Your most challenging kit?

[randgust]

I'm curious.  As I had to simply walk away from what I'm working on tonight....mostly because of the imminent hazard of human spontaneous combustion.

Everybody that's been at this for a while...and particularly this group.... has THAT kit... the one that reduced you to a pile of shaking mental Jello.

So, what was it, and what was the part of the kit that did it for you?   Loco?  Car?  Structure?   Electronic?

I "used to think" that the GHQ L-1 conversion kit was the most challenging one I'd ever done, particularly until Max came out with the instruction article.

I've most certainly got a new nominee myself.   Tibetan monks on tranquilizers would swear at this one.   Before I detail.... what's your story???

[peteski]

I have yet to find one of those. 
Years ago I build a kit of a 1:24 scale "Can-Do" heavy wrecker (by Revell of Germany). I fully illuminated it which meant designing electronics and resin-casting lots of running lights with LEDs inside them.  It took me about a year to complete.  It was very complex build and very challenging. But it was still fun to build.   But like I said, I have not yet encountered ay hobby project which would cause spontaneous human combustion. 











For more photos see the Can-Do gallery.

[Santa Fe Guy]

That is a very cool model Peteski. Nicely done.
Rod.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Funny you should mention Buddhist monks. I learned how to control my breathing going to meditation at the Thai temple with joy. It really comes in handy when installing lift rings.

Without a doubt, the worst, most impossible kit I ever successfully assembled was the N Scale Architect Worcester Union Station. I worked off and on for FIVE years in that thing. Some highlights include:

Over 1500 parts
An entire sheet (11"x17") miss cut with a replacement sheet thrown in, but no indication which parts from what sheet to use
Parts that install off center not mentioned in the instructions
Parts not labeled correctly
Parts that would not fit square (annoying on a square building, damn near impossible in this tetrahedral monstrosity)
"Supports" that include large sheets of poster/gator board but no cutting diagrams
Instructions that call for the bending of laser cut plywood without reinforcements
An instruction book literally the size of the blueprints book for my Thai house
Instructions that made less sense to me than previously mentioned blueprints (written in Thai and using metric)

I keep tabs on this kit and have only been able to verify four models completed including mine and the display/pilot model.

[atsf3751]

One of the projects I routinely do can sometimes be easy and sometimes not so easy. Partly because there are no written directions on how to do it. One of my annoyances are steam engine tenders being five scale feet behind the locomotive, real ones are not that far away. Most steamers are only test run before I fix them. Some require some really creative thinking. The hardest one was a large engine with a big tender and the drawbar was nearly 25 scale feet long, broke it half a dozen times before I got it right. Another tender change that can be challenging is replacing a USRA tender with a Vanderbilt.

[peteski]

Thanks Rod!

Daniel: I have the Worcester Station kit - haven't tackled it yet.    I don't like the window frame etchings - they look way too thick to me.

[pdx1955]

In the early years it was a Heiljan arch bridge - terrible instructions and parts fit ...drove me batty. The most challenging kit to date was my GHQ NP 2-8-2 ..still have to paint the thing , but I made it through the kit slowly over many lunch breaks at work as 20 min is all I could do on it at once.

It's probably met it's match with the new kid on the block...a Diamond Scale turntable kit for which the rail for the pit showed up today. Instructions look the same as 20 plus years ago when looking at similar HO one. .Guidance is sketchy even from what I could gather on-line so this one could drop me into the "pit of despair." 
The more expensive the kit the more difficult it gets as you really don't want to mess up.

[brokemoto]

It never drove me even close to a meltdown, but Hel-Jan kits are great for improving your bashing skills.  The parts are warped, misshapen, deformed, will not fit properly and  the instructions are less than useless.  You need more than a little Squadron Green®, Evergreen sheets, paint and wood to construct jigs for those kits.  I did manage to find a board and some magnets, which help for those kits and eliminate the need for jigs.

[bbussey]

My most challenging model was the N Scale of Nevada Piggy Packer.  It was nearly 25 years ago, but that was the kit where I learned I could build anything if I took my time and didn't try to build everything in one night.

[VonRyan]

Worsley Works GWR 4-wheel coach "kits". Really they are "scratch aids" and as such you get a bunch of etched parts that you have to design your own way of putting them together and cobble your own chassis together.

Got rid of them a long time ago. Only good thing was the etched coupling hooks that I saved, and now use on my Nn3 rolling stock.

[jpec]

It never drove me even close to a meltdown, but Hel-Jan kits are great for improving your bashing skills.  The parts are warped, misshapen, deformed, will not fit properly and  the instructions are less than useless.  You need more than a little Squadron Green®, Evergreen sheets, paint and wood to construct jigs for those kits.  I did manage to find a board and some magnets, which help for those kits and eliminate the need for jigs.

I picked up a few kits from a company called Big City Hobbies. They're basically rebranded Heljan and Kibri stuff...same issues that you had. One was a freight house with a pocket track. After getting the main building to square up, I whacked most of the loading dock, eliminating the pocket space and shed roof. Looks a lot better because many of the shed roof supports were way out of scale.

Jeff

[jpec]

My most challenging model was the N Scale of Nevada Piggy Packer.  It was nearly 25 years ago, but that was the kit where I learned I could build anything if I took my time and didn't try to build everything in one night.

I had that moment of Zen with a kit from Custom Model Railroads...they look a little daunting but once you read through Jeff's instructions and understand the system they are really great kits - and Jeff is there to help if you have questions or goof up a part.

Jeff

[u18b]

Well, this won't be a surprise to many......

But my answer is for me to go from this......




To these ......

[Caddy58]

Probably my GHQ NP Z8 Challenger.

Adding a Richmond Controls tender pickup kit converted it from a beautiful shelf queen to a working engine.
I have not turned down the flanges, but as I have Peco C55 track it does run fine as-is.

Cheers
Dirk

[unittrain]

I got a 1:24 scale Pioneer 10/11 spacecraft to assemble it has few instructions I think it will be a real pain, will have to rely on photos. As far as my N scale kits most of them have been not too bad, I would have to say the brass B&O and Pennsy signals are the most difficult especially before the shapeways targets with the shades in place became available.