Avenger's Enterprise D LED lit model build

[Avenger]

I've got about 500 hours in an Enterprise D model with LED's, the real fancy light up kind of custom model, and tonight as I was wrapping up the last lights before the final piece gets glued on to finish the assembly for decaling, I miraculously touched a hot wire to the only exposed lead on my 8 light flasher circuit and burned out every running strobe light on my model. I'm so unbelievably devastated right now. I worked so hard on this thing. So...hard. I yanked out the flasher circuit I built by hand and cracked it into a million pieces with my pliers. It's taken all I can muster to not bash this thing into my floor. Sure, the rest of the model lights up, but it's simply ruined for me now. Any time I show this thing, it's going to be "What's with the white lights that aren't doing anything?" Then I get to relive it all over again. Can't believe it.

 

[steve74]

Re: Ruined a model, need to vent.

Yikes man that suck. You're a better man than me, I would have crushed the whole thing from rage.

 

[Morbach]

Re: Ruined a model, need to vent.

Damn man. I'd be pissed. I guess if you want it bad enough you buy a new one and start over. I wouldn't be in a rush though.

 

[Avenger]

Re: Ruined a model, need to vent.

Damn man. I'd be pissed. I guess if you want it bad enough you buy a new one and start over. I wouldn't be in a rush though.

Not in a million years will I do another one of these. I wouldn't even if this hadn't happened. It's so much work, you can't even imagine unless you do one. And to have something like this happen at the very end, is indescribable.

 

[darthviper107]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

I understand your pain. I was working on a model and adding fiber optics, took me a while to be able to get them all through a hole that was hard to angle them. Then I closed up the model. Shortly after that I tested the fiber optics and only half were working, turned out that some of the glue got onto the fiber optics and melted them in half, so now I have to redo all of them.

 

[Cheungkinmen]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

Sorry to hear that, man. . I understand your pain and frustration, I recently had to start over on something I spend a lot of time on.

 

[karamazov80]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

Yikes. Sorry to hear about this man.

 

[Elendil]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

You have my sympathy. I stopped doing those kinds of models long ago because I kept screwing them up. Hated myself for it too. There is no way to salvage it? If not, then I hope you can learn to still enjoy it, especially since you put so much effort into it.

 

[Avenger]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

You have my sympathy. I stopped doing those kinds of models long ago because I kept screwing them up. Hated myself for it too. There is no way to salvage it? If not, then I hope you can learn to still enjoy it, especially since you put so much effort into it.

The only way to salvage it would be to crack the whole thing open again. I have it sealed up and light proof around the seams. I'd have to rebuild the flasher circuit now that I trashed that too. It's just not worth it. That would add way more time than I'm willing to invest in it. now.

For those who don't know what kind of model this is, I took a quick crappy shot of the model. I have tape on some parts because I was prepping to clear coat it for decals once the upper saucer piece was put on, and I didn't want to gloss the silky dull resin on the warp nacels and deflector shield.

Had I not screwed up, there would be a number of strobing white lights, like you see on an airplane.

 

[devilof76]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

Yeah, but...that ^^^^ is ____ing awesome.

 

[thenammagazine]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

Yeah, but...that ^^^^ is ____ing awesome.

Props though. I would've taken it outside for target practice.

 

[Avenger]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

I appreciate the sympathy guys. I will finish it. I have done something to it I didn't like more than once, but this time I can't really fix what I did. But, I swore I would finish it, and will. I don't know what I'll do with it afterwards. Maybe I'll run it to Nams house and learn how to use a paintball gun.

 

[devilof76]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

No. You could fix it. But, like you said, you've already given up on it.

 

[furystorm]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

How much for a raw model? Looks awesome!

Sorry for your issues.

 

[Agent47]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

Yeah, coming from someone with zero experience in this department, it looks pretty friggin' awesome. Little consolation I'm sure, but well done regardless

 

[Lejuan]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

The only way to salvage it would be to crack the whole thing open again. I have it sealed up and light proof around the seams. I'd have to rebuild the flasher circuit now that I trashed that too.

Do it Bro! Make it your Everest.

I will finish it...I swore I would finish it, and will.

If you need a cheerleading squad you could post WIP pics in this thread. It'd be a heaps more positive bonding thread than the aznrice vs abouttreefitty trilogy. I mean, treefitty gets his Pred back in the end and that's cool, but you get to show off a whole damned light-up strobolific ENTERPRISE.

 

[devilof76]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

To Lejuan, you should listen.

 

[Rotfish]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

If it's any consolation, the LED's that still light up make it look awesome. Majority of them seem functional and it'll look kickass on display regardless. I know how it feels to have that little missing finishing touch though, nagging in the back of your head... but after 500 hours of effort, this model needs some appreciation and so does your work on it.
While this may not help, it could've definitely been worse. You did a stellar (pun intended) job, nevertheless.

 

[Raymond F.]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

This is nowhere near the same level but if it makes you feel any better I've been there too many times trying to fix something up and ruining it etc.

The most recent one was I was totally lucky to score a brand new jor el hot toys about a month ago for two thirds the regular price it goes for.

It came with a nose rub obviously hot toys can't replace a figure this old so I attempted to fix it which I've done many times. Somehow I blundered it up them I tried to remove the paint. Fiddled this thing the whole night ended up stripping the head pulled an all nighter before work... The head was useless.

So I had to buy a used jor el that already had a paint rub on the nose for the exact same price it came in today the fixing of the rub went a lot smoother this time.

So I had to pay double for the same thing, still inperfect because I fe'd it up, spent hours...

It was not the first won't be the last.

I know it's nothing compared to all the lights especially when it's so close to being done but this hobby, it's expensiveness and our perfectionism can sometimes overrule our lives...

Let it sit, take a breath you never know or might be salvageable for the most part you need a break from this for awhile..

Really sorry to hear that though it does look all kinds of amazing though I would love an enterprise like that.

 

[Mesa]

Re: Ruined a model with nearly 500 hours, need to vent.

I'm not familiar with these models. What got ruined? The twinkling fiber optics? Are these unable to be replaced once installed? I'm guessing you glues something in place?

Also, how'd it get fried? What shorted out?

Sorry for your frustration.