AMAZING TALENT ON THIS FORUM

[E St. Kruiser50]

I've been building models for nearly 60 years now like several of you, and I'm amazed by the natural skills, talents and imagination that have found a home on this forum.

I don't know what the other forum's have for talent, but it can't be nearly as good as we have it here.

Too many incredible builders to list, as it would go on for quite a while.

The imaginations and creativeness at time, defies words and can only be appreciated by a WOW .

This hobby keeps me so young and passionate, and of coarse "CHALLANGED" To continue to "Hone" my own personal skills, and share and learn from so many of you who are such gifted "MODEL ARTISTS".

So many different likes and styles. In my 60 years of building, this is the best for me, because I get to enjoy all of you and appreciate your work, learn from you as we all do from each other.

I hope you agree - dave

[Bernard Kron]

I totally agree.

This forum benefits from many things including a structure that's simple and easy to follow and a tradition of positivism and mutual respect and support for members at all levels. But clearly the stunning array of hugely talented modelers of all styles and, dare I mention it, degrees of experience, harnesses these other traits to create an environment that can only encourage any aspiring car modeler to get the most out of whatever drives them. In my case I was away from The Hobby for the better part of 40 years after having been an avid builder during the Golden Age and this Forum, more than any other single thing, is what got me building again some 16 months ago and which helps keep me going as I try to improve my skills so that I can express more completely what I "see" every time I start a project.

I don't think it's an accident that hardly a week goes by when another great talent from somewhere on the planet is welcomed as a new member of this marvelous community.

[CB]

Yea verily, this forum totally rocks. The talent, the creativity, and the sharing are all incredible, and thanks to Gregg for it. However, for me, the people are the best part of it all. The people are the ones with the talents, the creative stuffs, and their sharing it all with anyone in a spirit of friendship and love of the hobby are what does it for me. Each one of us has had life slap us around, and how wonderful it has been for me to come here and actually be welcomed, and missed when I've been away. It is so nice to hang out here, with friends and 'play' with our 'toys'. Glad I found it and glad to be here and a part of it all. God bless all ya'll

Edited February 9, 2009 by CB

[george 53]

Dave, don't sell yourself short, ol' Bud! YOU are one of the best here! If your too shy, I'm NOT! Guy's like you and Mr.BIGGS are like heroes to me. When it comes to OVER the Top stuff, you'all are right in it! I've had the pleasure of meeting Antonio,and he's like THERE! No ego, no showeyness, just like we'd been Bud's for YEARS!You and I have spoken, and to me, you guys are just alike!

I'm NOT tryin to sound like a one-man fan club, But to me, you guys, and a few others I can't name ,right off the bat, have got IT! You have that ability to transform a THOUGHT into a 3-D object! I know it's not rocket science, if it was I couldn't do it! But the way you go about it is amazing to me! That's WHY I enjoy the WIP pics.It's almost like building it! (WITHOUT the headaches!) For what and how you guys build, to ME you are the BEST! I like the thought that goes into your work. You can see how you figuered out something, and then proceeded to build it out.Believe it or not, I ACTUALLY DO learn from those pics. Tonio's the same way, only I just had ta ask, an he told me everything about 300 I wanted to know!

He let me take pics while he set it up, opened the doors so I could get interior shots,It was great! You guys inspire me.

I've never had a good, wild imagination, when it came to customs, that's why I build mostly street/strip stock and the occasional hot rod,as I remember them. Guy's like Raul and the other fellow, I told you I wasn't real good at names, but when I describe his bad arsed Ford F-??? with the Quad cab, reversed doors,slammed,fully detailed interior,including the dash, door panels, the worlks, maybe that'll help. Or Rad Rides by Dave? Just REALLY CLEAN ,Smooth builds! They have the same Gotcha factor as yours an Biggs, but in a DIFFERENT way. Ya know what I mean? Who'da thunk such a large, warm fellow-ship could've resulted from some small little cars? That's why I joined the Drmcc. The guys are my age, and other than that, we ALL have model cars in common! It's like I finally found a place that I belong. I've worked on my cars alone, by myself, for SO LONG, it was normal for me.But now, once a month, I get to hang out with 40 guys who think like I do!!! It's a BLAST! I really do look forward to our club meetings! They're inspiring too, to look at a car you've seen in the Magazine, then the owner let's you PICK IT UP! to get a better look at it! Thanks Mike! But it all seems normal now.

And I find myself looking forward to talking with my freinds here,and on my other forum. I'm here everyday, I know I gotta get a life, but I'm happy so far, In good health,(thank God!) And in the company of some of the BEST modelers in the WORLD! We're so BAD here, we got guys from overseas buildin the best of some of the best street rides I've ever seen!

