Finished: Tamiya M24
This was my project for Unfinished Business 2026.
This was another unhappy project.
At the very end, even using every trick I know to prevent it, the decals cracked and silvered. My failing eyesight is a severe problem with this step. I need to take a picture and magnify to see the discolorations. My attempt to fix the decals with acrylic paints did not work and looks flat out bad.
The roll on the luggage rack looks really bad. A modern molding it is not! I also have no idea how to paint canvas. It is not glued in place because maybe, some day, I can make a better one using Milliput.
The tools look bad. This is an ongoing problem I cannot figure out. Part of it is my eyesight. Part is not knowing what paints to use. Part is lack of motor control to deliver the paint where I want it to go.
The wood parts look bad. Painting wood is still hit and miss for me. Sometimes I get it right. Other times, not so much.
The straps look meh. As with wood, I have not figured out how to paint straps.
The olive drab is way, way, way too light. Unlike the other problems, I may finally have a solution for this one.
The project took way, way, way too long. Every model becomes a grueling endurance race for me. Even though I know completing projects is the best path to success, as errors accumulate they sap my will to continue.
As usual, even though the project is “done”, I will go back and try to fix a few things.
Edit: I forgot to mention, this is my first completed Italeri model as an adult. As a kid, I really wanted one. It will return to the workshop for repairs sometime in the next few weeks.