The Model Car Magazine Forum is becoming Model Car Makers

[Dave Ambrose]

24 minutes ago, peteski said:

I've been thinking about the new name and I'm questioning the word "makers".  To me "makers" seems to imply making a model from scratch, while most of us are kit builders.  I would think that "Model Car Builders" would be more appropriate.

There are several reasons we went with Makers. The main one is confusion with an existing brand. 

[dragstk]

I think splitting the magazine from the forum is a good idea. To Dave and your crew, good luck with this. Your taking on a lot and I appreciate your efforts. Onward and upward!

[WillyBilly]

When should we expect the new changes?

[Dragline]

5 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

Yes and no.

We will always have free access to the site and forums, as we don't want to take anything away.

So for those happy with how things are now, rest easy. 

Having said that, we are planning a paid tier with some additional features. Mainly, ad-free. Plus there will most likely be some additional "members only" sub-forums. We're unsure what that might include at this time. 

 

We don't know what the magazine has planned it terms of an online presence.

 

We are not getting rid of the wanted or trade sections, but we do want to add a buy & sell section. Having said that, we know that can be problematic, so we're still discussing how this might work. We do know that it would be part of a paid membership, which would hopefully weed out the scammers and bots. Lots to sort out still.

 

 

That is certainly the way to do it. I am looking forward to whatever happens. Paid would be welcome. How about a discount for us old-timers?

[oldcarfan]

Congratulations to both you and to the magazine that birthed it! 

To be honest I was a little scared when I saw the notice. I clicked on it afraid it was being closed, or had been sold to Kalmbach so they could close it down and fold it into one of their other magazines. 

Anyway, I'm sure you're going to be busy with all the details, so I wish you all the best!

 

[Deathgoblin]

End of an era, but I'm glad the forum is continuing on. 

[MERIVA]

Been here since Brian's Model Car Forum closed.

Glad this one is staying.

[Bugatti Fan]

It was suggested in an earlier post that Model Car Builders might be more reflective of how most of us do our modelling. There was a competitor magazine to MCM named Model Car Builder that stopped production when the owner editor simply decided he had enough and called it a day a short while ago.

Best to run with Model Car Makers as proposed.

 The reason being that are all 'makers' regardless of whether we scratch build or make models from kits. Looking at the number of models shown with major or minor surgery to either convert or improve them suggests that most of us who frequent this forum hardly ever just do straight 'out of the box' builds anyway.

Edited yesterday at 08:18 AM by Bugatti Fan

[WillyBilly]

When should we expect the new changes?

[Matt87]

I am definitely happy to hear that its only going to get better and i think its a good idea to allow non car models also because some members do build other types of models also

[Matt87]

Does anyone know date this takes effect?

[stitchdup]

There isn't a date set yet but we will give you notice before it happens. 

[peteski]

But I guess since the current URL and existing member logins will stay the same (current URL staying active for quite some time), this sounds like a totally seamless migration (if all goes well).

[stitchdup]

20 minutes ago, peteski said:

But I guess since the current URL and existing member logins will stay the same (current URL staying active for quite some time), this sounds like a totally seamless migration (if all goes well).

there may be a couple of days where the site isn't available while the switch happens but we will give notice in advance

[peter31a]

21 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

Model Car Makers allows us to keep the MCM moniker that we all know. Keeps it familiar. 

I have to agree with the dislike about Model Car Makers. For 50+ years I always heard the term model car building/builders. It seems just in the last 10 years or so the term makers has started being used. As far as I am concerned Revell, Round 2, Tamiya, etc make the models. We, the purchasers, build the models. Makers, to me, is the inappropriate word for what we do.  It somehow lessens what we do. However, that said, if it works for to keep the forum recognizable to the Builders out there than so be it. I'll just pay for the dental work because I'll grind my teeth every time I come to the Model Car Makers Forum. 😂 Silly I know but I can't help it...

[slusher]

Dave,  will our avatar and post count and forum software be the same?.

[Chuck Mols]

I truly hope that this forum continues for many years to come, this forum is reason I got back into scale models. Seeing everyone's work is inspiration for me to continue and try to better my skills. Such a great group of members and administrators. 

[Jordan White]

1 hour ago, peter31a said:

I have to agree with the dislike about Model Car Makers. For 50+ years I always heard the term model car building/builders. It seems just in the last 10 years or so the term makers has started being used. As far as I am concerned Revell, Round 2, Tamiya, etc make the models. We, the purchasers, build the models. Makers, to me, is the inappropriate word for what we do.  It somehow lessens what we do. However, that said, if it works for to keep the forum recognizable to the Builders out there than so be it. I'll just pay for the dental work because I'll grind my teeth every time I come to the Model Car Makers Forum. 😂 Silly I know but I can't help it...

To be fair, with the rise in 3D printing and scratchbuilding, we are makers too!

