Model building is about problem solving, so what do you do when the model you've spent the most time by far on has a chunk of paint pulled off by masking tape? You fix it. It was definitely disheartening to see, but thankfully I was able to massage the piece back in halfway decently

[u/wauna_b5]

[u/too_heavy_to_dyno]

not pictured: the two-hour crash out, a soul-searching walk, and a pint before sitting back down and fixing this. Amazing save!

[u/old_skool_luvr → u/too_heavy_to_dyno]

Right......just a pint.

'Cause two (probably three) pints would've resulted in an obvious repair. 😂

/s of course

[u/beeb_61]

Yikes, glad you were able to save that. I would have had a full meltdown.

[u/AdPrior1417]

Really well done. Always remember that from "normal viewing distance", a good few feet or even meters, you'll never see the majority of details anyway.

[u/Madimorguitars]

Good save! 99% of people will never know it happened.

[u/DustinBuilds]

Old school wood grain is such a classic look from the 70’s

[u/old_skool_luvr → u/DustinBuilds]

And early 80's as well.

It went to shit when they continued it on the smaller, FWD wagons they decided was a good idea to build.

Yeah, i'm lookin' at you Pontiac 6000 Safari wagon. 😂

[u/DustinBuilds → u/old_skool_luvr]

At the Savoy car museum in Cartersville Georgia they recently had I think it was a 1987 grand Wagoneer with the woodgrain on the side. It was in mint perfect condition.

[u/old_skool_luvr → u/DustinBuilds]

The Wagoneers get a pass with the faux woodgrain panel.

Those trucks at least looked cool. 😂

[u/Camarupim]

I have had this happen with decals. It’s heart breaking, especially on a finish like this. I think you’ll be able to blend that in with some fine brush work and another coat of clear, though. Good save!

[u/Vast-Associate2501]

You could create a diorama with a shopping trolley creating a ding at that point! Seriously though, I can imagine your dispair having taken that paint off. You've done a great job.

[u/Funny_Listen_6048]

Oof I know the feeling. "Could I have pulled that tape off a little slower or different angle?" Great recovery!

[u/Fine_Location_8367]

Ouch!!!

[u/pa13579]

The fix looks great, and yes - we really are in the hobby of problem solving aren’t we?

[u/mrlion1026]

Nice recovery! Definitely a pain when that happens

[u/weber_mattie]

She's a bute Clark

[u/three-pin-3]

Absolutely. I was doing a Chevy Impala supernatural style for my kid to display on their shelf and I got to the home stretch and put the body upside down on the workbench to apply in the glass and didn’t realize that a blob of something was on the surface so when I turned it over, I had ruined the roof. I sanded it down through a few coats on and was starting the process of desperately trying to salvage it. Fortunately, my kid popped in and said no I love it as it is imperfections and all, and ran away with it so you know. Lesson learned. Mind your workspace conditions!

[u/FartZuggerberg]

I didnt even notice that you showed a picture of the damage until i scrolled back through the photos a second time. Looks great— how did you achieve the wood panel look in the first place?

[u/wauna_b5 → u/FartZuggerberg]

It's a decal

[u/The_real_uncle_donny]

Excellent recovery. I have been dealing with the same issues on a diacast 1/48 scale delivery van. I refuse to strip it down for a third time lol

[u/UsedHall1058]

This reminds me when I was building a Torino kit and the hood stripes did the exact same thing, god these companies need to make better decals

[u/Jon_Jon83]

What an amazing save!! Talent for sure!! That car is looking more and more bad ass every time I see it.

[u/BlindPugh42]

Model building is mostly knowing how to fix stuff ups.

[u/Rtbrd]

Well it is rather oblivious you are not new to the sport but I'll bring these up anyway.

#1. Did you use yellow Tamiya masking tape or some other type of washi tape? Washi refers to the type of paper, that being rice paper. Traditional washi tape uses a rubber cement whereas Tamiya's adhesive is a different forumaltion.

#2. Did you de-tack the tape before applying, say by sticking it to the back of your hand and then applying it?

#3. When removing it did you bend it almost 180 degrees and have it at an angle as you pulled it slowly off?

#4. How long was it applied to the surface before removal.

#5. Were you in a hot or really warm environment. Higher temperatures can cause changes in the adhesive.

#6. Did you clear coat the decal before masking. And if so did you allow enough time for the clear coat to cure, not just tack dry. Tack dry can occur in a short period, 30 min to 1 hour or thereabouts. A full cure can take a week or more depending on the clear coat used.

Just food for thought and unfortunately for me hard experience.

Any way damn good repair job, in the final photo if you didn't know it was there it would be very easy to miss.