Thanks Stump, Ewi,Juerg! And I'm willing to bet,YOU guys inspire THEM TOO! Every one that posts gives a little of themselves when they do, but I think it's done in total honesty. With a real desire to hear fair critics and critisism,plus helpful advice.This forum allows us that.We can hob-nob with the best, and ask questions without sounding stupid! It's a comfortable place to hang out at, and everyone helps to make it that way!

[cotto]

I don't seem to have much time to build anything because of my traveling and work schedule but about six months ago I decided to join in and was stunned with the amount of talent here. What I enjoy the most of course is the work in progress stuff. Guys like Bill Geary, David Thibodeau and Marcos Cruz just blow me away, love the fact that they share so much and paint and build so cleanly. I am still putting together my hobby room, don't know when I will have it completed but I do know I will be using a lot of the ideas you guys have to incorporate them into my work. I have a lot to learn but that's the fun part of this hobby also.

[MikeMc]

I agree wholeheartedly about the talent level here. The amount of knowledge that I picked up in the reading of these builders......Past Priceless!!!

Thanks to everyone who cares about this hobby! Now enough MUSH......lets build!!

[Jantrix]

I hate to be a killjoy but.........................away from MCM, this forum is regarded as "By experts, for experts, all others summarily and politely ignored". Mind you this is not my opinion but what I have read on other forums and chatrooms. It seems beginner and intermediate builders feel intimidated and ingored when they post a build here and get only two replies saying "Great work!" Yes, we have an enormous who's who of scale auto here, but many builders feel that they can't get the attention of the movers and shakers here unless they are bulding on that level.

I just thought I'd bring this up. I for one haven't had this experience, but I've heard it enough to be concerned. I've always enjoyed the folks here, and I hope the feeling is mutual.

[Guest Davkin]

I'd say that is more perception than reality. I've seen many builds that are far from "high end" builds get lots of attention here. This is coming from someone who's last WIP post was entirely ignored but I don't take it personally and am not going to go hide in the corner and cry about it.

David

[Custom Hearse]

I hate to be a killjoy but.........................away from MCM, this forum is regarded as "By experts, for experts, all others summarily and politely ignored". Mind you this is not my opinion but what I have read on other forums and chatrooms. It seems beginner and intermediate builders feel intimidated and ingored when they post a build here and get only two replies saying "Great work!" Yes, we have an enormous who's who of scale auto here, but many builders feel that they can't get the attention of the movers and shakers here unless they are bulding on that level.

I just thought I'd bring this up. I for one haven't had this experience, but I've heard it enough to be concerned. I've always enjoyed the folks here, and I hope the feeling is mutual.

Do I sense jealousy from the "other forums"? I was on the other magazine's (I can't say "magazine" with a straight face) forum, and all they do is bicker, whine, complain, cut down, chew up, spit out, and try to humiliate people with less experience. One of the most ridiculous things I saw over there was the competition to have more posts, regardless if what they posted made any sense.

I feel this forum is more family than a community. I have gotten great tips, comments, information, and advice from members here (notice this is the exact opposite of what I wrote above), and all the words were NOT harsh. If I made a mistake on something (i.e. if I put the oil filter on the wrong side of an engine) I don't hear, "well, you don't have a clue of what you're doing dummy!". Instead I get, Didn't the oil filter on the Ford go on the left side? I hope this helps." And it does, and I'm grateful that they helped me!

Gregg is the best moderator (you're an excellent moderator too Harry, I didn't forget you!), and will help you with whatever needs to be done. Everybody here has some awesome talent that they show, and help others with whatever someone needs help with. I have yet to see any ego's get in the way, and it makes me proud to be a member here!

Thank you all!!!!

[Jantrix]

I'd say that is more perception than reality. I've seen many builds that are far from "high end" builds get lots of attention here. This is coming from someone who's last WIP post was entirely ignored but I don't take it personally and am not going to go hide in the corner and cry about it.

David

Lemme give you a for instance of what I have heard/read.

JoetheModeler has recently joined ScaleHoopdies.com and has posted a question. After about a day he has recieved a half dozen replies concerning his question. To which he replies, "Wow!. Thanks guys, great info. I asked this same question over at MCM but was entirely ignored. I guess you have to be in their "inner circle" to get any attention.

And I think David has just proven the point. Perhaps we need to pay more attention to posts with a zero reply count? Especially if we notice a high view count? As was said, we have a large gathering of excellent builders. Shouldn't we be the ones to provide the ataboys for the less experienced?

[Guest Davkin]

I don't know about the "attaboy" thing, I personally don't look for them and I rarely give them. If I don't have something to specifically comment about on a model I don't bother because to me the general "Great job!" comment is pretty meaningless.

