, overall there is not enough interest from new modellers. The hobby has a very narrow clientele, and as it has been said before, businesses need to make a profit to stay in business. Low runs of kits will ensure the manufacturers are not stuck with warehouses full of unwanted models. Model builders of today were modellers in their childhood - but fewer kids are kit building preferring video games or building Lego. As a grandad of two boys, I’ve tried my best to influence them to get building plastic models, but if the interest isn’t there, then you can’t force it.
Sadly, the days of my youth are gone when there was a Woolworths in every town with a counter full of Airfix kits. A town that had at least three good hobby or model shops with an array of kits to choose from. I never knew how well off I was !

It is a big shame, I agree with everything Ron says but the harsh reality is that the hobby is dying. I wish I had the money in the past to stock up on the Fujimi EM series. Maybe 3d printers are the future, who knows.

That all makes sense, there are hardly any model shops and the best you get near me is hobby craft which has nothing that would interest me and the prices are ridiculous. Seems to me that people want more RC cars than anything, I’ve got my own 1/10 Tamika escort but building it was way easier than a 1/24 car.
I bought my kids kits years ago and they stayed in the boxes until I sold them last week. They make tonnes of Lego and the rest of the time it’s phones.
I don’t think people buying a high number of kits helps either, I know one guy bought 6 of the belkits 6r4, he’s done 3 and is planning on building the others which is fair enough but I don’t have funds for more kits and by the time I do they’ll be long gone.
3D printing is amazing provided you get a good one which can do fine details you’re laughing.