The Little World

Kenny Rogers’ good advice to scale model builders.

We all know the virtues of perseverance and hard work, having had it drummed into us by parents, schools, and employers. What has been missing is the virtue of quitting while you are ahead. Kenny Rogers’ gambler knew it, and it is time we did too.

You can only build so long on a kit before further work starts to slide down the slope of diminishing returns. Your 1:72 scale model Dauntless dive bomber needs wings and wheels, but the pilot doesn’t need a cup of coffee in his hand. Nor do you need to use all the parts on the PE fret.

You certainly do not need to sand down the plane with 2000-grit wet-and-dry in between coats of paint. Adding an extra week to the build for no improvement is a poor use of your time. So is trying to finish it after midnight.

You can judge for yourself if you have a kit that will never actually build up to an acceptable model. I have had a few, and have generally solved the problem by lowering my standards. Only two have ever been binned; judged so vile as to be poisonous.

If you really do screw something up so badly that there is no recovery, keep it as a special reminder. Write out what went wrong and what you should have done instead. By clarifying this you will reduce the chance of ever doing it again.