diff --git a/libraries/render-utils/src/SoftAttachmentModel.cpp b/libraries/render-utils/src/SoftAttachmentModel.cpp
index f15b696006..63b18d49b8 100644
--- a/libraries/render-utils/src/SoftAttachmentModel.cpp
+++ b/libraries/render-utils/src/SoftAttachmentModel.cpp
@@ -35,6 +35,10 @@ void SoftAttachmentModel::updateClusterMatrices() {
     if (!_needsUpdateClusterMatrices) {
         return;
     }
+    if (!isLoaded()) {
+        return;
+    }
+
     _needsUpdateClusterMatrices = false;
 
     const FBXGeometry& geometry = getFBXGeometry();