Valuable lessons to learn as a potential young engineer.
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"What do you want for Christmas?" whooped an overenthusiastic Auntie Winnie, trying to whip up excitement in a 9-year old me. AH WELL I might have an idea or two or thre hundred what you could buy for me, but I digress.....

I had been perusing a catalogue's Toy Section and saw the very thing- a miniature Space Ship Fighter Plane toy, flashing lights, tinny sound effects, 'real (sic) firing missiles'

"Please could I have a Space Fighter toy, flashing lights, sound effects, firing missiles?"

"We'll see what Santa Claus can do!" she whispered conspiratorially and winked, then went out shopping.

Come the big day, YES! A big wrapped present from Auntie Winnie and Uncle Charlie. Mad frenzy of tearing off the wrapping paper, holding the box aloft in adrenalised joy to see......what the heck is this?

This is NOT what I asked for! It's...hang on...slowly unboxed and examined....it's a Spacey type of tank....with flashing lights...that makes noises....and missiles that 'fire'...(flash, actually). My pouty mouth must have been downturned because Auntie Winnie was apologetic, as she whispered behind a palm to my nearby mother, eyebrows worried as though it was her fault.

I'd given her the specification for a product and the job she did with that specification was 100% accurate - when viewed from a certain angle - but Wrong. THE WRONG FLIPPING SPACESHIP. JESUS WOMAN, THIS IS A GROUND SPACE SHIP NOT A FLYING SPACE SHIP WHAT KIND OF IMBECILE WOULD.....

Tears started welling at the corner of my eyes as I had an excitement crash. Still managed to say a choked "'unk you" into her chubby bosom and give her a hug as I turned my damp eyes aside to not show my disappointment.

What a little shit. I would have given me NOTHING the next year.

Lesson to be learned- your specification of the final product should be unarguable with. It is correct, or it is not. If it is not, either you fucked up or they did. Try to be the one who did NOT fuck up, come the examination of specification drawings when you expect a wooden duck and get presented with a rubber donkey.
( Rotating Wobbly Hat That's not a banana. THIS is a banana., Thu 19 Dec 2013, 17:58, 1 reply)

I was a similarly afflicted git
Until Star Wars changed my life, it was Action Man stuff. I had plenty, but it was always not *quite* the right stuff. Wanted tank, got Whippet Scout Car. Wanted helicopter, got turbo copter. Wanted Police motorcycle, got dispatch riders motorcycle and sidecar. Wanted blue-suit-with-short scuba diver, got white suit and brass effect plastic helmet deepsea diver (and later orange-suit-with-long-pants scuba diver). In fact, while in retrospect I had a TON of Action Man stuff, almost none of it was ever quite right.

Except the Commando set, with the dynamite sticks and the black inflatable dinghy. That was fucking ace.
(SonofRojBlake, Thu 19 Dec 2013, 21:55, closed)