HI, The key word here is 'finished.' which is just another word for a total disaster! I did get the hull all together last week end without a whole lot of problems and it looked pretty darn good till I decided to create my first mistake; and that was to paint it with Polly S Desert Storm Sand. Such a nasty color I don't think I've ever had the pleasure to try! Imagine a very, very light pinkish-tan! (Sort of like Lilian Vernon goes to war if you will. Or maybe the local Avon lady, kind of a toss u between them.) I figured that maybe it was just the one coat that was doing it, so I gave it another and it only got worse. I don't think it's the paint either, it's just the color as a whole. If this is anything near the official color shade of 'desert storm sand,' it only proves that the defence dept. does have a sense of humor after all, esp. in the paint selection department. Ha, ha!

Now to the final event that spelled 'finished' to the hull. I put this 'creation' onto a shelf out in the garage and later on backed into said shelf, which knocked the model down onto the floor and also a nice heavy power saw right down on top of it. I don't think that even some of the photos I've seen of destroyed Abrams tanks can come close to what this hull now resembles. So is the will of the gods!

Oh well, oh well........ One good thing about it all is that the last several models I've built have all come out pretty nice and am kind of proud of them, so I guess that every now and then--which is really one time too many when it does happen--some of that proverbial 'rain must fall' along the way.

Could be the gods are telling me I have no business going out of the World War II era or away from the vaulted Panzers. Hummmmm......

Take care, Larry

That sucks. Don't fret and buy a new one. Maybe if you're lucky you can send in photos to dragon and by gaining their sympathy, they'll send you another one.

Jeff

Pinkish tan? Sounds perfect for a 2AD tank from Desert Storm.

Be a winner in the Purple Hearts campaign though.

Sick jokes aside, I guess we've all done something similar, just not quite so drastic.Heartbreaking when it's a new model. Hope you get another to build.

Cheers
Tony.

Larry

Listen to Rob - the color is a pinkish tan. Depending on the lighting in your work area it could look more "pink" than it really is. Take a loot at the model in sunlight.

GSP

i got the same thing on my m2a2 with modelmaster acryl sand dont know the number right now but after a wash of burnt sienna i got a light yellow color

PS. just finished my aim too

You know that honestly isnt such a bad idea. I've seen some really smashed up tanks just by searching on google.

Why not place the remains on a base, maybe blacken it up a bit to simulate burnt soot, add a few figures around it and there you have it.

If its already damaged, it cant get any worse.

I remember seeing those when they first hit the ground over there

On second thought, I'd personally actually like to see a picture of what a power saw does to a hunk of plastic.

Jeff

HI, Thanks for the sympathies folks. Yes, I most likely will be getting another one of these kits here in the future, but just not at the moment. But when I do get it and get around to building that particular once again, I think I may try the green color as shown on the box top, just to be on the save side. Ha, ha!

I did 'drown my sorrows' today by returning to the hobby shop and picking up another one of Dragon's "smart" Panther kits so I can do the early Ausf. G version, and ordering the future release of their Preminum Nashorn kit due out next month. Nothing like a good dose of the Iron Cross to help matters for a good old German-phobe builder like me.

To give you some idea of what a power saw can do to plastic, today while mowing the grass I found one of the road wheels out in the yard along the driveway. Something like 35 or more feet from 'point zero!' And I'm quite sure that other parts of it will be turning up here and there throughout the garage proper as I move things around on certain occasions. I figure this is going to be one of those models whose parts I will find scattered here and there through the coming years out there. Ha, ha!

Sure glad it didn't hurt the saw though. Models are much cheaper to replace than a good power saw.

Take care, Larry

Hi,
Nice story Larry, it can even beat the one of a brand new tamiya Hmmwv (still in the box), an open window and my Mother, angry about my school notes^^
Such accidents really seem to be buisness as usual... or some kind of divine signs ;-)

Max

If you think power saws and angry parents are bad news, try a 2 year-old nephew! You should see what he did to my Skif BMP-3 and my Tamiya M4A3. (still can't find what he did with the gun tubes from the BMP.)