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Fine Scale Modeling...we're all alone!
Something has been bothering me for some time. Why isn't there a national organization dedicated to the fine scale modeler. Even local organizations are sorely lacking. Plastic modelers have the IPMS ( International Plastic Modelers' Society), AMPS (Armor Modeling and Preservation Society) and each of these have local chapters. There are shows and get togethers everywhere. There is a plethora of podcasts, blogs, YouTube channels all designed to keep the modelers connected. What do we have?...The Narrow Gauge Convention and what else?....you can hear the echo! The Fine Scale Model EXPO...where is that these days? Gone I guess. What keeps the modeler connected for us? If it were not for the SierraWest Forum I doubt I would continue to scale model. I would likely gravitate to plastic modeling, why? Because modeling for me is the people and the camaraderie. Sharing your work with others and discussing techniques and modeling methods, and general conversation about the hobby. Seeing and interacting with modelers and the models in person, at least once in awhile, is critical for the future of the hobby. I found out there is a local IPMS chapter 30 minutes from where I live that have monthly meetings. I'm tempted to join and crash the party with a SierraWest diorama and see if they will kick me out or not! How cool would that be to have a local chapter of a national fine scale modeling club near you, go to a national show and have a local chapter club display, have virtual as well as in-person monthly meetings, have the national organization publish a magazine dedicated to the hobby? IPMS has that, AMPS has that, what do we have?....nothing!...quite sad if you ask me. Why do I post my work on the forum? To try and maintain connection with my friends and fellow modelers, stimulate conversation and share what is on my bench, and attempt to elevate a relatively solitary hobby to something that resembles a club or fraternity of sorts. Now I might be missing something so let me know if I am.
Comments
Terry
I don’t see future modelers willing to do the work it takes to build these models. I wish it was not the case but sadly it is. It takes patience and a little artistic talent to make something we hope others might appreciate.
How many of you have a local club layout you can share your modeling with? If you do, and bring in a model, they are dazzled by the detail and the realism. They ask what it is and how much it cost and they think you must be a millionaire to afford to spend that on a model. Model airplanes are $30.00 and Craftsman kits are $300.00 plus. That, of course, does not include all the tools and finishing materials you need to buy to complete the kit. It is a big expense just to get started let alone complete the kit. The time needed to complete the model is another hurdle.
There aren't that many of us craftsman modelers on a local level to have such an organization. If FSM made a few hundred kits once a year and if only people in the USA bought them what would that would be 12-15 per state? It is my impression that most of these kits sit on shelves and are treated like gold bars with the owner waiting to cash in on them in a few years and brag about the $100.00 extra they got over the original price. The next guy buys it but never gets around to building it and so on.
How many of you have kits on your shelves you will probably never get around to? Like I said, when you are gone maybe someone else will get the opportunity to build those kits but they will probably stay on their shelves also.
I have built many craftsman kits and I hope to continue. I have at least 15 on my shelf I hope to add to my layout some day. My hopes of finding others in enough numbers to join a club of some sort are essentially 0.
We should enjoy the Sierra West Forum while we have it. I like to study the models that are presented. They inspire me to keep building.
Mitch
There is a local model railroad group in my area and while I haven't been to any of their meetings, they hold a show twice a year, which I attend. In discussion with them, they are more interested in running trains than finescale modeling. Their layout is sparsely scenikced and geared toward running trains. I'm not criticizing, it's just the way it is. I go to their show to look for items to purchase from the venders, but almost all of the venders have "ready to run" items. No finescale items.
I am very grateful to be able to connect on this forum and share my work for critique and to see the work of others so as to gain knowledge and ideas. I look forward to attending the Narrow Gauge Convention when it is a reasonable distance from me. Before I moved to southwest MO I lived in the Chicago area. At one point I contacted Scott Mason to see about hosting a Fine Scale Modelers Expo in the Chicago area. I thought it would be a neat idea to offer an opportunity to have it in the Midwest once in a while. Plus it was a central location which I thought might attract other modelers. I was willing to do the work to host it but never heard back from him. I had organized a couple of other national conventions in non modeling related organizations, which I told him, so I wasn't just shooting in the air.
In any case thank you for being such a prolific and quality modeler. I very much enjoy seeing what creative work on this forum you and the other members are doing. For now I guess this forum is our go to place for finescale modeling.
Thank you Brett for giving us this opportunity.
right now the bears are giving the dolphins a real run for their money. justin fields is the real deal and this game is winnable.
If memory serves, it seems like Brett suggested a zoom type meeting for the modelers on this forum. It might be the next best thing to actually being physically together. Nothing came of it.
Maybe he will suggest it again.
Trying to get everyone together at the same time however would be like herding cats.
At the meets, I make sure to mention the need to show the younger members the need for developing craft skills, not necessarily structures, but most of them just want to run trains.
I want to apologize for not being more interactive lately. Lots of incredible work being done on the forum. I haven't had the chance to work on a SW model in over a year. I'm in withdrawal. Too many other projects in the way......Rick
I know I don’t post a lot of my builds but that’s because for the last year or so I’ve been building brand X kits which are gifts that I’ve received, however.
I like that idea that this forum is generally limited to SWSM builds
Terry
Terry
Thanks for the moral support Terry!
If it wasn't for the internet, I would've lost interest in this hobby a long time ago. My hope is this hobby continues to morph into something more like what tank modelers focus on, a hobby of small dioramas with a focus on details and weathering with a community that pursues that. I would love to belong to a local group that pursues that.
Let me know if you find anything.
-Steve