Dr. Cranky Posted February 1, 2012 Author Posted February 1, 2012 Dave, I agree with you: small trucks, SUVs and VANS. I'd throw Van's in there. The spirit behind this is to (AGAIN) get a better organized forum. We still offer a bigger and better sampling of subject matter than the average competition.
Dr. Cranky Posted February 1, 2012 Author Posted February 1, 2012 The other thing I will add about a weathering section is that whether you like it or not, the model car building community has been experimenting with weathering solutions and techniques for a few decades now, and the number of builders interested in bringing a little variety to their building skills is growing by leaps and bounds.
Scale-Master Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Is there normaly a "weathered" build class, or do thay lump those into dios? Are all the race cars lumped onto one table? I have never seen a category for weathered only cars, and putting them into diorama if it is a stand alone vehicle would not be true to the the spirit of a contest. Contests are a bit different, but consolidating traditional contest classes could be a good starting point for a forum.
moparmagiclives Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 You mean to tell me Harry, ... you cant please everyone..?
Scale-Master Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 OK, how about a seprate section for customs and show rods ? Lowriders and tuners could be included in this catagory too. Why would lowriders and tuners be lumped together? Why not Pro Touring and Tuners? Or Pro Street and Pro Tour? We used to put Lowriders and Customs together at our contest due to low turnout for a while, but we found out the mentality is now quite different between the classes.
Harry P. Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 The reason I split Trucks into heavy-duty and commercial, and light duty and street trucks, is again, to make it easier for guys to find what they want. Big-rig builders aren't going to like slammed pickups lumped in with their Kenworths and vice versa. The big-rig guys and the bagged pickup guys are two very different types of builders. Maybe we include street trucks (pickups and vans and SUVS and such) in with the car category, and keep the Truck section strictly heavy-duty, commercial and emergency/municipal. There's always going to be the question of how specific the sub-forums need to be. Does NASCAR need its own section, or can all competition cars go in one category? It's a matter of personal preference, I guess. Like I said, my idea isn't necessarily the only way to do things... but it's one way to do things and it makes sense to me.
Harry P. Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 You mean to tell me Harry, ... you cant please everyone..? I know, rght? Hard to believe...
Harry P. Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Sorry,, gotta call BS on that one Harry. You mean "Brilliant Strategy?" Gee, thanks!
Dr. Cranky Posted February 1, 2012 Author Posted February 1, 2012 Here's what I added to Harry's edit: MODEL CARS • Under Glass-All categories of CARS • In Progress: Stock, Street, Show, Custom, Weathered (rat rods, junkers and daily drivers) • In Progress: Competition (Drag, NASCAR, F1, Indy, Salt Flats) • Kit News, Reviews, Trends and Opinions • 1/1 Car Reference Photos MODEL TRUCKS • Under Glass-All categories of TRUCKS and HEAVY EQUIPMENT • In Progress: Big Rig, Heavy Commercial, Police, Fire, Emergency • In Progress: Pickups, SUVs, Light Commercial • Kit News, Reviews and Opinions • 1/1 Truck Reference Photos OTHER MODELS • Diecast • Large Scale OTHER SCALES (1/20 and up) • Dioramas • All the rest (planes, military, figures, paper models, etc.)
Dr. Cranky Posted February 1, 2012 Author Posted February 1, 2012 We are aware (I think) that this kind of task is never going to please EVERYONE, but I would encourage Gregg and the other Admins to consider the trends that have been around for a while. For example, the interest in Salt Flats time setting vehicles, and RAT RODS. Rat Rods are not going to go away any time soon. Just like Lowriders have never left the culture since they arrived on the scene. Why not capitalize on these diverse interests?
Harry P. Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 It's Gregg's sandbox. Ultimately it's his decision (and only his) whether or not to make any changes.