As for answering questions, maybe that is something we need to work on here, but we are a relatively small group that covers all subjects so it may just be that no one here has an answer.

David

[MikeMc]

I hate to be a killjoy but.........................away from MCM, this forum is regarded as "By experts, for experts, all others summarily and politely ignored". Mind you this is not my opinion but what I have read on other forums and chatrooms. It seems beginner and intermediate builders feel intimidated and ingored when they post a build here and get only two replies saying "Great work!" Yes, we have an enormous who's who of scale auto here, but many builders feel that they can't get the attention of the movers and shakers here unless they are bulding on that level.

I just thought I'd bring this up. I for one haven't had this experience, but I've heard it enough to be concerned. I've always enjoyed the folks here, and I hope the feeling is mutual.

News to me also .....BUT if your calling me an expert ...I would like that in writing, notarized and published!!!!!

My hat size is now at 8 1/4" and swelling rapidly!!!!!

[Monty]

I hate to be a killjoy but.........................away from MCM, this forum is regarded as "By experts, for experts, all others summarily and politely ignored". Mind you this is not my opinion but what I have read on other forums and chatrooms. It seems beginner and intermediate builders feel intimidated and ingored when they post a build here and get only two replies saying "Great work!" Yes, we have an enormous who's who of scale auto here, but many builders feel that they can't get the attention of the movers and shakers here unless they are bulding on that level.

I just thought I'd bring this up. I for one haven't had this experience, but I've heard it enough to be concerned. I've always enjoyed the folks here, and I hope the feeling is mutual.

I agree that this board has some outstanding builders, but I've seen some good builders get blown off completely. This example still sticks in my mind because a very good modeler once found our board, posted several well done models, and, with the exception of my posts, was greeted by the cricket choir. I didn't know him, but he and I seemed to share an affinity for the same types of models. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.p...sult_type=posts

I hope he found a board that would give him the time of day

[Bernard Kron]

I agree that this board has some outstanding builders, but I've seen some good builders get blown off completely. This example still sticks in my mind because a very good modeler once found our board, posted several well done models, and, with the exception of my posts, was greeted by the cricket choir. ... I hope he found a board that would give him the time of day

The "cricket choir", great image!

I'm not sure why responses to this poster went silent. The builds are of obvious quality, the style is a popular one on this board, and the initial reposnses were fairly typical in quantity and enthusiasm.

It's very tempting to get bogged down in the detail of individual styles and quality of builds but this would be very counterproductive. I think I would only say that in the year and a half that I've frequented the MCM board I've noticed various "waves" of popularity for the work of particular builders. I think, to some degree for each of them, this is as the result of several factors, so here goes:

1 - The builds these "popular" builders exhibit are fairly "strong" or impactful in their appearance, style and presentation. Most often it's because technically and stylistically they are strongly above average, but occasionally not. I don't think it's because this is an "elite" board full of snobs, but because these builds have a lot of "bang" in some way.

2 – The initial commentary on their post has some element that is unusual or insightful, and is literate (not to be confused with good spelling and grammar). This is important because it adds another element besides their pictures to initiate replies to their post.

3 - The builder is prompt, insightful, and literate (not to be confused with good spelling and grammar) in their responses to anybody who does reply to their initial post. Obviously, this is irrelevant if no one replies! I may be wrong, but my impression is that zero replies is not all that common so I would say there is generally the opportunity to begin an interaction with other members on the board.

4 - The builder seeks out contact with other members by replying to other posts that interest them, thereby introducing themselves to the community or maintaining their “personality†by exposing the board to their interests and their way of expressing them. In this way they find other members of the community who have similar interests and who will watch for their posts, rather than relying solely on their initial posts to have members find them. Ignoring this risks putting too much emphasis on the quality and impact of one’s builds as the basis for participation in the community.

Whenever any of these factors fades, so does the “popularity†of the builder and their posts. In other words, if the quality and interest of their builds fades, either through execution or repetition, then their popularity fades. Or if their willingness to interact with the community diminishes then so will the responses back.

This all seems pretty evident to me. It boils down to having something to talk about and then talking about it. The “stars†on any board are those who have an interest in maintaining these basic elements at an active level.

The MCM board isn't as good as some other boards at socializing, I’ve noticed that when social interaction which ignores the thread starts to happen the protocol of the board seems to move pretty quickly away from it, with the usual "didn't mean to hijack your thread" of "sorry if this is off topic" comments. So maybe if someone is relatively "silent" and passive in their initial posts there is a very real risk of their work being lost on this board. For whatever historical reasons, the MCM board seems to be pretty "high demand" on the content side. Obviously this is its appeal but it isn't without collateral damage...