[Brian Austin]

There's the whole Maker Moverment that encompasses many disciplines.

[Bugatti Fan]

I make models from scratch  as well as build and convert kits. So I could  be categorised as a maker or builder.

Personally I am happy with the proposed new title Model Car Makers.    Others would prefer builder claiming  it reflects the majority who build from kits. 

Really though, to me it doesn't bother me one way or the other as long as we have a viable forum that is free to use.

That brings me on to my next point. It the advertising albeit irritating at times pays for the forum I am happy with that. What I would be unhappy about is paid for tiers and members only sections as there has been no explanation so far about what they would consist of and what actual benefits would they have ?

 

[stitchdup]

14 minutes ago, Bugatti Fan said:

I make models from scratch  as well as build and convert kits. So I could  be categorised as a maker or builder.

Personally I am happy with the proposed new title Model Car Makers.    Others would prefer builder claiming  it reflects the majority who build from kits. 

Really though, to me it doesn't bother me one way or the other as long as we have a viable forum that is free to use.

That brings me on to my next point. It the advertising albeit irritating at times pays for the forum I am happy with that. What I would be unhappy about is paid for tiers and members only sections as there has been no explanation so far about what they would consist of and what actual benefits would they have ?

 

if we allow members to sell items, that would be part of a paid tier. 

[Bugatti Fan]

How would that work Les ?   

Commission on individual sales or blanket annual fee whether a user might  only sell just one kit ?

So what will happen to what is now essentially a free kit swap feature by another name on this forum?  Will it be retsined, or will users have to migrate into the proposed new sales area and pay a fee?

Another UK forum I use allows buying and selling with the appropriate disclaimers in place as part of their T&Cs provided that the advertiser has made 100 posts or more.

There was also mention of a 'members only' area.      What will be the purpose of it ?

[stitchdup]

1 hour ago, Bugatti Fan said:

How would that work Les ?   

Commission on individual sales or blanket annual fee whether a user might  only sell just one kit ?

So what will happen to what is now essentially a free kit swap feature by another name on this forum?  Will it be retsined, or will users have to migrate into the proposed new sales area and pay a fee?

Another UK forum I use allows buying and selling with the appropriate disclaimers in place as part of their T&Cs provided that the advertiser has made 100 posts or more.

There was also mention of a 'members only' area.      What will be the purpose of it ?

trading is staying as its a big benefit to us all. I dont believe any firm decisions on how it would work have been made final as theres other things that need to happen first. If elling does become part of the forum it can be a benefit to us all if aftermarket vendors use it. Just think, no more searching facebook and ebay for that elusive item as its presented on the forum in an easy to follow format with no dumb algorythym hiding things from you

[crazyjim]

BIG change.  Best of luck to all involved.  I just hope the switch over is easy because I'm not so good with computer stuff.

[Xingu]

6 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

How would that work Les ?   

Commission on individual sales or blanket annual fee whether a user might  only sell just one kit ?

So what will happen to what is now essentially a free kit swap feature by another name on this forum?  Will it be retsined, or will users have to migrate into the proposed new sales area and pay a fee?

Another UK forum I use allows buying and selling with the appropriate disclaimers in place as part of their T&Cs provided that the advertiser has made 100 posts or more.

There was also mention of a 'members only' area.      What will be the purpose of it ?

Nothing has been finalized yet. There are no answers for us to give. This is all still, very much, a work in progress. Dave has split from the magazine to ensure, that if anything happened to the magazine, the forum would survive. The forum needs to generate revenue to continue to survive. Paid tiers are a way to do that. We all know allowing buying and selling will bring out the worse in some people. Putting it behind a paywall will hopefully deter some of scammers. It is a level of protection (I am sure some won't see it that way). We will have all the appropriate disclaimers in place and force folks to acknowledge the T&C and with all that, members will still blame the board and ask the moderators to intervene if something goes wrong. We would not be receiving money from sales. All we would be doing is providing a place for buying and selling to take place. Buying and selling would not be the only benefit of that paid tier (we don't know what else it would include yet, still under discussion). We hope to get appropriate model related companies to purchase ad space (which would probably still show even on the "ad free" tier). We hope to be able to offer members only discounts. We hope to create and sell merch. We need to make sure that if we allow buying and selling in a paid tier, that we do not allow people to cheat the system in the free tier. Nothing is set in stone, except the name and server change. Just know that every change, that is or will be made, is discussed thoroughly and we always try to look at it from all sides. We meet regularly to discuss our path forward. While the forum is the largest part of it, we also want to expand the new website. We want you to WANT to go there first so you can see the new articles, how to videos, model reviews, etc,,

What I am saying is that there is a lot going into this. There is no timeline yet. Implementing all the changes may take a year or more. We will make announcements on the board for the big changes (probably 30-60 days in advance).

If you come here to see and learn about building models, it will be free.