im giving up on this

I believe that we have all been there whether building in wood, plastic, or beef bones. Model Expo has been good at replacing parts over the years, but Ages of Sail has been as good or better. Please don't throw the kit away. We can help.

Bill
 
Bluefish,
We all know the feeling and have experienced a lot of frustration with different models. I myself had to shelf the Recouvrance a couple of years ago because the wood is such poor quality. After a few months break i started a new kit. I know it's easy to write suggestions, i just hope you can overcome your frustration. Best.
 
I've been there as well. After getting about a third of the way done on the NRG half hull planking model I threw it in the trash, ordered a new one and will begin again. It seems my OCD got the best of me because I didn't like the quality of my work.

I had to order replacement parts for my previous model, Bluenose, from Model Shipways. Never had a problem but always ordered stuff on line, not over the phone.

This hobby requires lots of time and patience. My Bluenose took me over 2 years. I need to really slow down at times and learn to walk away when I'm getting frustrated.

OCD is both a curse and a blessing.

Dave
 
Hi Bluefish, I do sympathise with you. I've been making models for a good number of years and I still get the occasional bad or frustrating day. No doubt there will be similar days in the future but you keep going. If the subject, whatever it is has you hooked then you'll keep at it and solve the problem - until the next time...

Barnacle Bill
 
I can understand your frustration. I have looked at SOS for a few years before really dipping my toe in the water and doing my first wood model. I am not sure what craft you are building but perhaps it may help to put it away for a while and do something simpler at first?

I am really doing this only a few months and have started with the Model Expo Grand Banks Dory and the Norwegian sailing pram. Both were fun builds and I learned so much. I believe it is really important to take your time and really understand what the instructions and building logs are telling you. Find as many build logs as you can and see how they do it. It will save you from making a lot of mistakes.

For me the best part of the build is the actual build. Don't rush! There are many many kind folks here who, collectively, probably have centuries of experience and are so willing to help!
 
fourseas said:
I could never understand how some of our members could have two or three different ships on the bench at the same time. However, when frustration becomes overwhelming on the present build I guess it's pretty easy to switch over to another project and continue building. "Now I Understand" ;)
Click to expand...
Some of us have more than one bench... :D
 
fourseas said:
I could never understand how some of our members could have two or three different ships on the bench at the same time. However, when frustration becomes overwhelming on the present build I guess it's pretty easy to switch over to another project and continue building. "Now I Understand" ;)
Click to expand...
Actually, that is exactly why I always have 2 builds going at the same time. As soon as I have to start rigging (which for me is the most frustrating/testing part of the build), I start a new kit. As soon as the swearing starts on one end of the workshop, I switch to the other ;-)
 
I work for a wholesale company, we have issues getting product. And I find the same for my own personal experiences.
Companies are not tying up alot of money in stock and issues getting people to work.

Emails are best I find.
 
I'm very surprised you are having issues with Model Expo, I have always found them to be a great company to work with on the items I have purchased from them. I wish you luck and I find that half the fun in model ship building is the difficulties we face in building and going beyond the problem and finding the fix. Model ship building to me is self rewarding, I build the model to my ability and to my satisfaction. I use this site and others for the knowledge and experience others have. My expectations on how the build will turn out changes with each build I complete. Please don't give up and the great part about building with wood, you can always rebuild a part or a section. I once rebuilt the stern castle of a scratch built frigate four times prior to being satisfied with the final result. There are plenty of wonderful people on this website that are willing to help and make suggestions.

What is the part and to what scale?
 
I had an aviation-themed kit from Model Expo with a couple of missing parts. The phone tag back and forth was frustrating. I don't think I ever got a person at the other end, just voicemail. And there was a huge error in shipping invoice (hundreds of dollars to Canada -- but on reporting this it reduced to zero as it should have been). However the online form for reporting wrong or missing parts worked otherwise as it should and I got my replacement parts fairly quickly. But when you're part way through a kit and trying to figure out if you should be patient or put it aside for a while, a little communication from the supplier goes a long way.
 
Hi Bluefish...Yup been there, as everyone whos signed up here can attest too. Can you post a picture of your frustration from the plan your working on? I typically build from scratch now but started out on kits as probably most people did. So...All of my frustrations today are of my own making (or unmaking or mistakes) it is not uncommon in my case to have to make/remake a single part multiple times because I'm not satisfied with the result. Someone much more sage than myself said something like the model is the sum of the modeled parts...That is consider each piece or part that you are making as a model in itself. When your happy with your tiny model stick it in position oand move onto the next challenge. If I get too frustrated I often put it aside for a wee while and ponder how I might do it differently. Oft times it occurs at some ungoddly hour of the night on my next course of action.
 
I have a very simple recommendation for the OP of this thread. Rather than trying to call them, email them instead. Even during COVID, they were very responsive to a request I had made of them during that time, and we traded emails back and forth over a period of several days until I found what I needed with their assistance. I find phone calls aren't very effective in many instances, either due to the call volume being overwhelming or staff being occupied elsewhere and no one available to pick up the phone. I'm not saying this is the case here, but from personal experience over the years, I understand myself well enough to know that if I'm really upset about something I need to avoid the phone or email until I've calmed down. Otherwise, I tend to say things I'll later regret. Yes, I learned that the hard way. :)
 
I have an account with them and on the website is a form to fill out for parts requests. Never had a problem with getting parts. You can also message them.
 
They probably get a hundred robo calls a day and have just given up the phone for the most part. I've made many purchases from these people and always by their online site. Never had a problem. If we needed to talk they called me so there was no problem.
 
danielsje said:
What is the model, the kit brand, and what pieces parts are you missing??
Click to expand...
These are the questions…

Everyone gets frustrated, but this thread provides no illumination into what you are specifically frustrated about.

People are obviously willing to help, but you have to be a little more forthcoming with what.
 
At this point, I think the OP is more fixated on building his anger than actually seriously looking for any assistance. We all understand the frustration that sometimes comes with working on a build, and because of that we try to assist others when they reach out. Many of us have done exactly that... made offers to assist, as well as provide suggestions by which he could obtain better results. However, now that he's appeared to have ghosted the thread, I think Elvis has left the building. As the old saying goes, "you can't coach where there's no demand".
 
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