Edited February 14, 2009 by gbk1

[Harry P.]

My 2 cents:

This forum seems to have a pretty high percentage of experienced, contest-quality type builders as members in comparison to other places. I don't know exactly why that is, but it is.

Given that fact, this would seem like the ideal place for younger or less experienced builders to hang out and soak up as much as they can. Even just looking at the various models posted here is an education!

As far as not being as "social" as other forums, well, that depends on which forum you're talking about. Some are nothing more that glorified chat rooms, and if that's your thing, then by all means enjoy it. But you won't find a lot of idle chatter here. There don't tend to be a lot of "nice stance, bro" type responses here, because, let's face it, what does a response like that actually add to the conversation? Not a whole lot, and our members apparently realize this. Now, that's not to say that we shouldn't give out pats on the back and attaboys where deserved... it's just that comments here tend to be a little more "evolved" than that... and that's a good thing. What's going to help a new builder more... a generic "whoa dude, that's awesome"... or a more detailed comment regarding accuracy, color, details, whatever?

Again, not to discourage the casual "nice build" type posts... those are fine. But I think that here you'll generally get a lot more meaningful interaction than that.

And regarding people who post but seem to get very little response... don't forget that sometimes it's simply a matter of time. It's very rare that a post goes for days without any response, but sometimes it takes time for enough members to see it. The number of people actually active here on a regular basis is less than on some other forums, so it might take a little longer for the responses to start coming in... but eventually they will. I don't think people play favorites here... everyone has an equal shot! Sure, some guys' posts seem to get more responses than others, but as mentioned above, it's because what they're posting is different, eyecatching, or unique in some way... not because they're forum "pets."

Bottom line: We have a higher percentage of experienced builders here, but that's not a bad thing for the younger or less experienced guys... it's a good thing!

[E St. Kruiser50]

Kinda funny how this topic went this way and that .

I feel pretty grateful to be in the company of such good builders and good people.

Started this thread just tryin' to encourage "ALL" the builders here, not just the "obvious" one's.

Lived mostly quite a while with an attitude of gratitiude for the things in my life and don't think much of myself as a complainer - lifes too short for me. Was for Bob Paeth too. Got some of that from him.

Never really considered myself that good at this model thing. Got some nice compliments and a few nice awards, but figure I still got a lot to learn, and some new skills to acquire.

I appreciate the kudo's, and getting to learn more from all of you, and it's nice to share what I enjoy with all of you too.

I'm glad there's so many here with such a variety of taste's in car's and styles.

Thanks all for "Chiming" in here - dave

[Dr. Cranky]

Here are my 5 cents worth. I participate in a couple of forums, and regardless of how old or how experienced the builders are there are usually enough generous and friendly people around to make it worth it.

I think if you are going to belong to a forum, you should particiapte. Forums are about the give and take, and it's a great way to make your own learning curve accelerate. In my own experience (before the forums), I found a few books and magazines I found indispensible as resources for great information and inspiration. Some of those books are no longer in print, but I urge people to look them up on Amazon and if you don't have a copy, get yourself a copy.

Look up names like:

PAT COVERT

KEN HAMILTON

TERRY JESSEE

BILL COULTER

And also old magazines like PLASTIC FANATIC, etc . . .

A lot of those basic questions will be answered before you know it, and in terms of this forum in particular, if I had five cents for every time I see the work of talented and gifted builders on this forum, I'd be a rich man!

[MR BIGGS]

Kinda funny how this topic went this way and that .

I feel pretty grateful to be in the company of such good builders and good people.

Started this thread just tryin' to encourage "ALL" the builders here, not just the "obvious" one's.

Lived mostly quite a while with an attitude of gratitiude for the things in my life and don't think much of myself as a complainer - lifes too short for me. Was for Bob Paeth too. Got some of that from him.

Never really considered myself that good at this model thing. Got some nice compliments and a few nice awards, but figure I still got a lot to learn, and some new skills to acquire.

I appreciate the kudo's, and getting to learn more from all of you, and it's nice to share what I enjoy with all of you too.

I'm glad there's so many here with such a variety of taste's in car's and styles.Thanks all for "Chiming" in here - dave

Words spoken like a true champ Dave. That's exactly how I feel.

And thank you George for looking at me as one of you modeling Heroes. That is the biggest complement someone could give another person. I just love doing what I do mi Amigo. I never have a problem disclosing what I do and how it's done. If someone asks how I did it I never have a problem telling them or even showing them how it was done. I have a stable of future builders under my wing, some old and some young, but are all being taught what I know and have learned from my 30+ years of building. The only requirements they must have are to want to learn more and have a love for the hobby.