Harry P. Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 I don't see any need to break down cars into a million specific categories. As you can see by my layout, I have just two categories: Street cars, which includes factory stock, rat rods, customs, etc. and Competition cars, which includes NASCAR, Indy, F1, drag, etc. The trick is to break down the categories in a logical way, while at the same time trying to streamline things and not have a bazillion separate sub-categories.
Dr. Cranky Posted February 1, 2012 Author Posted February 1, 2012 Steve, because custom exercises pretty much the same skills model car builders have been using since the beginning of time. Build the model, modify it, and put shiny paint on it. One shiny builds follows another follows another. What I am saying for the sake of variety is to shine a little bit more light on OTHER types of models and approaches to getting the finish.
sjordan2 Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) The other thing I will add about a weathering section is that whether you like it or not, the model car building community has been experimenting with weathering solutions and techniques for a few decades now, and the number of builders interested in bringing a little variety to their building skills is growing by leaps and bounds. I think you are exaggerating the interest in this part of the hobby. To me, it's an executional thing, mostly technique, which I think is of more limited interest than you describe and, personally, I don't think it's worthy of a special section except as Harry noted. On the other hand, regarding organization of the forum, I would like to make a minor comparison with scaleauto.com: • This forum has a big superiority in separating "On the Workbench" from "Under Glass." That's one of their major weaknesses. • But I think they have an advantage in their "Tips & Techniques" section, which has separate subforums for: - Painting and bodywork - Interior detailing - Engine, drivetrain and chassis Edited February 1, 2012 by sjordan2
Harry P. Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Hey Skip... if you like SA so much why don't you marry it??? (just kidding, of course!)
Harry P. Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 I think we can get by with fewer sub-categories, not more of them... as long as people start being specific in their topic titles! No more titles like "I need some help" or "My latest build." Instead: "I need some help using BMF" or "My latest NASCAR build." If everyone would just be a little more specific, we won't need a ton of sub-categories.
Dr. Cranky Posted February 1, 2012 Author Posted February 1, 2012 It might just be easier than to make it even simpler: Say CARS = (all types, all styles) IN PROGRESS: All Cars (all types, all styles) UNDER GLASS: All Cars (all types, all styles) I mean, we are doing this pretty much already . . . in those sections, right?
Dr. Cranky Posted February 1, 2012 Author Posted February 1, 2012 Skip, I don't think I am exaggerating here. Next time you go to the magazine stands, check out how many magazines there are for RAT RODS and other styles not just hot rods and customs. Interest in weathering model cars only has one way to go and that's UP!
Scale-Master Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Not to bag on SA, but I don't care for the way the categories are set up there. For example, I build a COPO Camaro. Should it go in Factory Stock? Or Muscle Car? How about a Shelby Cobra? One of those two categories, or Race Cars/Sports Cars? Too many sub-categories only serves to make it more difficult to quickly find what you want. And you could miss something too. Here's a thought, when you post, make sure the title is truly representative of the subject. And when you read, comprehend what was written...
Roadkill2525 Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Suarez is trying to play Castro and overthrow Gregg or possibly going with a Jim Jones angle.
Scale-Master Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Suarez is trying to play Castro and overthrow Gregg or possibly going with a Jim Jones angle. Not seeing how that can end well. Uncle Jim was a wacky dude...
Dr. Cranky Posted February 1, 2012 Author Posted February 1, 2012 Michael, what does Castro and Jim Jones have anything to do with my trying to get a conversation going about making the forum more inclusive of other building interests?
Dr. Cranky Posted February 1, 2012 Author Posted February 1, 2012 Steve, it's not that I am taking a simple view on Customs, it's just that it's what we get most of the time from model car builders. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about customs. I love them as much as the next builder, but THEY ARE NOT ALL I am interested in as a builder. Does that make sense? I like the "usual" as much as anyone else, but I also like variety, and by variety I don't mean building and painting the same way with the same results all the time.
Models by Bear Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 I'm all for a section on rust. You got my vote Doc.
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